In Green Deal mis-selling cases, my Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has power to reduce or cancel loans where there has been a breach of the relevant rules, and she is satisfied the consumer has suffered, or is likely to suffer, substantive loss. The financial impact of sanctions falls to the loan provider.

Public expenditure relating to mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Limited is limited to legal costs plus initial case reviews by the Financial Ombudsman Service, estimated at approximately £324,000. There are also staff and administration costs, but it is not possible to provide an estimate of these without incurring disproportionate cost.

The Department has received 348 complaints about Green Deal loans by the former Green Deal provider, Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Limited (HELMS). Intention Notices – setting out the Secretary of State’s proposed decision – have been issued in 214 cases and final decisions have been issued for 170 cases. One hundred HELMS cases are yet to pass through the intention notice stage. Following final decisions, a total of 21 decisions have been appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.

Under the Green Deal Framework Regulations, the Secretary of State has the power to cancel or reduce loans where there has been a breach of the relevant rules, and she is satisfied that the consumer has suffered, or is likely to suffer, a substantive loss.

Cancellation or reduction has been proposed in respect of 135 complaints about mis-selling by HELMS. There is no formal step under the Regulations of ‘accepting’ or ‘rejecting’ proposed sanctions, but affected parties may make representations in response to Intention Notices. A total of 58 have made representations in response to proposed decisions on HELMS mis-selling complaints.

A small number of complaints about mis-selling by HELMS have been withdrawn but we do not hold data on the reasons why (it is not always made evident by the complainant). We therefore do not hold data on numbers of complainants who have decided to accept offers from the Green Deal Finance Company instead of pursuing their complaint with the Department.

The Department has received 348 complaints about Green Deal loans by the former Green Deal provider, Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Limited (HELMS). Intention Notices – setting out the Secretary of State’s proposed decision – have been issued in 214 cases and final decisions have been issued for 170 cases. One hundred HELMS cases are yet to pass through the intention notice stage. Following final decisions, a total of 21 decisions have been appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.

Under the Green Deal Framework Regulations, the Secretary of State has the power to cancel or reduce loans where there has been a breach of the relevant rules, and she is satisfied that the consumer has suffered, or is likely to suffer, a substantive loss.

Cancellation or reduction has been proposed in respect of 135 complaints about mis-selling by HELMS. There is no formal step under the Regulations of ‘accepting’ or ‘rejecting’ proposed sanctions, but affected parties may make representations in response to Intention Notices. A total of 58 have made representations in response to proposed decisions on HELMS mis-selling complaints.

A small number of complaints about mis-selling by HELMS have been withdrawn but we do not hold data on the reasons why (it is not always made evident by the complainant). We therefore do not hold data on numbers of complainants who have decided to accept offers from the Green Deal Finance Company instead of pursuing their complaint with the Department.

I would invite the hon. Member to write to provide further detail on the complaint she is referring to. The Department will then be able to advise on the status of the complaint to inform the request for discussion.

The Department is aware of 20 such appeals that have been made to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

As of 30 November 2021, there have been 308 complaints to the Secretary of State about mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS). Of these a total of 81 have been completed, defined as meaning that the Secretary of State’s final decision has been issued and there has been no subsequent appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, or that the case has been withdrawn. 13 cases have been appealed to the Tribunal and are not yet resolved.

A total of 105 complainants have received Intention Notices. Of these, 85 have also received final decision letters. 20 have received Intention Notices that have not yet been followed by final decision letters (and therefore may be taken as outstanding).

Of the final decisions issued, 81 have been to impose sanctions, these being either the reduction or cancellation of loans. We do not hold data on how many are “rejected” by the complainant in favour of an offer from the Green Deal Finance Company. Once the sanction has been imposed, there is no further action for the Department under the Green Deal Framework Regulations, unless the complainant decides to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. If there is no such appeal within twenty-eight days of the date of the decision letter, the Department considers the case to be complete.

The table below provides numbers of complaints to the Secretary of State about mis-selling of Green Deal Plans by HELMS in each month since January 2020.

We are progressing cases as quickly as possible, and looking at ways to speed up the review process.

As of 30 November 2021, there have been 308 complaints to the Secretary of State about mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS). Of these a total of 81 have been completed, defined as meaning that the Secretary of State’s final decision has been issued and there has been no subsequent appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, or that the case has been withdrawn. 13 cases have been appealed to the Tribunal and are not yet resolved.

A total of 105 complainants have received Intention Notices. Of these, 85 have also received final decision letters. 20 have received Intention Notices that have not yet been followed by final decision letters (and therefore may be taken as outstanding).

Of the final decisions issued, 81 have been to impose sanctions, these being either the reduction or cancellation of loans. We do not hold data on how many are “rejected” by the complainant in favour of an offer from the Green Deal Finance Company. Once the sanction has been imposed, there is no further action for the Department under the Green Deal Framework Regulations, unless the complainant decides to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. If there is no such appeal within twenty-eight days of the date of the decision letter, the Department considers the case to be complete.

