North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has accused the Welsh Government of prioritizing its own top-down programme over local, community-based energy efficiency schemes, such as the Affordable Warmth scheme in Flintshire.
Mr Isherwood made the comments after questioning the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs over the Welsh Government Energy Service in the Assembly Chamber on Wednesday.
He said:
“The Welsh Government website says that the Energy Service ‘aims to develop energy efficiency and renewable energy projects’, and ‘provides technical, financial and other specialist support for energy projects’. You just mentioned working with community groups and others. The original effective pilot, the local Affordable Warmth Scheme launched in Flintshire some years ago, was always built upon joint working with the third sector and existing energy efficiency schemes. How are you ensuring that that is embedded as this goes forward, and it's not simply a top-down programme?”
The Minister replied: “In creating the new Energy Service, we are enabling the public sector to, obviously, decarbonise and make use of this funding, but this service is also supporting local people. It's not just about the public sector. So, local people and local groups are, obviously, coming together to create schemes that will help us deliver against our targets for renewable energy in Wales”.
Speaking outside the Chamber Mr Isherwood added: “In the real world, local schemes developing energy efficiency at the community level have been sidelined as this Welsh Government has prioritised its own top-down programme. I received a message in May 2018 from North Wales Energy Advice Centre, a not for profit Social Enterprise and key partner in Flintshire’s Affordable Warmth Scheme, that its main funding would cease from last September.
“As they said, ‘The Affordable Warmth scheme in Flintshire should be a flagship project to be emulated across Wales (and the UK) as an affordable way to provide real, practical and effective help to those most in need but looks now most likely to be abandoned’.”
Mr Isherwood also asked the Minister how she is planning to address concern that, “with fluctuating fuel prices, many off-gas-grid homes have recently seen improvements in their Energy Performance Certificate ratings without any alterations being made to the property or any material improvements to the environmental performance of the buildings concerned?”
