CLASP Green Deal Event

Comments and Questions

5th December 2011

These notes will be shared with DECC. If you have any additional points to add please email them to asap.

Round-table Notes

Challenges

·  LAs / RPs unwilling to increase their balance sheet

·  Funder consent

·  Loss of control and exposure to supply chain

·  Cost of finance

·  Unable to guarantee installs – reputation of GD provider

·  Confidence in the programme – FiT example!

·  Liabilities

·  How to fund condition surveys?

·  How to bring properties to acceptable condition?

·  Staffing

·  Take-up

·  How to sell and unknown

·  Risk of low/no political buy-in. Need to be compelled.

·  Open market may lead to confusion and mis-selling

·  Reluctant to promote something with little certainty.

·  LAs need to talk to energy suppliers

·  Not on radar of senior officers

Opportunities

·  To influence investment in areas

·  Catalyst for wider regen and investment

·  Make some money

·  Provide a better deal to the consumer – cost of finance

·  Drive economic regen within an LA area

·  Raising profile of carbon reduction / energy efficiency measures

·  Engaging those “none-tree-huggers”

·  Potential for LA to procure energy and sell onto town (as per Dutch examples)?

Other policies and support required

·  HECA rewrite – forcing action?

·  Energy Companies must fund property survey. Could be done via LA because they are trusted.

·  Phased transition needed from CERT, how will this be handled? How to keep momentum and trust with suppliers?

·  Needs interim targets for activity in Green Deal, ECO, amount of improvement so can get early warning if not on target.

·  Any obligation for joint working between LA and Energy Supplier?

·  HA/LA position statements needed

Other questions

·  Can LAs dictate minimum standard of achievements for GD or ECO? Can LAs say GD Providers can only work in their area if they achieve (e.g.) EPC “C”?

·  What sticks/carrots are there for smaller (non Met District) LAs to get involved?

E.g. If there’s no CRC, no indicators, few staff (1/3/ reduction in capacity recently), no money.

What are the incentives for LAs without national indicators?

·  If savings are not realised will we be locking in debt?

·  Is there an Eco-Threshold?

Questions From Panel Discussion

To All

·  What do you think should be the next steps all RSLs and LAs should do after today?

·  What do you think is the incentive for a LA given scope is outside of statutory duties & NIs?

·  A recent survey has shown that the public have more confidence in garage mechanics and gambling websites than government, LAs and energy companies. How will GD be marketed and by who, to ensure maximum public awareness and buy-in during 2012?

To Anne Parkes (AGMA)

·  You mentioned training front-line staff to work with people to bring about behavioural change and working in partnership with skills providers. How is AGMA/GM working directly with residents/groups with a view to the Green Deal?

To Steve Ives (DECC)

·  Can you clarify customer protection for low energy users? Is there a secondary cap below GD?

·  Is the decision already made that the affordable warmth protection of ECO will not apply in social housing? Might this change?

·  The notes provided were “Local Authorities and the Green deal”. What does DECC think/want LAs to do? Where will we get the resources from?

·  Why not required ECO to result in an EPC score of say “c” to ensure a reasonable level is achieved from the intervention? Otherwise we might get lots of ECO activity but still have properties that need revisits.

·  Will the Green Deal assessment take into account the whole life costs of measures such as servicing and routine maintenance? If so who will deliver the maintenance? If not who will finance servicing and maintenance over the life of the measure?