The government's Warm Homes Plan must be a political priority

David Lennan, Chairman, National Warm Homes Council

The Labour government has pledged to upgrade five million homes in the next parliament to cut bills for families as part of its Warm Homes Plan. But how does the government go about delivering it? 

The UK has the least insulated and energy-efficient homes in Western Europe. For too long, this has been causing harm to residents across Britain, millions of whom are experiencing fuel poverty and struggling to pay sky-high energy bills. 

The government's Warm Homes Plan to tackle these issues is laudable. Still, the retrofit industry will find it incredibly challenging to scale up quickly to achieve the target of upgrading millions of homes. Bridging this gap means detailed answers from new ministers to key questions, including:

• How does the government plan to recruit and train the thousands of workers needed to fix our homes? 
• How will it support the industry to source materials, free up supply chains and get the production cycle right? 
• How will private finance and grants be provided to homeowners, installers and suppliers?
• How will the private rented sector and social housing be part of the plan?
• How will local and devolved authorities partner with the retrofit industry? 

Delivery of the plan should start with the government detailing its plans and partnering with the retrofit industry to unlock growth, build capacity and grow the sector for the long term, with a workforce and supply chain plan in every region.

Retrofitting homes with energy-efficient measures should be central to the plan and can benefit every home across every constituency. However, it will require a different approach from previous administrations, and delivering on the plan must be treated as a political priority. 

The government must ensure it puts forward a robust programme that drives demand and boosts supply. Key to the demand side is increasing consumer awareness of how affordable, innovative energy efficiency measures such as loft insulation protection can help lower bills for longer, the need to install or retrofit, and the availability of funding support.

A lack of understanding by homeowners of how insulation works, its impact on bills and how to improve it hinders investment in their own home efficiency and insulation, which impacts the sector's growth. For example, 80% of people use their lofts for storage and access, not realising that the weight of this use compresses the insulation, reducing its thermal resistance by at least 50%. 

On the supply side, the government must outline how it envisions growing the supply chain. There is a fast-growing UK industry for insulation and energy efficiency. However, it is not reaching its full potential due to skills shortages and supply chain constraints. 

While many measures will take time to design and implement, there are some actions the government could introduce to help households now. This includes expanding the VAT exemption for energy-saving materials, which will help make British innovations that deliver genuine results, such as loft insulation protection, more accessible for households. 

The government should also look at what further changes can be made to the Future Homes Standard and the Home Energy Model to ensure our future homes are taking advantage of all options available to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Lastly, right across the UK, many SMEs and sole traders are working hard to make our homes warmer – from producing the equipment to installing insulation and energy efficiency technologies. 

The SME community is a core component of the UK’s energy efficiency and insulation industry and should be a key partner in the development and delivery of the Warm Homes Plan.

The Warm Homes Plan is a golden opportunity to tackle the challenges of cold and unhealthy homes head-on and deliver both immediate and long-term benefits. What is needed is a collaborative approach with the retrofit industry, particularly SMEs who can help deliver the plan, as well as the political will to turn ambition into action.

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