This is one to watch, because - details pending - it has the potential to go *enormously* wrong.

Australia did similar as part of its 2008 financial crisis stimulus.

Government failings - which could easily happen here - led to multiple deaths and a royal commission.

A thread: https://twitter.com/PickardJE/status/1280256694296207363

In short, the subsidy scheme incentivised dodgy operators to enter the market. Regulatory schemes weren't up to scratch, safety shortcuts were taken and young workers died of electrocution.

Govt failings were many, and they were all things that should be familiar in Britain:

1. Failure of officials to be candid with ministers about risks - though it was never entirely clear whether this was officials dropping the ball and not understanding the risks, or ministers not wanting to hear bad news

2. Outsourcing: government created a market it was not equipped to manage - and compounding this, did a poor job of managing the consultants it engaged for the programme

3. The gulf between policy design and delivery: key decisions were made about the programme before the dept responsible for running it got involved - and key officials lacked the necessary skills and experience

In short - a classic case study of policy gone wrong with tragic consequences, amplified by the tension between environmental goals and economic goals (emphasis on speed) of the programme.

Hopefully UK govt does not repeat these mistakes:

https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2014-08/apo-nid41087.pdf

@tom_sasse @jillongovt @Emma_Norris might be interested in link in tweet above - some things to look out for if/when this programme gets off the ground