The backtrack by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) comes only months after it was announced that the launch of the scheme, scheduled for October, was to focus solely on households with a commercial Green Deal to follow next year.
Officials have now confirmed that there will be no barriers preventing businesses from signing up to the energy efficiency scheme providing there are Green Deal service providers willing to accommodate them.
The policy shift is expected to appeal to small businesses who will face more rigorous energy performance assessments than homeowners but stand to gain higher savings on energy bills under the ‘golden rule’ principle.