Birmingham City Council has announced the closure of its ECO4 Flex Scheme after the Chancellor's 2025 Autumn Budget confirmed the end of the green levy and, consequently, the end of ECO4 funding1. The council said its installer partners, City Energy and Next Energy, are no longer able to secure funding from energy companies1.
The council stated that although ECO4 will continue nationally until December 2026, no new applications can be funded, and that this extension period is intended solely to allow energy suppliers to complete outstanding remedial works and cover overspend in their current targets1. It added that ECO4 is funded by energy companies and not the Council, so it cannot progress new applications1. The separate GBIS scheme ended on 31 March 20261.
"Birmingham City Council regrets to announce the closure of the ECO4 Flex Scheme following the Chancellor's 2025 Autumn Budget, which confirmed the end of the green levy and, consequently, the end of ECO4 funding."
Industry analysis of the change puts the value of the withdrawn support at about £1.3 billion per year of levy funded support, with estimates that up to 222,000 planned retrofit projects could be lost if replacement programmes do not make up the difference2. Around 15 million homes have had measures installed under ECO since 20132. In 2024, around 11% of households in England, or 2.73 million homes, were classed as fuel poor, with an average fuel poverty gap of £4072.
Replacement funding is being directed through the Warm Homes Plan, for which the government has committed £13.2 billion between 2025 and 2030, with an extra £1.5 billion announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget2. For social housing, the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund has an initial allocation of £1.29 billion for 2025 to 2028, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant provides £500 million, together forming a £1.79 billion package2. The social housing fund has already been oversubscribed by more than £1 billion in bids, with 144 projects awarded funding2.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Annual levy funded support removed by ending ECO4 from 2026 | £1.3 billion2 |
| Planned retrofit projects at risk | up to 222,0002 |
| Warm Homes Plan commitment, 2025 to 2030 | £13.2 billion2 |
| Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, 2025 to 2028 | £1.29 billion2 |
| Warm Homes: Local Grant | £500 million2 |
Why it matters for households
ECO4 was the mechanism through which energy suppliers funded insulation, heating and other efficiency measures in low income homes, with eligibility often routed through qualifying benefits and council flex routes. With no new applications able to be funded, households that had not already started a project have no route into the scheme, and the remaining national period to December 2026 is for suppliers to finish existing work rather than take on new homes1. The cost of the levy itself sits within the policy costs and levies on energy bills, so its removal changes both what is funded and how bills are made up.
For a household, the practical effect is that the funded route to a free boiler grant or fabric upgrade has narrowed to whatever the successor programmes cover, and those programmes are targeted rather than open to all. The Warm Homes funds are aimed at social housing and local authority delivery, and the social housing fund is already oversubscribed2. Owner occupiers and private renters on low incomes have no equivalent confirmed replacement reported in these sources. Energy independence at home, in the sense of a dwelling that needs less bought energy to stay warm, now depends more on measures a household funds itself or accesses through whatever local schemes remain.
What happens next
ECO4 continues nationally until December 2026 for remedial works and target overspend only, with no new applications funded1. The GBIS scheme ended on 31 March 20261. The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund runs from 2025 to 2028, and the Warm Homes Plan is committed across 2025 to 20302. Birmingham City Council directs households to its Fuel Poverty webpage for information on remaining support1. Further detail on schemes that have closed is set out in closed and abandoned home energy policies.