In 2020, the government introduced the £2 billion Green Homes Grant to upgrade properties across the UK with energy efficient improvements that will save money for households on their bills and lower carbon emissions. Part of this grant is the Local Authority Delivery scheme which was assigned £500 million of the funding. This scheme allows councils and local authorities to apply for grants to generate energy efficient retrofit schemes to provide specific improvements including:
Home Insulation
Renewable heat
- Air source heat pumps
- Ground source heat pumps
- Solar heating
The LAD scheme is available to homeowners and private tenants to cover the full cost of installing the new measures. If you are a landlord you will need to provide one-third of the costs of the installation.
What do the different phases of LAD involve?
The LAD scheme has experienced various changes with new terms and amounts of funding being added, this has meant it has been divided into multiple phases.
- Phase 1A – £74m of funding delivered to over 50 Local Authority projects in 2020.
- Phase 1B – £126m of funding given to 81 projects in January 2021.
- Phase 2 – £300m of funding spread across five Local Energy Hubs to cover 2021/22.
- Phase 3 – £200m is intended to be made available for new projects.
Phase 1
During this phase, local authorities (either individually or as part of a group bid with other local authorities) could submit bids for funding through LAD to improve the energy efficiency of eligible homes in their respective areas. Some important eligibility information to keep in mind is:
- Households need a combined income of £30,000 or less.
- Homes should have an EPC rating of E, F, or G before the installation of the energy efficient measures.
- A 100% subsidy option for owner-occupiers (up to a max of £10,000).
- Potential subsidy of around two-thirds for landlords (up to a max of £5,000).
Funding bids were permitted to include proposals that had been developed before or use pre-existing delivery mechanisms or new proposals that can meet the aims of the scheme.
Phase 2
As previously mentioned, phase 2 saw the LAD scheme get £300m of extra funding. Of this additional funding, 15% could be put towards work to assist with the delivery such as fulfilling EPC improvement requirements, essential repairs and maintenance to prepare homes for energy efficiency upgrades, and other help required for low-income households.
Is cross-funding allowed with the LAD scheme?
- Households should not be getting the LAD and Green Homes Grant funding (it is the responsibility of local authorities to make sure cross-funding does not occur)
- LAD funding cannot be used in conjunction with any other government schemes such as RHI or ECO to make the same improvement (e.g., insulation). However, installations of new energy efficient home improvements can be carried out with different funding for different measures. For example, if a contractor is completing work in a property and has been provided with funding through LAD to fit insulation they will be able to get separate funding through ECO to install a different measure.
- Grants through LAD could be put together with third-party finance or Local Authority budgets to provide additional support to communities (e.g., adding to the total subsidy to a measure or package of measures).
What is the process for procuring LAD scheme funds?
Councils that are interested in getting funding through the LAD scheme should keep the procurement process in mind before beginning an application. This is because it is important to think about whether there are existing frameworks and partnerships in place that can be used for advice and delivery. Trusted partners are key to the delivery of schemes to the level of quality needed for reporting. Be aware of the demanding criteria and tight timelines when applying.
What are the reporting requirements for Local Authority Delivery?
To keep track of all the key details and factors of the LAD scheme, monthly reporting is required on:
- Applications and measures installed
- Costs involved
- EPC improvement records
- Savings in terms of energy, emissions, and bill savings
- Risks/ issues and mitigation
Get in touch with our team today to find out if you’re eligible for free insulation funding (click here) through LAD or any other energy efficiency scheme.
