Families facing higher bills as 57% of homes in Ipswich fail to meet basic energy efficiency standards 

57% of homes assessed in Ipswich in the past five years failed to meet the basic Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of a C, new data analysis released today has found. Poorly insulated homes often face higher bills: £1 of every £4 spent by UK households on energy is wasted due to poor insulation.

To tackle this, the Co-operative Party’s #CantWaitToInsulate campaign is calling on the Government to speed up and bolster their commitment to retrofitting – the process of upgrading homes to make them more energy efficient, such as installing loft insulation or double-glazed windows.

In last month’s Autumn Statement, the Government committed to spend an extra £6bn on retrofitting from 2025, likely after the next election. In response, the #CantWaitToInsulate campaign is organising an open letter to Grant Shapps MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The letter calls on the Government to bring forward this extra funding from 2025 to now, and to match the Labour Party’s commitment to spend £6billion a year over a decade to retrofit every single home which fails to meet these basic standards.

Jack Abbott, Labour and Co-operative Parliamentary Candidate for Ipswich, said: 

“Britain’s homes are notoriously draughty, damp and cold – and with energy prices rising, that can make them incredibly expensive to heat. It’s unbelievable that in Ipswich, 57% of households are facing even higher bills because their homes fail to meet basic energy efficiency standards.

“Everyone in Ipswich has the right to a safe, warm home. That’s why I’ve joined the Can’t Wait To Insulate campaign and urge the Government to provide more money now to retrofit homes in Ipswich.”