Small building companies need fairer access to the Green Deal (GD) market if the shortage of installers is to be addressed, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to the latest statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Almost 19,000 GD assessments were carried out as of the end of April 2013, yet there are only 942 GD installer companies approved to carry out this work – nowhere near enough to deliver energy-efficiency improvements to Britain’s 26 million existing homes by 2050.

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Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: "There are more than 240,000 companies in the construction industry that employ fewer than 14 people. These companies are often best placed to carry out Green Deal work, but because it is difficult to access the market, they are reluctant to train the number of approved installers needed to retrofit Britain's building stock.

"Our new strategy will help increase opportunities for SMEs in the low-carbon refurbishment market. Today’s statistics from DECC show our strategy is well timed. The Green Deal has now been open for business for almost four months and demand for work under the initiative appears to be growing, but it still feels like a missed opportunity to the majority of SMEs in the industry who haven’t seen any sign of transformation in the energy-efficiency market."

(CD)