Story Highlights
- Green Deal closed to new applications
- BMF is disappointed.
- Anger and exasperation in the supply chain
The Department for Energy and Climate Change has closed the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund to new applications with immediate effect with DECC stating that due to overwhelming public demand, the allocated budget has now been reached.
The Builders Merchants’ Federation has responded as follows:
“The BMF is very disappointed to hear this news. The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund may not be a perfect solution to the underlying problem but it illustrates that cash incentives do entice families to act to improve the thermal performance of their home. There will be undoubted anger and exasperation in the supply chain that ministers have (once again) chosen to change direction in policy and cut funding at short notice without warning.
“Earlier this week (w/c 21st July, 2014), we learned that due to the Fund’s runaway success, DECC had modified the criteria to prolong the amount of money available. Yet a few days’ later, it has been closed.”
“This feast-and-famine approach is not at all helpful to businesses in planning their investment decisions, manufacturing processes, sales operations and trading forecasts for future years. Don’t forget that everything rests on the vouchers being redeemed. Let’s just hope this is a temporary suspension – rather than complete closure – while DECC takes stock. Having spent so much time and money on a major multi-channel advertising campaign to publicise the offer, it does seem odd to withdraw these incentives having stoked up interest from consumers.”
