A spokesperson added that “for the vast majority, this means a home may not be as energy efficient as it should be”.
The parliamentary committee, which monitors the effectiveness of government spending, said the insulation schemes ECO 4 and GBIS, which began in 2022, were so badly designed they were almost ”bound to fail”.
It said they had received ”virtually no attention” from senior government officials so that they did not know whether the schemes were working for at least two years.
Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown said the level of non-compliance by insulation installers was so extreme that the matter should be referred to the Serious Fraud Office.
The committee found that less than 10% of affected homes had been fixed since the problems emerged in October 2024.
It warned that when households have to wait for help, the likelihood of damage increased, resulting in “immediate health and safety risks that need urgent attention”.
The report also criticises Trustmark, the organisation in charge of overseeing the quality of insulation work, for not notifying officials of high levels of faulty external wall insulation until October 2024.
Responding to the committee’s report, Trustmark said it remained “totally committed to ensuring strong consumer protection for all types of home improvements”.
“We are continuing to work with government, our Scheme Providers, Registered Businesses and where appropriate, guarantee providers, to get these problems found and fixed.
“These examples of poor-quality workmanship are completely unacceptable and underline the need for change and reform to the current system,” Trustmark said.
Affected customers can find information about TrustMark’s Find and Fix scheme on their website, external.
