The Scottish Government launched the successor programme to Warmer Homes Scotland under the same name on 2 October 2023, according to its Heat in Buildings progress report published on 27 October 20231. The refreshed programme has a significantly increased maximum contract value of up to £728 million over up to seven years, higher grant limits per household, and a greater focus on clean heating where this is both financially and technically feasible1.
"We launched the successor programme to Warmer Homes Scotland under the same name on 2 October this year."
Warmer Homes Scotland is the Scottish Government's national fuel poverty programme, which installs measures such as insulation and clean heating systems. It has operated since September 2015 and has helped more than 35,000 households across Scotland1. In 2022-23 it delivered improvements in 5,478 households, described in the report as a record number of installations through the programme. For the current financial year, as of September 2023, improvements had been delivered to 3,328 households1.
The report sets out the wider delivery picture for 2022-23, when £170 million of capital funding and a further £20 million of revenue funding supported over 138,000 households through the Home Energy Scotland advice service, 8,800 fuel poor households, over 5,100 clean heating systems installed in homes, and 7,570 applications for loans or grants1.
| Scheme | Key figures reported |
|---|---|
| Warmer Homes Scotland | Operating since September 2015; more than 35,000 households helped; 5,478 households improved in 2022-23; 3,328 as of September 20231 |
| Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan | Launched December 2022; grant up to £7,500 for zero direct emissions heating and up to £7,500 for energy efficiency, so up to £15,000 in total; optional interest free loan of £7,500; rural uplift of £1,5001 |
| Area Based Schemes | Since 2013, over 108,000 households supported; just under 4,000 households in 2022-23; £64 million of approved council proposals as of October 20231 |
| Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund | At least £200 million committed to registered social landlords until 2026; over £38 million awarded to 29 projects in 2022-231 |
The report also records changes to other schemes. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme was launched in December 2022 as an update to the HES Loan and Cashback scheme, replacing the cashback element with a standalone grant1. The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund changes launched in August 2023 took into account feedback from the social housing sector, resulting in improvements to both the fund criteria and application process1. The Scottish Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme, which has provided zero interest loans for energy efficiency improvements since 2006, will be replaced with Scotland's Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund1.
Why it matters for households
For a household in or at risk of fuel poverty in Scotland, the programme named on the paperwork has not changed, but the terms behind it have. The report states that higher grant limits per household allow whole-house retrofit and the installation of more measures in individual properties, and that there is a greater focus on clean heating where this is financially and technically feasible1. That bears on both the fabric of a home and the heating system inside it, which are the two elements that determine how much energy a household needs to buy and what it buys it in.
The report gives one worked example of what a package can look like. A household in Inverness referred through the Home Energy Scotland advice service had a 40-year old oil heating system replaced with an air source heat pump alongside cavity wall insulation and replacement heating and hot water systems, moving the property from EPC E to EPC C1. The report does not state the cost of that work or the grant paid.
The report does not set out the new grant limits per household in figures, nor the eligibility rules for the refreshed programme. Those have not been reported in this document. Households seeking the current position on who can get help from Warmer Homes Scotland and what measures can be granted under Warmer Homes Scotland would need the programme's own published terms, which this report does not reproduce.
What happens next
The report gives no dated timetable for the refreshed Warmer Homes Scotland programme beyond its launch on 2 October 2023 and the contract value running over up to seven years1. On the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, the second application checkpoint closed in October 2023 and applications were under review at the time of publication1. The report also states that the Scottish Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme will be replaced with Scotland's Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund, without giving a date for the replacement1.