UK insulation scheme would take 300 years to meet government targets, say critics

The current rate of energy efficiency upgrades is 20 times lower than under the last Labour government. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Alamy

The government’s home insulation scheme would take 190 years to upgrade the energy efficiency of the UK’s draughty housing stock, and 300 years to meet the government’s own targets to reduce fuel poverty, according to industry calculations.

Critics of the Great British Insulation Scheme, which aims to insulate 300,000 homes a year over the next three years, have raised concerns that the plan does not go far enough to reach the 19m UK homes that need better insulation.