24 September 2021, PM
Insulate Britain is demanding that the UK government immediately promises to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025 and produces, within four months, a legally binding national plan for a low energy, low carbon retrofit of all homes by 2030. [1]
The benefits of implementing a national low carbon retrofitting strategy would be significant. It would create vast numbers of skilled jobs, deliver long-term energy cost savings, help to optimise infrastructure investment and reduce fuel poverty – which causes ill health and early death for thousands of people.
The fuel poverty charity, National Energy Action (NEA) has pointed out that in our last ‘normal’ winter 8,500 lives were lost because of cold and leaky homes. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Millions suffer misery and ill-health because of cold and damp homes. Ill health associated with poor housing is estimated to cost the NHS roughly £2.5 billion each year. [2][3]
Research conducted by Cambridge Econometrics found that a government funded, ambitious programme to insulate homes and swap gas boilers for low-carbon heating sources could deliver up to 138,600 new jobs and boost the economy by £9.8bn by 2030. [4]
Insulate Britain is far from alone in calling for the government to get to grips with the issue of our poor housing stock, which is a national tragedy. By the government’s own reports, over 1 in 10 households are in fuel poverty. There have been decades of reports and public investigations, most of which have concluded the same thing: energy efficiency works.[5]
More recently, leaders from across the energy, construction, financial services and housing industries have been calling on the government to act on this issue. They are pressing the government to urgently develop a strategy to deal with the UK’s inefficient, leaky homes or risk missing its 2050 net zero emissions target. [6]
The UK needs to underpin its world beating carbon reduction targets with action and a complete decarbonisation of Britain’s homes is fundamental to achieving those targets. [7]
Boris, will you lead, defend and protect the people of Britain? We are urging you to get on with the job!
ENDS
Press contact: 07737 457105
Email: insulatebritainpress@protonmail.com
High quality photos and video footage available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Kucq-NfhnZLGJWwLx1HX03cWR7M9Y2-m
Website: https://www.insulatebritain.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insulatebritain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/insulatelove?lang=en
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8N5mAeeCLbD-AFUqtPaF0g
Notes to Editors
[1] About Insulate Britain
Insulate Britain is a new campaign group that is calling on the UK government to put in place policy and funding for a national home insulation programme starting with all social housing.
We demand the Prime Minister and the government to #getonwiththejob, face up to their responsibility and lead our country through the climate crisis.
We are ordinary British citizens with simple and achievable demands to #INSULATEBRITAIN
The UK government must immediately promise to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain
We demand a national home insulation strategy that gives British people the justice they deserve: a future for our loved ones, lower energy bills and safer living conditions
We are scared: our livelihoods are at risk and the futures of our children are uncertain
The Climate Crisis is a threat to all: we demand the government to act now
Our Demands
1. That the UK government immediately promises to fully fund and take responsibility for the insulation of all social housing in Britain by 2025;
2. That the UK government immediately promises to produce within four months a legally binding national plan to fully fund and take responsibility for the full low-energy and low-carbon whole-house retrofit , with no externalised costs, of all homes in Britain by 2030 as part of a just transition to full decarbonisation of all parts of society and the economy.
Further information about Insulate Britain and our demands here: https://www.insulatebritain.com/
Technical Report on home energy efficiency here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HtOQmArzkDxhIYJrv9lBcl9lOUwfKoe7/view
[2] https://www.nea.org.uk/news/271120-01/
[3] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8730/CBP-8730.pdf
https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/87741-Cost-of-Poor-Housing-Briefing-Paper-v3.pdf
https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/pdf/87741-Cost-of-Poor-Housing-Briefing-Paper-v3.pdf
[4] Cambridge Econometrics https://www.camecon.com/what/our-work/the-economic-impact-of-decarbonising-household-heating-in-the-uk/
[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics
[6] https://www.ft.com/content/ac8b7706-aa4f-4b12-8250-63f302fb28a1?sharetype=blocked
[7] UK Committee on Climate Change (Feb 2019): UK housing: Fit for the future? https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/UK-housing-Fit-for-the-future-CCC-2019.pdf