BRE chief executive Peter Bonfield FCIOB, appointed to review options on domestic energy efficiency following the winding-down of the Green Deal, has stressed that ‘consumer protection’ will be the touchstone of proposals he puts forward to government at the end of the review next April.
In July, Bonfield was asked by energy secretary Amber Rudd and communities secretary Greg Clark to advise on future policy on domestic energy.
This followed the government’s decision to cancel funding for the Green Deal Finance Company and to close a Green Deal subsidy stream, in effect signalling the end of state support for it.
Bonfield told Construction Manager that his task covers investigating how consumers engage with the energy-efficiency agenda, the protection on offer for anyone investing in upgrades, and the advice on, and marketing of, energy efficiency. But he stressed that his review would not be a post-mortem of the Green Deal, or seek to apportion blame for its problems.
He also said that his work would not result directly in policy recommendations: “It’s up to government to decide on policy on things like subsidies and regulation, but my review will inform that thinking.
"My commission has ‘consumer protection’ at the top of the agenda, which covers products, warranties, mortgages and indemnity insurance. And the second word is ‘advice’, and getting the right advice through to consumers."
Peter Bonfield FCIOB
“My commission has ‘consumer protection’ at the top of the agenda, which covers products, warranties, mortgages and indemnity insurance. And the second word is ‘advice’, and getting the right advice through to consumers.
“With rising fuel costs, we want to ensure people are comfortable, and the products and systems they’re using work for the consumer, and that they are protected, while also generating skills and jobs.”
Since being appointed in late July, Bonfield said he had already met with small-trader accreditation service TrustMark, and had been in touch with energy companies, mortgage providers, housing associations and DIY chains.
He is also being supported by a team of civil servants drawn from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Department for Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
He said: “When you get this level of interest, how do you move on to the right standards, guidance and enforcement? We’ll be bringing people in to listen to what they’ve got to offer, then joining things together in a robust spearhead.”
Asked if the components of a “new Green Deal” already exist, he said: “There is a strong realisation of what’s worked well, and that we’ve got to be open about what hasn’t worked well, and where we’ve let down consumers. But what we don’t yet have is an ‘overlay’ answer that fixes these problems and drives more of the good things.”
The energy-efficiency review is the third time Bonfield has been charged by government with investigating a problem: in 2013 he led a panel of business leaders to advise on the future of the UK’s woodlands and forestry industries; and in 2014 he looked at how the public sector procures food and catering services.
He hoped to replicate one idea that apparently worked well during the forestry review: launching early pilot projects while the overall review was still underway, so that the final report on energy efficiency – due in April 2016 – would include feedback from live trials.
“In two or three months, we want to work out what some of the problems are, and have pilots that get things moving. By the end of April, we want to report on things that are already moving forward,” he concluded.
