Government allocates £1.8bn funding for energy efficiency boost across UK homes and public buildings
The government has allocated over £1.8bn in funding to boost energy efficiency and cut emissions across homes and public buildings across England.
It will hand over £1.4bn to local authorities including providers of social housing and charities to upgrade homes and off-grid households with energy efficiency measures.
The money will be funnelled through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant.
This includes new windows, alongside loft and cavity wall insulation for 115,000 homes across the country, which could save energy users between £220 and £400 on annual energy bills – with funding expected to support 20,000 jobs.
An additional £1.1bn in match funding for social housing will provided by local authorities, providers of social housing and charities will bring the total investment to £2.5bn to upgrade social and private homes in England.
Vulnerable households and off-gas grid homes with an EPC rating of C or below will be eligible for the support.
A further £409m has been allocated by the government to slash the carbon emissions of hospitals, schools, museums, universities and other public sector buildings across England.
This will be given to 144 public sector organisations, who will be responsible for hospitals, schools, leisure centres, museums and universities will benefit from this support.
This would be funded through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme – which is designed to help public sector buildings such as schools and hospitals drive down their carbon emissions.
DESNZ Secretary Grant Shapps said: “This is a huge investment that will help households save hundreds on energy bills and see them heat their homes for less, and stay warm for longer. Not only this but the funding is also a huge boost for job creation and economic growth, opening up new and exciting opportunities across the UK’s ever-expanding green sector.”
Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, said: “Reaching net zero means considerable action from the public sector as well as private sector. Through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding allocation announced today, we are empowering public bodies to save the taxpayer hundreds of millions while packing a punch on our ambitious and necessary climate goals.”
The funding will be rolled out from April 2023 to upgrade homes over the next two years.
This follows pledges for £6bn of fresh support for energy efficiency upgrades this decade.