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Miliband confirms no plans for 2035 ban on gas boilers in homes

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said he was ‘wary’ of a ban without being able to guarantee that greener alternatives would be cheaper by the deadline.

By contributor By Rebecca Speare-Cole, PA Sustainability Reporter
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A person turning the dial on a central heating thermostat
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told a committee that Labour never had plans for such a ban (Steve Parsons/PA)

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has confirmed that the Government is not planning to introduce a future ban on gas boilers, citing concern around the potential cost to consumers.

Speaking at the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said he was “wary” of stopping people from having gas boilers by a specific date if the Government cannot guarantee greener alternatives will be cheaper.

With a significant amount of the UK’s carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the previous Conservative government had outlined plans to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035.

This meant households looking to replace their boilers would have to opt for a greener option for heating their home by that date, such as a heat pump.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak was criticised by scientists, campaigners and MPs in 2023 when he backtracked on several net zero policies, including weakening the mooted boiler ban to an 80% phase-out by 2035.

Last week, it was reported that the new Government had scrapped plans for a 2035 ban on gas boilers in its new housebuilding standards.

Quizzed by MPs about this decision, Mr Miliband told the committee that Labour never had plans for such a ban.

“There isn’t going to be a ban because Rishi Sunak… well, they never legislated for the ban and then he said he wasn’t going to do it,” he said.

“The answer is that we said in our manifesto that we weren’t going to force anyone to rip out their gas boiler.

“I’m very cautious on these questions because we can say to people: ‘You need to get a heat pump, not a gas boiler, potentially at some point in the future’ but I’m very wary that we’re going to stop people having gas boilers at a point when we can’t guarantee that heat pumps are going to be cheaper for people.”

The Energy Secretary went on to argue that in opposition, Labour never said it would reverse Mr Sunak’s row-back on his Government’s boiler ban plans.

“We did that deliberately because my bottom line is that we proceed in a way that means we can say to people: ‘You’re going to be better off in making this transition’,” Mr Miliband said.

“I do not want to be in a position where I say to people: ‘You must go down this road’ and then people say to me rightly: ‘Look, you’re going to make me worse off’.

“So that’s our position on that.”

Reports last week also said the Government’s upcoming future homes standards will include minimum criteria for energy efficiency that mean newly built properties will not be able to install gas boilers if they are to meet the new rules.

Asked about whether there would be a mandatory ban on fossil fuel heating in new homes under the new standards, Mr Miliband said it would be a matter for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, adding that they will be “coming forward with proposals”.

He said: “The thing I would say about this is that there are massive advantages for us from the outset ensuring that homes are built to a low-carbon spec.”

“And I think there’s enthusiasm for this among the housebuilders and others,” Mr Miliband added, citing a company working with housebuilders to guarantee zero bills homes for 10 years as a “massively exciting concept”.

“That’s turning the prospect of zero carbon into a consumer benefit and that’s what we’re about,” he said.

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