AgilityEco is sending an open letter to Claire Coutinho, the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, urging her to continue the Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme, and is asking for the wider industry to sign.
The letter points out that many LAD schemes were oversubscribed and the funding has enabled councils – in England – to “make significant improvements to the energy efficiency of low-income homes … with nearly 67,000 measures installed into over 50,000 properties since 2020″.
The funding has been used to tackle fuel poverty and make homes both warmer and more efficient, while also cutting carbon.
The open letter states that winter fuel bills are expected to remain unaffordable for many this year, saying that the “only sustainable solution to high energy costs is through schemes like LAD, which improve homes with energy saving measures so that they use less energy to stay warm”.
Although HUG funding is available, this is only for homes that are not on the gas grid, meaning it can not “directly support the three-quarters of English homes that use mains gas central heating, more than 2.5 million of which are in fuel poverty”.
It then points out that HUG funding that hasn’t been spent could be reallocated for LAD – “£100 million of recycled funding could support over 9,000 households and save them an average of nearly £250 a year for many decades to come”.
James Sommerville, Policy & Partnerships Director, AgilityEco, said:
AgilityEco has worked with Portsmouth City Council to secure and spend LAD funding for the Warmer Homes partnership of local authorities. This has been one of the most successful LAD schemes with over 3,000 homes upgraded by insulation, solar panels and other energy saving measures since 2021. Our estimate is that the average household saves around £250 a year from having these measures installed, and they will see the benefits for decades to come.
Sign the letter here: agilityeco.co.uk/news/open-letter-secretary-state-energy-security-and-net-zero
