Cllr Olly Monk, Cornwall Councillor for Newquay Treloggan, has secured a meeting with the Cabinet Member for Housing to discuss the conduct of a Cornwall Council Green Deal provider, following a question at Full Council today.
Commenting Olly said:
“I have been contacted by a number of concerned residents about the conduct of one of the Council business partners, Stellar Energy.”
“This company is supposed to be helping people make their homes more efficient through a range of efficiency measures. They are what is known as a Green Deal Provider and have to adhere to a very rigorous set of standards with regards to marketing their services and products.”
“There are several issues with the approach that Stellar are taking, the first of which was they are not supposed to be cold calling. Residents have forwarded me details showing me they are doing just that by targeting posts on Facebook and also sending council branded letters which in themselves, contravenes several of the rules about working in partnership with the Council.”
“I am not happy with this approach. It is in clear contravention of the Green Deal Code of Practice.”
“I am also more than a bit concerned about what Stellar are saying about the eligibility for funding, as we know from hard experience that lots of people who need help don’t meet the criteria. Stellar’s activities need to be looked into as we do not want Cornwall Council or someone acting on their behalf to be breaking the Green Deal Code of Practice.”
“Today I asked a question of the Portfolio housing holder Andrew Mitchell. He was not aware of this issue despite his own officer’s correspondence on it!”
“I welcome the offer of a meeting with Andrew Mitchell to get to the bottom of this and make sure that the most vulnerable people within our community get the best advice on how to better insulate their homes.”
