It’s a great pleasure to take part in this debate. It is a debate about fairness and it’s an issue that affects the lives of thousands of people in Wales. Cavity wall insulation has been installed in almost four million homes across the United Kingdom, but in three million of those it has caused a great deal of problems.

This kind of insulation, retrospective insulation, was promoted by the United Kingdom Government, the Welsh Government and energy companies as well as local councils. The initial aim was to decrease energy costs by about £250 a year for each home and to meet energy efficiency targets set by the Government.

In many cases in my consistency in Arfon, cavity wall insulation hasn’t had that effect. Rather, it has caused problems such as mould, damp, dry rot and damage to fixtures and fittings. The dampness in its turn has caused health problems, asthma, breathing problems, without mentioning anxiety and worry. Even though it is a significant problem, there’s no research undertaken of any kind that we can call significant, or a public call for people to come forward to acknowledge those who have suffered as a result.

Much of this insulation was installed by energy companies or by their subcontractors as part of the Green Deal and ECO schemes of the United Kingdom Government. Many people felt that they could trust such schemes that were supported by the Government. They didn’t question how appropriate their properties were for this insulation or the ability of the installers to do so properly.

It’s true to say that the compensation process through the CIGA has been unsatisfactory, with vulnerable people still suffering in damp homes. Now, the guarantee scheme of the industry has disappointed many and the installers and the agency have a history of not taking complaints seriously and rejecting or refusing to offer redress and sufficient compensation. There’s a culture of ignoring customer requests and a failure to provide full responses to simple questions and denying responsibility.

Energy companies such as E.ON, SSE, Npower and EDF are still promoting CWI, even though British Gas stopped doing this some time ago. And as we heard, the Nest programme of this Welsh Government is still encouraging people to install CWI in this country, despite the problems continuing. Many of the companies that installed CWI have failed by now. People only have the guarantee agency to turn to. People have criticised the agency for failing to respond appropriately to concerns about poorly installed or insulation installed in unsuitable properties.

In Arfon, Hywel Williams MP has been active in trying to support constituents. We’ve seen hitherto 80 or more cases and in those cases nobody has a copy of the pre-installation report that should have been completed by the installer before installing the CWI. This despite the fact that CIGA continues to state that pre-installation reports were undertaken for all properties and that insulation would not have been installed if the property wasn't appropriate. But I’m sorry to say that that isn’t the experience we’ve had in Arfon.

One constituent in Arfon has been battling with these problems for almost four years, and the installation company has since gone bust and the agency has refused responsibility for over two years. At last, they’ve offered to withdraw the insulation from one wall, but I understand from one expert in the extraction industry that withdrawing it from one wall can cause cold spots that can lead to deterioration in the long term. So, that’s not a solution at all.

Hywel Williams has been taking action for years to seek answers and fairness for constituents in Arfon and in Wales, and I know that there are others who’ve helped a great deal in Wales. I also thank Pauline Saunders and CIVALLI for their important work in this area. It’s about time for the thousands who’ve had totally unacceptable experiences as a result of CWI to receive fair play. I thank Mick and Mike and the rest very much for bringing this debate forward.