Pay delays affecting Green Deal providers

Under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, businesses can carry out works with the assistance of Government vouchers. Payment should be made to the business within 10 days. However Government delays in making payment are causing difficulties for the businesses concerned. The Government has explained that the additional time is required to ensure the validity of applications.

The Fund closed in July. At this time, £120 million of vouchers were claimed allowing a cashback for energy efficiency measures such as double-glazing, insulation and boilers.

Examples include the following:

Paul Mann, Managing Director of Insulation Render Solutions:

“Lack of payment in jobs have resulted in me laying off five renderers, two scaffolders and a plumber. I am unsure if the business can continue. Suppliers won't give us new materials until they've been paid, so we're stuck - the knock-on effect has been massive and we've had no clarity from DECC."

David Pink from Thrift Energy in Newcastle-upon-Tyne is also waiting for payment for work having spent more than £100,000 on materials. He said: "To redeem the money, DECC only asks for two signatures - we sign it and the customer signs it - along with the vouchers the customer had applied for. There's no photographic evidence - there's no other evidence of the insulation other than that."

In response, a DECC spokeswoman said: "We are processing payments as quickly as we can. Following submission of a voucher, payment may be withheld or delayed by the administrator if it considers that further auditing is necessary. While this may be an inconvenience for some people, we're responsible for spending taxpayers' money wisely, and we have a clear duty to ensure that applications and claims meet the scheme rules."