The government has published details of how £630m will be spent through its Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) for privately owned properties, and £780m through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund for homes owned by local authorities and other social housing providers, the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) reported on 24 March 2023. The funding was announced last September, and the measures it covers will be available from April1.
Social housing will also benefit from a further £1.1bn of match funding from local authorities, social housing providers and charities, according to BESA. The government believes the scheme will provide energy efficiency improvements for 115,000 homes with an EPC rating of C or lower and will support 20,000 construction and home retrofit jobs1.
A further £409m will be spent through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, divided between 114 English public sector bodies aiming to improve the energy efficiency of hospitals, schools, universities, museums and leisure centres. BESA reports this as part of the UK's commitment to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 20371.
The measures covered by the funding are set out as follows1:
| Measure |
|---|
| Insulation of lofts and walls |
| New windows and doors |
| Draft proofing |
| Heat pumps |
| Solar panels |
BESA gave the plan a cautious welcome. Its technical director, Graeme Fox, said the investment could be an important step towards meeting energy security and carbon reduction goals, but only if it was focused on the long-term performance of buildings and not confined to one-off installations1.
"It is not enough to carry out one-off installations. We must look at how any retrofit measures are maintained and serviced throughout their lifetime, so they continue to meet their potential for long-term energy and carbon savings."
Fox added that this would require a major step up of investment in training and recruitment to ensure a suitably competent workforce1.
BESA also reports government figures showing that 46% of UK housing has an EPC rating of C or above, up from 9% in 2008, with 66% of social housing said to meet that standard. Legislation requiring all homes to achieve a C rating by 2035 is under consideration1.
Why it matters for households
The funding routes money into the fabric of homes rather than into running costs alone. Insulation, glazing, doors and draft proofing reduce the rate at which a home loses heat, while heat pumps and solar panels change how a home is heated and where its electricity comes from. For a household, that combination bears on how much energy has to be bought in and how exposed a home is to price movements1.
The split between the two funds matters for who can apply. The Home Upgrade Grant covers privately owned properties, while the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund covers homes owned by local authorities and other social housing providers, with £1.1bn of match funding coming from local authorities, social housing providers and charities1. The £409m Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme sits outside household funding and covers public buildings1.
The government's own estimate is that 115,000 homes with an EPC rating of C or lower will receive improvements1. BESA's caution concerns what happens after installation: whether measures are maintained and serviced over their lifetime, and whether enough trained people are available to do that work1. Both bear on whether the savings a household sees at installation persist.
What happens next
Funding becomes available from April for the measures listed1. Legislation requiring all homes to achieve an EPC rating of C by 2035 is under consideration, according to BESA1. No further dates for the scheme have been reported.