Friday 2 July 2010

Barker outlines Green Deal plan

Energy Minister Gregory Barker yesterday outlined some details of how the government's Green Deal will work.

Mr Barker was asked in the House of Commons yesterday how households will be directly able to access funds from the deal to help tackle fuel poverty and reduce fuel bills.

The minister replied: "The Green Deal is not a grant; it is designed to be repaid through the savings made on bills over 25 years. The beauty of the Green Deal is that, unlike any previous proposal, it will be totally unrelated to the household's ability to pay. It will simply be repaid, regardless of the credit scoring or wealth status of the individuals in the household. Of course, other measures will always be needed to make sure that fuel-vulnerable and hard-to-treat properties have direct financial support."

Earlier, Mr Barker had told MPs that the deal would be available from 2012.