The table below provides numbers of complaints to the Secretary of State about mis-selling of Green Deal Plans by HELMS in each month since January 2020.

We are progressing cases as quickly as possible, and looking at ways to speed up the review process.

No such formal discussions have taken place with Cabinet colleagues specifically on the subject of redress for victims of mis-selling by the former Green Deal Provider, Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS). The redress process is completed in line with the requirements of the Green Deal Framework Regulations.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The Department does not record data on the number of complaints about mis-selling of Green Deal Plans by Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) received from complainants who did not enter the original credit agreement as the property “improver”. Complaints to my Rt, Hon. Friend the Secretary of State can be made under the Green Deal Framework regulations by original improvers or subsequent bill payers (other eligibility criteria must also met).

The legislative context within which redress can be sought in regard to mis-selling under the Green Deal is set out in The Green Deal Framework, based on provisions in the Energy Act 2011, Framework Regulations and Code of Practice.

Section 4.9 of the Green Deal Code of Practice lays out the time provisions within which a complaint must be made to be considered eligible. This confirms that a complaint must be made, by any category of person identified in the provisions, within six years of the date on which the alleged breach occurred. There are separate considerations where a complaint concerns matters relevant to specific Guarantees.

The Green Deal Finance Company, as a private company, have their own complaints procedure.

For complaints about mis-selling, the Financial Ombudsman Service is responsible for initial reviews. For many, but not all, complaints about other Green Deal matters, such as installation quality, the Green Deal Ombudsman is contracted to complete initial reviews.

In all cases, decisions regarding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed, are the responsibility of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

Complainants do not receive direct correspondence from the Financial Ombudsman Service as part of the reviews of complaints submitted to the Secretary of State. In addition to the work it completes on complaints to the Secretary of State, the Financial Ombudsman Service more generally handles Green Deal complaints about financing issues as part of its statutory role under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Some such complaints may subsequently be referred to the Secretary of State for review and may be the subject of associated correspondence between the Financial Ombudsman Service and the complainant, but such correspondence stands outside of the formal review process.

I am afraid to say that what the hon. Lady raises is incredibly important, and she is right to raise it. We must accelerate the process by which these complaints are upheld and dealt with and compensation is delivered, if only because that is the only way to build public confidence in all the retrofitting, insulation and improvements to our homes that we need to deliver across the whole of the country as part of our green industrial revolution, so the hon. Lady is spot on, and I will be writing to her about that case.

The Green Deal Framework Regulations require that, before imposing any sanction, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State gives notice to affected parties of his intention to impose a sanction (an initial notice, referred to as an Intention Notice) and provides them with an opportunity to make representations before it is made final.

As of 8^th October 2020, there were 117 appeals against mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) for which no Intention Notice or final decision has been issued.

The average time between receipt of an appeal case by the Secretary of State and the Issue of an Intention Notice is 13 months.

The following table shows how many Intention Notices were issued by month proposing reduction or cancellation of Green Deal loans in response to appeals about mis-selling by HELMS, and the number of these cases for which no representations have been received.

Complainants can appeal final decisions (set out in final Sanction Notices) to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First–tier Tribunal. For one case recorded in the above table, the complainant did not submit representations but, following receipt of a final Sanction Notice, appealed to the Tribunal.

No Intention Notices have been issued since April. In April, two decisions were made by the First-tier Tribunal in response to appeals. Following this, the issuing of Intention Notices was paused to allow for full consideration of the First-tier Tribunal decisions in future Intention Notices.

During this period, 43 Sanction Notices have been issued in response to appeals about mis-selling by HELMS.

The Green Deal Framework Regulations require that, before imposing any sanction, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State gives notice to affected parties of his intention to impose a sanction (an initial notice, referred to as an Intention Notice) and provides them with an opportunity to make representations before it is made final.

As of 8^th October 2020, there were 117 appeals against mis-selling by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) for which no Intention Notice or final decision has been issued.

The average time between receipt of an appeal case by the Secretary of State and the Issue of an Intention Notice is 13 months.

The following table shows how many Intention Notices were issued by month proposing reduction or cancellation of Green Deal loans in response to appeals about mis-selling by HELMS, and the number of these cases for which no representations have been received.

Complainants can appeal final decisions (set out in final Sanction Notices) to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First–tier Tribunal. For one case recorded in the above table, the complainant did not submit representations but, following receipt of a final Sanction Notice, appealed to the Tribunal.

No Intention Notices have been issued since April. In April, two decisions were made by the First-tier Tribunal in response to appeals. Following this, the issuing of Intention Notices was paused to allow for full consideration of the First-tier Tribunal decisions in future Intention Notices.

During this period, 43 Sanction Notices have been issued in response to appeals about mis-selling by HELMS.