Stronger Protection, Clearer Accountability: Elmhurst Responds to TrustMark Consultation
Elmhurst has submitted its official response to TrustMark’s consultation on proposed changes to its quality scheme, welcoming efforts to strengthen consumer protection while highlighting the importance of clearer accountability, simpler processes and a more joined-up approach to improving standards across the industry.
The consultation sets out proposals to change how TrustMark operates. These include establishing direct relationships with registered businesses and individuals, introducing a centralised consumer complaints process, strengthening quality assurance and extending protection across more types of home improvement work.
The proposals follow the Government’s own consultation on consumer protection for home upgrade schemes, which Elmhurst also responded to in September.
Both consultations provide an opportunity to address longstanding challenges within the sector. Elmhurst believes that delivering meaningful improvements will require a framework that protects homeowners, recognises the responsibilities of those involved and builds on existing industry expertise without introducing unnecessary complexity.
Clear Accountability Across Businesses and Individuals
One of the key concerns raised in Elmhurst’s response is the need for clearer accountability between individual professionals and the organisations they work for. Situations have arisen where individual Retrofit Assessors or Retrofit Coordinators have faced sanctions following instances of non-compliance, despite wider organisational decisions or practices potentially contributing to the issue.
Any revised accountability framework must recognise the different responsibilities and levels of control held by individuals and businesses. Where problems arise from decisions made elsewhere within an organisation, responsibility should not fall solely on the individual professional.
Elmhurst supports stronger oversight and appropriate enforcement, but believes the framework must ensure that accountability is fair, proportionate and directed towards those responsible for the decisions and outcomes in question.
Putting Consumers and Their Homes First
A central proposal within TrustMark’s consultation is the introduction of a single point of contact for consumers seeking to escalate complaints or resolve disputes. Elmhurst fully supports this approach and has reiterated its previous calls for a genuine consumer champion, providing independent advice, coordinating complaints and helping homeowners access fair and timely resolutions.
A simpler complaints process would be particularly important for vulnerable consumers, who may find it difficult to navigate multiple organisations or access support through digital services alone.
However, Elmhurst believes effective consumer protection must begin long before a complaint is raised. As highlighted in the original Each Home Counts review, the retrofit process should start with an accurate assessment of the individual property, ensuring that recommended improvements are appropriate for both the building and its occupants.
Elmhurst has therefore called for TrustMark to allow Retrofit Assessments to be lodged independently of installation projects, alongside Retrofit Coordinators’ medium-term improvement plans. This would help put assessments and informed decision-making at the beginning of the process, rather than starting with a particular installation.
Elmhurst also supports extending quality assurance and lodgement opportunities to privately funded retrofit work, allowing more homeowners to benefit from appropriate protections, regardless of how improvements are funded.
Stronger Oversight Without Unnecessary Duplication
TrustMark’s proposals also include greater use of data, risk-based auditing and changes to the responsibilities of existing Scheme Providers. While Elmhurst supports intelligence-led quality assurance, it has emphasised the importance of making full use of the expertise and systems already operating within the sector.
Accreditation schemes, like Elmhurst, provide considerably more than competence checks. For Retrofit Assessors and Retrofit Coordinators, their role includes specialist software, technical guidance, auditing and ongoing professional support, all of which contribute to the quality and consistency of assessments.
Any changes to the TrustMark framework must therefore recognise these existing responsibilities and ensure that oversight arrangements work together effectively. There is also a risk of creating prolonged technical disputes where different experts reach competing conclusions about non-compliance. Independent expertise should help identify problems and agree evidence-based solutions, rather than create an adversarial process that delays remediation or increases costs. Stronger consumer protection should mean clearer responsibilities, better information sharing and more effective action when issues are identified, not additional layers of administration for professionals and businesses.
Getting Retrofit Right Before Expanding Further
Although Elmhurst recognises TrustMark’s ambition to extend consumer protection across the wider home improvement sector, expanding the framework too quickly could present a significant challenge. Issues still remain within retrofit, particularly around accountability, quality assurance and effective remediation.
Introducing wider responsibilities before these issues are properly addressed could divert resources away from improving consumer protection where it is already needed. Elmhurst is therefore calling for a phased approach, prioritising improvements to the existing retrofit framework before extending the scheme more widely.
Costs associated with the proposed changes will also need great consideration, this would include TrustMark’s proposal for a new financial protection fund supported by a levy on scheme participants. Elmhurst believes further detail is needed to understand how such a fund would operate and ensure responsible businesses are not unfairly burdened by the cost of poor-performing organisations.
Ultimately, stronger protections must be matched by practical implementation, clear guidance and meaningful engagement with the industry.
Stuart Fairlie, Managing Director of Elmhurst Energy, comments:
“Elmhurst supports TrustMark’s ambition to strengthen consumer protection and restore confidence in home improvements. However, the success of these changes will depend on how they work in practice, both for consumers and the professionals delivering improvements to their homes.
“Accountability must be fair and reflect the decisions and responsibilities of everyone involved. Equally, consumers need clear, independent advice and a straightforward route to resolution when things go wrong.
“We already have considerable expertise and established quality assurance processes across the industry. We should be building on these foundations, not introducing further complexity. By getting consumer protection right within retrofit first, we can create a stronger, more effective framework that delivers lasting benefits for homeowners and responsible businesses alike.”
Read our Response
You can read Elmhurst’s official response to TrustMark’s consultation on proposed changes to its quality scheme by clicking below.
DOWNLOAD NOW