
The Government has spent more than ?410,000 on PR consultants to promote its Green Deal scheme, despite only 219 households having the work completed.
The ?413,815 marketing spend works out at ?1,889 for every household with the energy efficiency measures installed.
According to figures released to Sky News under the Freedom of Information Act, PR agency Freud was paid ?350,155 in 2012/13 and ?63,660 in the first eight months of 2013/14 to promote the policy.
Yet by the end of last month, only 1,173 households had committed to taking part - up from 954 in September - and the Green Deal had been implemented in only 219 properties.
Under the scheme, an assessment is carried out to calculate any savings a householder could make through energy efficiency.
The customer repays the costs of the work in the form of a loan paid for through increased energy bills.
Ministers claim the savings should cover the expense of the repayment.
Jonathan Reynolds, Labour's shadow minister for energy and climate change, said: "Ministers said the Green Deal would be the biggest home improvement scheme since the Second World War but so far installation work has only been completed on 219 properties.
"Consumers simply do not think that the Green Deal is a good deal, with concerns about hidden costs and high interest rates regularly being cited as issues that are deterring people from signing up.
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http://news.sky.com/story/1171253/government-spent-410000-on-green-deal-pr



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