Warm Homes Plan 2025-11-18

Opened the debate

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this crucial issue tonight. I hope to bring to the House the voices of people in my constituency, of campaigners across the country, and of the many families who wake up each morning wondering how they will keep their children warm or their grandparents warm. The Government have committed £13.2 billion to the Warm Homes Plan, but there are rumours that this funding may be reassigned to other purposes, which would mean reducing money spent on retrofitting homes. Fuel poverty is a scandal in our country and we cannot let a long-term programme like the Warm Homes Plan be cannibalised for short-term benefits. The Government’s own figures show nearly 3 million households are fuel-poor in England. In North Herefordshire, rural homes face higher energy costs and fewer retrofitting opportunities due to their older construction. Charitable organisations provide support but do not substitute a proper national programme of home insulation. Retrofitting homes reduces bills and emissions; upgrading from EPC D to C can save households around £210 annually. We need long-term policy certainty and independent checks on the quality of installations. The Treasury’s temptation for immediate bill reductions could result in fewer homes being upgraded, leaving more people in fuel poverty.

Government Response

The Minister acknowledges the concerns raised about fuel poverty and the Warm Homes Plan. They reiterate the Government's commitment to reducing fuel poverty, confirming that the Warm Homes Plan will proceed as intended with £13.2 billion of funding allocated. The Minister emphasises that the plan aims to improve home insulation and reduce energy costs for vulnerable households. Addressing specific questions and criticisms, they assure that no funds from the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme are being redirected towards the Warm Homes Plan. Instead, the Government will ensure the best use of funds to maximise impact on fuel poverty reduction. They also highlight ongoing initiatives such as the Green Homes Grant and the ECO schemes, and express commitment to long-term policy certainty to support businesses and training programmes in the green energy sector. The Minister acknowledged the importance of the warm homes plan and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to reducing energy bills by upgrading millions of homes. He stated that £13.2 billion would be invested in home upgrades up to 5 million homes by the end of this Parliament, targeting high bills, damp, health risks, and persistent fuel poverty. The Minister expressed the urgency of overcoming these obstacles as part of national renewal efforts and highlighted the Government’s ambition to slash both bills and emissions while reducing fuel poverty. We are taking this chance to completely overhaul the consumer protection landscape for retrofit measures so that work is done right the first time. We have already kick-started delivery by making it cheaper and easier for families to get heat pumps installed, almost doubling funding for the boiler upgrade scheme to £295 million for this financial year, removing the 1-metre rule for air source heat pumps in England, publishing our response to the boiler upgrade scheme consultation, and a consultation on alternative heating solutions. We allocated around £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers to deliver home upgrades through the warm homes local grant and warm homes social housing fund, which will support 200 projects over the next three years with work already under way. Back in March, we set out proposals to increase minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector in England and Wales to an EPC rating of C or equivalent by 2030 and introduced a minimum energy efficiency standard in the social rented sector. We are also backing improved standards in the private and social rented sector and setting the target of building 1.5 million new future-proofed homes by the end of the decade with our future homes standard ensuring that for the residents, heat pumps, heat networks, and solar panels on rooftops will become the norm. While we deliver our plan, we are giving families short-term support this winter by expanding the £150 warm home discount to every household where the bill payer is on means-tested benefits, meaning around 6 million families will get this crucial benefit this winter. Our plan is about retrofitting older homes and building future-proofed homes with energy-efficient technologies, ensuring people feel the direct benefits of clean, secure, and affordable energy. We welcome constructive views on our approach but will not entertain those who would abandon our mission to decarbonise our homes and buildings or the wider transformative architecture of clean power.