The Independent Review of Net Zero, chaired by Chris Skidmore MP, was published as Mission Zero, the week ending 13 January 2023 culminating in its release1. The review sets out recommendations on how the UK should reach its net zero targets, and its publication followed a week of meetings on consumer protection in the green heating and insulation sector1.
David Cowburn, Chief Operating Officer at NAPIT, wrote that the week included discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority, which he said continues to look at consumer protection in the UK green heating and insulation sector, and with MCS Certified chief executive Ian Rippin1. NAPIT also launched a Retrofit Installers Working Group with TrustMark and other certification bodies, focused on quality assurance checks and mechanisms to protect consumers from noncompliant work1.
"With the week culminating in the publication of Mission Zero, the result of Chris Skidmore MP's Independent Review of Net Zero"
The review's recommendations to Government include accelerating the development of training and installation standards, setting a policy framework and supportive investment environment to encourage reskilling and greater training opportunities in the heat pump sector, and working with local authorities, industry and certification bodies to explore how listings of certified installers could be made publicly available1. NAPIT said the retrofitting of around 26 million homes by 2050 is needed to meet the Government's net zero targets1.
On enforcement, NAPIT cited a case in which one contractor received a 30-month custodial sentence following a Trading Standards investigation into repeated attempts to unlawfully gain certification and incorrectly advertising certification status1. Cowburn said he gave evidence in court twice in that case1. NAPIT reported a significant increase in installers seeking to train and become MCS Certified to install solar PV panels, electrical energy storage systems, electric vehicle charge points and heat pumps, and said certified solar PV installer numbers and notifications have grown at a rate not seen since the height of the Feed-in Tariff1.
Why it matters for households
The review's recommendations touch on the practical side of home energy work: who installs measures such as insulation, heat pumps and solar PV, and how households can check that an installer is certified. NAPIT links consumer confidence directly to installation practices, and describes consumer protection in green heating and insulation as under scrutiny because of an increase in reported bad practice, which it attributes in part to recent growth and the relative immaturity of the supply chain1. It also reports that rising energy costs are prompting consumers to consider home improvements to reduce energy demand1.
For a household weighing up measures that affect its own energy independence, the points raised concern verification rather than technology: certification of installers and products, on-site technical assessments of installer competence, and the prospect of publicly available listings of certified installers1. NAPIT states that certification and training are vital to enhancing consumer protection and confidence1.
What happens next
The National Consumers Federation is preparing a net zero position paper and a 2023 congress focus on the area, according to NAPIT1. NAPIT said it will continue working with scheme owners, government departments and certification bodies on consumer protection and on promoting the use of registered, qualified and competent installers1. No timetable for government action on the review's recommendations has been reported1.
Sources1 cited
- napit-consumer-net-zero, napit.org.uk