The National Assembly Government needs to look carefully at how a boiler scrappage scheme is brought in Wales, in England at the moment the scheme in England aims to help households with £400 off the cost of a new boiler, this was announced by the chancellor in the pre-budget report.
Here in Wales, where we will receive just over £4m from the UK government following the December announcement, we need to make sure that the money is targeted to do the most good. The proposed scheme is certainly worth looking at in Wales, and it is right that there should be more emphasis on fuel-poor households so that we can make best use of the funds available.
In England , the UK government plans for the scheme to help households cut their energy bills, to reduce CO2 emissions and to support thousands of jobs. In England, up to 125,000 households may benefit from the scheme, which may cost the government £50m.
In England, at the moment people who own their homes or landlords who rent homes are eligible to participate, but social landlords, housing associations and boiler installers are not eligible. We have an opportunity here to make good use of limited funds, so lets work it out before any hasty announcement is made. Time to look and think before we leap.
The boiler scrappage scheme is there to stimulate economy not tackle fuel poverty, there are other mechanisms in Wales, for all the areas you mentioned such as HEES, CESP and CERT. The funds should be directed at what it was designed for, the economy and to get welsh plumbers working.
ReplyDeleteTrue - it's not just plumbers though - far more could be accomplished with a coherent, co-ordinated programme to improving house insulation, retofit existing housing stock to make it more energy and heat efficient. Not to mention ensuring that all new housing stock (public or private) has the highest possible rate of thermal efficency.
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