Warm Homes Plan must prioritise skills to match Government ambitions, warns SNIPEF
January 21, 2026
SNIPEF welcomes ambition of the Warm Homes Plan but warns delivery risks repeating past insulation failures without skilled workforce
SNIPEF has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement of the £15 billion Warm Homes Plan aimed at upgrading millions of homes with energy efficiency and clean technology measures.
Scott Sanford, Head of Technical Services & Certification at SNIPEF, said: “We welcome and support any initiative that helps families cut energy bills, reduce fuel poverty and accelerate the transition to a low carbon future.
“Improving insulation, expanding access to solar and heat pump technologies, and targeted support for low-income households are vital steps in delivering warmer homes, tackling long-term energy costs and contributing to net zero objectives.
“However, the plan lacks explicit and substantial detail about investment in the training and skills development required to deliver quality home upgrades at scale. SNIPEF is clear that without a properly trained and competent workforce, large-scale retrofit and low carbon heating deployment will falter.
“We have already seen the consequences of this approach. Previous government-supported insulation schemes allowed complex work to be carried out by inadequately trained and poorly supervised installers. In practice, this meant almost anyone could undertake publicly funded retrofit work, leading to serious failures, as seen in the recent spray foam insulation scandal, which has damaged homes, blighted homeowners and is now costing millions to resolve.
“If this programme is to succeed, investment in homes must go hand in hand with investment in people, skills and competence. Quality, safety and consumer confidence must be built in from the start, not dealt with after the damage is done.”
