Greg Barker MP gives some insight into the Green Deal

 

Greg Barker the MP in charge of the Green Deal has led a web chat to answer questions about the Green Deal. Here are some of the high lights of what Greg said:

Comment From Sarah E-T 

1.Do we have any firm ideas of the GD interest rate yet? 2.Do we know how many providers & assessors have registered yet? 3.Are there any targets for the end of the first month? 4.Sky News indicated this weekend that there had been no uptake on the cashback scheme. Do you have any comments on this?

Greg Barker:

Hi Sarah, the interest rate is really important but it is not the only driver nof good value. We are working to deliver the lowest interest rate possible, much lower than typical consumer credit, and are working closely with the Green Investment Bank; but the actual rate will partly depend on the market.

(Interest rates are going to be vital to the success of the Green deal and will be a driving factor in the up take. As we have commented before if they do not beat the current market rates we can expect the up take to be lower than expected. So keep up the pressure Greg!)

Adam Vaughan@adamvaughan_uk#GBGDchat What recourse, if any, will a GD householder have if their GD charges are higher than they energy bill savings?

Greg Barker: Hello Adam

There will be very strong consumer protection to guard against mis-selling, including a new Green Deal Ombudsman. Obviously, the golden rule cant be a guard against a change in behaviour or life style but the products sold must deliver their technical potential and the savings estimates for all Green Deal measures have actually been revised down further, so are on the very conservative side, to err on the side of caution.

(This is a question that we get asked all the time, will the new measures actually save you money, thankfully the cost of energy prices seems to be sky rocketing over the past few years which is contributing to the measures becoming more and more attractive to households and businesses. Although in the interim we are all getting squeezed financially)

Comment From Chris Dawson

I have not read or heard much in the Press etc about the Green Deal, what plans are there to communicate this initiative to the public?

Greg Barker:  For Chris’s question, we have a major PR plan for 2013 but the biggest push will come from the diverse range of Green Deal providers themselves. This is not some Soviet style statist plan, it is an exciting new market with lots of different players!!

(Or is it that the austerity plans have run all the budgets dry and its going to be down to the ‘Players’ in the market to promote the Green Deal over the next 12 months, whichever it is it means its going to be a hard slog for all concerned to help promote this great opportunity to get our homes and businesses more energy efficient and save us money)

Greg Barker: Lots of people asking me about the Green Deal Assessor Software, including on Twitter over the weekend.  It is being vaildated by the BRE as we speak and we are pressing them for this asap, as we know that a lot of you need it soon as possible, We should have it by the end of the month if not sooner

(This is the holdup that is stopping assessors making assessments on properties at the moment, once the correct software has been tested and approved it will allow assessors to log the work that they do. Be wary of anyone who is offering assessments in November or December as they cannot be logged at the moment)

There is a snap shot of where we are, the big date for your diary are the 28^th of Jan 2013. When the financial mechanism will be place and we will see some movement in terms of assessments and providers signing Green Deal agreements with consumers.

Things to take away from Mr Barkers web chat:

• The key date will be the 28^th of January 2013 when the finances will be place to pay for all the new work.
• The interest rates for the loans haven’t been set in stone and should beat what can be fond on the high street.
• Non Green Deal for business will become active on January 28^th too, but will take time to get going.
• There will be companies that offer end to end service. i.e. Assessors, Providers and Installers all under one roof.
• There are complex customer protection procedures to ensure that consumers are protected from both bad advice and bad installations/products.

 

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