Cold shoulder given to warm homes scheme

Fewer than 200 householders in Sunderland took advantage of a Government energy-saving scheme before it was scrapped, new figures show

Launched in September, the flagship Green Homes Grant was designed to help homeowners install energyefficient improvements with vouchers of up to £5,000, or £10,000 for those on low incomes.

Figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show residents applied for 579 vouchers by the time the scheme was axed at the end of March – and, of those, just 177 (33%) were issued.

The most popular energy efficiency measure was loft insulation.

Union leaders say the figures represent a lost opportunity to create thousands of jobs and make houses more environmentally friendly.

Under the scheme, £1.5bn was made available to pay for measures such as insulation and low-carbon heating, but said just 49,000 vouchers – worth £208m – had been issued by April 19.

Two-thirds of applications were rejected or still awaiting a decision.

It was due to run until March 2022 before being scrapped last month, with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng admitting that applications were not processed quickly enough.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "The Green Homes Grant was an opportunity to create thousands of decent jobs in making our homes warmer and greener.”

She says the Government should give councils the resourcesto create jobs making homes more environmentally friendly.