Plans to encourage Britons to switch from gas boilers to heat pumps under a £450million scheme have sparked a fresh backlash.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) flagship programme to champion heat pumps, which can cost up to £13,000.
In the DESNZ’s own words, the scheme provides a “grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler”.
But official figures show one in six grants are being issued to people building their own homes from scratch – and who therefore have no existing fossil fuel heating system to “replace”.
Data from energy regulator Ofgem revealing the £7,500 Government-issued grants are going to self-build properties has now raised fresh questions from an industry leader about the BUS scheme’s efficacy.
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Mike Foster, CEO of industry body Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), told Express.co.uk: “The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been criticised in the past for giving relatively well-off households a cash bung of £7,500 to replace their boilers with a heat pump.
“The average cost is over £13,000, so those receiving the grant need large chunks of cash already at their disposal to pay for this upgrade.”
Top Tory Brexiteer Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg was also sceptical of the scheme.
The former Cabinet minister told Express.co.uk: “No one will install heat pumps unless bribed to do so.”
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Mr Foster went on to attack the idea of the BUS being used a a straight cash bung for self-builders.
He said: “But what taxpayers probably didn’t know, is that one in six grants go to those who are building their own home – self-builders.
“There is no boiler to upgrade, it is just a straight cash handout to reduce the cost of self-building a home.
“Very few people can afford to do this but so far, the taxpayer has shelled out over £20million directly to self-build homes.”
The industry representative went on to question whether the taxpayer funds could be better spent financing public education and healthcare needs instead of Britons with enough cash at their disposal to build their own home.
Mr Foster also criticised the DESNZ for appearing to use the eligibility criteria as a means of artificially inflating the success of the national drive for UK homes to install heat pumps.
He said: “In the language of the Treasury, it is ‘deadweight’ expenditure, there is no carbon saving; no boilers have been replaced; it is simply a way of inflating the success of a scheme.
“After this week’s budget, taxpayers will be surprised that there is the cash floating around to do this.
“They probably think any spare cash should go to schools and hospitals first, not financing self-build homes.”
The DESNZ pointed out that self-build properties were eligble for the BUS when approached for comment.
Commenting on the BUS scheme earlier this year, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “We recently made our Boiler Upgrade Scheme one of the most generous schemes in Europe.
“Applications are now up by nearly 50% compared to last year.
“Helping people, rather than forcing them, to make the right choices for their homes will always be my priority.”
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said: “Our approach to reaching net zero works and because of increased heat pump grants, there’s never been a better time to make the switch.”
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2024-03-10 11:39:00Z
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