The West of England, and the wider country, faces an even worse energy crisis in winters to come without a major national insulation programme to fix the nation's leaky homes, Metro Mayor Dan Norris has warned.

The UK ranks among the worst countries in Europe when it comes to the energy efficiency of its housing, according to new research from the Institute for Government.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has pledged to borrow around £100 billion to cap average household energy bills at £2,500 for the next two years. All that cash and the interest needs to be paid back by taxpayers and it isn't a long term solution. So unless the government commits to a major home efficiency programme, the Mayor says high energy bills look set to stay.

The Institute believes a big programme to reduce energy use, including boosting insulation, could reduce the country's household energy costs by £27 billion as early as 2023.

Mayor Norris reiterated his views that the Government had bought itself time with its package to cap energy bills as he once again called for a proper national home insulation plan to complement West of England's own retrofitting programme.

As part of his flagship Green Recovery fund, Metro Mayor Dan Norris is investing over £3 million to begin the task of retrofitting over 250,000 homes in need of energy improvements across the region.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: "The Prime Minister has rightly prioritised supporting people in the short term through her energy price freeze package - although she should have got the energy giants making huge profits to pay for this. But to fix this crisis for good, we need to bring down energy bills in the medium and long term. Putin's appalling war in Ukraine isn't ending anytime soon, meaning the prospect of higher energy bills next year and beyond is sadly a real possibility. From Georgian Bath townhouses, to Bristolian Victorian terraces to beautiful lias stone cottages and more, there are huge numbers of West of England homes that need making more energy efficient. My £3million scheme is a start but we need a proper national home insulation plan."

Separately, new analysis by Cambridge Econmetrics shared today found insulating homes in Britain could benefit the UK economy by £7 billion and create over 140,000 new jobs by the end of the decade.