Energy bills could be slashed by £400 a year for ‘hard-working families’

Households could save as much as £400 annually on energy bills following a recent decision by the Government.

Over £75million in taxpayer money is being used to cover the cost of energy efficiency upgrades in thousands of social homes.

Claire Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, confirmed the funding will be spent on measures including heat pumps, insulation and double glazing.

It is expected that this support will help 8,000 families heat their homes and boost energy bill savings by around £400 a year.

This funding is being provided to 42 councils and housing associations in England to mitigate the expense of heat pump installations.

Furthermore, the Government estimates that this funding will help more than 1,300 jobs in the country’s retrofit industry.

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Through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), more than £1billion has been spent on upgrading around 100,000 homes in the last five years.

Among the authorities receiving funding include North Yorkshire Council, Portsmouth City Council, Wandle Housing Association in London and Gentoo Group in Sunderland.

Money is open to applicants who have not received any money from the SHDF in the previous wave.

Any councils and housing associations which get a share of the funding are required to co-fund the projects.

Overall, the total funding for this wave comes to more than £200million which includes £139million of co-funding and £75.5million of Government funding.

Ms Coutinho said: “Our Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is helping families to keep their homes warm and their bills down.

“We want to support hard-working families to make changes, rather than burdening them with unnecessary costs.

“This funding today will help up to a further 8,800 households save around £400 a year on their energy bills.”

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, added: “Housing associations play a crucial role in helping the country to meet its net zero targets and are already leading the way on energy efficiency, but funding is essential for maintaining this work.

“The funding announced today will give housing associations the certainty and confidence they need to plan and deliver more retrofit projects, tackle fuel poverty, and improve their residents’ homes.”

This initiative is part of a wider funding package to improve energy efficiency across the UK, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and slashing energy bills.

Some £20billion has been allocated into these net zero schemes over the current Parliament and into the next.

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Examples of where the money is being placed include the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which helps households to switch from fossil fuel heating systems to cleaner low carbon alternatives.

Last week, the Government received criticism for delaying the implementation of the clean heat market mechanism which required boiler manufacturers to sell more heat pumps.

This resulted in boiler makers introducing a so-called “boiler tax” which the Energy Secretary previously referred to as “price gouging”.

As well as this, ministers have confirmed changes to the £7,500 heat pump grants the Government is offering.

Homes will no longer have to install loft and cavity wall insulation in their homes to qualify for the funding.