The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has credited an increase in total funding and individual grants for heat pumps through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme with a significant increase in take-up, in its Progress in Reducing Emissions 2024 Report to Parliament, laid before Parliament on 18 July 20241.
The report lists the change among what it calls good progress on policy by the previous Government, alongside confirmation of the zero-emission vehicle mandate and leaving the Energy Charter Treaty1. The CCC describes the Boiler Upgrade Scheme as one of the areas where policy moved in the right direction, though it does not give the size of the grant increase or the number of vouchers issued in this report1.
"an increase to total funding and individual grants for heat pumps in homes via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which has led to a significant increase in take-up"
The same report sets out how far heat pump installation still has to go. By 2030, approximately 10% of existing UK homes will need to be heated by a heat pump, against only approximately 1% today1. The CCC also calls for the exemption of 20% of households from the 2035 fossil-fuel boiler installation phase-out to be removed, and for planning barriers to heat pumps to be lifted1.
The report's wider assessment is that only a third of the emissions reductions required to meet the UK's 2030 target are currently covered by credible plans1. It confirms that the UK met its Third Carbon Budget, covering 2018 to 2022, with the net carbon account for the period at 2,153 MtCO2e against a budget of 2,544 MtCO2e, an overachievement of 391 MtCO2e, or 15%1. The Government carried over 88 MtCO2e from the Second to the Third Carbon Budget in 2019, against the Committee's advice, but later confirmed it would not use that carry-forward1.
Why it matters for households
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is the main grant route for households replacing a fossil-fuel heating system with a heat pump, and the Committee's finding that higher grant levels drove take-up is a direct signal about how sensitive household decisions are to the upfront cost of a heat pump. The report does not break the take-up figures down by nation, property type or technology, so the picture for any particular home is not set out here1.
For a household weighing up a heat pump, the report's framing matters in two ways. First, it treats the grant as a working lever rather than a marginal one, which supports the case that the scheme is doing what it was designed to do. Second, it places the scheme inside a wider judgement that the UK is not on track for 2030, and that buildings policy rollbacks, including the 20% boiler phase-out exemption, risk undermining targets1. The Committee also recommends removing policy costs from electricity prices so that the lower running costs of heat pumps compared with fossil-fuel boilers are reflected in household bills1. That recommendation has not been adopted, and no change to electricity price composition has been reported1.
What happens next
The CCC says it will publish its advice on the Seventh Carbon Budget and an updated path to Net Zero early in 20251. It sets out ten priority actions for the remainder of 2024, including reversing the buildings policy rollbacks, removing planning barriers for heat pumps and making electricity cheaper1. No government response to those recommendations is reported in this document1.