The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS), formerly known as ECO+, is now closed to applications, according to a Commons Library research briefing published on 13 May 20261. The scheme was not extended beyond March 2026, unlike the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which the government has extended to 31 December 20261.
GBIS was a government energy efficiency scheme in England, Scotland and Wales, delivered by energy suppliers, designed to complement ECO and extend support to a wider range of households in the least energy efficient homes and lower council tax bands1. Under the scheme, homes in council tax bands A to D in England, or A to E in Scotland and Wales, with EPC ratings of D and below, could claim for one form of insulation, and low-income households could also claim for heating controls2. The scheme ran from April 2023 to March 20264.
The closure sits alongside wider changes to supplier-funded schemes. The government announced in Budget 2025 that funding for ECO would end in March 2026, with energy efficiency measures under the scheme continuing until the end of 20264. The briefing states that the government decided to stop further funding of ECO4 through consumers' energy bills after March 2026, and that major suppliers are either no longer advertising ECO4 or accepting applications1. The government decided to end ECO as it did not represent strong value for money4.
The government published its Warm Homes Plan on 21 January 2026, which it says will direct over £5 billion of investment in home upgrades by 2030, comprising over £4.4 billion grant funding plus £600 million from the Warm Homes Fund targeted at low-income households1. The full plan included £15 billion of public investment across the UK over financial years 2025-26 to 2029-304. A new Warm Homes Fund will hold £5 billion in financial transactions, including £1.7 billion already allocated to low- and zero-interest consumer loans and £0.6 billion of low-income funding, with the residual £2.7 billion available as finance for the home upgrade sector1. Details of the consumer loan offer are not yet available; the government said in February 2026 that it would set out further detail "in due course"1.
"The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS, formerly known as ECO+ and now closed to applications) was a government energy-efficiency scheme in England, Scotland and Wales."
Why it matters for households
GBIS was one of the few routes to insulation for households that did not receive means-tested benefits, because eligibility extended to council tax band rather than benefit receipt alone2. Its closure removes that route, and the briefing notes that major suppliers are no longer advertising or accepting ECO4 applications1. For a home's energy independence, insulation reduces the heat lost through the building fabric, which lowers the energy needed to keep rooms warm and reduces exposure to price movements. The briefing records that at the end of 2025 an estimated 5.0 million properties in Great Britain with cavity walls had no cavity wall insulation, 23% of the total; around 7.7 million homes with lofts (29%) had less than 125mm of loft insulation; and 7.6 million homes with solid walls (89%) did not have solid wall insulation4. It also records that loft and cavity wall insulations fell dramatically in 2013 and have not recovered4.
What happens next
ECO4 will run until 31 December 20261. The Warm Homes Agency will begin "initial operations" in 2027, and Salix will close, with its functions and some from DESNZ and Ofgem brought into a single executive agency1. The government has said it will consult this year on bringing oversight of energy efficiency and microgeneration installations under closer government control and on the role of the Warm Homes Agency1. From 2027/28, the government intends to integrate the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and the Warm Homes: Local Grant into a single low-income capital scheme1.
Sources4 cited
- [](https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9585/CBP-9585.pdf), researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk
- Free boilers and boiler grants: find out who is eligible - Which?, which.co.uk
- Free boilers and boiler grants: find out who is eligible - Which?, which.co.uk
- [](https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9889/CBP-9889.pdf), researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk