The four – OFTEC, the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS), the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) and the UK LPG Association (UKLPG) have written to George Osborne calling for him to introduce an England-wide boiler replacement scheme in next month’s Budget.
Earlier this month the organisations welcomed the introduction of the London Boiler Cashback Scheme. In a recent letter to the Chancellor, they outlined the case for a similar initiative to be rolled out across England to encourage the replacement of millions of ageing, standard efficiency oil, gas, and LPG boilers.
- Over 800,000 homes in England are heated by oil
- 18.9 million are heated by gas
- 200,000 are heated by LPG
An estimated 60% of these boilers (11.9 million) are in need of replacement, the potential for carbon savings via this route is huge
“With so many households still living in fuel poverty, the case for a universal boiler replacement scheme is very strong, said FPS chief executive Mark Askew.
“Especially when you consider that an estimated 4.5 million UK homes are still classed as fuel poor, meaning they can’t afford to adequately heat their homes.”
“We believe Boris Johnson’s London initiative will be fully subscribed well before the April closing date,” said OFTEC chairman Nick Hawkins.
“Particularly when manufacturers are offering to support the scheme by giving similar price reductions, which demonstrates strong consumer demand for this simple, cost-effective idea.”
UKLPG chief executive Rob Shuttleworth added: “The current DECC scheme to provide £25m to install new boilers in fuel poor households is excellent news but needs to go further.”
“A universal boiler replacement scheme would make a significant contribution to tackling three difficult problems simultaneously,” concluded HHIC director Stewart Clements.
“It would make domestic heating more climate friendly; cut fuel bills; and reduce the number of cold related health issues which contribute to the unacceptable level of excess winter deaths occurring each year, especially amongst the elderly.”