Owners and Landlords pay dearly for Sunak’s eco U-turn - claim

The government should reverse some of its latest energy efficiency policies so owners, landlords and tenants can enjoy cheaper fuel bills

The Social Market Foundation – a cross-party think tank – has warned Rishi Sunak’s rollback of key net zero initiatives will be bad news for British manufacturers, the development of an adequately skilled home heat workforce, and households. 

Far from saving money, households will remain at the mercy of supply chain shocks and volatile energy markets, the SMF claims.

The foundation says the disruption to supply chains during the pandemic and the volatility of the fuel market due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has accelerated the need to move away from the current model for heating our homes.

The foundation insists the Sunak U-turn has been disastrous for the fledgling UK heat pump industry and may prevent prices coming down as production scaled up.

The report says: “The savings for households depends on the Government acting urgently to support the heat pump manufacturing industry developing the necessary workforce.”

The SMF says: 

- Heat pumps should be named as a minimum requirement in the Future Homes Standard, so that all homes built from 2025 onwards will definitely have heat pumps.

- Policymakers need to improve the business case for heat pumps through energy price restructuring, making heating through electricity a more financially viable option for much of the public.

- Fines from non-compliance with Clean Heat Market Mechanism (which will be playing targets on manufacturers to sell low carbon heat pumps sold each year) need to be fund installer training or to contribute to the pot for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

A spokesperson for the SMF says: “The Government’s recent delaying of key net zero initiatives will mean that British households’ energy bills will be determined by Putin’s war or supply chain shocks. 

“It will also mean that the British heat pump industry forgoes a chance to grab the growing global demand for low carbon heating.

“Unless the Government starts investing today in the technology and the workforce needed to realise savings from transitioning to low carbon heating, British consumers, workers and manufacturers will be worse off.”