Thousands of homes at risk of damp and mould over botched insulation, government confirms
Solid wall insulation was made available under two government-backed schemes over the past few years, allowing homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient for free.
However, 'a majority' of the insulation granted under these schemes was not 'installed to the appropriate standard,' said Labour minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, adding that over time it could lead to damp and mould.
In a statement to Commons, the minister for energy consumers added: 'The government is keen to encourage everyone who is contacted for the purposes of scheduling an audit to strongly consider taking part in these checks, even if they do not think there is anything wrong with their installation.
'Our priority remains to ensure that poor installations are identified and remediated as quickly as possible, with no cost to the consumer.'
Crucially, anyone who is affected by the issue will not have to pay to fix the problem. Installers are required to foot the bill for the issue, and prove they have carried out the work properly with Trustmark, the independent body that oversees tradespeople working in homes.
For anyone whose installer has stopped trading, a guarantee should cover the cost of removal up to £20,000.
The botched insulations were installed under two initiatives: the ' Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4)' and 'Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)'. They were launched by the government in April 2022 and May 2023, respectively.
These schemes enabled eligible households to apply for free energy-efficiency upgrades through their energy supplier or local council – including solid wall insulation.
Solid walls are most common in properties built before the 1920s. They have no gaps or cavities, and insulating them involves adding material to the inside or outside of them to trap heat.
But a report published by Trustmark in January pointed to 'significant examples' of installations that fell short of the required standards.
Since the findings were revealed, Ofgem has written to the 60,000 households understood to have had insulation fitted under the two schemes.
Ms Fahnbulleh has confirmed that 'thousands of households have already had on site checks conducted,' adding that '90 per cent of the poor-quality installations that were identified in the initial audits conducted by Trustmark have been remediated."
Anyone with concerns about their insulation or with more questions can contact Ofgem
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
How much resident doctors really earn as they plan to strike over NHS pay
Resident doctors will go ahead with a five-day strike this week after talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government broke down. The BMA rejected the government's offer of a 5.4 per cent pay rise this year and is calling for a 29 per cent pay rise, claiming doctors have seen a 20 per cent pay erosion in their salaries since 2008. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, described the strike action as 'completely unjustified'. He added: 'It shows a complete disdain for patients and the wider recovery of the NHS.' The BMA said the health secretary's offer did not go far enough on pay. The walkout will run from Friday, 25 July, until the following Wednesday, with further strikes threatened every month until January unless their pay demands are met. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are qualified doctors in their first years of training. A fifth are completing their first two foundation years, while the remainder are in core or speciality registrar training. The newly agreed salary for those on foundation training is between £38,831 and £44,439, with specialist training salaries rising to £73,992. That includes the 5.4 per cent increase awarded earlier this year, but does not include London weighting. The BMA wants pay boosted to between £47,308 and £54,274 for foundation doctors, and up to a maximum of £90,989 for residents in specialist training at the highest end, over a flexible negotiated period. The NHS Confederation estimates that every 0.1 per cent pay rise across the NHS will cost the health service an extra £125 million each year. While the pay rise being requested is only for resident doctors, who account for 75,000 of the workforce, the difference between what the BMA is requesting and what is currently paid could cost millions or even billions. How much are residents paid compared to other doctors? Resident doctors' current salary of between £38,831 and £44,439 a year is for a 40-hour week, and does not include extra pay for working more hours or night shifts, which varies significantly per person. Doctors in core or specialist training can earn £52,656 a year, going on to earn up to £73,992 a year at the highest end. The government has said that this sits at around an average of £54,300 across resident doctors of all stages of training. Meanwhile, consultants, who have specialist knowledge in a particular medical field, earn a basic salary of between £105,504 and £139,882 a year. After two years of foundation training, it generally takes around five to eight more years before doctors can become eligible for consultant roles, though the wait can be longer. Nurses start at a lower salary band, around £31,049 for a newly-qualified nurse, according to the NHS' Agenda for Change. This can go up to £54,710 for ward managers, and £96,0000 for the most senior specialist nurses. Dentists employed by the NHS start at £42,408 a year and progress to £94,000 for the most senior roles and £105,000 for dental consultants. This puts resident doctors in a similar starting range to dentists, and 22 per cent higher than nurses. How far is pay behind inflation? Inflation is central to the BMA's demands, arguing that even after the uplift, pay for resident doctors has been eroded by 20.9 per cent since 2008. With the current 5.4 per cent uplift, the BMA says doctors won't see their pay restored for 12 years, or until 2036. Instead, resident doctors are seeking a 29 per cent pay rise, which Mr Streeting has called 'completely unreasonable'. However, the BMA's figures are calculated using retail prices index (RPI) inflation, which is no longer used as a national statistic. This includes factors such as housing prices, council tax, and mortgage rates. Using the official measure of inflation, consumer prices index (CPI), the Nuffield Trust calculated that doctors' pay has fallen by a more moderate 4.7 per cent in the same period. In cash terms, excluding inflation, foundation-year resident doctors have seen a substantial