A £10m new scheme will aim to help people in the West of England retrofit their homes and create green jobs.
Ed Miliband with Metro Mayor Dan Norris at the launch | Photo © John Wimperis
Initially, Retrofit West will be an advisory service, designed as a “one-stop-shop” for homeowners looking to get advice about retrofitting their homes to make them more energy efficient.
It is planned that grants to support people in retrofitting their homes will be introduced in 2024.
Ed Miliband, the shadow climate change and net zero secretary, joined Metro Mayor Dan Norris in Bristol on Friday 7th July, telling an audience of industry professionals he was “delighted” to launch the scheme.
He said: “Families need to have that impartial advice. Not somebody who’s going to sell them something, but someone who’s going to give them the correct information.”
Mr Norris said that Bath’s Georgian crescents and stone-built cottages around Radstock were among the estimated 250,000 homes in the West that could benefit from retrofitting, with older houses less likely to be energy efficient.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I don’t know what the takeup is going to be. What I know is, it’s got to be there for there to be any takeup. And I believe there will be demand for it and we will build that capacity as we go on.”
Mr Norris said the West of England would look to give more people the skills to work in green jobs such as retrofitting.
He said: “We train, indirectly and directly, thousands of people every year. What we are doing is I have tripled the budget for training from £20m to £60m.”
He acknowledged that the retrofitting advice service would mostly benefit people able to afford it but he said: “That’s got to change.”
He added: “Everybody has to be involved in dealing with the climate emergency so everybody’s got to be able to retrofit. So that’s why I’m glad Ed Miliband is here because I’m hoping he’ll be in the next Labour government and there will be resources made available so everyone can play their part.”
Mr Miliband said: “I think what Dan [Norris] is doing a great service by piloting this but I think he will be first to say that this is not going to solve the problem, because there is such a big problem we face and its going to take finance from national government to make that happen.”
The two Labour politicians launched the scheme the day after Labour leader Keir Starmer was ambushed by protestors, calling on him to reinstate Labour’s 2021 pledge to spend £28bn a year on the country’s green transition, which was scaled back last month.
Mr Miliband insisted: “We are not stepping back on our pledge, I just want to reassure people on that.
“What we’ve said is that we are going to ramp up to £28bn a year. It’s not a target, it’s a commitment.”
He said that a Labour government would “ramp up” to spending £28bn a year in the second half of the Parliament, adding: “Why’s that? Take something like retrofit, we have got to scale up the skills to supply chains so it will be hard to get £28bn out of the door in the first year anyway, but secondly the fiscal position has got a lot worse because of Liz Truss’ mini-budget and we are determined to meet the fiscal rules.
“But by anyone’s measure investing £28bn a year which we are going to do in the second half of the Parliament, investing £6bn a year in homes retrofitting insulation is a very significant investment so we are not going back on our pledges.
“We are absolutely determined to meet the climate crisis, because we have to meet the climate crisis, but also because it is the way to cut bills, ensure energy security and create jobs in our country.
“It’s going to be absolutely at the centre of Labour’s next manifesto.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
