Industry welcomed the Government’s confirmation yesterday that it will not commence powers in the Deregulation Bill which restrict the ability of local authorities to impose their own requirements for energy efficiency until the Zero Carbon Homes (ZCH) standard is in effect.

Dave Sowden, Chief Executive said: “This is welcome news because it will carry the industry through to the commencement of ZCH in 2016 and will enable supply chains to continue to develop in readiness. We congratulate the Liberal Democrats for fighting for this and also Jonathan Reynolds MP for the amendment he submitted. ”

“Of course, this only goes someway to the delivery of a sufficient Zero Carbon Homes standard and we will continue to work along with industry colleagues to ensure the standard is sufficiently high enough in 2016.”