Questions and Answers in Parliament

The government is reviewing the system of consumer protection and oversight for home retrofit installations that improve energy efficiency and decarbonise homes. This work is looking at the entire landscape: from how installers work in people’s homes to where homeowners turn for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong. More information will be shared in the forthcoming Warm Homes Plan.

The government is planning to consult on proposals for retrofit system reform early next year.

Martin McCluskey MP, Labour, Energy Minister - 3 December 2025

The government recognises that demand for energy efficiency upgrades will remain strong. To bring energy bills down for all, the decision has been made not to continue the Energy Company Obligation when the current scheme ends.

The government has instead committed an additional £1.5bn of grant funding, which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. The details of this will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan.

The government continues to improve home energy efficiency through schemes, such as the Warm Home: Social Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade scheme.

Martin McCluskey MP, Labour, Energy Minister - 3 December 2025

To bring domestic energy bills down for all, ECO will not continue when the current schemes end. Government recognises that this is likely to have an impact on some companies in the supply chain.

Government has instead committed additional grant funding of £1.5 billion, which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. Government will set out the details of this in the Warm Homes Plan.

Government continues to improve home energy efficiency through other existing schemes, such as the Warm Home: Social Housing Fund, Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH: SHF) (Wave 3) will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock below EPC C up to that standard, delivering warm homes and tackling fuel poverty. Delivery began in April 2025 and will deliver up to £1.29 billion to 143 projects across England.

Wave 3 was open to all registered providers of and charities providing social housing except the West Midlands and Greater Manchester Combined Authorities which received 13.5% of this funding through their Integrated Settlements.

The affordability crisis is the biggest issue facing this country. That is why we have acted in the Budget to take £150 of costs off people’s energy bills.  On top of this, support is available through the Warm Home Discount schemes which provide eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a further £150 off their winter energy bill.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem, who regulates network operators through a price control process. Government supports Ofgem in developing a price control that delivers the transition to clean energy, while maximising value for money for consumers. Ofgem has a duty to protect the interests of consumers, whilst maintaining the financial stability and resilience of the transmission and distribution network operators.

As all households move towards clean heat technologies, low income and fuel poor households will need more support to enable them to make greener choices. Government is focused on incentivising moves to cleaner, affordable heating and making this attractive and easy for the public. Our Warm Homes Plan will support investment in heat pumps and other energy efficiency upgrades to help cut bills.

The government will continue to provide financial support to households through our support schemes and by growing the market for green finance, and we will set out more details in the Warm Homes Plan.

The government is supporting supply chain growth through the reformed Clean Heat Market Mechanism, investing in manufacturing capacity through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, and helping installers train through the Heat Training Grant.

Our expectation is that the vast majority of heating system replacements will be with heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies, as these become the natural, affordable choice for consumers at the point of replacing an existing heating appliance at the end of its life.