Ministers have today confirmed the Green Deal will benefit from a cashback scheme to boost take-up.

Householders who are quick off the mark could be eligible for as much as £1000 cashback, if they opt for a full home retrofit using the Green Deal, the Government confirmed today. A total of £125 million is being made available and will operate on a first-come-first-served basis. The money is part of £200 million announced last November by the Treasury to encourage householders to sign up to the energy efficiency scheme. Today’s announcement is the first time details about the bonus scheme have been unveiled and was welcomed by companies looking to offer Green Deal products and services. Although the Green Deal launched on October 1, no big brands have yet signed up to become providers of the scheme and many Green Deal contractors have been waiting for the Government to get behind the national insulation programme with measures that will encourage take-up of the scheme.

"This cashback offer will help get the Green Deal off to a flying start. It really is a great offer – the more work households have done, the more energy they stand to save and the more cash they receive," Energy Secretary Ed Davey said as he unveiled details of the incentive scheme.

Energy secretary Ed Davey today visits BRE’s innovation park in Watford in his first official appointment since replacing Chris Huhne on Friday.

Mr Davey will join deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who will insist that low carbon markets are the next frontier in the battle for global pre-eminence.

Following a weekend in which MPs demanded cuts to wind power subsidies in a letter to the Prime Minister published in The Sunday Telegraph, the new energy secretary will state there will be ‘no change in direction’ following Mr Huhne’s resignation on Friday.

A majority of UK companies are not convinced that energy infrastructure will improve over the next five years, despite a pressing need for investment in new networks that are cleaner and greener, according to a CBI survey.

In a survey of business views about the state of Britain’s infrastructure, the UK’s leading business group found that around two-thirds (67 per cent) of companies believe the UK’s energy infrastructure is unlikely to get any better.

Confidence is also ebbing away over improvements to Britain’s water, transport and building infrastructure. The survey of 568 businesses, conducted jointly by the CBI and professional services firm KPMG, found businesses were concerned improvements were not happening quickly enough and a lack of Government action on policy was holding up investment.

The UK's first building to be made onsite entirely out of waste is to be built in Brighton this autumn.

Designed by Brighton-based architect Duncan Baker-Brown, it will be built on the University of Brighton's campus in the city centre from waste and surplus material from local building sites and other local industries.

The walls will be made of waste timber products. Ply "cassettes" containing waste material will be slotted in between the timber structure. These cassettes will be removable so that new building technologies can be added easily.