Measures trailed ahead of the announcement by HM Treasury include:

  • £2bn Green Homes Grant with vouchers of up to £5,000 to help homeowners upgrade their homes, with up to £10,000 available to some of the UK’s poorest families
  • £1bn programme to make public buildings, including schools and hospitals, across the UK greener
  • £50m to pilot innovative approaches to retrofitting social housing at scale
  • £40m Green Jobs Challenge Fund

Responding to the initial reports, Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive at UKGBC said:

“Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is crucial for reducing our emissions. It will also create jobs and lower energy bills – so this announcement of £3bn is a welcome first step.

“But it is essential that the funding announced this week is not just another one-off that creates boom and bust in the energy efficiency industry. This funding needs to be part of a comprehensive plan to improve the whole of the UK’s building stock, creating tens of thousands of jobs for the long term, not here-today-gone-tomorrow.

“That will only happen if policies are put in place that will build business confidence, upskill tradespeople and grow capacity in the retrofit market. The quality of the upgrade work must also be put at the forefront of the Government’s approach, with measures in place to ensure work is carried out to the highest technical standards by qualified installers.

“Government must also set about creating long-term consumer demand for green home upgrades, bringing forward a range of attractive financing options and incentives like variable stamp duty to make greener homes cheaper to buy.”

-ENDS- 

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