Tuesday 23 March 2021
Government unleashes £562m to green more than 50k households
More than 50,000 homes will benefit from new government funding announced today to decarbonise the housing sector as the nation moves to net zero.
The £562 million package will see more than 300 local authorities across England and Scotland fund energy efficiency upgrades, including solar panels, deep insulation and heat pumps.
The scheme is predicted to help households save up to £450 a year on their energy bills and support around 8,000 green jobs annually.
It is also forecast to cut more than 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, the equivalent of the total direct and indirect carbon footprint of around 9,000 households.
According to official figures, emissions from domestic properties currently account for around 25% of the UK's carbon emissions.
UK Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: "We are ensuring households across the country enjoy warmer homes that are cheaper to heat and emit fewer emissions, all while creating new work for local plumbers, builders and tradespeople.
"This is an initial down payment on the UK Government's plan to invest over £9 billion into eradicating fuel poverty, improving the lives and homes of low-income households.
"This is yet another important step we are taking to eliminate our contribution to climate change and build back greener from the pandemic."
Responding to the new government funding Councillor David Renard, Local Government Association Housing Spokesperson, said: “Councils are leading the way tackling climate change and are committed to delivering green improvements, but have faced challenges with the competitive, short-term nature of grant funding, which requires councils to have sufficient staffing and capacity to apply.
“Providing long-term funding would better enable councils to help achieve our national net zero ambitions, supported by giving councils the flexibility to set energy efficiency standards above the current Building Regulation Standards.”
