Government-Funded Schemes

Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG2) is a government-funded local authority scheme that aims to tackle fuel poverty and support progress towards the UK’s 2050 Net Zero commitment.

HUG2 is targeted at homes that are not heated by gas. The scheme will provide energy-saving improvements and low carbon heating systems to the homes of people who struggle to pay their heating bills and keep their homes warm in the winter. These improvements will be made free of charge, and will help residents to keep their homes warm, while using less energy.

The Greater South East Net Zero Hub has successfully bid for HUG2 funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Hub will administer the scheme in the South East region of England, on behalf of a consortium of local authorities led by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

To be eligible for the scheme, households must be located in a postcode area that has been identified as having Indices of Multiple Deprivation 1-3 or have either a gross household income of no more than £36,000, or below £20,000 after rent or mortgage costs. Homes must be heated by fuels other than gas and have an Energy Performance Certificate rating between D and G. (Homes participating in the scheme will be provided with a free EPC if they do not already have one.)

Currently, preparations are being made by the Greater South East Net Zero Hub to enable roll-out the HUG2 scheme. Once arrangements are in place, the local authorities involved will take the initiative in contacting residents who they believe are likely to be eligible for the scheme. To maximise the use of the scheme funding, those households most in need and those living where the scheme can be most efficiently delivered will be prioritised.

Further information is available here: Home Upgrade Grant – Free energy-saving improvements for your home (hugapply.co.uk)

The Fund, provided by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, aims to improve the energy performance of social homes in England and up to £1.2bn will be available for Wave 3. It will support the installation of energy saving measures and upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C up to that standard. The Fund will be open to local authorities, combined authorities, registered providers of social housing (including housing associations and arms-length management organisations that are registered providers) and registered charities that own social housing.

If you are considering applying for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Wave 3 competition, you can get support from the new free support service Retrofit Information Support and Expertise (RISE) which is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Draft guidance for Wave 3 is now available. Please click the link below to find out more. For general enquiries about the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Wave 3 please email: shdfwave3enquiries@energysecurity.gov.uk.

Retrofit Information, Support and Expertise (RISE) is a fully-funded support service. It provides training, guidance and support to help social housing providers, local authorities and their supply chains plan and deliver successful domestic retrofit programmes. RISE replaces the services formally known as the Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator and the Home Upgrade Hub. RISE helps organisations with their preparation to bid for government funding to deliver domestic retrofit schemes, including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and the Local Authority Retrofit Scheme (LARS). The service is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Turner & Townsend.

The service hosts a programme of webinars, workshops and briefings. Also provided is an online Knowledge Hub, which is structured to take you through each stage of developing a retrofit project, from early stage preparation to delivery and beyond. To find out more, click the link below and visit the RISE website, or contact the service at rise@turntown.co.uk.