Green Homes Grant ‘not delivered to acceptable standard’

The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme was delivered to an over-ambitious timetable and was not executed to an acceptable standard, significantly limiting its impact on job creation and carbon reduction. That’s the damning verdict in a report from the National Audit Office.

TheDepartment for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy originally expected the scheme to support up to 82,500 jobs over six months, and enable up to 600,000 households to save up to £600 on their energy bills. The scheme did not deliver the expected number of energy efficiency home installations, or support the expected number of jobs, says the NAO. In total, the Department estimates that it will spend £314m of the £1.5bn funding available, of which £50.5m (more than £1,000 per home upgraded) is on administration. It forecasts that the scheme will eventually support efficiency measures in 47,500 homes, and create up to 5,600 jobs over 12 months.

Many homeowners and installers had a poor experience using the scheme. There were delays issuing vouchers to homeowners and paying installers, causing frustration. Homeowners also found it challenging completing applications, and were often asked for more information, which took time. From October 2020 to April 2021, over 3,000 complaints were made to the Department and the scheme administrator.

The Government has identified decarbonising home heating as a key part of its plan to deliver net zero by 2050.Between September 2020 and March 2021, as part of government’s ‘green recovery’ from the COVID-19 pandemic, the scheme offered homeowners up to £5,000 funding, or £10,000 for low-income households, for the installation of energy efficient improvements.

But the NAO says HM Treasury gave the Department an over-ambitious 12-week timescale to design the scheme, consult with stakeholders and procure an administrator. This came at a time when the Department was supporting vaccine procurement, and undertaking activities related to leaving the EU. The Department accepted that delivering the scheme within this timescale posed a high risk, but judged it was justified by the need to support businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NAO adds that BEIS did not sufficiently understand the challenges facing installers, failing to learn from its own previous energy schemes. Other energy schemes have shown the need for a robust evaluation of stakeholders’ views. BEIS only consulted with installers after the scheme was announced, which limited the opportunities to include installer views in the scheme design. The costs of installer accreditation and the short duration of the scheme when it was first announced (six months) deterred some installers from participating.