The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published the budget allocation for the Warm Homes: Local Grant on 21 November 2024, confirming £500 million for the scheme. The money was allocated as part of the Autumn Budget and is committed across three years, for delivery from 2025 to 2028 by eligible local authorities in England1.
The department states the funding position plainly:
"£500 million has been committed to the Warm Homes: Local Grant across 3 years."
The scheme will begin delivery in 2025 and will provide energy performance upgrades and low carbon heating through local authorities. Households qualify where they are in England, are on a low income, have an Energy Performance Certificate rating between D and G, and are privately owned, whether owner occupied or privately rented1. The eligibility and income limits for the scheme are set out separately.
| Scheme condition | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Nation | England |
| Income | Low income |
| EPC rating | Between D and G |
| Tenure | Privately owned (owner occupied or privately rented) |
Once in delivery, local authorities will be able to install energy performance measures and low carbon heating to eligible homes in their area. Measures could include insulation, solar panels, and an air source heat pump if suitable. The department says upgrades should be tailored to individual homes so that the most appropriate measures are installed, and that occupants on a low income will not contribute to the cost of upgrades1.
The allocation covers the grant only. Further funding towards decarbonisation and to tackle fuel poverty will be considered as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review, the department says1. No figure for that phase has been reported.
Why it matters for households
The grant routes money through councils rather than through households or installers directly, so a home's access to it depends on whether its local authority takes part and how it prioritises its area. The measures named, insulation, solar panels and heat pumps, are the ones that cut a home's demand for bought energy and, in the case of solar, allow it to generate some of its own. For a low income household in a privately owned home rated D to G, the stated position that occupants will not contribute to the cost removes the upfront barrier that usually decides whether work goes ahead. The council and local authority energy grants route is the one this scheme sits within, and it differs from schemes delivered nationally, as set out in the comparison of the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme. How far the £500 million stretches across three years and how many homes it reaches has not been reported.
What happens next
Delivery begins in 2025 and runs to 20281. Further funding for decarbonisation and fuel poverty will be considered in Phase 2 of the Spending Review1. No date for that phase, and no list of participating local authorities, has been reported.