Clearview National September 2015 - Issue 166 | Page 56
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The End of The
Green Deal
The Government has scrapped the
Green Deal but given little indication
of what will replace it. Ryan Johnson,
Managing Director, Emplas, shares
his thoughts with Clearview.
»»With an aim of
improving the energy efficiency
of more than 14 million homes
by 2020, the Green Deal was
launched by the Government
in October 2012 but it started
to stumble and stutter almost
immediately. Too much
complexity meant that industry
and consumers simply never got
to grips with it.
In its first year, fewer than
1,000 households signedup for energy efficient home
improvements through the
scheme. There were too many
stages, too many assessments.
The Green Deal loan itself, which
was paid back through electricity
bills, was too complicated and
the interest rate was too high
compared to other finance
options.
For our own industry, long
and protracted discussions about
whether windows and glazing
would or wouldn’t be included
in the scheme meant that it
never really secured meaningful
industry buy-in.
The Golden Rule – the
principle that the cost of the work
must be less than the expected
savings over the length of the
Green Deal programme, was
simple in theory, but less so in
practice in glazing, introducing
new partial payments for
homeowners where the cost of
delivery were judged not to meet
the Rule.
Further complexities around
qualification as a Green Deal
Installer, payments and routes
to market suppressed industry
take-up. This was evident from
the off. The Emplas State of the
Market Survey revealed that just
two years after its launch 98% of
those polled did not expect to win
any business through the Green
Deal in 2014.
This represented a hardening
position compared to 2013,
when a third of respondents said
that they hoped to win business
through the programme. None of
those polled as part of this year’
study had won business through
the Green Deal in the preceding
12 months.
The Green Deal, to quote
a footballing analogy, ‘lost
the dressing room’ and lost it
almost right at the start of the
programme. Government failed
to make it accessible to industry
and without its support and
the negative headlines which
accompanied the scheme, it failed
56 » SE P 2015 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
to move forward with any real
momentum.
But we must also be careful
not to dismiss it or the principles
which lay behind it. That the
£120m allocated to the Green
Deal Home Improvement Fund
in July 2014, was hoovered
up by homeowners in just six
weeks, is evidence of the demand
for energy efficient home
improvements.
Announcing the Government’s
decision to scrap the Green
Deal at the end of last month,
Energy and Climate Change
Secretary, Amber Rudd said that
the Government could no longer
afford to operate the scheme.
Pledging a commitment to
energy efficiency in the future she
said: “Together we can achieve
this Go vernment’s ambition to
make homes warmer and drive
down bills for one million more
homes by 2020 - and to do so
at the best value for money for
taxpayers.”
Consciously or sub-consciously,
she has hit the nail on the head.
The Green Deal was developed
in the absence of effective
consultation with industry and at
what cost to it and Government.
If it wants industry to step-up
and support it in reducing UK
emissions, it needs to think
far longer term and far more
simply.
The Green Deal has at best
raised awareness but ultimately
failed to deliver a meaningful
impact. A Government which is
focused on cutting bureaucracy
and state administration might
now wish to consider a cut in
VAT on energy efficient home
improvements. This would be
more effective and far simpler
to administer, delivering direct
benefits to industry and to
consumers.