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- Almost all external insulation fitted under Tory scheme needs repair or replacing, report finds
Almost all external insulation fitted under Tory scheme needs repair or replacing, report finds
A damning new report has exposed a systemic failure in the previous government's flagship energy efficiency scheme, revealing that almost all the external insulation installed under the programme was so poorly fitted it now requires urgent repair or complete replacement. This isn't merely a statistical failure; it's a profound human crisis, leaving thousands of homeowners, who acted in good faith to improve their properties and reduce their carbon footprint, now trapped in homes blighted by incompetently fitted cladding that actively promotes damp and mould—conditions with devastating consequences for health and wellbeing, particularly for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory issues.This scandal echoes a familiar pattern where grand policy announcements, often lauded on the international stage at forums like UN climate conferences, are utterly undermined by a catastrophic breakdown in execution and oversight at the domestic level. The personal impact is staggering; imagine the young family who invested their savings, trusting a government-backed initiative, only to find their child’s bedroom wall festering with black mould, a direct result of the very scheme promised to make their lives better and their home warmer.This goes beyond faulty materials; it speaks to a deeper malady in how we value the sanctity of the home and the social contract between the state and its citizens. The architects of such programmes, often insulated from the consequences, must be held accountable not just for the wasted public funds, which likely run into the hundreds of millions, but for the erosion of public trust in green initiatives altogether.How can we expect a nation to rally behind a net-zero future when the very mechanisms designed to facilitate it are so fundamentally broken, leaving a legacy of distress and disrepair in their wake? This investigation should serve as a critical juncture, forcing a reckoning with the gendered and class-based dimensions of this failure, as it is often women who bear the disproportionate burden of managing household crises and safeguarding family health against such environmental hazards within the home. The path forward requires more than just a technical fix; it demands a new, empathetic framework for policy implementation that centres the lived experiences of people, ensuring that the transition to a greener future is just, equitable, and does not, as in this case, punish those it was meant to empower.
JA
Jamie Larson123k2 days ago
wait what this is so depressing tbh like we try to do the right thing and the whole system is just broken smh
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