CIH responds to the governments Heat and Buildings Strategy

The £3.9bn funding package for decarbonising buildings over the next four years includes:

• £5,000 grants for homeowners to install heat pumps through a £450m boiler upgrade scheme
• An £800m Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to help social landlords improve the energy efficiency of their homes
• £950m Home Upgrade Grant scheme, which will be used by councils to support low-income households in carrying out energy efficiency retrofits.

James Prestwich, director of policy and external affairs said, “Decarbonisation of the housing stock is one of the biggest hurdles that must be overcome for the United Kingdom to achieve its net zero ambitions. It also provides a great opportunity to provide warm, comfortable homes for everyone that are affordable to heat. Today’s announcement includes much to be positives about. we particularly welcome the announcements that mean people can access new funding to install low-carbon heating in their home and it is good to see an initial £800m allocated to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. CIH has long called for the detail of the scheme to be brought forward and this first tranche is a solid step in the right direction.

So, whilst welcoming the announcements today we also urge greater ambition from the government. Achieving overall net zero targets will require more significant long-term investment in energy efficient homes as a key part of the UK’s approach to tackling the climate emergency and delivering a zero carbon future for all."

ENDS:

For further details contact karen.ireland@cih.org