Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Paragraph: 51
We recommend that Home Upgrade Grants are launched in full before the end of 2021,...
Recommendation
We recommend that Home Upgrade Grants are launched in full before the end of 2021, backed by the entirety of the funding pledged for the scheme, to mobilise supply chains for low carbon heating. The Government should also set out how it intends to administer the scheme and what role there will be for local authorities who are well placed to identify vulnerable households.
Paragraph Reference:
51
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The recent ‘Sustainable warmth: protecting vulnerable households in England’ strategy committed £150m to the Home Upgrade Grant for upgrading low-income homes with energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating. This £150m allocation is part of the £1bn settlement for buildings announced in the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. The Home Upgrade Grant will succeed Phase 2 of the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (GHG:LAD) Scheme which concludes in December 2021, beginning after GHG:LAD Phase 2 ends aiming to ensure continuity of delivery to off gas grid homes (which are in scope for both schemes). Further multi-year funding is subject to future fiscal events, but the allocated £150m acts as an early commitment and signal to the supply chain to allow scale up. Phase 1 of the Home Upgrade Grant will be delivered by Local Authorities, who will bid into a competition for grant funding, and therefore play a central role in the Home Upgrade Grant. Part of the scoring criteria for these bids will be on how Local Authorities aim to identify and verify vulnerable households.