Push for change in energy efficiency funding

At the Housing Industry Leaders Scotland conference 2023 in Glasgow the Procast Group have showcased their role at the forefront of change in the domestic energy sector and called for an all-new energy efficiency funding arrangement that is fit for purpose.

Our keynote speaker – Group Growth and Development Manager David Chapman – took the stage today (November 28, 2023) to discuss some key topics and concepts and to argue for a long-term vision, multi-year funding, a central pot of funding and a joint venture approach.

There is an Immediate need for the blending of energy-efficiency funding schemes. Currently, limitations within funding schemes such as the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund restrict Housing Associations from using other public funds to meet cost-matching requirements. Removing these limitations would immediately increase the accessibility of these funds.

And in the longer term, the public funding landscape for retrofit in the social housing sector needs a radical overhaul to optimise accessibility for HAs.

These programmes should be redesigned in the following ways:

• Developing a five-year funding model to provide certainty to HAs, tenants and the supply chain
• Removing cost-matching requirements, instead allocating funding based on need, which in some cases may mean 100% capital funding contributions
• Allowing for co-applications between multiple organisations
• Updating the metrics used to gauge retrofit projects, revisiting the use of problematic EPC ratings. Instead, metrics could focus on an overall percentage reduction of heat loss in the homes being retrofit and should also consider quality metrics such as tenant satisfaction and comfort levels

Some of the Procast Group’s recent successes in the domestic energy sector are showcased in the video below, which was shared with the delegates at the Housing Industry Leaders Scotland conference 2023.