PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Housing: Insulation (1 June 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of households affected by sub-standard or faulty cavity wall insulation paid for by Government schemes; and what support the Government will provide to those households who have been awarded compensation from those companies who have subsequently fallen into liquidation.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The Government has not made a direct estimate of the number of households affected by sub-standards cavity wall insulation (CWI). We do know that the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) has issued approximately 6.2 million CWI guarantees covering defects in materials and workmanship. CIGA is the largest guarantee provider for CWI, and of this 6.2 million, only 0.4% of installations have resulted in concerns being raised.

The Government recognises that faulty work has been carried out under previous energy efficiency schemes and commissioned the independent Each Home Counts review in 2015. The introduction of Trustmark in 2018 as a Government endorsed quality scheme implemented key recommendations of the review on consumer protection and standards.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which has been the main domestic energy efficiency scheme in GB since 2013, has high standards for domestic energy efficiency and since January this year it includes a requirement for all installers to be TrustMark registered.

All ECO CWI installations are required to have a 25-year guarantee which aims to protect consumers where the installer has fallen into liquidation. CIGA also offer consumers an Alternative Dispute Resolution process which is facilitated by an independent arbitrator.

The Department has published consumer guidance for householders who suspect they have received faulty cavity wall insulation. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cavity-wall-insulation-cwi-consumer-guide-to-issues-arising-from-installations.

Answered by:
Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative)
9 June 2020