Our Response To The Closure Of The Green Homes Grant Scheme

The UK Government has announced that the Green Homes Grant Scheme is closing and homeowners must apply for a voucher by 31 March.  This follows widespread speculation about the future of the Scheme.

Responding to the closure of the Green Homes Grant Scheme, Paul Ellis, Chief Executive of pioneering green finance provider, Ecology Building Society said,

“We’re very disappointed to hear that the scheme is closing. 

“It’s clear that the set-up of the scheme was bodged, it was overly bureaucratic, and there were issues with the administration. The Government also didn’t learn the mistakes from previous policy failures such as the Green Deal or indeed take learning from successful schemes such as those in Germany.   

“We now need a new grant scheme with the capability and capacity to urgently improve and retrofit our existing housing stock, which is critical if we are to meet our net-zero commitments and make our homes fit for the future. And, when setting it up, Ministers should listen to leading and well-respected bodies such as the Passivhaus Trust and Association for Environmentally Conscious Building to ensure it is achievable and delivers the energy efficiency improvements required.

“The Government is missing an opportunity to deliver a national home retrofit strategy with a wide-ranging package of measures to support green building including:  reforming stamp duty to incentivise greener homes; slashing VAT on renovations; tightening building regulations; building the long term capacity of the retrofit supply chain; and driving the market for green finance so lenders such as Ecology can step up and play our part.

 “Without this it’s hard to see how the Government is going deliver a truly sustainable, healthy and inclusive recovery.”