Workers who have taken a plumbing training course and have the necessary approved qualifications are needed to reduce the amount of time people wait for new boilers, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has stated.
The government-funded Warm Front initiative currently exists in the UK to offer insulation and heating packages worth up to £3,500 to make eligible homes more energy efficient and better heated.
However, the 2009 Warm Front Annual Report recently showed that the average waiting time for heating-related work to be carried out as part of the scheme was 66 days.
Commenting on the figures, Blane Judd, chief executive of CIPHE, said: "The recent cold weather will have significantly increased the length of time people will have to wait for installation and it is clearly unacceptable for those most vulnerable households to be without heating for so long."
He added that more tradespersons are needed to install new appliances, as he believes those currently contracted as part of the initiative are unable to meet demand.
For that reason, fitters with approved plumbing qualifications are needed to deliver a high standard of service, Mr Judd explained.
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