Published: 6 Dec 2021, 11:41
The new funding for the Warmer Homes scheme was announced by the Mayor of London. Image: Greater London Authority
The Mayor of London’s Warmer Homes scheme is to see £51 million spent on the rollout of energy efficiency technologies to low income London households.
This is to be split into two tranches – £40.2 million of government funding is to go towards grants of up to £20,000 for heating, insulation and ventilation improvements from spring 2022, while a further £8.5 million of government funding and £2.6 million of City Hall funding is to go towards emergency heat replacements and repairs this winter.
However, while the scheme has a focus on traditional energy efficiency and heating technologies, the Mayor said that measures can also include renewable technology such as solar panels and heat pumps.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m pleased that our £51 million commitment will directly help those living in ageing, energy-inefficient homes. This investment will help tackle the climate emergency and support Londoners with the skills they need for jobs in the green economy.”
To date, the Warmer Homes scheme has made energy efficiency improvements to 1,759 households. Other schemes aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock includes the Green Homes Grant, which closed earlier this year after a string of administrative problems.
The Green Homes Grant – which offered households grants for the installation of technologies such as insultation and heat pumps – was described as “a slam dunk fail” by the Public Accounts Committee, while the National Audit Office found that just 20% of the £1.5 billion initially allocated to the grant scheme would be spent, with millions of the total expenditures also being spent on administration costs.