In a scathing report, MPs have revealed that thousands of homes across the UK are at risk of health and safety issues due to the “catastrophic failure” of two government insulation schemes. The Public Accounts Committee has found major defects in over 30,000 properties fitted with insulation under the ECO 4 and GBIS programmes, which began in 2022.
The committee stated that the “level of non-compliance” by insulation installers was so extreme that the matter should be referred to the Serious Fraud Office for investigation. Less than 10% of affected homes have been fixed since the problems emerged in October 2024, and the report warns that the likelihood of further damage increases the longer households have to wait for help.
The schemes, which were meant to make homes warmer, reduce carbon emissions and help the poorest lower their energy bills, have cost billions of pounds in public money over the past 15 years. However, the committee said the programmes were “so badly designed they were almost ‘bound to fail'”, and received “virtually no attention” from senior government officials.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has disputed the committee’s findings, stating it is “categorically untrue there are widespread health and safety risks”. A spokesperson claimed that “for the vast majority, this means a home may not be as energy efficient as it should be”.
Nevertheless, the report criticises Trustmark, the organisation in charge of overseeing the quality of insulation work, for not notifying officials of high levels of faulty external wall insulation until October 2024. Trustmark has acknowledged the “completely unacceptable” examples of poor workmanship and says it is committed to ensuring strong consumer protection.
The government has stated that affected homes will be fixed at no cost to the consumer, with the original installer liable for the repairs and a guarantee covering up to £20,000 when an installer goes bust or fails to address the problem adequately. However, the committee warned that repairs can cost significantly more, with one case in Luton projected to exceed £250,000.
MPs accused the Department of downplaying the scale of the problem, and said their plan was “not credible”. The report also revealed that the National Audit Office previously estimated the insulation schemes could have involved between £56m and £165m worth of fraud, though the committee believes the true level is much higher.
