Energy Efficiency Schemes: Consumer Confidence

We are reviewing the system of consumer protection and oversight for home retrofit installations, as the system we inherited is deeply flawed. We are committed to creating a simpler, stronger system of standards and oversight that will give consumers the confidence they deserve. We will consult on proposals for retrofit system reform early next year.

I appreciate the response that the Minister has given. He will not be surprised to hear me banging on—

Order. I say to Mr Easton, you are going to have to sit down, because you are standing in front of the Member who is speaking.

The Minister will not be surprised to hear me talking about spray foam insulation once again. One of the biggest frustrations that people have is that they do not have faith or trust in Government schemes because of the failure of the installation of spray foam insulation under the previous Government. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that mortgage lenders do away with the blanket ban on providing mortgages to people with spray foam insulation, what steps has he taken to reform TrustMark, and what consideration has he given to fixing the problem once and for all?

It is fair to say that I am gripped by this problem, because without confidence in the consumer protection around the installation of these schemes, we will not hit the targets for clean power by 2030, nor create the warm and safe homes that we need. I appreciate the constructive manner in which the hon. Gentleman has addressed the issue. As I discussed with him last month, we are working with lenders and financial institutions to resolve the accessibility of some outstanding financial products, but it is now not the case that all lenders have a blanket ban—we are making some progress on that. We will conduct further assessments to quantify the extent of spray foam, and I am keen to work closely with the hon. Gentleman and others who have examples from their constituencies that can inform how we design the future system.

I thank the Minister for his comments. Last week on the Public Accounts Committee, we heard about the shocking scandal of faulty cavity wall insulation under the energy company obligation 4 scheme, for which the last Government outsourced oversight to TrustMark. I have heard from constituents across Shipley who potentially face bills of tens of thousands of pounds to put right shoddy work. They are living in damp and mouldy homes. How is the Minister ensuring that those homes are remediated without cost to homeowners, and how will trust be restored in these schemes for the future?

When I came to this brief, I too was shocked at the extent of the failures of the external wall insulation scheme under ECO4. We have set out the actions that we are taking to ensure that properties are remediated at no cost to the householder. Looking to the future system, the three principles that I believe we should follow are that work should be done right the first time; the system should be simple and easy to navigate from the consumer’s point of view; and when things go wrong—I do not want them to, but when they do—there needs to be swift remediation through the system to ensure that it delivers for consumers.