Grants and Schemes News: page 22
- May 2022
Government announces cost of living package funded partly by windfall tax
The Chancellor announced a £15bn package of support for households on 26 May 2022, including a £400 energy grant, a £650 payment for means tested benefit claimants and a 25% levy on oil and gas profits.
Government announces financial support to help with cost of living crisis
The government has announced a £400 grant for all households towards energy bills and a targeted £650 payment for those on the lowest incomes, drawing a response from consumer body Which?.
Household Support Fund extended to 31 March 2023
The government has extended the Household Support Fund to 31 March 2023 with an additional £500 million, bringing total funding announced since October 2021 to £3 billion including Barnett impact.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme opens for grant applications
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme opened for grant applications on 23 May 2022, offering £5,000 or £6,000 towards heat pumps and, in limited cases, biomass boilers in England and Wales.
Heat Pump Association welcomes launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The Heat Pump Association has welcomed the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which opened with grants of £5,000 for air source and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps in England and Wales.
Consultation launched on proposed expansion of Warm Home Discount in Scotland
The UK government has opened a consultation on expanding the Warm Home Discount in Scotland, proposing £49 million a year in support, £150 rebates and 50,000 more households.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme launched with £450m budget
The government launched the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme in May 2022, offering grants of up to £6,000 towards heat pumps and, in limited circumstances, biomass boilers in England and Wales.
Cost of living support package announced
The government doubled supplier loans to £400 per household as non-refundable payments and added payments of £650, £300 and £150, raising the local authority fund to £1.5 billion.
Energy Bills Support Scheme vouchers announced
The government's Energy Bills Support Scheme, announced in May 2022, gave every household in Great Britain a £400 discount on energy bills, paid in six instalments from October 2022.
Green Home Finance Accelerator funding doubled to £20 million
A parliamentary committee report confirms the British Energy Security Strategy doubled funding for the Green Home Finance Accelerator from £10 million to £20 million, alongside wider heat decarbonisation measures.
- April 2022
Winter Fuel Support Scheme payment widened and planned for later in 2022
National Energy Action says the Welsh Government will make a further Winter Fuel Support Scheme payment later in 2022, widened to reach more low-income households including pensioners eligible for Pension Credit.
Energy Bills and the Price CapScotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Ofgem publishes decision on ECO4 scoring methodology consultation
Ofgem has confirmed how ECO4 energy efficiency measures will be scored, keeping intermediate SAP bands, four floor area segments and a 10% correction factor in its final decision.
Cross-industry letter calls on Government to expand ECO eligibility
The National Insulation Association has signed a cross-industry letter to HM Treasury, issued by the Sustainable Energy Association, calling for wider eligibility under the Energy Company Obligation.
Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive closes to new applicants
Ofgem has closed the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive to new applicants after eight years, with existing members continuing to receive payments for up to seven years.
£150 Council Tax Energy Rebate for England bands A-D
Households in England in Council Tax bands A to D receive a £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate from April 2022, a payment the government says does not need to be repaid.
BEIS decides not to apply English Boiler Plus standard across Great Britain under ECO4
BEIS has decided not to make the English Boiler Plus standard a specific requirement throughout Great Britain under ECO4, so installations will follow each nation's building regulations instead.
BEIS publishes Warm Home Discount response and NIA submits Welsh Warm Homes Programme response
BEIS confirmed an expanded Warm Home Discount running to at least 2025/26 as the National Insulation Association set out its response to Welsh plans for the next Warm Homes Programme.
British Energy Security Strategy published
The British Energy Security Strategy, published in April 2022, set out extra support for home energy efficiency, including five years without VAT on energy saving materials.
Cost of living payment scheme opens to households
A £150 cost of living payment for households in council tax bands A to D in Wales opens in April 2022 and runs until September, administered by local authorities.
Energy Company Obligation expanded to £1 billion per year from 2022-2026
The Energy Company Obligation will be expanded to £1 billion a year from 2022 to 2026 under the British Energy Security Strategy, supporting 113,000 low-income households annually.
UK Government announces energy support package for Great Britain households
The UK Government announced a package of support for almost all households in Great Britain in April 2022, including the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme and an Energy Price Guarantee capping a typical bill at £2,500.
Government publishes response to ECO reform consultation
The government published its response to the summer 2021 consultation on reforming the Energy Company Obligation in April 2022, raising the minimum requirement for upgrading the least efficient private homes from 100,000 to 150,000.
Government renames Energy Bills Discount as the Energy Bills Support Scheme
The Government published an explainer on 1 April 2022 renaming the Energy Bills Discount as the Energy Bills Support Scheme, the £400 grant later paid to households over winter 2022-23.
Government response to ECO4 consultation published
The government published its response to the ECO4 consultation on 1 April 2022, setting the Energy Company Obligation's rules for April 2022 to March 2026 and confirming a £4 billion scheme across Great Britain.
Great Britain introduced a temporary zero rate for energy-saving material installations
From 1 April 2022, Great Britain introduced a temporary zero rate of VAT on installing energy-saving materials in homes, reversed the 2019 restrictions and reinstated wind and water turbines as qualifying materials.
Group 23 inserted into Schedule 8 Part II by the Value Added Tax (Installation of Energy-Saving Materials) Order 2022
The Value Added Tax (Installation of Energy-Saving Materials) Order 2022 inserted Group 23 into Schedule 8 Part II of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 with effect from 1 April 2022.
Ofgem decides to remove the wall type distinction for heating measures in ECO4
Ofgem has confirmed it will remove the wall type distinction for heating measures under ECO4, publishing its final decision on the scheme's scoring methodology in April 2022.
Ofgem introduces pitched roof insulation, hybrid wall insulation and district heating connection measures in ECO4
Ofgem has confirmed its final ECO4 scoring methodology, adding pitched roof insulation, hybrid wall insulation and district heating connection measures with partial project scores.
OLEV grant ended for private homeowners
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, known as the OLEV grant, closed to private homeowners on 31 March 2022, leaving landlords, social housing providers and apartment block owners as the only eligible applicants.
Solid wall minimum target of 90,000 measures set for ECO4
The government has set a minimum target of 90,000 solid wall insulation measures under ECO4, the four-year Energy Company Obligation running from 2022 to 2026, alongside a 150,000-home minimum for private tenure band E, F and G homes.