The Welsh Government's Warm Homes Nest scheme is coming to an end in March 2024, the responsible minister announced in the scheme's annual report for 2022 to 2023, published on 30 November 20231. The scheme provides energy efficiency improvements to low-income households and those living in areas of deprivation across Wales, and is managed by British Gas, working with Energy Saving Trust, on behalf of the Welsh Government1.
"I announced recently, the existing Nest Scheme is coming to an end in March 2024, to ensure there will be no gap in provision between the current and new Programme."
A separate consumer advice document published by Energy UK, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem states that the scheme "will come to an end at the end of March 2024", with the Welsh Government Warm Homes Scheme replacing it on Monday 1 April 20242. The two sources agree on the closing month; the annual report does not give the replacement's start date, and the consumer advice document does not name the successor scheme beyond "Welsh Government Warm Homes Scheme"1.
In its final full reporting year, 2022-23, the Welsh Government provided £26.9m of funding to deliver the Warm Homes Programme, Nest Scheme1. The scheme gave free and impartial energy saving advice to 21,959 households and a home energy improvement package to 4,364 households, with a modelled average energy bill saving of £422 per year1. All installations were completed by Wales-based installers, and the scheme reports the creation of five jobs and support for nine apprenticeships among its contractors1.
Nest packages are designed for individual properties, so there is no standard set of measures, but they could include a new boiler, central heating system or loft insulation, and some may include solar panel PVs, air source heat pumps and external wall insulation1. The measures installed in 2022-23 broke down as follows1:
| Measure | Share of installations |
|---|---|
| Central heating installation | 75.1% |
| Standard insulation | 6.5% |
| Enhanced insulation | 0.1% |
| Solar | 14.8% |
| Solar and battery | 3.5% |
Eligibility for a home improvement package required a household member to be in receipt of a means-tested benefit, with the property privately owned or rented and rated E, F or G, or a household member living with a health condition in a D, E, F or G rated property and on an income below defined thresholds1. Prior to receiving improvements, 63.3% of households contacting Nest were estimated to be living in fuel poverty, including 25.8% in severe fuel poverty1. Nest defines fuel poverty as spending over 10% of income on energy bills, and severe fuel poverty as over 20%1.
Why it matters for households
For a household part-way through a Nest application, or considering one, the scheme's closure date is the operative fact: the Welsh Government's stated aim is that there is no gap in provision between the current and new programme1. What the successor will offer, who will run it and what its eligibility rules will be have not been reported in these sources. The Nest and Warm Homes Programme in Wales page covers the transition, and the Nest: The Welsh Government Home Energy Scheme page sets out how the scheme worked while open.
The practical significance lies in what Nest delivered. Central heating made up three quarters of installations, so the scheme functioned mainly as a heating replacement route for low-income households rather than a fabric-first insulation programme1. The modelled £422 annual bill saving is an average across packages, not a guarantee for any individual home1.
For a household's energy independence, the scheme's structure matters as much as its funding. Packages were tailored to the property after a whole house assessment, and private landlords had to be registered with Rent Smart Wales before their tenants could access support1. That link between landlord registration and eligibility is specific to Nest and has not been reported as carrying over to the replacement programme.
What happens next
Nest closes in March 2024, with the replacement Welsh Government Warm Homes Scheme reported to begin on 1 April 20241. The annual report states the new Warm Homes Programme will contribute towards achieving a net zero Wales by 2050 and will pursue the twin objectives of tackling fuel poverty and the climate emergency1. No further detail on the new programme's eligibility criteria, funding or delivery partners appears in these sources.