A home insulation fiasco has left tens of thousands in cold and leaky homes over winter

Thursday 23 Oct 2025
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Jan Rosenow, Brenda Boardman and Ewan Archer-Brown write in The Conversation on how Britain’s flagship home insulation programme has received a damning verdict from the National Audit Office. Under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, tens of thousands of households have been left with faulty or even dangerous installations. It’s a result, the auditors say, of weak oversight, poor skills and confused accountability.

This report is troubling not only because of the human cost but because it exposes a deeper failure of governance in how the UK tries to decarbonise home heating. It’s a complex task that demands long-term stewardship, but is instead being left to the market.

Read more in The Conversation