Thousands of social housing tenants will be helped to cut bills with additional government grants available for home energy efficiency upgrades.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho has announced up to £80 million in additional funding will be made available through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – which will generate energy bill savings of around £240 a year for some of the lowest-income households.
More than 100,000 households in England are already benefiting from the scheme and today’s funding is enough to upgrade an additional 9,500 homes.
Measures range from installing new wall, loft or underfloor insulation to supporting families to switch to low carbon heating - helping to cut energy bills and supporting around 2,000 jobs.
As part of the government’s new pragmatic and proportionate approach to reaching net zero, eligible tenants will receive the energy efficiency upgrades free of charge through their social housing provider, whether local councils or housing associations.
Secretary of State for Energy Security Claire Coutinho said: “We are delivering net zero in a way that supports the British public and does not burden hardworking families with additional costs.
“Our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is delivering warmer homes and energy bill savings of around £240 for some of the lowest income families, as well as supporting thousands of jobs.
“We’re already making over 100,000 homes more energy efficient with this scheme, and I’m delighted an extra 9,500 social housing tenants will now benefit too.”
Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said: “The UK is a trailblazer when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, cutting them faster than any other G7 country.
“By supporting families to improve their household energy efficiency, this additional funding will deliver measures such as new insulation and low-carbon heating for even more households – helping them save money and cut emissions.”
The government has a strong record on energy efficiency, with the proportion of homes in England with an EPC rating of C or above up from 14% in 2010 to nearly half of all homes now. This funding will help drive up the energy performance of social homes with an EPC rating of D or below.
The scheme forms part of the government’s commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030, as well as supporting the ambition for the UK to move towards ever-greater energy security and independence. The government also plans to run a consultation on energy efficiency standards in the social rented sector.
Local and combined authorities, registered providers of social housing and charities that own social housing will be able to bid for the additional funding to install energy efficiency upgrades in November.
