‘Failings at every level’ blamed for botched insulation scheme that risks damp in thousands of homes

MPs told botched net zero scheme left thousands of homes at risk

A botched government net zero insulation programme has left thousands of homes vulnerable to damp and mould, a senior civil servant told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee. The National Audit Office (NAO) found that 98% of the 23,000 homes fitted with external wall insulation under two recent schemes will develop damp and mould if the defects are not fixed.

The NAO’s report also concluded that hundreds of homeowners had been placed at immediate health and safety risk because the insulation work was carried out incorrectly. The problems extend to around a third of homes that received internal insulation under the ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme, which operated in England, Scotland and Wales.

Key findings

• 98% of 23,000 homes with external wall insulation at risk of damp and mould if not remedied.
• Hundreds of homeowners exposed to immediate health and safety risks due to faulty work.
• About one-third of homes with internal insulation under ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme are affected.
• More than three million homes have received insulation under various government programmes over the past 20 years, with billions spent.

Jeremy Pocklington, the most senior civil servant at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, described the failures as "unacceptable" and admitted there had been "serious failings at every level of the system that are systemic." He told MPs the department had not taken sufficient steps to ensure Trustmark, the body responsible for overseeing the quality of the insulation work, was set up to deliver appropriately.

"There are serious failings at every level of the system that are systemic," — Jeremy Pocklington, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown called the NAO findings the "worst" he has seen in 12 years and accused the department of negligence. Independent MP Rupert Lowe described the situation as a "systemic failure of a government department."

Pocklington acknowledged the department had been under significant pressure following the Covid pandemic and then the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy prices, but said the department "did not oversee these schemes in the way that they should have done."

Labour MP Clive Betts pressed whether the department would accept responsibility for all homeowners who have been "badly treated" under energy-efficiency programmes, not just work carried out since 2022. Pocklington said the immediate focus is on the two schemes operating since 2022, and that the government's duty is "to ensure that the schemes we put in place operate effectively and that there are appropriate systems of consumer protection in place."

The NAO report has prompted calls for a wider review of household insulation quality controls and stronger consumer protections to prevent further harm and to ensure proper remediation for affected homeowners.