Over £190 million in Government funding to reduce carbon across the South West
The Government have announced the cash thanks to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grants
Last updated 9th Jun 2024
Millions of pounds of Government cash is coming to the South West - as the country works to upgrade homes and reduce our carbon footprint.
Today, it's been announced a chunk of money has been set to help fund improvements across social housing and off-grid households, on top of cash already being used to help to upgrade hospitals, schools and public sector buildings across our region.
In today's announcement:
- £158 million is going to South West local authorities to upgrade ~8000 social homes and off-grid households with energy efficiency measures
- This comes on top of over £33 million in grants already announced to reduce carbon emissions in hospitals, schools, universities, and other buildings in the public sector across our region
It's reported that the changes will save households between £220 and £400 on their energy bills.
The news is also expected to support 20,000 jobs across England.
What today's announcement means
£77.9 million has been allocated to upgrade more than 5,000 social homes across the South West boosting their energy efficiency and saving residents money on bills, which is part of the Government’s wider investment to decarbonise more than 115,000 homes throughout England.
The money is being awarded through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant, which is collectively worth £1.4 billion, and will see energy-saving measures ranging from loft insulation to new windows installed in homes.
The money will go towards improvements to vulnerable households and off-gas grid homes with an EPC rating of D or below and could save tenants between £220 and £400 a year on energy bills.
Another £33 million has been allocated to public sector bodies across the South West to help reduce their carbon emissions, making these places produce cleaner, cheaper, renewable energy and so reduce the use of fossil fuels exposed to volatile global energy prices.
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said: “Thousands of homes across the South West will benefit from this cash injection, boosting their energy efficiency so they stay warmer for longer, and at a cheaper cost.
“The UK is truly a world-leader when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and the progress we’ve made over the last decade has been remarkable. But we can’t rest on our laurels and must continue to drive forward progress, setting a standard for other countries to follow.
“Reaching net zero means considerable action from both households and the public sector. Through the funding allocation announced today, we are empowering both in the South West to play their part in our ambitious and necessary climate goals – while saving the taxpayer hundreds of millions in the process.”
The funding will be rolled out from April 2023 to upgrade homes over the next two years.
The schemes form part of the government’s commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030, as well as supporting the ambition for the UK to move towards greater energy independence.
The government has also announced today that £33 million has been allocated to public sector bodies across the South West to help reduce their carbon emissions, with over £400 million allocated across England.
This funding is being delivered through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which provides grants to public sector bodies to fund low carbon heating, renewable energy and energy efficiency measures such as heat pumps, solar panels and insulation. The scheme is being delivered on behalf of the government by Salix Finance.
Some of those places in the South West getting funding include:
- North Bristol NHS Trust - with £3.4 million to replace gas boilers with air and water source heat pumps in three buildings at Southmead Hospital, the South Bristol Dialysis Unit and Bristol Centre for Enablement, which provides services such as prosthetics and wheelchairs
- University of Exeter - with £1.3 million to install heat pumps to heat the multi-purpose Cornwall House building and the university’s biosciences greenhouse
- Somerset West and Taunton District Council - with £1.5 million to install heat pumps, solar panels, LED lighting, double glazing and roof insulation at Wellington Sports Centre and Alcombe Children’s Centre, a day nursery for children
Joanna Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability at the University of Exeter, said: “The University of Exeter has an ambitious carbon reduction target and the funding provided by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will enable us to accelerate the implementation of our heat decarbonisation programme. This is an important part of our drive to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.”
The Scheme aims to support the government’s commitment to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037, compared to 2017 levels.
Funding across the South West breakdown
- Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund - the South West is receiving £80.2 million for local authorities, providers of social housing and charities that own social housing to bid for funding from the Government to install energy efficiency upgrades in their housing stock that is currently below an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C
- Home Upgrade Grant - the South West is receiving £77.5 million to provide energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating via local authority funding to households that are low-income, off the gas grid or have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or D
- Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund - the South West is receiving £33,450,968 (~£33.45 million) to help decarbonise public sector buildings