Negative Reporting on Cavity Wall Insulation by the BBC

Last week both BBC Radio 4 You & Yours and BBC Wales Today featured negative programmes on Cavity Wall Insulation based on an incomplete draft report from BRE.

The insulation industry welcomes scrutiny and the publication of robust research which helps to identify areas for improvement. That’s why we have been working to support BRE as it develops its research, and will continue to do so.

However, BRE has been clear that the report referenced by the BBC is an early draft of a scoping report which carries no status and the reporting of this draft study now risks alarming and seriously misleading consumers.

The reality is that there is a very low rate of problems with cavity wall insulation in the UK. Just 0.21% of all 6 million installations guaranteed by CIGA, the UK’s largest cavity wall insulation guarantee agency, result in a claim. When something does go wrong, that guarantee acts as a back-stop to protect consumers and ensure they have access to redress. In Wales, that rate is slightly higher at 0.59% of all installations but still significantly below the rate suggested in the draft study seen by the BBC.

The NIA responded to both programmes expressing our concern at the use of content from the BRE draft report which we consider to be both irresponsible and misleading and setting out details of the very low rate of problems with CWI. 

Insulation is an exceptionally reliable product which keeps energy bills down and homes warm