A £15billion Warm Homes Plan – billed as the biggest homes upgrade plan in British history – will help to lift up to a million families out of fuel poverty by 2030
Families could save hundreds of pounds on energy bills under a flagship plan to give households access to solar panels, heat pumps and batteries.
A £15billion Warm Homes Plan – billed as the biggest homes upgrade plan in British history – will help to lift up to a million families out of fuel poverty and cut bills for five million homes by 2030.
Under the scheme, the poorest families in the country could receive upgrade packages for free, including fully funded installations of solar panels and a battery, which can currently cost up to £12,000.
Households will be able to apply for government-backed low and zero interest loans to get solar panels onto rooftops, while new rules will mean every new home will come with solar panels by default. A £7,500 universal grant for heat pumps will also be offered.
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Plans also include new rules to ensure landlords invest in upgrades to cut bills for renters and social tenants. This could mean upgrades to entire streets at the same time.
Keir Starmer said: “A warm home shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a basic guarantee for every family in Britain. Today’s plan marks a turning point. It will help to slash energy costs and lift up to a million people out of fuel poverty.
“This is a government bearing down on the cost-of-living crisis. By driving bills down for good and upgrading millions of homes, we’re giving people the security and the fair shot they need to get on in life.”
In addition, around six million households will receive the £150 Warm Home Discount, a one-off discount off people’s electricity bill. Every billpayer on means-tested benefits qualifies. This is on top of Rachel Reeves ’s Budget intervention to take an average of £150 of costs off energy bills from this April.
Home insulation installations fell by more than 90% between 2010 and 2024, and millions of households have paid higher energy bills as a result, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.
The scheme is backed by £15billion of government investment, including allocations for devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “The lifeblood of the Warm Homes Plan amounts to a rescue mission for the coldest, dampest homes in Britain – and this must be the priority.
“Combined with long-overdue improvements to conditions in the private rented sector, it could save lives, cut NHS costs and permanently slash energy bills for those in fuel poverty.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “It is a scandal that millions of people in our country do not have the security of a home that is warm, affordable and safe.
“With this investment, we embark on a national project to turn the tide – waging war on fuel poverty and taking another step forward in tackling the affordability crisis for families throughout Britain.”