Green Deal assessments continue to gather pace across the UK, according to figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The latest statistics show that 22,005 Green Deal assessments were carried out in April – the second highest number recorded in any month.
However, the figures also reveal that the amount of households taking out a Green Deal plan are still relatively small with 2,439 Green Deal plans in progress at the end of April – 439 more since the end of March. Of those plans, 756 were classed as new, 505 pending and 1,178 live.
DECC claims that in total 790,000 measures were installed in around 660,000 properties through ECO, Cashback and Green Deal – a growth of 14% from last month’s numbers. The vast majority of the installed measures (98%) were completed under ECO.
Reacting to the figures, Richard Twinn, policy and public affairs officer at the UK Green Building Council, said: “The recent spike in Green Deal assessments reflected the surge in ECO activity up until the end of March, but changes to the policy mean this work is likely to tail off over the next few months.
“However, it’s encouraging to see Green Deals growing steadily, with April representing the biggest month-on-month jump in new plans. This is potentially good news for the industry as more self-funded Green Deal work could help to offset the loss of ECO subsidy.”
DECC recently revealed changes to the Green Deal scheme that allows households in England and Wales to claim up to £7,600 through a new Green Deal Home Improvement Fund which will take effect from June this year.
Climate change minister Greg Barker commented: “I want households across the country to benefit from more energy efficient homes and reduced bills through the Green Deal, and that is what the new home incentive fund will do.”