Budget - Energy Company Obligation scheme cut and legacy costs moved into general taxation: comment

“A decade-long lack of investment in upgrading our homes is why the UK was so hard hit by the gas crisis, particularly families living in low-income or vulnerable households. Homes of children with a health condition are twice as likely to be cold in winter, [1] and a third of insulation upgrades as part of the Energy Company Obligation went into homes that were home to a child. That's the people that the Chancellor’s cut will impact most, with no chance that the already delayed Warm Homes Plan will be able to cover the shortfall.
 
"Cutting the only long-standing, flagship insulation scheme means uncertainty for 20,000 jobs in the industry. This repeats mistakes of the past where the only thing consistent has been the flip-flopping from successive governments.
 
"Moving some legacy policy costs like the Renewables Obligation and Warm Homes Discount into tax has been recommended by experts for years and helps to counter some bill increases next year. Making electricity cheaper so that households can transition away from gas boilers, which will increasingly run on foreign gas imports while electric heat pumps will increasingly be run on British wind and solar, is going to be crucial for the UK’s energy security."