The end of Energy Performance Certificates? Government told to scrap ‘outdated’ scheme
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) ought to be scrapped because they are outdated and not fit for purpose, according to some MPs.
This is the view of an influential group of MPs who have issued a damning report on the government’s attempts to reach its own Net Zero target by 2050.
The Environmental Audit Committee, which consists of MPs of all parties under the leadership of Conservative Philip Dunne, says EPCs are outdated and currently do not support energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures.
Instead EPCs should be replaced by Building Renovation Passports, “developed with an approved, standardised methodology.”
EPCs were first introduced by the UK government on August 1 2007, under the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings; at the time they were to be part of the ill-fated Home Information Pack, scrapped in 2010, but the EPCs themselves were maintained with all party support at the time.
Today there are three EPCs – the domestic certificate of the kind dealt with by agents routinely, for the sale or rental of a residential property; secondly there is a commercial property EPC; and thirdly there is a display EPC, for public buildings.
The call to scrap domestic EPCs comes as part of the Environment Audit Committee’s wide-reaching recommendations, and its equally wide-ranging criticism of the government’s attempts to reach its own legally-enforced Net Zero targets for 2050.
Broadly, the MPs say the government appears to have underestimated the costs to decarbonise UK homes by 2050, at between £35 billion and £65 billion.
Their report says that does not include properties such as those with solid walls, or those in conservation areas which could make energy efficiency installations more challenging.
Some 19 million UK properties need energy efficiency upgrades to meet EPC band C, and the committee has heard in evidence that it can cost on average £18,000 per home – far greater than the Government’s estimate.
It says that to stimulate activity, schemes such as the Home Upgrade Grants, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and phase two of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme should be front-loaded and rolled out without delay.
It adds: “The Green Homes Grant, although a welcome initiative, has been laden with lengthy bureaucracy, which bizarrely has led to reports of businesses laying off staff to cover loss of income rather than creating green jobs as heralded.”
Committee chairperson Philip Dunne says:
“Making 19 million homes ready for net zero Britain by 2050 is an enormous challenge that the government appears to have not yet grasped.
“In the next 29 years, the government must improve energy efficiency upgrades and roll out low carbon heating measures: a material start must be made now.
“Government investment to improve energy efficiency has been woefully inadequate. The £9 billion that the government pledged at the election was welcome, but 16 months on, there appears to be no plan nor meaningful delivery.
“Funding allocated for the Green Homes Grant has not been spent, with only £125 million worth of vouchers – of the £1.5 billion budget – issued.
“Further schemes that endure must be rolled out, boosting the government’s credibility with householders and their contractors that it is determined to decarbonise the nation’s homes. This will give confidence to businesses that they can invest in upskilling and green jobs.
“Consumer advice must also make clear the necessity and benefits of retrofits: although installations may be disruptive for a short period, in the long run consumers can enjoy warmer homes with lower energy bills. This must be properly reflected in the system that assesses energy efficiency: EPCs are outdated and should be replaced with Building Renovation Passports, which set a clear pathway to decarbonise homes.
“Realism needs to be injected into the government. A much better understanding of cost, pace, scale and feasibility of skills development is desperately needed for net zero Britain.”
Other recommendations of the committee include:
- The government should set out how energy efficiency improvements can be reached in homes currently out of scope in its “cost effective, practical and affordable” criteria;
- Schemes such as the Home Upgrade Grants, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and phase two of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme should all have their funding front-loaded and the schemes rolled out without delay;
- All allocated funding for the Green Homes Grant that has not been spent by the end of March 2021 should be rolled over;
- The social rented sector should be subject to the same standards as the private rented sector;
- Government should set out an ambitious but realistic trajectory for owner occupiers to achieve minimum EPC C standards in its Heat and Buildings Strategy;
- The Chancellor should reconsider proposals to reduce to five per cent the rate of VAT on the labour element of refurbishment and renovations, and reinstate the reduced rate of VAT payable on Energy Saving Materials at five per cent while expanding its scope to cover energy storage, heat pumps and electric vehicle charging. Up until 2019, certain clean technologies were eligible for a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent;
- Government should work with the financial sector and major landlords, including local authorities and other social landlords, to stimulate renovation through green mortgages, green finance and low-cost loans;
- The government should consider how the national infrastructure bank could be used as a vehicle to finance energy efficiency given the scale of success achieved in Germany through its state funded low interest loan scheme;
- The government’s basic energy advice service available in England should be upgraded to a specialist bespoke advice service similar to the Home Energy Scotland network.
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Main photo courtesy of Pixabay
