MCS published a six-week consultation on proposed changes to its scheme on 2 June 2023, setting out a redevelopment intended to improve the robustness of the scheme as a quality mark and to bolster safeguards for consumers1. The announcement followed the Competition and Markets Authority's report of 31 May 2023 summarising consumer protection provisions in the UK green heating and insulation sector, which MCS said it welcomed2.
The CMA report followed a call for information earlier in the year covering consumer experience, business practices and the standards landscape, and makes recommendations on all three themes2. More than 40 stakeholder organisations responded to that call for information, and MCS said it responded and is referenced heavily throughout the report2. MCS highlighted in particular the CMA's conclusion that "without consumer confidence in this developing sector, there is a risk that people are put off from buying green heating"2.
The consultation proposals centre on a new "Customer Duty", with obligations to safeguard customers embedded directly into the scheme itself, and on assessing the quality delivered to customers rather than back-office systems and paperwork1.
"We wish to deploy a new scheme, focused on establishing the evidence of quality as delivered to customers and less on back-office systems and paperwork. In addition, we plan for a step change in customer service, support and protections."
MCS said the review behind the proposals examined how the scheme operates and how consumer protections are delivered through it1. The consultation ran for six weeks from 5 June until 17 July 2023 and received hundreds of responses from across the sector, with over 50 per cent of respondents installers of renewable energy and heating technologies3. MCS published the outcome on 5 October 2023, saying the majority of proposals gained support, including restructuring the scheme to place consumer protection at its heart, simplifying scheme documents, refining MCS Installation Standards to become solely technical requirements, and removing the mandatory requirement to purchase insurance-backed guarantees3. Some proposals were not taken forward because the sector said they did not fully address the challenges highlighted in the consultation3. MCS later stated that aspects of the proposal with strong industry support were proceeded with, while those lacking support were not advanced, and that some proposals have changed since publication to reflect industry feedback and learning4.
Why it matters for households
MCS certification is the quality mark attached to installers of small-scale renewables and heating, and it is the route by which installations are registered for government support such as the Smart Export Guarantee and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The scheme's rules therefore sit behind the paperwork a household receives, the standards an installation is held to, and the route available when something goes wrong. The proposed shift towards assessing the quality of systems as installed, rather than back-office paperwork, and towards MCS taking ownership of complaints and dispute management, concerns what evidence of quality a household can rely on after work is finished3. The removal of the mandatory requirement to purchase insurance-backed guarantees is also relevant to the financial protection attached to an installation, and MCS has since consulted separately on its financial protection requirements4. The CMA's stated concern, that a lack of consumer confidence risks putting people off buying green heating, frames the changes as a condition for household uptake of home-generated energy2. The detail of how the new scheme will operate in practice has not been reported beyond the proposals described.
What happens next
MCS said the new scheme, Standards and associated documents and processes would be published before the end of 2023, with the redeveloped scheme launching in summer 2024 following a period of transition3. MCS also said it would launch a project proactively contacting every consumer with an MCS certified installation to measure satisfaction3. A March 2026 update on MCS's consultation outcome page states that some proposals have changed since publication to reflect industry feedback and learning4.
Sources4 cited
- Consultation: MCS Scheme Redevelopment - MCS, mcscertified.com
- MCS welcomes CMA report on ‘consumer protection in the green heating and insulation sector’ - MCS, mcscertified.com
- MCS announces plans for future redevelopment - MCS, mcscertified.com
- Scheme Consultation Outcome - MCS, mcscertified.com