Info
Info
News Article

Open Letter To Ed Davey Warns Of 16,000 Job Losses In Insulation Industry


The Insulation Industry Forum, a coalition representing over 70% of the UK's £700m insulation industry has written to DECC Secretary of State Ed Davey MP to warn that 16,000 jobs in the industry are under threat in the next year "“ based on his Department's own figures.

DECCs figures indicate an:
"¢ 87.5% reduction in the loft insulation market
"¢ 57% reduction  in the cavity wall insulation market
"¢ 16% drop in the solid wall insulation market

The losses come from the gap between the ending of the existing subsidy schemes for cavity wall solid wall and loft insulation, and the Green Deal and ECO becoming fully functional. This will seriously impact on the continuity of work and number of cavity wall, loft insulation and solid wall jobs undertaken from the 1 January 2013. 

As a result of this gap, 16,000 (45%) of jobs in the insulation industry, the majority of which will be in loft insulation and cavity wall insulation will be lost in 2013. The lack of any transition planning will also stifle and restrict investment and job creation in solid wall insulation which is necessary to transform the market in order to meet Government carbon targets.

The Forum predicts that the closure of loft and cavity wall insulation manufacturing plants and loft and cavity wall insulation installation contractors going out of business, with employee numbers reduced by 45% from 36,000 to 20,000 in 2013.

This will be combined with a lack of capability for the insulation installation industry to develop the training programmes and capacity necessary to deliver the ambitions for solid wall insulation market transformation.

Insulation Industry Forum spokesperson John Sinfield of Knauf Insulation said:"The loft and cavity wall insulation installation industry will fall off a cliff in 2013. "The policy by the current Government risks destroying businesses, putting 16,000 people out of work and undermining the Coalition's green ambitions for the country. "It will result in a lack of continuity of work from 1st January 2013 and dramatically fewer insulation installations in 2013 "“ we predict 16,000 job losses, many of them before Christmas. "We are calling on the Secretary of State to recognise the scale of the problem that is about to hit our industry and develop a set of measures to address the insulation gap and implement a suitable solution".

Supporting the Forum, Which? Executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: "Consumers tell us that rising energy prices are one of their biggest concerns. Lagging lofts and filling cavity walls are relatively straightforward and low cost ways to reduce bills, so this warning about a drop in basic insulation work is clearly worrying. Even under the Government's current schemes its estimated there are still just over 8 million homes that need their loft insulation topping up and 6 million homes that need cavity walls filled. With this still left to complete, the Government must ensure that support is available to get these jobs done."

The Insulation Industry Forum is made up of a range of major installers, contractors and manufacturers, as well as leading trade bodies.


Going Green In Lancashire – Hundreds Of Houses Installed With Solar Panels In Ground-breaking Project
UK'S Largest Battery Ready To Balance The Grid
TLT Advises Innova Energy On £30m Refinancing Of 57 MW Solar Portfolio
UK Green Tech Company Myenergi To Double Workforce By 2021
FRV And Harmony Energy To Develop Second UK Utility Scale Battery Project
Analysis Of UK Commercial Roof Space Shows Solar PV Film Can Achieve Net Zero Without Greenfield Sites
Low Carbon Develop UK’s Largest Community-owned Solar Park
Greencoat Renewables Announces First Transaction In Nordic Market
Sonnedix Named ESG Global Solar Power Generation Sector Leader By GRESB
Solar Power As Rental Offer Launched By Aggreko
Sharp Launches New 440W Half-cut Cell PV Panel
Oakapple Renewable Energy Appoint Stuart Gentry To Head Business Development
TLT Advises Santander On 30MW Flagship Battery Storage Project
Tandem PV Devices Feel The Heat
FIMER Powers UK Largest Rooftop Solar Project
Everoze Creates Skyray To Design And Engineer Great Solar PV Projects
Habitat Enerdy Enters Balancing Mechanism With Largest Battery
New Innovation Set To Change Renewable Energy Market
NextEnergy Capital Acquires Its First Asset In Portugal 17.4MWp Solar PV Project
Sunstore Solar Launches WattGrid, A New Range Of Turnkey Off-grid Power Systems
The Smarter E South America Postponed To October 18-20, 2021
Power Roll Trials Solar PV To Power Up Himalayan Villages
SOLARWATT Links With Easy Roof To Provide Building-integrated PV For Better-looking Buildings And Smart EV Charging
Ingenious Invests In Electric Vehicle Charging Firm
×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
×
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Smart Solar Magazine, the Smart Solar Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in:
 
X
Info
X
Info
{taasPodcastNotification} Array
Live Event