15 January 2013

The Rt Hon Edward Davey MP Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Department of Energy and Climate Change 3 Whitehall Place London SW1A 2AW

Dear Secretary of State, Last year, we warned that up to 16,000 jobs (45% of the sector) would be lost in the insulation industry due to delays in the implementation of the Green Deal and ECO. Those redundancies are now happening, with 1782 people losing their jobs since before Christmas (half of which were over the past two weeks) and over 1124 currently on notice that we are aware of. This is only the tip of the iceberg and the IIF will stay in touch with insulation companies over the coming weeks so that the industry and Parliament can be kept fully informed of the situation. Since our initial warning, the Government has failed to respond to the IIFs call for the Coalition to work with the industry to develop a transition scheme to bridge the gap between the CERT/CESP subsidy regime ending and the new Green Deal and ECO schemes starting. Instead, Baroness Verma, the Governments energy spokesperson in the House of Lords dismissed the issue th on 27 November last year, saying: There will not be a gap; there will just be a movement from one scheme to another. The evidence tells a very different story. These delays and the consequent uncertainty are having a serious impact on the number of cavity wall, loft and solid wall insulation jobs that are being undertaken. Up to 60,000 homes will not now get the insulation they need at the coldest time of the year with insulation ordered for 34,235 homes cancelled due to lack of funding and enquiries for insulation in another 27,284 homes having been placed on hold. If the Government is serious about delivering on its green ambitions, protecting jobs and encouraging growth, it now needs to constructively engage with industry, or risk serious harm to both the insulation industry and the Green Deal, a policy we want to see succeed. In October, the IIF warned Ministers of the threat of a serious crisis. Despite the words of Baroness Verma in the House of Lords, that threat has become a reality. The IIF has already sent Government a list of possible policy options which can help avert the crisis that the industry finds itself in and would welcome the opportunity to discuss these. Please do your best to work with us and help avert further job losses. Yours faithfully

Alex McLeod Chairman, Insulation Industry Forum Insulation Industry Forum, c/o 40 Long Acre, Covent Garden, WC2E 9LG