Nick Clegg chooses B&Q Sutton for launch of Green Deal

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne appeared at the Sutton branch of DIY chain B&Q yesterday to launch the Green Deal apprenticeships programme.

"This winter, households up and down the country will be facing really high fuel costs and we have to do something," Clegg said.

"What we are doing is highlighting the Green Deal - one of the most ambitious programmes that any government has ever implemented to ensure that people can insulate their homes and introduce those (energy efficiency) measures with no up-front costs whatsoever."

Clegg and Huhne announced that the government is to fund the training of 1,000 apprentices in the insulation sector as part of the Green Deal.

Huhne said he hoped the programme would sustain 100,000 jobs within five years and that a "step-change" was needed to make energy-saving technology more widely available.

"To succeed, we will need a big injection of skills and investment," he said. "These apprenticeships are a perfect example of how government and business can work together to a low-carbon future."

Source : Builders Merchant Journal