Press Release

Mayor helps Londoners gear up for home information packs
1-5-2007   265

With a month to go until the Government introduces Home Information Packs, the Mayor and British Gas have extended their offer of cut-price insulation for homes in the capital until 1st July 2007.

From 1st June, if you are selling your home you will need to have a Home Information Pack before you put your home on the market.  A Home Information Pack includes an Energy Performance Certificate, which gives a rating for the building, showing its energy efficiency and its environmental impact on a scale from A-G (A is the most efficient and G the least efficient). It includes information on the construction and location of the house and the fittings such as the heating system, insulation and double glazing for example. By insulating your home you can help to improve your energy efficiency rating.

The home insulation campaign is a first part of the Mayor’s Climate Change Action Plan, which sets out how London can contribute to tackling climate change.

London’s homes are responsible for 38 per cent of London’s emissions and so tackling climate change needs to start at home. Under the Mayor's offer, Londoners can take advantage of cut-price cavity wall insulation (from £250) and loft insulation from (£274), installed by British Gas. The Mayor and British Gas will give each household that signs up for the offer £100 cash back when the work has been completed (1). Interest free credit will be available and for most households the energy savings will mean that the measures pay for themselves within a year (2).

The offer is available to every household across London that is suitable for the scheme and it is free to those that are on benefits (2). To take up the Mayor’s insulation offer, Londoners need simply to contact the helpline on 0845 070 5059 or for further information go to www.london.gov.uk.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: 'The new requirement for Home Buyer Packs will enable home buyers to choose 'green' when they are looking for a house. Our surveys show that over 82 per cent of Londoners are now concerned about climate change and many want to cut their own carbon emissions. To enable Londoners who are thinking of selling their homes to better prepare for this, I have agreed with British Gas to extend our offer of cut-price home insulation to 1 July. If you are thinking of selling your home, this is the perfect chance to both make a contribution to tackling climate change and to improve the ease of selling your property.’

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said: 'Energy Performance Certificates will give consumers energy ratings for homes similar to those found on fridges, helping them to reduce carbon emissions as well as cut their fuel bills. We want homebuyers with poorly rated homes to be able to get extra support so they can make the changes recommended. That's why I welcome the extension of this deal available to Londoners. The Government is also developing measures to make it easier for homebuyers to access grants for energy efficiency measures, linking them to new EPCs.'

Andrew Reaney, Head of British Gas Residential Energy for London said:  ' With thousands of Londoners already signed up for our cut-price home insulation, we are keen to keep this offer open for as long as possible to give even more homeowners across the capital maximum opportunity to benefit from this great deal '.  

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The £100 cash back is provided jointly by the Mayor and British Gas. The Mayoral funding will come from the London Development Agency and the £100 cash back will be limited to the first 30,000 homes. Upon installation, the installer will forward the paperwork to British Gas who will then direct the Post Office to activate the cash-back offer.
2. Londoners on the following benefits get this offer for free, but do not get cash back. Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Income based Jobseeker’s Allowances, War Disablement Pension, Attendance Allowance, Child Tax Credit (and with an annual household income of less than £14,600) Working Tax Credit (and with an annual household income of less than £14,600), Disability Living Allowance, Pension Credit, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits.
3. To take up the offer, contact the Mayor's insulation offer Helpline on 0845 070 5059 or for further information go to www.london.gov.uk
4. Details of the Home information Pack scheme can be found at www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk
5. Copies of the advertising are available on request.
6. British Gas was selected to partner the GLA through a competitive tender process.
7. British Gas is committed to supporting the rich and diverse communities that make up London. Working with the Mayor of London, we are involved in several key initiatives across the city. Visit www.house.co.uk/london to find out more about how we are working for a better London. British Gas has proven credentials in home insulation and currently works in association with 43 Local Authorities across the Great Britain in similar British Gas rebate schemes benefiting around 3 million homes.  British Gas is now committed to insulating over 20,000 London homes, in partnership with the GLA, to save up to 40 per cent on heating bills across the capital.
8. The Mayor’s Climate Change Action Plan can be found at www.london.gov.uk The Mayor recently published his Climate Change Action Plan, which sets out the first comprehensive plan to cut London’s carbon emissions. By making homes more energy efficient, the average London household could save £300 per year off their fuel bills, as well as cutting emissions. The largest potential carbon savings from the domestic sector lie in improving the thermal efficiency of housing by installing simple energy efficiency measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation, low energy light fittings, double glazing and heating and hot water improvements. The Mayor’s Climate Change Action Plan has a target to stabilise London’s emissions in 2025 at 60 per cent below 1990 level. Without action, London’s annual carbon emissions would instead grow from 44 million tonnes to 52 million tonnes by 2025.

For further information please call Nicola Dillon on 020 7983 4755 or Helen Collier on 020 7983 4066 in the Mayor’s Press Office or Emma Powell from British Gas on 02920 584637  (Numbers not for publication)

For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000.

For non-media enquiries please call the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.

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