The UK Green Building Council has responded to the announcement that funding for solid wall insulation under the second phase of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund has been fully allocated, just over 24 hours since it was launched.
A total of £24m was allocated for solid wall insulation in homes in England and Wales under the fund, which was launched on Wednesday 10 December.
Richard Twinn, policy and public affairs officer at the UK Green Building Council, said: “This is a clear illustration of the stop-start policy regime around energy efficiency. These piecemeal pots of funding may be generous for householders but create uncertainty to the industry from one week to the next.
“As one of the most expensive measures, it’s no wonder funding for solid wall insulation has proved so popular. Solid walled properties are among the oldest and least energy efficient, and have received little support from other government schemes.”
Mr Twinn continued: “This latest gold rush will have been exacerbated by the high profile around the sudden closure of the previous funding over the summer. Government need to learn from this ongoing debacle that we need long-term drivers for energy efficiency - such as linking Stamp Duty – to avoid this constant boom and bust.”
