Good morning, me and my friends are here on a surprise visit on behalf of the government to persuade you of the merits of the Green Deal

"Squads of insulators and energy-efficiency experts are to be sent house to house around the UK, in the latest stage of the government's bid to plug the gaps in Britain's leaky homes and curb rising bills.

The government is pledging £20m for a new scheme that will allow local councils to send assessors and installers through their areas, working street by street. This appeals to companies because it is much cheaper to install major projects such as solid wall insulation across several neighbouring properties at once, rather than singly.

If people are approached street by street, the onus of seeking out green deal offers is removed from consumers, and householders will have to opt out of signing up for improvements, rather than opting in as at present".

Warmer indoors than outside not always good warns expert ....

Tucked away at the foot of a "Do remember, it can get hot in the summer - even in the UK" tale currently up on the Beeb news page, some splendid stats which suggest that so far, there is probably no need to get unduly worked up about Green Deal-improved homes "overheating" just yet:

Only four people have signed up to the Green Deal since it was launched six months ago but Decc says that number is expected to increase with more finance in place.

In total it said there had been 38,259 Green Deal assessments, where customers are given initial advice about what energy improvements they might be eligible for.

Of those, 241 households have confirmed they would like to proceed with work.

Which is not to say that the Green Deal isn't a success, it has lead to the creation of some new jobs - Green Deal Assessors - and according to the DECC's own website they have accredited 319 companies to carry these assessments out.  A full listing is available via this handy webpage.

Update - the Mail is now carrying the story - Residents living in homes insulated under flagship Government scheme could die from OVERHEATING, experts warn and also this piece about one organisation especially keen to "spread the word" Firm promoting Government's Green Deal to improve household energy efficiency is fined £45,000 for making thousands of nuisance calls