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| Storm in a teacup: the so-called 'conservatory tax’ will only apply to large extensions |
A survey of nearly 1,300 adults for the charity Consumer Focus found that four
out of 10 people say their winter energy bills were higher this year than
last, despite using less gas because of the mild winter.
In addition, fuel poverty is rising so fast that the number of households
suffering from it will rise from one in four to one in three (nine million
homes), according to one definition of fuel poverty, by 2016. Even if you
don’t suffer from fuel poverty yourself, you will know someone, maybe an
elderly relative or neighbour, or a family with young children, who can’t
properly heat their home and will probably be suffering from some kind of
health problem as a result.
Well, you may say, isn’t the “Green Deal”, launching this autumn, going to
solve the problem? For those unaware of it, the Green Deal is a government
scheme that will enable householders to tap into long-term funding of
several thousand pounds to make energy improvements to their homes. The
scheme’s “golden rule” is that the loan repayments will be lower than the
savings households make on reduced bills.
It hit the headlines when it was revealed that home owners who build
extensions or large conservatories will be mandated to improve the overall
energy efficiency of their homes, using Green Deal funds if required – the
“conservatory tax”.
If you’ll excuse the mixed metaphors, the “conservatory tax” is both a storm
in a teacup and a red herring. Frankly, if you are building an extension, or
a conservatory more than 30 sq m in size, it makes sense to spend a little
more on energy efficiency measures that will benefit your whole house, keep
it warmer and reduce fuel bills.
The real questions we need to ask about the Green Deal are: how can the Government guarantee that any savings made by householders through energy efficiency measures won’t be gobbled up during the period of the Green Deal loan by inflation-busting rises in fuel bills? Will the Green Deal do anything to help the millions of households in fuel poverty?
Jenny Holland, parliamentary campaigner for the Association for the Conservation of Energy, says that going by energy companies’ records, fuel bill savings will be rapidly overtaken by energy price hikes. As for tackling fuel poverty, she says it is highly unlikely that fuel-poor households will want, or be able to, take out Green Deal loans: “Low-income households have often had bad and bruising experiences with debt and won’t want to take on additional loans. From the other side, Green Deal providers who will be looking to get their investment back will avoid these vulnerable households like the plague.”
So what is the solution? A coalition of politicians and energy campaigners believe they have one. From next year, the Treasury will begin to receive billions of pounds of revenue from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme which the Energy Bill Revolution campaign says should be used to target energy efficiency measures at households in fuel poverty.
While energy campaigners such as Consumer Focus think the Green Deal will help many middle-income households who want to improve their homes’ energy efficiency without any upfront costs, they say only a radical solution, like the one proposed by the Energy Bill Revolution, will help low-income households unable to take advantage of Green Deal funds. Surely it is high time we ended the national disgrace that 7,800 people in this country die every year simply because their homes are too cold.
- The campaign to insulate the homes of the fuel poor: energybillrevolution.org
- Buildings Research Establishment: bre.co.uk
- Association for the Conservation of Energy: ukace.org
- Consumer Focus: consumerfocus.org.uk
- Green Deal: decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/green-deal/green-deal.aspx
The real questions we need to ask about the Green Deal are: how can the Government guarantee that any savings made by householders through energy efficiency measures won’t be gobbled up during the period of the Green Deal loan by inflation-busting rises in fuel bills? Will the Green Deal do anything to help the millions of households in fuel poverty?
Jenny Holland, parliamentary campaigner for the Association for the Conservation of Energy, says that going by energy companies’ records, fuel bill savings will be rapidly overtaken by energy price hikes. As for tackling fuel poverty, she says it is highly unlikely that fuel-poor households will want, or be able to, take out Green Deal loans: “Low-income households have often had bad and bruising experiences with debt and won’t want to take on additional loans. From the other side, Green Deal providers who will be looking to get their investment back will avoid these vulnerable households like the plague.”
So what is the solution? A coalition of politicians and energy campaigners believe they have one. From next year, the Treasury will begin to receive billions of pounds of revenue from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme which the Energy Bill Revolution campaign says should be used to target energy efficiency measures at households in fuel poverty.
While energy campaigners such as Consumer Focus think the Green Deal will help many middle-income households who want to improve their homes’ energy efficiency without any upfront costs, they say only a radical solution, like the one proposed by the Energy Bill Revolution, will help low-income households unable to take advantage of Green Deal funds. Surely it is high time we ended the national disgrace that 7,800 people in this country die every year simply because their homes are too cold.
- The campaign to insulate the homes of the fuel poor: energybillrevolution.org
- Buildings Research Establishment: bre.co.uk
- Association for the Conservation of Energy: ukace.org
- Consumer Focus: consumerfocus.org.uk
- Green Deal: decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/green-deal/green-deal.aspx
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