A new insulation scandal has emerged after the Government admitted 30,000 homes fitted with external wall insulation have been incorrectly installed.

This, though, could be just the tip of the iceberg, as ministers have only examined work carried out since 2022.

The issue affects homes that had insulation added to their external walls under the Government’s ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme. The insulation was then covered with render or cladding.

Defects range from exposed insulation to poor ventilation as well as incorrectly fitted wiring, which have often resulted in damp and mould issues that make properties difficult to sell or remortgage.

Spray insulation

The Government’s audit has so far covered just 65,000 installations, of which 30,000 have proved defective – a near 50% failure rate that is significantly worse than the 35% found in spray foam-insulated properties.

Since more than 260,000 properties have received solid or external wall insulation under Government programmes over the past 15 years, the crisis could affect hundreds of thousands more homes.

Current data suggests there is not a widespread issue.”

According to the BBC, though, ministers are insisting that the ”current data suggests there is not a widespread issue” in earlier schemes.

The audit was only ordered after a BBC investigation exposed widespread problems. The external wall crisis is entirely separate from the spray foam insulation problems, which is applied to the inside of roof spaces and affects around 250,000 homes. However, together, it could mean over 400,000 homes have serious insulation issues.

The Government has now suspended 39 external insulation contractors and says it is ”working at speed to ensure substandard installations are identified and remediated with no cost to the consumer.”

And ministers are also promising to overhaul the consumer protection system and ”restore trust and help more people cut their bills.”