Talan's Warm Homes Plan Briefing

The Warm Homes Plan (WHP) brings together a suite of funding programmes to upgrade millions of homes by 2030, supporting the roll‑out of clean heating and energy efficiency measures. These programmes are central to cutting bills, reducing emissions, and expanding access to clean energy technologies, with a strong focus on solar and battery storage, heat pumps (including shared ground loops), heat networks, smart controls, and cost‑effective insulation.
 
Low‑income households will receive over £5 billion in home upgrade support by 2030.

The Warm Homes Fund (WHF) is a new £5 billion public investment vehicle designed to complement capital grants and unlock private finance for home upgrades at scale. It will operate alongside programmes such as WH: SHF, WH:LG and the BUS.
 
Funding is allocated as follows:

• £1.7bn for zero‑ and low‑interest consumer loans, supported by £300m in capital backing
• £600m ringfenced for low‑income households
• £2.7bn for innovative finance via a Strategic Partnership with the home finance sector

The WHP includes announcements on the following regulations and standards:

• Decent Homes Standard (DHS) and Awaab’s Law
• Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for the private rented sector (PRS) and social rented sector
(SRS)
• Energy Performance of Buildings Regime (EPC reform and the Home Energy Model (HEM))
• Energy Smart Appliance Regulations
• Future Homes and Buildings Standards (FHS & FBS)

Heat networks are a core pillar of heat decarbonisation. The Plan sets an interim target to more than double their share of UK heat demand by 2035, from 3% to 7% (27TWh), with a long‑term ambition for 20% by 2050. Expansion will be concentrated in major towns and cities, with places such as London and Manchester expected to exceed 50% penetration over time. Delivery rests on three pillars: zoning, regulation, and investment.

In January 2025, the Government launched a review of standards, oversight and consumer protections for energy efficiency and microgeneration installations, following evidence of quality issues under ECO4 and GBIS. While longer‑term reforms are in development, several immediate changes have been introduced:
 

• MCS reforms to strengthen consumer redress, improve installer oversight, and reduce unnecessary red tape
• A ban on installers holding multiple certifications for the same measure, closing audit‑avoidance loopholes
• MCS mandated as the sole certification scheme for clean heat measures under BUS, WH:SHF and WH:LG
• New Memoranda of Understanding with TrustMark and MCS, including DESNZ observer roles on their boards

  
Separately, the Government is addressing external wall insulation failures under ECO4 and GBIS by auditing all affected homes and funding remediation at no cost to consumers, with installers required to rectify any faults identified.

The Plan aims to quadruple the energy efficiency and low‑carbon heating workforce, from 60,000 FTEs in 2023 to 240,000 by 2030. Jobs by subsector and region in 2030 are detailed in Tables 1 and 2.
 
To support delivery, the Government will establish a Warm Homes Workforce Taskforce, jointly with the TUC, and a Construction Skills Mission Board to develop a skills action plan targeting an additional 100,000 construction workers per year by the end of this Parliament.
 
The Plan also allocates new funding within a £140 million skills and supply‑chain investment package. This includes extending the Heat Training Grant with £7m per year to March 2029 and funding Phase 2 of the Warm Homes Skills Programme, extending it to July 2027, subject to Phase 1 delivery and spending decisions in 2026/27.

• Local authorities and Mayoral Strategic Authorities will play a central delivery role, using local knowledge and expertise, and this will move toward an area‑based model, aligned with local energy planning and network constraints.
• Supplier obligations end with the close of ECO, replaced by £1.5bn redirected into the Warm Homes Plan.
• From 2027/28, WH:LG will merge with the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund into a single low‑income capital scheme, marking consolidation rather than withdrawal of support.
• A new Warm Homes Agency (WHA) will coordinate delivery nationally and regionally.

The Government aims to strengthen UK manufacturing and reduce import dependence, with an ambition to raise domestic production from around 30–40% to 70%, though no timeline has been set. To support this, funding for the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator has been renewed to £90m, with a second round running from 2027–2030. Up to £30m will also be used to extend the Heat Pump Ready Programme. 
 
To support a push for innovation, the UK government will pilot a new UKRI‑linked retrofit panel. They will help innovators navigate regulatory barriers, while consultation is planned on incorporating embodied carbon into low‑carbon retrofit policy to drive further innovation.