From Fairytale Promise to Living Nightmare: The Catastrophic Failure of a National Home Upgrade Scheme
A parliamentary committee has delivered a devastating verdict on a government-backed home energy efficiency scheme, describing its implementation as so "catastrophic" that it warrants referral to the Serious Fraud Office. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, designed to help households in fuel poverty, has instead left a trail of destruction across the country.
The Personal Cost: A Support Worker's Harrowing Experience
For Jane Wallbank, a full-time support worker for people with learning needs and a single mother of two, the scheme initially seemed like a dream come true. "I almost felt special, like I could cut energy bills and have a bit left each month," she recalled. With energy bills reaching astronomical levels, the promise of free internal wall insulation, smart radiator sensors, and an extractor fan under the ECO programme appeared to be her salvation.
Instead, Jane's rented home in south Wales became a case study in systemic failure. "It's been the worst experience of my life, and it just feels never-ending," she told Sky News. Her ordeal included:
- Three weeks without heating during installation
- Flooding from top to bottom of her property
- Mouldy floors requiring constant furniture moving
- Holes left in walls
- Doubled heating bills despite the supposed upgrades
- Asthma attacks triggered by poor air quality
"I'm just exhausted, truly, truly exhausted," Jane confessed, highlighting the human toll behind the statistics.
Systemic Failure on a National Scale
Jane's home represents just one of at least 30,000 properties left with serious defects by the ECO scheme, according to the damning report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). While the technologies involved are well-evidenced to improve homes when installed correctly, the report reveals a system riddled with fundamental flaws.
Experts point to poor oversight and financial incentives that encouraged "cowboy" installers to carry out upgrades in unsuitable properties or to dangerously shoddy standards. The consequences have been devastating, with some properties suffering up to £250,000 in damage while original installers face liability capped at just £20,000.
Inadequate Response and Ongoing Problems
The parliamentary investigation reveals that despite awareness of these problems since 2024, the response has been woefully inadequate. The quality assurance scheme Trustmark has managed to identify and remedy only 3,000 of the affected homes – fewer than 10% of those known to have faulty insulation.
Meanwhile, the problems continue to multiply beyond the initial 30,000 homes with defective insulation. Sky News has received reports of numerous additional issues including:
- Roofs damaged by improperly installed solar panels
- Heating systems incompatible with new heat pumps
- Wet insulation spreading mould throughout properties
PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP delivered a stark warning: "Potentially thousands of people are now living with health and safety risks in their homes, and despite government's protestations we have nowhere near enough assurance that they are not financially exposed to unaffordable bills to repair the defective works."
Political Fallout and Future Concerns
Energy Minister Martin McCluskey acknowledged the scale of the disaster, stating the government had "inherited a broken system from the previous government" and was now "cleaning up this mess." The government response includes:
- Auditing all homes with external wall insulation
- Assuring households they won't pay for remediation
- Replacing ECO with local authority-run schemes
- Establishing a new Warm Homes Agency for better oversight
However, the report raises serious questions about the government's new £15 billion Warm Homes plan, which aims to expand green technology installations. Sir Geoffrey warned that "the public's confidence will have rightly been shaken in retrofit schemes" and the government now faces a "self-inflicted job of work on its hands to restore faith."
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, summarised the tragedy: "Done properly, home upgrades and insulation are among the safest ways to bring down energy bills. Done badly, as we've seen, they can cause real harm. What's shocking is not just the scale of the damage, but how long it was allowed to happen without effective intervention."
The PAC's conclusion leaves no room for ambiguity: the scheme's "sheer levels of non-compliance" and "serious failings at every level" have left vulnerable households financially exposed and living in dangerous conditions, creating what committee members describe as nothing less than a national scandal.
