Bluntly, the findings were embarrassing; they were a disgrace; they should see heads rolling but they won’t. So yes, I am angry and if you haven’t seen the reporting of this scandal, then that too should raise your hackles.

In short, the NAO found the following:-

• 98 per cent (yes you read that correctly, nearly every single one) of homes with external wall insulation have major issues requiring remediation (22-23,000 homes).
• 29 per cent of homes with internal wall insulation have major issues requiring remediation (9,000 – 13,000 homes).
• The cost of remediation for external wall insulation is between £6,000 and £18,000, with one property costing £250,000 to remediate.
• They estimate that between 5,600 and 16,500 homes were the subject of falsified claims, with a fraud bill of between £56 million and £165 million.

Am I right? Are you also angry that the ECO scheme, aimed at helping low-income households, has produced these outcomes?

No one comes out of the report well – the insulation industry; DESNZ; Ofgem; Trustmark; the energy suppliers; installers – frankly, everyone involved. The most galling thing of all, is that DESNZ officials were warned, years ago, of the risk. But, in classic style, they ignored dissenting voices and listened only to those who said “yes.”

So, there are plenty of lessons to be learned and more questions to be asked. One of which concerns the NAO’s finding on “other measures” such as solar and heat pumps, where 24 per cent of installations had major issues that will affect the performance. Yes, a quarter were badly fitted.

And what does that now say about external wall insulation? My question to you all, is would you have it fitted given these findings? If the answer is no, and I suspect it might be, then why do we allow it to be fitted onto the homes of the least well-off in our society? And if solid wall insulation is finished, where does this put heat pump installations in such properties? And if the answer is to find another technology such as a boiler or hybrid, then let’s make it clear we need the gas networks to stay too.