Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, has congratulated Chancellor Alistair Darling on his innovative scrappage scheme that will pay people up to £400 to replace their old inefficient heating boilers with a new one.

Speaking from his constituency office in Nelson, the MP said: “In the week the Climate Change Conference started in Copenhagen, it was great news that Alistair Darling had found an additional £200 million to help cut carbon emissions from homes.”

 “A quarter of all the country’s emissions currently come from households. Each inefficient boiler adds a tonne of carbon to the atmosphere and over £200 to household bills.”

“The boiler scrappage scheme will help up to 125,000 homes replace the most inefficient boilers with new models.”

The MP added: “I have been pressing for an improvement in ‘feed-in tariffs’ for home energy production and I am pleased that the Pre-Budget Report also included the news that, from next April, people with a home wind turbine or solar panels who plug their excess power into the national grid will receive on average £900 a year tax free.”

“These new schemes will complement the government's Warm Front grant scheme which has already helped over 9,000 vulnerable households across Pendle with energy efficiency measures.”

 “On top of that, Pendle Borough Council’s Home Energy team manages a number of schemes to help households get the best advice and the maximum support to improve their energy efficiency. Discounts and grants are available to all privately owned homes, to improve roof and wall insulation and for anyone replacing an old boiler. Pendle Council also has a novel initiative to lend householders a Home Energy Monitor free of charge for a month. These devices show people how much energy they are using and what it costs. This in turn can lead to more efficient use of energy and cost savings.”

The Pendle Home Energy Services team can be contacted on 01282 661026 or email at
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