NIA response to the publication of the ‘Each Home Counts’ Review

Following the publication of the report on Friday 16^th December 2016, Neil Marshall the CEO of the National Insulation Association (NIA) responded: "The NIA has contributed a significant amount to the review and we were pleased to see that the input we have provided and the work that the NIA and its members is already carrying out to further improve quality and standards has been recognised in the report.  We fully support the review and will be meeting with Peter Bonfield and his team early in the new year to discuss the recommendations and how the NIA and its members can contribute to the implementation of these."

Marshall added: "As the leading trade association for insulation in the UK the NIA and its members is committed to quality and customer service.  Our members meet robust criteria and sign up to a strict code of professional practice, providing householders and specifiers with added reassurance and peace of mind.

"In anticipation of the recommendations of the Review we began work in developing enhanced industry standards and specifications some months ago for insulation measures including Cavity Wall Insulation, External Wall Insulation, Loft Insulation and Room in Roof Insulation which we will be rolling out in 2017."

INSULATON QUALITY STANDARDS – IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Background

The National Insulation Association is the leading trade association for insulation measures and companies in the UK and our members include the manufacturers, system designers and installers of cavity wall, external wall, internal wall, loft, roof and floor insulation and draught proofing.

Our members are required to meet our robust membership criteria and work to all appropriate industry standards and abide by our strict code of professional practice.  This means that by choosing an NIA member to carry out the work there is added reassurance and recourse compared to using non NIA members.

 

As a result an increasing number of specifiers and advice agencies including energy companies, Government Schemes, Local Authorities, Housing Associations and the Energy Saving Trust are choosing and recommending the use of our members.

Important Developments in Quality Standards and Regulations

There are some very significant developments currently taking place in the insulation industry which will impact on quality and standards of workmanship and customer redress which we wanted to bring to your attention.

The independent review of quality and standards in the energy efficiency industry being carried out by Peter Bonfield is due to report shortly however, there is already work being carried out linked to it which will impact on industry standards.

PAS2030 which governs the standards that insulation installers must operate to is currently being revised and a new specification will be published in early 2017.  This will include robust standards and requirements for installers including the assessment of properties to receive insulation measures, the system design, physical installation and handover to the property owner.

We are directly involved in this work and we are developing new industry standards for external wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, room in roof insulation and loft insulation which will be referenced in PAS2030.   We will require all our members to adhere to these new standards and if any of them fail to do so we have the powers to take appropriate disciplinary action.

Find Out More 

Our new standards include industry leading specifications and best practice guides which will provide greater reassurance and recourse to specifiers and householders in the use of NIA members.

We would therefore strongly recommend that specifies and householders use NIA members.  Details of our members can be found on our website www.nia-uk.org

Free Service for Specifiers of Insulation Works

We have introduced a new FREE service to help specifiers find NIA members to work on their projects.

The new’ expressions of interest service allows specifers to provide us with details of their  forthcoming  projects and specifications and we will then issue requests for information and tender requests to our members on their behalf saving time and money.  For more details of the service email bev.hodson@nia-uk.org

NIA to host Insulation Industry Summit on Quality and Standards

Last year Amber Rudd, Secretary of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) commissioned an independent review of quality and consumer protection across the energy efficiency market designed to restore consumer confidence.

 

The review which is being led by Peter Bonfield is due to be published in the near future and will include a number of key recommendations.  The NIA is actively involved in the review through participation in its working groups and it has also been working alongside other leading organisations including the BBA, BRE, Guarantee Agencies, BTOpenreach, the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council, Energy Companies and the Association of Technical Monitoring Agents in putting in place enhanced standards and quality processes.

 

The Bonfield Review is expected to recommend the development of common industry standards to ensure that all participants are operating to the same high levels and a consistent approach is adopted throughout the supply chain.  With this is mind Neil Marshall the CEO of the National Insulation Association (NIA) has today announced that he intends to host an Insulation Industry Summit to which industry bodies from the across the insulation supply chain will be invited to agree on a collaborative approach to the development of the new standards.

Announcing the Summit Neil Marshall said: "It is very important that industry bodies work together in developing a set of common industry standards for the various insulation measures that can be adopted across the market and be referenced in relevant regulations, schemes and documents.  This will help ensure efficiency, consistency and avoid duplication, overlap and possible confusion from multiple standards.  To help facilitate this I intend to invite other industry bodies to a summit in the next few weeks to discuss and agree how this can best be achieved through collaborative working."