Government announces £80m for social housing upgrades to cut energy bills
The government has announced additional grants for home energy efficiency upgrades in social housing.
Energy security and net zero secretary Claire Coutinho announced up to £80m 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 the government said the new funding would be 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.
Eligible tenants will receive the energy efficiency upgrades free of charge through their social housing provider, whether local councils or housing associations.
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.’
Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, 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 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. 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.
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