Martin McCluskey MP was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 7 September 2025.
Minister McCluskey and his team are responsible for the government’s decarbonisation plans, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Warm Homes plan, heat networks and more.
At InstallerSHOW 2026, Minister McCluskey spoke to installers and industry about the Warm Homes Plan, the latest updates from government, and the role of installers in the energy transition.
This talk took place at InstallerSHOW at the NEC Birmingham on 23 June 2026
1 – The Government is committed to the Warm Homes Plan
The Warm Homes Plan is the biggest ever public investment to upgrade British homes and cut bills.
The initiative aims to cut bills with offer for every household, whether they own their home, rent privately, or live in social housing. The aim is to upgrade 5 million homes by 2030.
“We’ve got a 15-billion-pound plan, the Warm Homes Plan, which government is putting money behind between now and 2030 to help people upgrade their homes,” Minister McCluskey. “This is also about providing good, high-quality jobs to the people who are here today, all the installers who are here today.
“The government is entirely committed to the plan that we set out in January that’s going to deliver those jobs and deliver decarbonisation for homes across the country.”
2 – But there is more work to do to finalise the Warm Homes Plan
Answering a question from Swetta Coopamah – Head of Smart Energy Systems at BEAMA – about whether there will still gaps to be ironed out in the Warms Home Plan, the Minister replied:
“I wouldn’t describe them as gaps, but there are definitely areas where we need to set out a bit more detail. The plan is fully funded and there is an offer in there for everyone. Whether you are in a low-income household in social housing or whether you are in the able to pay market, wanting to replace your boiler with a heat pump or wanting to put solar on your roof, there is something in there to be able to provide you with that.”
3 – Installers and the industry are key to any energy transition
The latest figures from the MCS dashboard are showing strong growth for solar, battery storage and heat pumps, but more needs to be done to reach government decarbonisation targets.
“My job is all about energy efficiency, is all about working out how to get people to upgrade their homes with insulation, solar, heat pumps, batteries,” the Minister explained. “The people who are here today are going to be the people leading on that agenda.
“Heat pumps and solar are now front and centre at this event. I’m looking at manufacturers like Vaillant, and Mitsubishi Electric who are producing heat pumps in Livingston near where my constituency is. This is now front and centre, not just in the government’s plans for energy efficiency, but also what we need to be thinking about in terms of building on what people here are doing today.”
4 – The government is keen to hear from installers and manufacturers
There are a lot of stakeholders in the heating, plumbing and renewables industry. Installers, manufacturers, trade associations, government, training providers, academics and many, many more. Collaboration and sharing knowledge between these parties is essential, and something that the government values:
“The reason why I’m at this event today, and why I come to events like this on a regular basis, is to hear directly from installers and from industry about what the issues are that you’re facing,” the Minister said.
“I’ve been with Vaillant, I was at Mitsubishi Electric’s factory in Livingston watching heat pumps come off the assembly line there. I go out and visit manufacturers every week.”
5 – The minister has family in the trades
Martin McCluskey MP has experience with tradespeople and the challenges and opportunities that those jobs pose, due to his family connection with the trade:
“My dad was a painter and decorator,” he explained. “I know how important it is to have people in the trades, and to have people who are doing the jobs that you’re doing.
“I grew up in a four and a block council house in Greenock and the constituency that I now represent. The job that I’ve now got is about how do we give people in the trades good jobs? How do we make sure that those homes, like the one that I grew up in, are safe, warm, and dry?”
