Westminster Hall debate on energy efficiency and the Clean Growth Strategy

[ALEO Admin]

On Thursday 8 March, MPs held a general debate in Westminster Hall on energy efficiency and the Clean Growth Strategy.

During the debate Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, said she will be attempting to to “turbocharge” the smart meter rollout and that she wants "ECO to be targeted at the people who need it most. They may not be the ones who are currently in the frame; they may not be known. We know that local authorities know where they are, so we want to target the ECO system much more at those who need it".

However, Alan Whitehead, Shadow Minister for Energy, said the level of funding committed to ECO was insufficient to upgrade the nation’s older and less fuel efficient homes, and that government could not continue to rely on industry levies to deliver its social and environmental energy policy goals.

Conservative backbench MP Antoinette Sandbach, who sponsored the debate, called for the government to require that homes’ energy efficiency be considered as part of the criteria for assessing mortgage affordability.

In response, Clair Perry said that "Work is already under way on mortgage lenders who might pick up on the fact that someone could save £700 on their energy bills by having a better energy performance certificate. The green finance taskforce that I set up with the Treasury last year will be reporting shortly".

The full debate can be watched from the archive of parliamentlive.tv at:
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/f ... n=13:29:42

A transcript is also available from:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2 ... thStrategy

For a synopsis of the debate see: https://utilityweek.co.uk/perry-promise ... r-rollout/
https://utilityweek.co.uk/perry-promise ... r-rollout/