According to a speech by Paul Joyner, Director of Sustainable Building Solutions, which is part of the Travis Perkins Group, he identified the key challenges facing the Green Deal and rejected the idea that there is no demand.
He said: "There are issues with the Green Deal, but they are at a much deeper level than 'the consumer just doesn't understand how it works'. That is condescending and downright wrong – 38,000 evaluations testify to the fact that this is not a demand issue."
My Joyner added that access to finance is the key problem, but he was sympathetic to the problems faced by Green Deal finance companies, both in terms of the technology being used and the need for consumer protection.
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"The Green Deal finance companies are being very diligent in these early stages and are also acutely aware that their systems are brand new and not fully tested. This has led to understandable delays," he explained.
He also appealed for some perspective. "We are six months into one of the most complex interfaces between utility companies, the finance industry, manufacturers, distributors, installers and consumers ever attempted in this country. It was always going to take time."
In recent weeks, the Green Deal has come in for heavy criticism, due to the DECC statistics for the first six months which showed only four approved schemes have been put in place.
Joyner added: "The big challenge we face is the sniping and unwarranted criticism which could de-rail the whole scheme.
"Yes, mistakes have been made, not least in terms of managing expectations by under-promising, but this is a long-term scheme designed to deal with the issue of this country's ageing and poorly insulated housing stock, not a short-term fix.
"I was asked recently by an installer when he would be able to access Green Deal finance. I told him finance will be widely available and much easier to access in the autumn of this year – that is the key date that the Travis Perkins Group and our partner and Green Deal provider, Toriga, are working towards. What's more, I am confident that, once the finance is in place, the Green Deal will really take-off."
(JP/MH)
