Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/172

Contact: Sarah Gilbert, Climate Action Team Leader Tel: 07867 467797

Report by Corporate Director Communities (CA11).

In support of the council’s climate action and healthy place shaping agendas, as well as national commitments to a green recovery, a funding application in relation to the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery 1b has been submitted. If successful, the project would deliver home energy efficiency retrofits to 150 households living in energy inefficient properties and fuel poverty.

The report outlines the bid, and, should the bid be successful, seeks to delegate authority to the Corporate Director Communities to proceed, subject to the terms and conditions of the grant offer letter.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)       note the submission of a funding bid to support retrofit of homes in fuel poverty under Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery 1b (GHG LAD 1b).

(b)       Support the recommendation to delegate authority to the Corporate Director Communities in conjunction with S151 Officer, and Lead Member for Environment to review and conclude legal agreements should the application be successful.

In support of the council’s climate action and healthy place shaping agendas, as well as national commitments to a green recovery, a funding application in relation to the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery 1b has been submitted. If successful, the project would deliver home energy efficiency retrofits to 150 households living in energy inefficient properties and fuel poverty.

Cabinet had before it a report (CC11) which outlined the bid, and, in the event that the bid was successful, sought to delegate authority to the Corporate Director Communities to proceed, subject to the terms and conditions of the grant offer letter.

Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment wished the Council well for its bid for the grant.  However, he expressed concerned that the proposal did not go far enough with only 150 houses to be upgraded out of a need for over 4,000 houses to be upgraded every year.

His understanding was that this was a part of a wider government scheme which had seemed to be going for quite some time, he questioned whether this proposal was just for those people who could not afford to improve their home’s insulation.  He expressed concern that not only had the builders to be trust marked accredited, but also accredited to publicly available specification standards which very few contractors were signed up to. 

The Green Homes Grant was designed to create skilled jobs and cut household emissions and was muted to help 600,000 homes become energy efficient by March 2021.  The scheme had a complex structure that required homeowners to choose primary measures such as installing a heat pump or loft insulation, before they could access value adding secondary measures like double glazing.  The structure had led to adverse incentives that had pushed people to install specific measures, even if that was not what their home most needed.  Additionally, householders nationally had experienced considerable delays in getting approval.  In a survey by the Environmental Audit Committee, 86% of people rated the grant as poor or very poor.  He hoped that the government had learnt from that and that the current scheme becomes a success.  He questioned how they would find the households or whether they were expecting households to contact the Council.  He urged the Council to take great care to ensure the proper take up of the scheme.

Councillor Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment, thanked Councillor Sanders for his well-informed comments.

Ms Rachel Wiley, Assistant Director for Strategic Infrastructure and Planning confirmed that the bid was specifically for the local authority programme to deal with 150 homes in fuel poverty.  It was important to be aware that they were already working on the better homes better health programme that was delivered by NEFF, so this was the County Council working in collaboration with the districts and the City to fund this programme, to ensure that those homes that are worse performing for energy efficiency were identified and to work with those households in fuel poverty to improve health.

Councillor Constance commended the report to Cabinet and moved the recommendations.

RESOLVED: to

(a)           note the submission of a funding bid to support retrofit of homes in fuel poverty under Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery 1b (GHG LAD 1b);

(b)           Support the recommendation to delegate authority to the Corporate Director Communities in conjunction with S151 Officer, and Lead Member for Environment to review and conclude legal agreements should the application be successful.