Labour’s warm homes plan is all carrot and no stick for UK households

Grants, loans and ‘innovative finance’ will fund green technology, with insulation no longer the main objectiveNo ban on gas boilers in UK warm homes plan but heat pumps get £2.7bn pushAttempts to insulate the UK’s draughty homes have failed time and again, with botched schemes over the past two decades leading to a massive drop in the number of insulation upgrades. With its long-awaited warm homes plan, the Labour government has a different strategy: to bypass insulation in favour of installing green technology such as solar panels and heat pumps.About £5bn will be invested in home upgrades, including solar panels and batteries, in the form of grants to people on low incomes, as well as £2bn in consumer loans for people who can afford them, and £2.7bn in “innovative finance”, which could include schemes such as green mortgages, whereby householders get a lower interest rate if they invest in making their home more energy efficient. Continue reading...