Overview
- Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee called on the government to refer the ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme to the Serious Fraud Office, describing the rollout as a catastrophic failure.
- Watchdogs and MPs reported extremely high failure rates, including about 98% of external wall installations and around 30% of internal installations, affecting an estimated 32,000 to 35,000 homes with some posing health and safety risks.
- DESNZ disputed that widespread health and safety risks exist and said every household with external wall insulation under the schemes is being audited at no cost to residents.
- Ministers pledged households will not pay for repairs, citing installer liability and guarantees up to £20,000, while MPs warned the cap may be far too low given reported damages exceeding £250,000 and questioned whether firms can meet claims.
- Roughly £4.6 billion has been spent through the schemes via energy suppliers, Ofgem has identified about 1.75% fraud to date, and ministers say ECO delivery is ending with plans for a Warm Homes Agency and greater local authority oversight.