Liberal Democrat ministers are poised for a relaunch of their ‘Green Deal’, in an effort to get the energy-saving scheme off the ground, according to reports. As a result, £244 million in loan payments will be made available for people to pay for energy-efficiency measures, such as insulation or boilers.

The decision to relaunch the government scheme will be seen by many as an admission that the Green Deal, which was originally launched earlier this year, has failed.

Statistics

According to the Department of Energy & Climate Change, 56% of households who have had an assessment carried out under the Green Deal have installed at least one energy efficiency measure, while a further 6% are in the process.

Those figures mark a strong contrast with previous figures, released in July, which showed that after more than 58,000 assessments, only 132 households were in the process of having work installed and only one household had had work completed.

Part of the reason for the discrepancy is because the DECC figures include homes installing measures via alternative means, while the previous research only included households paying for measures through the Green Deal alone.

Debate

The Lib Dems have faced opposition to the scheme within the coalition, with many Conservative ministers remaining sceptical over the effectiveness of the policy. Others have criticised it for trapping people on middle-incomes into higher debt levels.

However, the energy secretary has defended the plan’s success to date.

“Green Deal assessments are proving to be extremely valuable and are leading to householders investing in energy saving measures,” said Ed Davey. “Some people are using Green Deal finance; others are paying in different ways. And of course people should do whatever works best for them.”

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