Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Responses to Green Deal Progress

Consumer Focus

Responding  to the Government's statement on the Green Deal and ECO (Energy Company Obligation) today, Audrey Gallacher, Director of Energy at Consumer Focus, said: "It is welcome that the Government has listened and improved many aspects of consumer protection for the Green Deal, but two key issues remain.  Protections must apply to all Green Deal accredited products and services regardless of how they are paid for, and quotes must be clear and comparable for customers.  As a minimum, voluntary standards from industry are needed to prevent the mis-selling that could be so damaging to this fledgling market.

"We are also concerned that the Government has still not outlined further steps to stimulate consumer demand for the Green Deal. Without clear incentives to attract consumers, such as Council Tax or Stamp Duty discounts, we are worried that people won't see the benefit or relevance of the scheme to them.

"With the poorest consumers hit hardest by rising energy prices we also want to see greater emphasis on helping those living in fuel poverty under the energy company obligation. While targets have been marginally increased for ECO, much more needs to be done, given the millions of pensioners, families and disabled people struggling to afford to heat their homes. In particular we think some of the revenue the Government will receive from carbon taxes should be used to get help to those who need it."

Labour Party

Luciana Berger MP, Labour's Shadow Climate Change Minister,  responded to the Government's response by stating: "Today was the Government's chance to salvage the Green Deal but Ministers have failed to convince the public that it will be a good deal and, despite all the criticism their plans have received, they remain riddled with problems. The proposals still contain massive loopholes which allow for mis-selling and cowboy builders, as well as containing harsh penalty payments for repaying loans early, which will cost consumers thousands of pounds and destroy the public's trust in the scheme.

"In addition, the Government's own figures show that the number of cavity wall insulations will plummet by 43% and the number of loft insulations by 83%. This will be a disaster for hundreds of small businesses across the country and will risk thousands of jobs.  While Ministers have adopted Labour's plans for establishing green deal apprenticeships and including hard to treat cavity walls in the ECO, unless more changes are made the Green Deal risks being a car crash."