Twenty-Seventh Report - Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme

The government states it agrees with the recommendation and will ensure clear metrics for reform programmes, publishing regular updates on their operational effectiveness, but it doesn't detail improvements to readiness testing or address the request to consider Ministerial Directions.

The government's response addresses civil service skills shortages and efficiency savings, but does not provide details on steps taken to secure meaningful consumer engagement or ensure proportionate administration costs in new programmes, as recommended.

The government's response quotes a general PAC conclusion about tracking benefits and costs, completely failing to address the specific recommendation for the Department to engage with suppliers and address scaling challenges for the new Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The government's response cites a general PAC conclusion about government efficiency drives, failing to address the specific recommendation for the Department to outline how it will improve technical scrutiny of bids during procurements.

The government's response refers to a general PAC conclusion about civil service capacity during emergencies and does not address the specific recommendation on embedding lessons learned from energy efficiency schemes.

The government's response references a general PAC conclusion about 'cost shunting,' which does not address the committee's specific background information and context provided in conclusion #1 regarding the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme.

The government recognises the impact of the shortened timescale and acknowledges that the scheme administrator's digital delivery complicated processes and contributed to a complex user experience. It states that scheme design elements were informed by previous learnings and focused on quality assurance.

The government describes its existing Projects and Investment Committee (PIC) process for assessing large investments and ensuring value for money, implying current mechanisms address such issues, rather than directly acknowledging the committee's findings on the specific cost inefficiencies of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme.

The government agrees with the committee's findings and is engaging with suppliers and industry to ensure high-quality heat pump training is available, aiming to create jobs through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the new Green Jobs Delivery Group.

The government recognises the impact of the shortened timescale and digital delivery on installer engagement, stating that policy implementation will be improved through robust public consultation and by sharing lessons learned for future schemes.

The government acknowledges the impact of shortened timescales and complex digital delivery on installer engagement. It reaffirms commitment to high quality standards based on the EHC review and states that lessons learned from the scheme will inform future policy development and implementation, including robust public consultation.

The government recognises the negative impact of the shortened timescale and abrupt scheme closure on stakeholders, stating that policy implementation can be improved through robust public consultation and by sharing lessons learned for future schemes.

The government acknowledges the impact of shortened timescales and states that policy implementation will be improved through robust public consultation and sharing lessons learned for future schemes, but does not directly address the contradiction regarding the viability of alternative schemes for SMEs.

The government agrees with the committee's observation regarding job performance and monitoring. It states the independent evaluation of the GHGv scheme is assessing its impact on jobs using qualitative and quantitative methods, and commits that future policies will adhere to monitoring and evaluation frameworks. From 2022-2024, the department will explore data science methods to monitor job trends for the wider Net Zero strategy.

The government recognises the impact of shortened timescales on stakeholder engagement. It commits to improving future policy implementation by undertaking robust public consultation for each proposed development to gather views from stakeholders and seek feedback from consumers, and will share lessons learned from the GHGv scheme.

The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will be implemented by Winter 2023. It details ongoing engagement with suppliers, efforts to ensure heat pump training is available with industry capacity to upskill 7,000 installers annually, and expects the BUS to support 2,100 direct FTE jobs, with ongoing monitoring of job trends.

The government agrees with the committee's implied recommendation to learn from past scheme failures, stating it is 'implemented'. The response details processes for extracting and sharing lessons learned from the GHGv scheme through independent evaluation, internal briefings, cross-Whitehall cascades, and a new programme to transform the department's delivery capability for future projects.

The government agrees with the committee's findings, stating the recommendation is implemented, and has initiated multiple specific actions including a lessons learned repository, mandatory engagement with previous projects in business cases, and a new programme to transform delivery capability.

The government agrees with the recommendation and states it is 'implemented,' committing to fully recognise and learn from the scheme's failures. It details steps including an independent evaluation due Autumn 2023, extensive sharing of lessons internally and across Whitehall, and a new programme to transform departmental delivery capability for future projects.

The government agrees with the recommendation for a stable long-term plan, stating it is 'implemented' by the Heat and Buildings Strategy. The response outlines a commitment to applying lessons learned from the GHGv scheme through an independent evaluation, internal briefings, cross-Whitehall cascades, and a new programme to transform departmental delivery capability for future projects.

The government recognises the impact of the shortened timescale and the scheme administrator's digital delivery complications. It commits to improving policy implementation through robust public consultation and sharing lessons learned from the GHGv scheme to inform future policy development.

The government acknowledges the negative impact of the shortened timescale for the scheme and states it aims to improve policy implementation through robust public consultation and by sharing lessons learned for future schemes.

The government recognises the negative impact of the rushed timescale and limited stakeholder engagement on the scheme's delivery, stating that policy implementation will improve through robust public consultations and sharing lessons learned for future schemes.

The government explained that the Accounting Officer assessed the risks of the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme, gained assurance on funding flexibility from HM Treasury and digital product approval from GDS, and consequently did not consider a ministerial direction to be required based on existing governance approvals.

The government explained that the Accounting Officer assessed the risks of the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme, gained assurance on funding flexibility from HM Treasury and digital product approval from GDS, and consequently did not consider a ministerial direction to be required based on existing governance approvals.

The government agrees with the committee's findings, stating the recommendation is implemented, and details specific procedures it will undertake for future procurements, including robust supplier assessment, clear evaluation criteria, and thorough checks on bids and implementation plans.

The government agrees with the committee's findings, stating the recommendation is implemented, and details specific procedures it will undertake for future procurements, including robust supplier assessment, clear evaluation criteria, and thorough checks on bids and implementation plans, to prevent similar issues.

The government agreed with the recommendation to improve procurement processes, outlining a detailed list of actions the department will undertake both before and after receiving bids. These actions include a two-stage process, robust supplier assessment, engaging GDS for IT systems evaluation, thorough evaluation of implementation plans, and forensic accountancy for bid pricing.

The government agrees with the recommendation, stating it is 'implemented'. It commits to a range of enhanced procurement processes including considering two-stage processes for earlier supplier involvement, robust market assessments, analyzing CCS framework contracts for protection, improving evaluation training, engaging GDS for IT systems, and conducting thorough bid evaluations including abnormal low bid assessments and exploring deliverability pre-award.