Warm Homes Plan - Consumer protection reform

Description

NOTICE OF MARKET ENGAGEMENT - 21.04.2026 In January 2026 the Government published the Warm Homes Plan, setting out how it will help households reduce energy bills and transform the existing building stock into comfortable, future proofed low carbon homes. The Plan explains how home upgrades, including microgeneration measures (solar panels, batteries and heat pumps) and energy efficiency measures (insulation), will support bill reductions. Delivery of consumer protection reforms is subject to an ongoing delivery model assessment within the Department. This assessment is considering a range of delivery models, including in‑house and outsourced approaches, and their implications for quality assurance, consumer protection, pace of delivery, value for money and system resilience. Understanding the capacity and appetite of the market to deliver a reformed consumer protection regime for government‑funded installations is essential to informing final recommendations. Please note that this is very early-stage engagement. Its purpose is to inform Departmental discussions about possible delivery models for the future of consumer protection for warm homes retrofit. Final decisions about how consumer protection will be delivered, and the involvement of commercial actors in this in the future have not been made yet. The intention for this round of engagement is to speak with commercial operators to understand more about the market’s capacity and appetite to deliver the services. This engagement is part of the Department’s work around consumer protection for warm homes retrofit. It sits alongside, and is complimentary to the planned consultation exercise, as detailed in the Written Ministerial Statement on 13 October 2025 and the Warm Homes Plan. At this stage the size, scope, value and duration of any procurement or contract is uncertain. This engagement does not commit the Department to a specific procurement approach but is intended to inform decisions.