EWS IN BRIEF 1bn home-insulation scheme under way The Great British Insulation Scheme has been launched by the government in an attempt to upgrade the energy efficiency of 300,000 homes. Most of the assistance under the 1bn scheme, which is an extension of the Energy Companies Obligation, will go to families in lower council tax bands with less energy-efficient homes. Households living in higher council tax-band homes will also be eligible if the property has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D or lower. The scheme is designed to deliver single measures, such as loft or cavity-wall insulation, to a larger number of households, rather than deep retrofit fewer homes. People can use an online checker to see if they are eligible. The government has back-tracked on several climate change policies Net zero retreat risks undermining business and homeowner confidence CIBSE calls for stable and consistent government policy on net zero Around a fifth of households will be exempted from the governments 2035 new gas boiler ban and landlords will no longer be forced to carry out energy efficiency upgrades, Rishi Sunak has announced. In a speech at 10 Downing Street on 20 September, the Prime Minister unveiled a dramatic and wide-ranging watering down of climate change policies, which he argued currently impose unacceptable costs on hard-pressed British families. Sunak said the government would take a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach to meeting net zero that eases the burdens on working people. Announcing that it will give people far more time to make the necessary transition to heat pumps, he said many households will be exempt from the 2035 phase-out of new gas boilers. This exemption is expected to cover about a fifth of homes that will face the biggest struggle to make the switch from fossil-fuel boilers, including off-gas-grid homes and those requiring expensive retrofitting or a very large electricity connection to make them suitable for heat pumps. Sunak also announced that grants under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which subsidises installations of heat pumps and other low carbon heating technologies, will be increased by 50%, to 7,500. In addition, he outlined moves to speed up the process for securing grid connections and planning permission. Tory MP Chris Skidmore, author of the governments net zero review, said the Prime Ministers announcement condemns the UK to missing out on what could be the opportunity of the decade to deliver growth, jobs and future prosperity. Responding to the announcement, Energy UKs chief executive, Emma Pinchbeck, said: As recently as yesterday, ministers were stressing their continuing commitment to [low carbon technologies], so its alarming for companies considering UK investments in these areas when these same policies are shelved the next day. Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association, said: The government has once again moved the goalposts for heat decarbonisation in the UK, and this risks damaging investor, installer and consumer confidence in this space. Energy bill discounts reduce hospital visits We need consistent policy CIBSE President Adrian Catchpole Rishi Sunaks announcement on net zero policy goes against advice from the governments own adviser, the Climate Change Committee. Watering down policy risks seriously undermining confidence from businesses and homeowners, who have started on the journey to invest in skills, supply chains and infrastructure to decarbonise the building stock. As highlighted by Chris Skidmore, the net zero 2050 target is not a lone target: the UK has carbon budgets to meet, and a carbon-reduction trajectory to follow, so we need to act now where we can. As has repeatedly been recommended before, what is needed is a stable and consistent policy framework, alongside government support where required. Major changes to net zero policy B an on off-grid fossil-fuelled boilers delayed from 2026 to 2035, with only an 80% phase-out target at that date R emoval of requirement for an EPC C rating for domestic landlords properties by 2025 P ostponement of 2030 deadline for buying new diesel- and petrol-powered cars and vans to 2035 G rants for the boiler upgrade scheme increased by 50%, to 7,500 Vulnerable households prescribed energy bill discounts by the NHS in a groundbreaking warm homes project were less likely to visit the hospital or GP subsequently. Energy Systems Catapult outlined the findings from its Warm Homes Prescription (WHP) trial in a report last month. In total, 823 households, containing people in low-income neighbourhoods who suffer from health conditions made worse by the cold, took part in the project. They were provided with credits on their energy accounts so they could heat their homes to a warm temperature. Researchers found that the WHPs lessened pressure on NHS services, with fewer hospital and GP appointments booked by those who took part in the trial. MPs told of soaring excess winter deaths Excess deaths caused by living in a cold, damp home soared by nearly a half last winter, fuel poverty campaigners have told MPs. Simon Francis, coordinator of End Fuel Poverty, told the energy security and net zero committee on 6 September that an estimated 4,706 excess deaths in winter 2022/23 were due to living in a cold, damp dwelling in Britain. This was up from 3,186 in the year before in England, Scotland and Wales. www.cibsejournal.com October 2023 7