5 days ago
Miliband poised to scrap 600,000-a-year heat pump target
Ed Miliband is poised to ditch targets for heat pumps amid budget cuts that threaten his net zero ambitions, industry sources have told The Telegraph.
The previous government declared that from 2028, 600,000 heat pumps would be installed every year in British homes as part of the drive towards net zero.
But official communications regarding the deadline have been dropped since Labour took power last year, and any mention of installation targets was absent from the party's 2024 manifesto.
Labour has refused to recommit to the 2028 deadline, which was set by Boris Johnson's government in 2021. The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to announce the changes in her spending review on June 11.
It comes after The Telegraph revealed last week that cuts to the Department for Energy and Net Zero (Desnz) budget could force Mr Miliband to reduce funding for his flagship Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides up to £7,500 to homeowners looking to install a ground or air source heat pump.
Funding for the scheme is expected to expire in 2028, and the Government is yet to confirm whether it will be renewed.
'The conversations I have been involved in suggest they're planning to get rid of the 2028 deadline, and it's not in any of their PR,' one source told The Telegraph. 'Because the budget is limited and this government isn't the best with finances, the Warm Homes Plan will also get shrunk.'
The energy department, led by Mr Miliband, is said to be bracing for budget cuts as Ms Reeves frantically tries to fill an estimated £30bn black hole in Britain's finances.
The overall annual growth in day-to-day spending has fallen to 1.2pc in real terms, meaning unprotected government departments are facing cuts.
Reductions to his department's budget could force Mr Miliband to reduce funding for heat pump installations, while officials are also said to be looking for savings in Labour's 'warm homes' policies, which provide funding for home insulation.
Another industry source said: 'I've not heard talk of the target for months. Setting an ambition is great, but setting absolute target numbers is always a problem.
'The aspiration was based on a number of policy initiatives, all of which have been delayed.'
This is likely to deepen a rift in the Cabinet between Mr Miliband and Ms Reeves, who in January urged Labour MPs not to tolerate 'blockers who put their own interests above those of the country'.
Ministers are said to be prioritising Labour's pledge of building 1.5 million homes, rather than installation targets for heat pumps.
The high price of the green technology has put homeowners off making the switch from gas, critics claim.
Mike Foster, of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, said: 'The 600,000 heat pumps installed a year by 2028 was a Boris Johnson target, drafted on the back of a fag packet, which industry always thought was unrealistic.
'Scrapping that figure is plain common sense. What matters in the fight against climate change is how much carbon there is in the atmosphere, not how many heat pumps are in people's homes.
'Out of touch targets help no one and consumers don't want to be press ganged into fitting something they feel forced to do. If a product improves their lives, they will buy it. If not, they won't. Whitehall targets rarely help and more often highlight a failure to deliver by the Government, so why do it?'
The rate of installations would need to ramp up ninefold within the next three years to meet the targets set out by the previous government.
There were just 65,600 heat pumps installed in the year to April, according to MCS Certified, the trade standards body.
Sources claim numbers are lagging because of delays to the Government's Future Homes Standard, which would have made heat pumps compulsory in new-build homes.
However, ministers are still poring over consultation documents, and green campaigners are concerned that housebuilder lobbying will mean requirements for green technology, such as battery storage and solar panels, will be dropped.
Despite this, DESNZ is pressing ahead with other initiatives such as a controversial 'boiler tax' on manufacturers, which will see manufacturers fined for failing to sell enough heat pumps.
Last week, the Government also scrapped the so-called 'one metre rule' which restricted how closely heat pumps could be positioned to a neighbouring property.
The push towards net zero has been the cause of much infighting within Labour in recent months, particularly after Sir Tony Blair warned Sir Keir Starmer that Labour's green policies were 'doomed to fail'. Mr Miliband retaliated by accusing Sir Tony of having a 'defeatist' attitude.
Sources told The Telegraph the looming spending review has raised tensions even further within Mr Miliband's department, as funding is expected to go towards nuclear power rather than heat pumps.
At least three more cabinet ministers are understood to be locked in negotiations with the Treasury about spending levels with just a week to go before decisions are announced.
The others are Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary.
A government spokesman said: 'The energy shocks of recent years have shown the urgent need to upgrade British homes.
'Through our Warm Homes Plan, up to 300,000 households will benefit from upgrades this year, such as insulation, double glazing, solar and heat pumps – making them cheaper and cleaner to run.
'We have almost doubled the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £295m, and it recently enjoyed its best month since opening, with 4,028 applications in March 2025, up 88pc on the same month last year.'
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