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Energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted the government鈥檚 拢2bn scheme for green home improvements will not be enough to decarbonise homes in England.

The Green Homes Grant, announced in the Treasury鈥檚 summer economic update last month, will allow homeowners to apply for the government to fund up to two-thirds of the cost of installing energy-saving upgrades to homes such as insulation and low-carbon heat pumps.

But the funding has come under fire from green groups including Greenpeace for paling in comparison to similar schemes in France, which has promised 拢13.5bn, and Germany, which has pledged 拢36bn.

Kwarteng (pictured) said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a start. It鈥檚 a step in the right direction but it鈥檚 not the be all and end all. It won鈥檛 answer every single issue regarding the decarbonisation of homes and buildings.鈥�

Greenpeace political advisor Rosie Rogers said when the scheme was announced that the UK was not 鈥減laying in the same league鈥� as other countries in driving a green recovery of the economy in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.

But Kwarteng suggested that more funding will be announced to add to the Green Homes Grant, which will expire next March, in the next budget and the next spending review.

He said: 鈥淚n those fiscal statements, there will be more, I鈥檓 sure, debate and perhaps greater commitments to spending in this area.鈥�

The minister also admitted the government does not know how the industry will cope with the demand for the scheme, which will be rolled out from the end of September.

He said: 鈥滻n the middle of August, before we have actually rolled out the scheme, we don鈥檛 know what the strains and stresses will be. We鈥檝e got an idea of what things we need to look at, the roll-out, the take-up of the scheme to match the relevant skills and expertise with the demand, but we don鈥檛 know how that鈥檚 going to unfold.鈥�

Only tradespeople registered with the government accreditation scheme TrustMark will be able to carry out the home upgrades, with over 1,000 businesses already signed up.

Kwarteng denied that there could be local shortages of accredited tradespeople to work on the schemes. He said there was a view among local authorities and MPs that 鈥渨e do have capacity to meet the demand in the right places鈥�.

This morning, business minister Alok Sharma urged tradespeople to get accredited so they can 鈥渃rack on鈥� when the scheme opens. He said that accreditation could take as little as five days for those who already have membership of a recognised trade body, such as the Federation of Master Builders or the 黑洞社区 Engineering Services Association.