Council receives £4.75million funding to help make Glasgow homes more energy-efficient

Glasgow City Council today (4 June) accepted almost £4.75million in funding from Energy Efficient Scotland. This funding will help to bring energy efficiencies to owner occupied and private rented homes in wholly-owned and mixed-tenure blocks in Glasgow under the Scottish Government's Energy Efficient Scotland - Area Based Schemes programme for 2020/21.

The Energy Efficient Scotland funding has a number of key objectives, including: the upgrading of housing stock; the tackling of fuel poverty; the reduction of carbon emissions; the levering in of Energy Company Obligation funding to help householders install energy-efficient measures; and supporting the local economy and sustainable local economic development through contractors providing community benefit and paying the Living Wage.

The programme supports the aim of making Scotland's existing buildings near zero-carbon wherever feasible by 2050.

This aim and the above objectives align with Glasgow City Council's Affordable Warmth Strategy and the Fuel Poverty (Scotland) Act 2019. The Act aims to ensure no more than 5% of Scottish Homes are in fuel poverty by 2040, while the council's Affordable Warmth Strategy aims to tackle fuel poverty, energy inefficiency and address climate change.

This strategy is important in Glasgow as the Scottish House Condition Survey 2018 found an estimated 72,000 households in Glasgow were fuel poor (ie more than 10% of their disposable household income spent on fuel costs) - around a quarter of the city's homes.

The areas and homes in Glasgow to be targeted through this energy-efficiency funding will be those with: the lowest Scottish Index Multiple Deprivation ratings; in Council Tax Band A-C and Tax Band D in certain conditions; low income households and fuel poor households; areas missed out of the RSLs investment programmes; and areas where people are living in vulnerable conditions to the cold.

There will be a change to the funding criteria in 2020/21: previously - where eligible - landlords were only allowed one grant contribution. The latest guidance means that, providing the landlord does not own more than two properties, a grant contribution for the second property could be made.

The council will also to work to maximise Energy Company Obligation (ECO) funding to vulnerable and low-income households, to complement and add to other funding of energy efficiency measures.

Councillor Kenny McLean, City Convener for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public at Glasgow City Council, said: "This very welcome funding from Energy Efficient Scotland will help to reduce fuel poverty in Glasgow, supporting many people and families in the city. Better energy efficiency in our homes not only saves money, but reduces carbon emissions and contributes to curbing climate change.""

The planned programme of delivery of energy efficiency works will be reported to a council committee in August 2020, and the delivery of this programme will be impacted by the Coronavirus outbreak. Scottish Government guidance following lockdown will determine start dates for retrofit works and household engagement.