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Written question asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 November 2008.

Housing: Energy Conservation

Question
asked Her Majesty's Government:What grants are available to encourage energy conservation by owners of houses with (a) no foundations, (b) no cavity walls or (c) little or no loft space, and what further initiatives they plan to take to increase the number of people employed in energy conservation work.
Answer

Finding innovative, cost effective and attractive ways of insulating hard to treat homes will be core to both our carbon saving and fuel poverty alleviation ambitions. The carbon emissions reduction target (CERT), although specifically designed to deliver carbon savings as cost effectively as possible, includes incentives to encourage suppliers to promote more costly measures appropriate for hard-to-treat homes, such as solid wall insulation. This has resulted in some 40,000 solid-wall homes benefiting from insulation in the past three years, with a further 100,000 expected to be treated by 2011. There will also be a focus on improving the energy efficiency of hard-to-treat properties, including via solid wall insulation, through the green neighbourhoods scheme, announced by Hilary Benn in April; and the new £350 million community energy saving obligation on energy suppliers and electricity generators announced by the Prime Minister on 11 September. We are working closely with energy suppliers and the insulation industry to maximise insulation activity under CERT this winter. There are now some 4,000 people able to carry out insulation work, plus support staff—an increase of almost 500 staff since April 2008. The Prime Minister's announcement on 11 September for a £1 billion homes energy saving programme will also increase the need for people employed in energy conservation work. The new energy efficiency employment (EEE) initiative, also announced in September, will match people made redundant from the contracting house building industry with employment opportunities in insulating homes and businesses and improving energy efficiency across the country. The first stage of the initiative, when it is launched at the end of November, will provide access to information and training that will help more people to secure insulation related jobs. Similar routes will be developed to improve access to other energy related jobs.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
705 c65-6WA; 5805
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Conservation Housing Energy Insulation Staff
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk