Thousands of homes now need repairs after insulation fitted under government scheme
Thousands of homes fitted with insulation under a flagship government scheme now need major remedial work, or risk damp and mould, the public spending watchdog has warned.
A damning report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said “clear failures” in the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme to tackle fuel poverty and pollution had led to low quality installations and even potential fraud.
It blamed incompetent subcontractors and weak monitoring and government oversight for the issues, which in extreme cases could cause fires.
Fuel poverty campaigners warned the system had “let cowboys through the front door”, saying it must be fixed to bring down energy bills and keep people warm.
Almost all homes – some 98%, affecting 22,000 to 23,000 properties – fitted with external wall insulation under the ECO are affected, the NAO said.
A further 29% of homes with internal wall insulation – around 9,000 to 13,000 dwellings – also face major issues that need fixing.
A small percentage of homes – 6% with external insulation and 2% with internal – put people in immediate danger, such as poor ventilation that could cause carbon monoxide poisoning, and electrical safety issues that could start fires.
ECO is a scheme that obliges energy companies to pay for energy efficiency measures in vulnerable households out of consumer bills.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said ECO is “important to help reduce fuel poverty and meet the government’s ambitions for energy efficiency”.
But “clear failures in the design and set-up” had led to “poor-quality installations, as well as suspected fraud”, he added.
‘Gaming the system’
The report says the reason things had gone so badly wrong could be down to work being subcontracted to individuals and firms who are not competent or certified, uncertainty over standards, and businesses “cutting corners” or “gaming the system”.
The energy regulator Ofgem last year estimated businesses had falsified claims for ECO installations in between 5,600 and 16,500 homes.
That means they could have claimed between £56m and £165m from energy suppliers – ultimately paid for by bill-payers.
More than 20,000 homes are said to be affected. File pic: iStock
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Martin McCluskey, the government minister for energy consumers, criticised the “unacceptable, systemic failings” that had affected thousands of families.
He added: “We are fixing the broken system the last government left by introducing comprehensive reforms to make this process clear and straightforward, and in the rare cases where things go wrong, there will be clear lines of accountability, so consumers are guaranteed to get any problems fixed quickly.”
The government urged households to take up the free audit that will be offered in a forthcoming letter, and said installers would be forced to remedy the issues free of charge.
However, insulation has the potential to vastly improve homes, analysts pointed out.
Jess Ralston from energy think tank ECIU said: “The majority of households that have benefitted from insulation schemes have lower bills and warmer, healthy homes, particularly during the early years of the gas crisis when the UK’s poor quality housing stock was one of the reasons we were so badly hit compared to other European countries.”
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Insulation and ventilation, when done properly, are among the safest and most effective ways to bring down energy bills and keep people warm.”
But the report had revealed a “system that has let cowboys through the front door, leaving thousands of victims living in misery and undermining public trust”.
Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, called it “a damning indictment of a failed scheme, where poor oversight has allowed rogue traders to cause huge damage to people’s homes and lives”.
She said the government must take swift action to rectify the damage, as well as ensuring “there is no repeat of this scandal by putting in place robust consumer protections and effective oversight”.
Reports of a “board-level orchestrated coup” at the BBC are “complete nonsense”, non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb has told MPs.
Sir Robbie, whose position on the BBC board has been challenged by critics in recent weeks, was among senior leaders, including the broadcaster’s chair, Samir Shah, to face questions from the Culture, Media and Sport committee about the current crisis.
The hearing took place in the wake of the fallout over the edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump, which prompted the resignation of the corporation’s director-general and the chief executive of BBC News, and the threat of a lawsuit from the US president.
Former BBC editorial adviser Michael Prescott wrote the memo that was leaked. Pic: PA
Former editorial adviser Michael Prescott, whose leaked memo sparked the recent chain of events, also answered questions from MPs – telling the hearing he felt he kept seeing “incipient problems” that were not being tackled.
He also said Mr Trump’s reputation had “probably not” been tarnished by the Panorama edit.
During his own questioning, Sir Robbie addressed concerns of potential political bias – he left BBC News in 2017 to become then prime minister Theresa May’s director of communications, a post he held until 2019, and was appointed to the BBC board in 2021 by Boris Johnson.
BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport committee. Pic: PA
“I know it’s hard to marry the fact that I spent two years as director of communications for the government… and my genuine passion for impartiality,” he said.
“I want to hear the full range of views… I don’t want the BBC to be partisan or favour any particular way.”
Asked about reports and speculation that there has been a “board-level orchestrated coup”, Sir Robbie responded: “It’s up there as one of the most ridiculous charges… People had to find some angle.
“It’s complete nonsense. It’s also deeply offensive to fellow board members… people of great standing in different fields.”
He said his political work has been “weaponised” – and that it was hard as a non-executive member of the BBC to respond to criticism.
‘We should have made the decision earlier’
BBC chair Samir Shah also answered questions. Pic: PA
Mr Shah admitted the BBC was too slow in responding to the issue of the Panorama edit of Mr Trump, which had been flagged long before the leaked memo.
“Looking back, I think we should have made the decision earlier,” he said. “I think in May, as it happens.
“I think there is an issue about how quickly we respond, the speed of our response. Why do we not do it quickly enough? Why do we take so much time? And this was another illustration of that.”
Following reports of the leaked memo, it took nearly a week for the BBC to issue an apology.
Mr Shah told the committee he did not think Mr Davie needed to resign over the issue and that he “spent a great deal of time” trying to stop him from doing so.
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Asked about his own position, Mr Shah said his job now is to “steady the ship”, and that he is not someone “who walks away from a problem”.
A job advert for the BBC director-general role has since gone live on the corporation’s careers website.
Mr Shah told the hearing his view is that the role is “too big” for one person and that he is “inclined” to restructure roles at the top.
He says he believes there should also be a deputy director-general who is “laser-focused on journalism”, which is “the most important thing and our greatest vulnerability”.
Earlier in the hearing, Mr Prescott gave evidence alongside another former BBC editorial adviser, Caroline Daniel.
He told the CMS committee that there are “issues of denial” at the BBC and said “the management did not accept there was a problem” with the Panorama episode.
Mr Prescott’s memo highlighted concerns about the way clips of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together so it appeared he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
‘I can’t think of anything I agree with Trump on’
Mr Trump has said he is going to pursue a lawsuit of between $1bn and $5bn against the broadcaster, despite receiving an official public apology.
Asked if the documentary had harmed Mr Trump’s image, Mr Prescott responded: “I should probably restrain myself a little bit, given that there is a potential legal action.
“All I could say is, I can’t think of anything I agree with Donald Trump on.”
He was later pushed on the subject, and asked again if he agreed that the programme tarnished the president’s reputation, to which he then replied: “Probably not.”
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Mr Prescott, a former journalist, also told the committee he did not know how his memo was leaked to the Daily Telegraph.
“At the most fundamental level, I wrote that memo, let me be clear, because I am a strong supporter of the BBC.
“The BBC employs talented professionals across all of its factual and non-factual programmes, and most people in this country, certainly myself included, might go as far as to say that they love the BBC.
He said he “never envisaged” the fallout that would occur. “I was hoping the concerns I had could, and would, be addressed privately in the first instance.”
Asked if he thinks the BBC is institutionally biased, he said: “No, I don’t.”
He said that “tonnes” of the BBC’s work is “world class” – but added that there is “real work that needs to be done” to deal with problems.
Mr Davie, he said, did a “first-rate job” as director-general but had a “blind spot” toward editorial failings.
Police have appealed for information after a man was charged with murdering two women and raping a third.
Simon Levy has been charged with murdering 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo who died on the Aylesbury Estate, south-east London, on 17 March, the Metropolitan Police said.
In September, Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, north London, was charged with murdering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins who was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August.
He is also accused of grievous bodily harm with intent, non-fatal strangulation and two counts of rape against a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Haringey, north London, on 21 January, police said.
The 40-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s murder.
Sheryl Wilkins was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August. Pic: Metropolitan Police
He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a plea and trial preparation hearing for the murder of Ms Wilkins.
Detectives believe there may be individuals who have information relevant to this investigation – or who are yet to report incidents which have directly impacted them – and are asking for people to come forward.
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