The Green Homes Grant Scheme was cut short at the end of last month. The scheme was set-up in an effort to help households around the country make environmentally friendly improvements to their homes. The scheme supposedly was ended early because of a lack of applicants, however, people believe the timing on the pandemic and poor planning could have stopped the scheme in it's tracks There are now calls from people in the industry to bring back the scheme...
One person hoping the scheme can resume is Ian Henderson. The founder and managing director of Boiler Plan, a UK based heating company who focus on boiler installs and maintenance. He believes cutting the scheme early was a step backwards and wants it reinstated. He states it is needed if the UK is going to meet its 2050 net-zero commitment and that households should be able to invest in an eco-friendlier future.
Why did the scheme end?
The scheme was scrapped last month after only 60,000 out of the targeted 600,000 homes targeted for eco improvements were reached since the voucher scheme launched last September.
There seems to have been some bad managing of the scheme overall. 86% of homeowners who applied said that they had had a poor experience with the process, citing complex paperwork and poor administration. Other complaints included long waiting times and lack of communication.
There is no clear answer to why the scheme has been cut short with many professionals within the industry stating there were problems with the scheme from the start and that even registering for the scheme, households found it difficult to access.
What happens now?
Well now, some of the money that was going to be used to fund the scheme is going towards helping people on low-incomes gain access to energy efficiency improvements, through local authorities. That's £300m mostly towards things like insulation. For those applications made before the end of March deadline will still be honoured, the government has confirmed.
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