Policy Connect welcomes the news of the imminent introduction of the Green Homes Grant scheme. In an economic statement tomorrow, 8 July 2020, Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP is expected to announce a £2 billion grant scheme in England that will be available for energy efficiency measures. The funding will be made available as part of a set of wider measures to stimulate economic recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

The new Green Homes Grant scheme is a sizeable first step towards ramping up the country’s efforts to decarbonise, particularly since previously pledged funding levels for energy efficiency programmes have fallen woefully short of providing the support really needed.

Prior to Sunak’s announcement, the government had only planned to spend less than £1 billion annually to this important policy area. Further, a recent consultation by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on the future support for low-carbon heat showed a concerning lack of ambition for the decarbonisation of homes. Policy Connect’s response to this consultation criticised the shortfall of overall government funding to decarbonise homes and highlighted that different elements of future support schemes must be prioritised differently if we are to make strides towards our net zero targets.

Claudia Jaksch, Head of Sustainability at Policy Connect, commented: "I am hopeful – like many of my colleagues in the field – that the Green Homes Grant scheme is now the first step of many towards a truly green recovery and the achievement of our decarbonisation targets while ensuring equitability. In our reports ‘Uncomfortable Home Truths’ and ‘Warmer and Greener’ we already recommended up-front grants as most accessible incentives for the purchase and installation of energy efficiency and low-carbon heat measures – especially for fuel poor and vulnerable households. We are delighted that this recommendation is reflected in the Chancellors economic statement”