Mary says "save money and cut emissions through the Government's Boiler Scrappage Scheme

Mary Creagh, Labour MP for Wakefield, has welcomed the news that 6102 vouchers have been snapped up in Yorkshire under the Government's Boiler Scrappage Scheme. 

She has also urged more people of Wakefield to get their hands on some of the 70,000 vouchers still up for grabs. The remaining vouchers, worth a total of £28million, are part of the Labour Government's scheme, launched in January, to upgrade up to 125,000 of England's household heating systems. The scheme offers householders, with a boiler rating of 'G' or unrated, £400 to incentivise the replacement of their older models.

All the major energy companies which sell and install boilers (British Gas, E.On, npower and Scottish & Southern) have now matched the offer, giving householders potentially £800 off the cost of a new efficient boiler. Some manufacturing companies are also offering deals.

Mary said: "It's fantastic that so many people have embraced this initiative as it really is a win-win scheme. The people of Wakefield can save around £200 on heating bills a year, the heating industry is given the boost it needs as part of the economic recovery and the nation cuts emissions. If anyone in Wakefield thinks they qualify, then they should definitely call the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012 to apply."

"This scheme recognises that working families are trying hard to save money and that it isn't always easy to marry cutting costs with being green. But, with more and more people applying to the Boiler Scrappage Scheme, we're showing that looking after households, businesses and the environment can go hand-in-hand."

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: "The Boiler Scrappage scheme has proved incredibly popular and with energy companies and manufacturers offering deals as well, the government scheme has truly kick-started a national programme of boiler replacement. The scheme is helping householders to save around £200 a year off fuel bills and reduce emissions while helping to sustain work for the 130,000 installers and up to 25 UK-based boiler manufacturers throughout the economic recovery."

The Energy Saving Trust (EST), which is running the scheme on behalf of Government, is receiving on average 5,000 enquiries per day to its 14 call centres across England. In the first few days after the launch, EST dealt with 24,000 calls per day - 10 times more than usual.

Fraser Winterbottom from Energy Saving Trust said: "We're extremely pleased with the public's response to this scheme. Since the scrappage offer was launched the phones have been ringing off the hook, and our call centres have been working hard to process the applications - we've had nearly 400,000 calls nationally - an average of 5,000 a day at each of our regional advice centres."

Roger Webb, Director of the trade association Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), said: "The boiler scrappage scheme has injected new life into the domestic heating market for both manufacturers and installers. Industry has been stimulated on many levels and the generation of enquires has been huge.  Installers are thrilled that both existing and new customers are realising the benefits of this scheme and actually acting on the chance to replace their G-rated boilers. Normally a boiler purchase is a distress buy but customers are receiving their voucher and actually scheduling in an installation. This rise in interest is indicative of how successful the scheme has been with consumers. The general consensus from industry is that there has never been a better time to get a boiler replacement."