Baxi has welcomed the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF), which was officially launched on Monday (9 June).

The new scheme allows householders in England and Wales to get to up to £7,600 cash back when carrying out energy efficiency improvements.

“It is fantastic to see the government is investing so much capital in the drive to a more sustainable Britain,” said Baxi’s managing director Paul Hardy. “Of course, this will come as a major boost to the heating sector, with heating offering one of the best opportunities for energy savings in the home.”

However, Mr Hardy also acknowledged that the scheme has the same red tape as the existing Green Deal scheme.

“It is unfortunate that the PAS 2030 registration required to become a Green Deal installer is also required for installers looking to get involved in the GDHIF,” he said. “From our perspective, many installers simply do not have the time or resource for such a rigorous accreditation process, which we believe has already hindered the success of the Green Deal.

“It is completely understandable that the government wants authorised installers to carry out GDHIF work, but there are other, less costly and complicated ways for installers’ competence to be demonstrated. We hope that we can work with government to make the scheme more accessible to installers – after all, they’re the ones who have the relationship with householders and their support is essential to the fund’s success.”