pay boost in recent years. First year foundation doctors were paid just £29,384 in 2022; which means the new 5.4 per cent uplift amounts to an overall 32 per cent pay rise on that figure. While 2022 saw a four-decade-high rate of inflation, and doctors' salaries had already been falling behind, this is a more sizeable increase than seen by other public sectors. Nurses, for example, have seen starting salaries rise by just 14.8 per cent in the same period, less than half the rate of resident doctors. Doctors' pay compared to other public sectors Doctors and medical staff provide essential public services. So, how does their pay compare to police and firefighters? According to the Firefighters Union (FU), a trainee will earn around £28,265 a year, bumped up to £37,675 once they become a fully 'competent' firefighter in 1-3 years. At this point, overtime is paid at £25.80 per hour. Firefighters generally work a two-day, two-night shift pattern, with four days off in between. The highest salary for 'area manager' firefighters is at £69,283, according to the FU; not including London weighting. Meanwhile, figures from the Police Federation suggest that constables begin on £29,907 a year (without London weighting), rising to £48,000 for the highest pay band. Chief Inspectors can earn as much as £72,700 in London at the highest range. This suggests that resident doctors start at a moderately higher salary range, with more potential for upward movement. But comparing these fields of work is a challenge. Doctors must complete several years of medical school before qualifying. This saddles many doctors with debt before entering the workforce - something which is not a requirement for other emergency services, including firefighters and police. Low doctor pay compared to other countries In France, most doctors are self-employed, except for a minority who are directly employed by hospitals. Starting salaries are already expected to be around £3,400 per month, tallying at £40,800 a year. The average salary for a general practitioner is £84,000, according to data from the public health service. This can go up to as high as £350,000 for radiotherapists. In Canada, low starting salaries for doctors are around £46,000, according to national data. But average salaries sit around £122,000, with peak pay at £236,000 a year. The US has the highest salaries for doctors overall, with significant variation by state. Since private healthcare pay is unstandardised, it is hard to directly compare starting salaries. But resident doctors in the US are paid on average between £51,000 and £86,000, according to Glassdoor, with some surgeons earning upwards of £500,000 a year. It is important to note that the NHS is relatively unique because it is funded by the taxpayer. Canada has a similar system, which covers 70 per cent of healthcare spending, known as Medicare. Most doctors are paid in a fee-for-service model, not a set salary. France has a reimbursement model where patients mostly pay upfront, and may be partially or fully refunded by the state. And the US has some form of free health insurance, known as Medicaid; but this covers a shrinking fraction of the population. Ultimately, doctors are privately paid through forms of insurance, even if the state subsidises some healthcare. In this way, the UK is somewhat unique in how the taxpayer shoulders the burden of public healthcare salaries, excluding private doctors.
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
New data lifts lid on agonising wait for mental health treatment
Nearly 1.7 million patients are currently awaiting community mental health care in the UK, with 48,000 people facing delays exceeding two years for treatment to commence. This figure, which rose from 1.3 million in March 2024, is in addition to the 7.4 million people on the NHS physical health waiting list. Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, warned that mental health care is being rationed and downgraded, not prioritised by the government. The government's recently launched 10-year NHS plan recommits to expanding mental health teams and specialist A&Es but lacks specific commitments to reduce existing waiting lists. The lack of sufficient community care is forcing more patients into A&E, as highlighted by the NHS's director for mental health and a mother whose autistic daughter was hospitalised due to lack of community support.
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
I'm begging strangers on the internet to PayPal me £2k after I lost my middle teeth – trolls tell me to ‘get a job'
A MUM has taken to TikTok to beg strangers on the internet to fund £2k for her new smile. 28-year-old Tyler Davison, unfortunately, lost two of her bottom row teeth due to gum disease which is caused by a buildup of plaque on the teeth. 2 It wasn't until March that the mother finally managed to get an appointment with a dentist - but sadly, it was too late to fix anything. During her visit, Tyler was diagnosed with perio - a serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue around teeth. It can be a result of poor hygiene, but some people are more prone to this type of infection. Symptoms may include bad breath, loose teeth and bleeding, swollen gums. There are many treatments available, depending on the severity of disease. ''I made the choice to get my teeth removed,'' Tyler bravely opened up in the video, where she also educated others on the gum disease. ''I could've had a root canal. But one, it could have failed, and two, it would've only lasted a year and I'd still be in this position. ''I probably would've risked losing more of my teeth,'' said Tyler who posts under the username @ tylller_. Now, she wears partial dentures - however, this is not something the mum wants to use forever. ''I do want to go for something more permanent, like a bridge, because it's very uncomfortable, I'm really young still. ''I can't eat with it, I can't speak properly with or without it - and who wants to live like this?'' said Tyler who claimed her gums have ''fully receded''. Desperate to fix her smile, the young mum has now taken to TikTok to ask strangers online to chip in for the teeth transformation. Tyler said in a recent video: ''I just realised that if 2,000 all PayPal me £1 I can get my smile back.'' The clip has since taken the internet by storm, winning Tyler over 780k views in just two days. However, whilst the donations are currently sitting at £107.50, not everyone has been so compassionate. One troll wondered: ''Whatever happened to working?'' Another revealed they also wouldn't be chipping in. ''Sorry gotta use my £1 to buy a 4 pack of doughnuts from Tesco.'' maternity leave ''.
