Government spending on insulation risks being wasted (again)
By David Lennan , Chairman, National Warm Homes Council The government has today committed to protecting the £13.2 billion funding for the Warm Homes Plan (WHP) in its spending review. This is welcomed since boosting rates of home insulation is the most effective way to make homes warmer, lower bills and reduce emissions for the long term. But how can the government ensure this money is not wasted on insulating homes without protecting the insulation from compression and degradation? The chancellor was right to ring-fence the budget to improve the nation’s dilapidated housing stock. This decision follows recent Opinium poll of Labour voters and a report by the House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, both confirming the need for the government to deliver on key manifesto pledges. Indeed, any reduction or delay in funding for the Warm Homes Plan (WHP) would have hampered the government in meeting its legally binding 2050 net-zero target, an...