1 in 25 households may miss out on new scheme
By Elliot Wright, 7th January 2010
More than 3m Britons hoping to take advantage of the
Government's new boiler scrappage scheme face disappointment as it
emerged there won't be enough funds to cover all those
eligible.
The scheme allows households with G-rated boilers to receive a
£400 voucher off the cost of a new, more efficient boiler.
Approximately 3.5m households are eligible but the Government has
only provided enough money to cover 125,000 of them.
The news will come as a blow to households in desperate need of
an upgrade, and anyone wanting to get money off a new boiler will
have to act fast before the funds run out.
The boiler scrappage scheme was announced last month in Alistair
Darlings Pre-Budget Report. It was hoped that the scheme will
reduce energy bills for households as well as cut carbon emissions
from old and inefficient boilers.
But the scheme has come into criticism as it will only cover 1
in 25 eligible households as well as for the fact that new boilers
can cost up to £3000 while the maximum discount is only £400.
Philippa Heap, of the Energy Saving Trust, which is managing the
scheme for the Government, defended it, saying that the Government
is relying on boiler providers to offer alternative deals to those
that will, inevitably, miss out.
'Our scheme is there to kick start a nationwide push to get
inefficient boilers replaced,' she said.
'The Government is only providing a £50m pot, which is enough
for 125,000 households to claim £400 to help with the cost of
replacing their boiler.
'Already we have seen major energy companies matching this, with
British Gas and npower also offering £400.'
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