Responding to the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee letter to the Government warning that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is failing to deliver, the UK100 cross-party network of local authorities claims local leaders are the key to rescuing the scheme.
The letter from Baroness Parminter, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee sent to Lord Callan on Wednesday, 22 February, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, cites evidence from UK100 on the importance of local authority coordination and argues that local authorities could help increase BUS take-up.
Responding to the letter, UK100’s Interim Chief Executive, Jason Torrance, said: “We’re pleased to see the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee highlight the flaws with the current Boiler Upgrade Scheme and recognise that it is local authorities that are best placed to rescue the programme from failure.
“Low carbon heating is essential for making our homes warmer, more liveable and cheaper to run. To turbo-boost take-up and have any chance of reaching the Government’s target of 600,000 heat pump installations by 2028, local authorities should lead on delivery.
“A top-down, market-driven, individual consumer approach has proven insufficient. Instead, as the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee argues, local leaders are well-positioned to work with local communities and coordinate low-carbon heat installations at scale — including on a street-by-street basis — while maximising the benefits of economies of scale.
“Like the honourable members of the committee, UK100 is keen to hear the Government’s response to the question: ‘What consideration have you given — or will you give — to designing in an explicit role for local authorities within the BUS, and providing incentives for them to undertake this role?'”
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