As energy bills rise for thousands of families in Barnet, new analysis from the Labour Party has shown that at least 80,536 households in Barnet would benefit from Labour’s proposal to upgrade the energy efficiency of every home that needs it.
Making homes warmer by installing heating-saving measures to walls, lofts, and ceilings is one of the best ways to cut energy bills over the long term. The UK has some of the draughtiest, leakiest housing stock in Europe, and it is estimated that a proper national scheme on energy efficiency could save the average household up to £400 off their annual energy bills.
The Labour Party has pledged to lead a national mission to upgrade the energy efficiency of every home that needs it over the next decade. This means that every home that is currently rated below EPC Band C would be eligible for a combination of grants and loans from Government to help them make their homes better insulated.
This scheme would cut energy bills for families, as well as making the UK less dependent on Russian gas, whilst also supporting tens of thousands of jobs in the construction and insulation industries.
This would directly benefit at least 80,536 homes in Barnet bringing energy bills down in the long term and cutting fuel poverty for working families, pensioners, and the squeezed middle.
Families across the country right now are paying more for their energy bills because the Conservatives have repeatedly cut energy efficiency schemes over the last decade.
In 2013 the Coalition cut energy efficiency programmes, after which insulation rates fell by 92%. Since then the Government has botched the Green Homes Grant, which has yet to be replaced.
The Resolution Foundation estimates that 9 million households are paying an extra £170 per year on energy bills as a result of these failures.
The Government could have introduced a new homes upgrade scheme in their Energy Strategy, but they did not. Even the Government’s own Business Minister Lord Callanan admitted that the strategy did not do nearly enough on energy efficiency, whilst EON, the UK’s second-biggest energy supplies, said that the lack of action on energy efficiency in today’s strategy “condemns thousands” to living in cold and draughty homes;
Ahead of next winter, it is essential that we insulate homes to bring down bills. That is why Labour has set out a 10 year national plan to insulate 19 million homes, cutting bills and delivering warmer homes for millions of pensioners and low income households.
This comes at a time when energy bills are set to rise above levels seen during the energy crises of the 1970s.
To address the immediate crisis, Labour would levy a one-off windfall tax on the oil and gas producers making bumper profits from these high prices to save households up to £600 on their energy bills. Labour’s plan would all but eliminate the price rise for low-income families, pensioners and the squeezed middle.
The Government has failed to offer households meaningful support to deal with rising energy costs. Their Buy Now, Pay Later loan scheme offers inadequate support, and will not stop up to 20% of households falling into “fuel stress” in the coming months
Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Labour Group, said:
“As families face the steepest rise in energy bills on record, it is shameful that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are refusing to take the action needed to help them.
“Twelve years of failure by the Conservatives to insulate our homes is one of the reasons bills are so high. Too many working people and pensioners live in draughty, cold homes with high heating costs.
“That is why Labour has called for a national mission to make sure every home that needs it is upgraded over 10 years, saving families up to £400 off average household bills every year.
“If this Government were serious about cutting people’s bills, it could start right now, insulating as many homes as possible this year. That is the scale of ambition we need. Anything less will damage our energy security and leave families to pay the cost.”
“That is why Labour has called for real support for working people, families, and pensioners. Upgrading the energy efficiency of homes would cut bills for 80,536 homes in Barnet, which is more than half of all households.”
Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s Shadow Climate Change and Net Zero Secretary, said:
“As families face the steepest rise in energy bills on record, it is shameful that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are refusing to take the action needed to help them.
They have opposed our windfall tax on the oil and gas producers making record profits. Now they oppose delivering a proper home insulation plan that could cut bills for working people.
Twelve years of failure by the Conservatives to insulate our homes is one of the reasons bills are so high. Too many working people and pensioners live in draughty, cold homes with high heating costs.
If this Government were serious about cutting energy bills, it could start right now, insulating as many homes as possible this year. But they are not on working people’s side.
Only Labour can deliver the real long term plan families need to tackle the cost of living crisis.”
Ends
Background notes:
Conservative failure:
● The UK has the least energy efficient housing in Europe, with 19 million homes estimated to be below EPC Band C.
● Under the Conservatives, home insulation rates have plummeted. In 2013 the Coalition cut energy efficiency programmes, after which insulation rates fell by 92% in 2013.
● Since then, the Government has botched the Green Homes Grant, which has yet to be replaced.
Labour’s plan:
● We will give devolved administrations the power and the resources to bring every home in their area up to EPC standard C or higher within a decade.
● Labour’s national plan to upgrade 19 million homes would:
○ Save families an average of £400 a year off their energy bills;
○ Cut national gas imports by up to 15%;
○ Support over nearly 100,000 jobs in every region in 2022-24, including the Midlands and North.
Methodology:
- Number of households below EPC Band C calculated from combining ONS statistics on number of dwellings per local authority at EPC Band C or above with DLUHC data on number of dwellings per English Local Authority Area.
- Figures in DLUHC Table 100 Dwelling stock: Number of Dwellings by Tenure and district: England; 2020
- ONS Statistics on the percentage of dwellings with EPC Band ‘C’ or above by local authority, England and Wales (2021)