The UK must do more to insulate the country’s draughty homes, warns Britain’s climate change chief.

Chris Stark, head of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, told the BBC he rates government policy on insulation as “very poor”.

Insulation, together with renewable power, is the way out of the current energy crisis, he says.

Two-thirds of homes, or 19 million, need better insulation, according to government data.

That raises an obvious question: if it is such a good idea, why aren’t we all doing it?

The key issue is the cost.

Britain is frequently described as having some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing in Europe. Retrofitting – adding insulation to existing homes – can be very expensive and Mr Stark says the government isn’t doing enough to help fund this costly work.

The government needs to provide “a sharper incentive for most people to make these investments in improving the energy efficiency of the home that they live in,” he told BBC News.

Rob Jones’ four-bed Edwardian family home in Rusholme, Manchester illustrates the challenges.

When he moved, it had an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of “E”, putting it amongst the least energy efficient homes nationwide.

The government estimates that 19 million of the UK’s 29 million homes are on the bottom rungs of the Energy Performance rankings with a rating of “D” or below.

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Lifting Rob’s home into the “B” category meant improving the lagging in the roof, installing more double glazing, insulating the floors as well as putting insulated cladding on some inside and outside walls. The makeover cost £36,000.

Rob says they now use 40% less gas for heating, which is good news as energy prices soar. But, at current energy prices, it’ll take at least 20 years to cover the cost.

Retrofitting homes is an even greater challenge for the providers of social housing.

I visited Jean Davidson in her one-bed council flat in Blackpool. The council has spent £2.5m making the 75 flats on her estate more energy-efficient – £33,000 a piece.

They insulated the entire block, took out her little porch and put in triple glazed windows. Her front door was changed to block draughts and some of the exterior walls of the blocks and the entrance area were insulated.

Jean’s home is certainly very cosy now – “perfect”, as she describes it. But the council estimates it would cost £125m to bring its 5,000 homes up to this standard.

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