UK100's new report sets out a plan for the UK Government to support local authorities to drive nationwide social housing energy efficiency upgrades to slash bills for some of the most vulnerable households amidst the energy and cost-of-living crises.
In this report, UK100 outlines a plan the Government can implement to roll out an urgent social housing energy efficiency programme to reduce energy bills by up to £1,500 a year for tenants and kick-start a nationwide domestic energy efficiency drive.
The mid-term plan (2022 to 2028) laid out in End the wait. Insulate. Social housing energy efficiency and the energy crisis won't cost a penny more than has already been pledged to social housing energy efficiency spending.
The report recommends that the government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund scheme introduced in 2021 is redesigned to turbo-boost its effectiveness. The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund works by inviting local authorities to compete for funding to upgrade the energy efficiency of the social housing stock in their communities.
The redesigned scheme could upgrade over 550,000 social housing properties by 2028, supporting 40,000 jobs and saving residents up to £1,500 on their bills in the first year alone. The report also argues that beyond 2028, a new £16 billion long-term investment to 2050 would ensure every single social housing property in the UK is upgraded to Net Zero standard, permanently reducing bills and supporting over 80,000 jobs.
