NGOs and think tanks call on the UK Prime Minister to avoid jeopardising the green recovery through underspending on green homes
Homes were a central strand of the UK Government’s green recovery promises. Over £3bn was committed to making houses and buildings more efficient and cheaper to run, and less dependent on fossil fuel heating sources. While the landmark Green Homes Grant scheme has been beset with challenges, this is not due to lack of public demand, but administrative delays and complications with execution.
The answer is not to cut the funding, which will only further damage industry confidence in the programme and public confidence in the Government’s commitment to levelling up. The answer is to streamline, improve, and simplify the administration of the grants; to roll-over the significant underspend (around 95% of the £1.5bn for household vouchers) to the next financial year; and to set out a long-term investment programme and support the supply chain to deliver at the scale and pace required.
In a letter sent on 17th February ahead of the Budget, 11 NGOs, think tanks and green organisations call on Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to deliver on a green recovery and not jeopardise progress through underspending on green homes.
The letter is supported by:
- Architects’ Climate Action Network
- Campaign against Climate Change
- E3G
- Friends of the Earth
- Green Alliance
- Greenpeace UK
- National Energy Action
- National Trust
- New Economics Foundation
- Possible
- UK Green Building Council
