A government-backed independent review is recommending that a raft of new measures, including a consumer “quality mark”, are put in place to renew consumer confidence in making their homes more energy efficient.
The long-awaited Bonfield review, entitled Each Home Counts, says that despite the good intentions of the government and activities of responsible companies there have been too many instances of poor-quality installations being made by companies that do not have the skills, quality levels or core values required to operate responsibly in the market.
It sets out a tough consumer framework which includes the setting up of:
- A new Consumer Charter which ensures consumers receive excellent levels of customer service, a clear redress process and guarantee protection;
- A code of conduct which sets out how companies behave, operate and report, the requirements of which must be met or exceeded for the company to operate;
- Codes of Practice which are relevant to the installations of each measure under consideration so that the risk of poor-quality installation is minimised.
The review was commissioned in July 2015 in the wake of the failure of the Green Deal to drive more people to make their homes more energy efficient and a number of reports pointing to problems with work carried out.
Domestic buildings are responsible for approximately a quarter of UK carbon dioxide emissions and with estimates that two thirds of existing properties will be still standing in 2050 it is essential that more must be done to make homes more efficient to meet carbon reduction targets. About 5.5 million homes in Great Britain lack cavity wall insulation and 92% of solid walled homes are uninsulated.
Peter Bonfield, chief executive of the BRE, said: “My review seeks to ensure that in the future, conventional measures, such as insulation, always deliver the quality levels and outcomes the consumers have every right to expect, underpinned by the protection, service, and advice so critical for householders.”
Bonfield said that an implementation board had been established to work through the 27 recommendations and a strategic government board has been proposed.
In a foreword, ministers Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Gavin Barwell said: “Establishing a clear and robust standards framework is fundamental to achieving consumer trust and to encourage investment and promote innovation.
“The review shows the potential for a new approach that will increase consumer trust and help create the stability and confidence which industry needs to invest in skills and new products over the long term.”
Bevan Jones of design consultancy Sustainable Homes said: “The Quality Mark is a good thing for the industry, but it must have weight. If properly backed by enforcement then it will work. If it leads to quality as in the form of the best Passivhaus schemes then it will work. If it simply becomes a badge for installers to win more work then the Bonfield Review will have been for nothing.”
Liz Male MBE, chairman of TrustMark and a member of the review’s Implementation Board, said: “The publication of this report is just one milestone on the journey, and there is much more work going on already. But this review does present the most important opportunity I’ve seen in the last 10 years to bring the key government departments, industry bodies and consumer protection schemes like TrustMark together, with a more coordinated approach to raising standards in this vital area of home improvement.
“We know what exists now is simply not good enough. The extent of poor practices and sub-standard work is unacceptable, and the families affected will need a great deal of support over the coming months and years to rectify the damage that has been done.
“The UK is also far too fragmented in the way we attempt to certify technical competence, identify quality or provide consumer protection. There are too many uncoordinated and duplicating quality schemes promoted by central government, let alone the plethora of badges offered in the private sector.
“This is not an effective way to build investor or public confidence in a fast-developing new area of home improvements, and it’s not helpful to the thousands of excellent businesses and tradespeople who work in this sector, nor the customers they seek to serve.
“Indeed, if we can get the new quality standards framework right for the Bonfield Review then this can also support work to tackle poor customer service and rogue traders in other areas of the domestic repair, maintenance and improvement industry, and even beyond that to other markets too.”
Download the report here
