The Warm Homes Plan was presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the department for energy security and net zero in late January 2026.
Mr Ed Milliband has presented the document as a way forward to reduce emissions on the housing stock in England.
The level of CO2 emissions in the UK is varied. For instance, the housing emissions account for some 27% of emissions from the entire City of Leeds.
Emissions on homes as a whole across the country equate to some 21% but with some 18% attributable to Electricity and fuel supply of which a proportion is passed over to the building and homes sector.
The main aims in brief of the Warm Homes Plan are:-
To help consumers cut bills;
Help reduce fuel poverty;
Increase jobs in the energy efficiency and clean heating sector;
Decrease national energy import requirements;
Reduce carbon emissions;
and unlock the potential of district heating.
How is all this to be achieved ?
Financial support for upgrading homes comes in the form of grants and subsidies to private housing partly dependent upon means testing and subsidies to social housing operators.
Certain targets have been set to double the amount of heat demand met via heat networks in England 7%. It is often said that “you don’t fatten a pig by weighing it” but if you don’t have a target, how do you know if you have achieved your aims?
The detailed 100 plus page document can be found here:
Chartered Surveyors opinions vary. However we should be aware that many practical Chartered Surveyors have some elements of caution with the proposals.
These include retro cavity fill insulation which should not be carried out to most properties as this leads to significant failure of the main design principle of a cavity wall. This often leads to considerable problems with the structure further down the line.
Many ground source heat pumps only partially work.
Some Chartered Surveyors plead for the government to stop providing subsidies for inappropriate practices such as using spray foam insulation in roof spaces. This sometimes ruins roof spaces, makes some properties unmortgageable and causes considerable financial and emotional stress to many people.
In relation to the wider picture, the drive to reduce carbon emissions is of course to be applauded.
However, one week’s of Trump’s war in Iran or a fortnight’s emissions from China’s everyday 1,195 Coal power plants negates all the efforts of the UK to reduce emissions – meanwhile the UK is adversely affecting its economy in its drive to reduce carbon emissions.
Some ask why hasn’t it simply been made part of the building regulations that every new house constructed to be self-sufficient with power and its operations are Carbon Neutral?
Why isn’t a Supermarket tax brought in with an additional 5% or 10% turnover tax being imposed in 5 years’ time placed on every supermarket company with more than 10 connected stores that do not cover 25% of its roof and car park areas with solar panels? The private sector will then significantly contribute.
The Government paper is well intentioned but some think it has slightly missed the mark in achieving substantial positive gains for English citizens, home owners, the economy and increasing the power supply and security for our nation.
LCB / RW