Government’s new boiler strategy to cover just one in 250 households, says Miliband
Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband has called the government’s new boiler upgrade strategy a “meagre, unambitious and wholly inadequate response,” alongside several environmental campaign groups.
Taking to Twitter, Miliband criticised that the Conservative’s government’s plan would only cover one in every 250 households currently on the gas grid, as the UK seeks to replace gas boilers with lower carbon options such as heat pumps.
The shadow minister said that Labour has a plan to invest £6bn a year, between now and 2030, for low carbon heating and retrofit.
This would be paid for as part of the programme of Climate Investment Pledge outlined by shadow chancellor and former Bank of England economist, Rachel Reeves last month, a spokesperson told Morning Wire
Though Reeve’s pledge spending would reportedly be funded through borrowing, which Labour argued is worth it because investing in tackling climate change now would save the country billions down the line.
The strategy would be led by local authorities, Miliband added, saying “we’ll give every home that needs it an upgrade, bring bills down by hundreds of pounds, improve energy security, and create good jobs.”
“Heat pump grants for 30,000 households a year cover only 1 in 250 households currently on the gas grid. Given that the government’s target is 600k heat pumps a year by 2028, this is way short of where they need to be,” he said.
“Proper warm homes plan would lower bills, reduce emissions, and create jobs. But this Government is ducking the crucial decisions and making households pay the costs. By failing to invest, millions of households are being left out in the cold.”