PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Energy: Housing (9 October 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has conducted an economic impact assessment of the recommendations set out in the Each Home Counts review; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by:
Sir Alan Campbell (Labour)

The Each Home Counts review was an independent review, led by Dr. Peter Bonfield, which published its report in December 2016. Implementation of Each Home Counts is being led by industry, with the support of Government. All members of the Implementation Board participate on a voluntary basis with no remuneration and are required to declare any conflicts of interest. Where conflicts are identified members are excluded from any decision making process in which they would have an actual or perceived conflict. Ministers have not met with the Implementation Board since December 2016, but Departmental officials are present at meetings as observers.

The approach taken by the Board has been to encourage constructive stakeholder participation and engage across the sector. A broad range of stakeholders have been involved, including members representative of GasSafe installers.

One of the main recommendations from the Review was to establish a quality mark for retrofit energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, and for companies operating in this sector.

It is for industry to propose how the new quality mark framework will be structured and financed. As indicated in the Review it is intended that action build on good practice so reducing bureaucracy and potential duplication and reducing cost for industry and consumers overall.

The Each Home Counts review recognised that there is already good practice in the sector and many organisations operate to high standards. Where the quality mark requirements are already being met, companies will be able to apply to operate under the quality mark without further improvements. There is no intention from Government to make participation in the proposed Each Home Counts quality mark mandatory for any business or sector. As there is no regulatory requirement, Government does not plan to conduct a dedicated economic impact assessment for Each Home Counts.

Answered by:
Claire Perry (Conservative)
19 October 2017