The UK Green Building Council, composed of major construction contractors and clients, is working up ideas that might encourage homeowners and landlords to take advantage of the Green Deal and upgrade the energy performance of their properties.

UK-GBC has set up a task group from across industry to advise the government

Speaking alongside Greg Barker, the climate change minister, at the Conservative Party conference, CEO Paul King praised the government’s commitment to the scheme, but warned that without the right support it could falter.

The task group will assess possible financial incentives for householders, including using variable rates of council tax and stamp duty. One of the key challenges to address is how costs to the Treasury could be minimised or even eliminated altogether.

Mr King said: “The Green Deal still has the potential to be truly revolutionary in driving mass home retrofit. This new market could, if nurtured properly, create jobs, stimulate economic growth and protect consumers from ever-rising energy prices. But without firm plans in place to drive uptake, the scheme could fail before it has even properly started.

“Everyone says we need to incentivise the Green Deal, but there is actually very little out there in terms of robust advice on how Government would begin to implement some of these ideas - particularly in a way that minimises costs to Treasury. This work is intended to do just that.”

Diana Montgomery, chief executive of the Construction Products Association, which is supporting the task group, said: "There is strong support from industry for the Green Deal but also wide consensus that something needs to be done to encourage households to take it up. Get the incentives for retrofit right, and the benefits for households, businesses and for UK-plc will be enormous.

"Collaborating with the UK-GBC on this Green Deal Task Group project will help us to ensure that we can help government effectively navigate the options they have available to them for capitalising on that opportunity."

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