Members of parliament have called for the Serious Fraud Office to investigate the UK’s home insulation sector after more than 30,000 households were left with defects, some severe, under two Conservative government schemes. The schemes, known as Eco4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme, resulted in what MPs described as a “clear and catastrophic failure”.
According to a report by the public accounts committee, about 23,000 homes with external cladding installed were damaged, with 98% needing repair. Internal wall insulation affected 29% of homes fitted. Some 3,000 dwellings posed immediate health and safety risks due to mould, water ingress and structural damage.
The committee blamed the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and other agencies for being “far too slow to act”. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, committee chair, said: “This amounts to the most catastrophic fiasco that I have seen on this committee. The project was doomed to failure from the start.”
Labour, which scrapped the overarching energy company obligation and announced a new warm homes plan this week, faces additional bills to remedy affected homes. Only about 3,000 homes had been repaired by last October under a “find and fix” strategy. Jonathan Bean of Fuel Poverty Action said: “Victims of botched retrofits are sick of vague promises – what they want is a public inquiry into this scandal and a guarantee their homes will be fixed.”
Under Eco4, vulnerable and low-income households were to receive subsidised insulation paid for via energy bills. Some insulation companies have since folded, leaving homeowners struggling with repair costs ranging from £250 to over £250,000 in one case. The government said it is auditing every household with external wall insulation under the schemes at no cost to consumers.
