The government has allocated an extra £1bn of funding to help households with poor-energy-performing homes to install insulation.
The new Eco+ scheme is targeted at “middle income” households that may have missed out on previous funding.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said that the support would extend help to people “who do not currently benefit from any other government support to upgrade their homes”.
Business secretary Grant Shapps said: “The government put immediate help in place to support households in the wake of global energy price rises caused by [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s illegal march on Ukraine.
“Today, we launch the first of many measures to ensure the British public are never put in this position again, as we work towards an energy-independent future.
“A new Eco scheme will enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets and creating jobs across the country.”
The money is separate from the £6bn announced in the Autumn Statement, which is to be used from 2025 onward – the details of which have yet to be announced.
Of the £1bn funding available through the new Eco+ scheme, about 80 per cent will be made available for households in some of the least energy-efficient homes in the country – those with an energy-performance certificate rating of D or below – and in the lower council tax bands.
It is intended to benefit households that do not currently benefit from other government support to upgrade their homes. About a fifth of the fund will also be targeted at the most vulnerable, including those on means-tested benefits or in fuel poverty.
Labour’s shadow climate-change secretary, Ed Miliband, said that the announcement was “far too little too late”.
He added: “Labour’s warm-homes plan would insulate up to 2 million homes a year, saving pensioners and families up to £1,000 off their energy bills.
“[Prime minister] Rishi Sunak wants to crawl towards warmer homes and cheaper bills for our country. Labour will sprint for it because that’s what the bills-crisis demands.”
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