FMB calls on government to kick start greener homes plans

Friday, 8 May 2009 2:16 PM

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has called on the government to put in place a delivery plan, in response to the draft Heat and Energy Saving Strategy consultation.

The aim of the consultation is a long-term plan to cut carbon emissions from homes and businesses, and ultimately to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

But the FMB has said the wheels need to be put in motion now, with a delivery plan backed by financial incentives if all of Britain's homes are to be upgraded by 2030.

Brian Berry, director external affairs at the FMB said: "The government's aim to upgrade all Britain's homes by 2030 won't succeed unless the financial incentives are put in place to create a new market for greener, more energy efficient homes. Householders have still to be convinced of the merits of spending thousands of pounds on energy efficient improvements with little prospect of seeing a return on their money. If the government is serious about its commitment to upgrade our homes it needs to introduce some financial incentives such as cutting VAT to five per cent for home improvements; council tax rebates and/or the introduction of green mortgages.

"Britain could learn from Germany which lends money to local banks who provide ten year loans to people who want to retrofit their home. In 2007, the German government lent 850 million Euros which resulted in five billion Euros of retrofit. On this basis the UK could achieve the transformation of the private housing stock for around £1 billion a year of government money."

In the consultation document, the government announced that "by 2020, we want seven million homes to have had the opportunity to take up a 'whole-house' package of measures going beyond simple insulation". But the FMB says more needs to be done to educate people on where to start when making energy efficient improvements to their homes.

"More detailed information is also needed to help householders understand the entire process of retrofitting homes from start to finish. At the moment it is difficult even for the most enthusiastic to know what can be done to make their homes more energy efficient. Better use of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) would be a good start as would the creation of a national database of EPC ratings to help understand the overall condition of Britain's housing stock and assess where help is most needed," Mr Berry added.

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