The UK government has urged tradespeople to join more than 1,000 businesses who have already signed up to become eligible for its £2bn Green Homes Grant scheme.
The grant programme is scheduled to go live at the end of next month, and will see the government pay up to £10,000 for the cost of energy efficiency improvements for over 600,000 homes.
Upgrades will range from insulation of walls, floors and roofs, to the installation of low-carbon heating like heat pumps – measures that could support over 10,000 jobs and help homeowners save up to £600 a year on energy bills.
All tradespeople who wish to offer their services under the grant must first must register with TrustMark, and accreditation can take as little as five working days.
Business and energy secretary Alok Sharma said yesterday: “The Green Homes Grant scheme will not only cut emissions and make a serious dent in people's energy bills, but will create new work for many thousands of talented builders, plumbers and other tradespeople right across the UK.
“Today I'm urging businesses to sign up and get TrustMark accredited so they can crack on and offer their services to households across the country when the scheme opens.“
Tradespeople hoping to install energy efficiency measures under the grant programme must also be certified to installation standards.
To install low-carbon heat measures, tradespeople must additionally be registered and certified through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme for the relevant heating technology.
It is hoped that TrustMark accreditation will root out any possible 'cowboy builders', with up to 24 million homes potentially needing upgrades to meet the government's target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
“In a world where anyone can set themselves up as a builder, I welcome the government's emphasis on accreditation for tradespeople and quality assurance as part of the Green Homes Grants scheme,“ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
“The FMB is a provider of TrustMark, and I believe that a recognisable scheme such as this will give homeowners the confidence they need to carry out building works and help boost jobs in the industry.“
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