NFRC responds to
Bonfield Review

The National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) has commented on the latest publication of the long-awaited ‘Bonfield Review’, an independent review into the standards governing consumer energy efficiency measures.

The UK Government had come under significant pressure to publish the report, given its six-month delay. The review was carried out by Peter Bonfield, chief executive, BRE.

The report, titled ‘Each Home Counts’, was warmly received by The National Federation of Roofing Contractors chief executive, James Talman, who agrees that the highest standards for materials and workmanship must continue to be pushed.

“Following the release of the Bonfield Review, we are pleased to see an overall commitment to independent quality standards for materials and workmanship,” said Talman.

“This stated aim is consistent with the NFRC’s commitment to a professionalised roofing sector, as demonstrated by our CompetentRoofer scheme, which while based on ensuring work meets Building Regulations, is also focused on the quality of the application.

“We will seek assurance that any new framework is complementary to the work they do.

“The establishment of a Quality Mark is [also] laudable, subject to not creating another ‘bureaucratic hoop’ for professional organisations to jump through.

“The challenge remains, providing the homeowner with an incentive to use a Quality Mark solution. Whilst this can be prescribed on public work, the private houseowner does not take kindly to imposition.

“We echo the thoughts of other organisations that we need Government to provide financial incentives to invest in home energy improvements through such a scheme.”

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) concurs that Mr Bonfield was “right to focus on improving quality – both the technical quality of energy efficiency improvement work and the quality of customer service experienced by the consumer”.

“The FMB is fully behind the drive for higher levels of consumer confidence as this is itself a prerequisite for greater demand for energy efficiency measures,” added Berry.

“However, this quality and confidence alone will not be sufficient to drive the quantity of low carbon refurbishment which will be necessary to upgrade the UK’s housing stock and make sure the UK meets its legally binding target by 2050.”

Sunsquare continues to work hard to maximise the energy efficiency of its BSI Kitemarked rooflights and the manufacturing processes involved in their design and creation. The company’s continued innovation is underlined by its latest move to manufacture all rooflights with a laminated inner safety pane, that not only offers the highest levels of security and safety but acts as a UV filter, providing domestic and commercial projects with the highest specification rooflights on the market.