The Government has increased the target for Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) measures from 17,000 a year to 21,000 a year in response to evidence provided by INCA on behalf of the external wall insulation industry.
Last year, the Insulated Render and Cladding Association (INCA) called on the Government to double the target for Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) measures in the 2017 ECO transition period and welcomes the 24% increase.
Analysis undertaken by AgilityEco on behalf of INCA showed that the cost estimates in the Government Impact Assessment were overstated by more than £200 million and that the ECO support required to deliver SWI was much lower than assumed. Whilst the increase has been welcomed, INCA believes the target still falls short and further support could have been provided to support the eight million British households living in solid wall homes.
Fuel poverty cannot be effectively tackled without a strong focus on SWI as almost half of Britain’s ‘fuel poor’ families live in solid wall homes. INCA will continue to work with Government to ensure that the design of the new scheme from April 2018 is based on evidence from the industry.
INCA Chairman Mitch Gee said: “I am pleased that the evidence gathered by AgilityEco from INCA members has been recognised by the Government; however, the ECO SWI target still falls short of what is required to really start to address the 8 million families living in solid walled homes including half of Britain’s fuel poor.
"As the leading trade association for external wall insulation, INCA will continue to provide robust evidence and expertise to support Government in its development of energy efficiency schemes.”
