Public Accounts Committee publishes report on faulty energy efficiency installations

The Public Accounts Committee published a report in January 2026 on faulty energy efficiency installations, finding that 30,000 homes have defects and recommending independent supervision of wall insulation retrofit schemes¹. The committee's findings follow testing of installations carried out under government schemes, which found that a majority of External Wall Insulation (EWI) installations and a large minority of Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) installations had at least one major technical non-compliance¹.

"The results showed that a majority (92%) of External Wall Insulation (EWI) installations and a large minority (27%) of Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) installations under these schemes were found to have at least one major technical non-compliance"

The schemes concerned are the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS, formerly ECO+), both of which are now closed or closing to new work¹. GBIS closed to applications in March 2026 and was not extended beyond that date¹. ECO4 funding through consumers' energy bills stopped after March 2026, though the government has since extended ECO4 to run until 31 December 2026 to meet existing targets and remediate non-compliant installations¹. Major suppliers are either no longer advertising ECO4 or accepting applications¹.

The government has said it will consult this year on options for bringing the oversight of energy efficiency and microgeneration installations for government schemes under closer government control, and on the role of the Warm Homes Agency¹. The Warm Homes Agency is intended to begin "initial operations" in 2027 and will consolidate the existing delivery landscape, with Salix closing and its functions, alongside some from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and relevant roles in Ofgem, brought together into a single executive agency¹.

The wider policy context is the Warm Homes Plan, published on 21 January 2026, which sets out over £5 billion of investment in home upgrades by 2030, comprising over £4.4 billion grant funding plus £600 million from the Warm Homes Fund targeted at low-income households¹. The Warm Homes Fund will have a total of £5 billion in financial transactions to deploy, including £1.7 billion already allocated to low- and zero-interest consumer loans and £0.6 billion of low-income funding, with the residual £2.7 billion available as innovative finance for the home upgrade sector¹. Details of the consumer loan offer had not been published at the time of the briefing; the government said in February 2026 that it would provide more detail "in due course"¹.

Why it matters for households

For a household with a faulty wall insulation installation, the practical consequences are defects that may not be visible, may not have been identified at the time of installation, and may affect how the property performs. The finding that 92% of tested EWI installations and 27% of tested IWI installations had at least one major technical non-compliance means the problem is not confined to a small number of cases¹. Remediation is now a stated purpose of the ECO4 extension to 31 December 2026, which gives affected households a route to have work put right, though the schemes that funded the original work are closed or closing to new applications¹. The proposed consultation on oversight and the planned Warm Homes Agency point to a change in how installations are supervised, but neither has yet taken effect¹. For homes considering insulation as a route to lower bills and greater energy independence, the report's central point is that the quality of installation, not only the measure installed, determines whether the expected savings are realised. The Energy Efficiency of the UK Housing Stock and Insulation, Glazing and Energy Independence guides set out the wider picture, while Cavity Wall Insulation Problems, Guarantees and Claims and The ECO4 and GBIS Insulation Failures cover defects and remediation.

What happens next

The government has said it will consult this year on oversight of energy efficiency and microgeneration installations for government schemes and on the role of the Warm Homes Agency¹. The Warm Homes Agency is expected to begin initial operations in 2027¹. ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026¹. GBIS closed to applications in March 2026 and has not been extended¹.

Sources1 cited

1. [](https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9585/CBP-9585.pdf), researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk