Derek Horrocks is Chair of the National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG)
To allay fears that no doubt arose after the recent backsliding of a number of government green initiatives, including the disbanding of the Energy Efficiency Task Force, the government has committed an extra £80m to the UK’s Decarbonisation Fund Social Housing (SHDF). According to its own calculation, the extra money will enable 9,500 social housing tenants to benefit from retrofit decarbonisation measures that make their homes warmer, healthier and more energy efficient.
“Social housing is the catalyst for everything else. It’s the way we build our supply chain”
This sounds impressive until you remember that the UK currently has some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing in Europe, so much so that almost 15% of homes in the social housing sector are classed as social housing. energy poverty.
There is still substantial decarbonisation work to be done (around 27 million households) if we are to achieve the net zero target by 2050 that the UK was praised for when it was first established.
A more ambitious and long-term intervention is urgently needed to reactivate confidence in the entire energy efficiency supply chain to continue investing at the necessary levels.
Fall eye statement
The SHDF has been very successful, but with Wave 2.1 schemes already allocated, long-term certainty is still required. In September, the Prime Minister said her government would “continue to subsidize energy efficiency”, and with £3.8 billion already earmarked for wave 3 of the fund, the industry wants the government to bring this funding to the statement of autumn
The commitment shown by the UK in announcing the 2050 target made the country a leading power in sustainability. You run the risk of losing that reputation. Confidence across the market has been badly shaken by the government scrapping its plan to force private homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, instead encouraging households to carry out job
In addition, the phase-out of fossil fuel boilers has been pushed back significantly, while the Energy Efficiency Taskforce to Accelerate Home Insulation and Boiler Upgrades, which was only launched in March, has been dissolved.
This can have an impact on social housing work, which is the catalyst for everything else. It’s how we build our supply chain, skills and innovation. So when private sector decarbonisation companies accelerate this work, the groundwork is already there.
Moment at risk
Rishi Sunak’s new approach is in danger of jeopardizing all of that, and it all looks like a big step backwards in the net zero agenda. So much momentum has built up over the last few years, and we simply cannot let it go to waste by decalcifying the industry. Indeed, ahead of the announcements, the chief executive of the National Housing Federation, Kate Henderson, urged the government not to let net zero slip off the political agenda and to ensure that housing associations have the vital funding needed to meet their goals.
Many housing contractors and suppliers have invested huge amounts of time, resources and money in skills, innovation and processes to get the work done, and in many cases this has also shaped parts of their business plans to time to invest. these resources.
It is important that we advance the agenda to deliver household decarbonisation at scale, faster and more efficiently than ever before. Key to this is collaboration at scale and a community-driven approach.
Ultimately, we must remember that decarbonizing homes is much more than achieving net zero. It’s also about supporting millions of people feeling the impact of the ongoing energy, cost of living and health crises, so the sooner we decarbonise these homes, the better.
As a collective, the NHDG, with the support of the National Insulation Association, has it written to RIshi Sunak, urging the Prime Minister to commit to ensuring the all-important momentum is sustained and calling for Wave 3 of the SHDF to be announced at the Autumn Statement.
