Energy-efficient upgrades poised for up to 170,000 homes

Independent climate change think tank, E3G raises concerns that funding is “only a fraction” of the £13.2 billion Labour vowed to spend before the election

£1.8 billion has been allocated to local authorities and social housing providers to help them deliver warmer, more energy-efficient homes across England.

The funding, from the government’s Warm Homes Plan, is targeted at low-income households and tenants living in social housing and will allow up to 170,000 homes to benefit from upgrades in the form of insulation, solar panels and heat pumps.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Energy Consumers, said: “Living in a warm, comfortable home should not be a luxury. By giving this funding, we are delivering on our promise to improve the homes of thousands of people.”

The move was welcomed by Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, who described it as “a crucial step towards the government’s commitment to tackle fuel poverty”.

She said: “Decarbonising our homes is a win-win for residents, the government and our planet, creating warmer homes, saving residents money and tackling the climate emergency.”

Gavin Smart, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute for Housing (CIH), described the funding as “another important step towards making homes warmer, healthier, and more affordable to run”.

He promised that CIH will “continue to work with government to support the effective rollout of this funding and advocate for the long-term investment needed to make all homes warmer and safer.”

“We look forward to seeing further detail on how the full £13.2 billion manifesto commitment for retrofit will be allocated…”

Louise Shooter, Policy Manager at Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, said the funding was “an important step towards making homes warmer, healthier and more affordable to run”.

However, she added: “We look forward to seeing further detail on how the full £13.2 billion manifesto commitment for retrofit will be allocated to ensure that support and information about green retrofit is available to all households that need it.” 

Future funding was also a concern for the independent climate change think tank E3G. James Dyson, Senior Researcher said: “Insulating homes generates growth, slashes energy bills and bolsters energy independence. Yet this funding for green homes is half what the Tories committed to spend and only a fraction of the £13.2 billion Labour pledged to spend before the election.” 

According to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, there were an estimated 11.0% of households (2.73 million) in fuel poverty in England under the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric.

Simon Francis, a spokesperson for the Coalition said: “It is high time the Chancellor commits in full to the £13.2bn Warm Homes Plan promised in the Labour Manifesto. This will ensure that millions of people can stay warm every winter.

“But given that energy bills continue to rise – and even the Office of Budget Responsibility has said that increases in gas prices are harming the economy – the government must go further.”