That’s why the government must now go further. Ministers need to back up today’s warm homes plan with bold action to reform the broken energy pricing system and ensure that those still trapped in fuel poverty are not left behind.
Until our housing stock is improved, people need immediate help with their energy costs.
The government must act to support all homes in fuel poverty through a social tariff – a targeted, affordable energy price for those on the lowest incomes or with the highest needs, such as those with disabilities, pre-existing health conditions or young children.
Beyond that, the structure of the energy market itself is overdue for reform. That means implementing a proper plan for electricity pricing reform; scrapping marginal pricing so that the last drop of expensive gas no longer sets the cost for the whole market.
We also need to see reform of standing charges – a measure backed by all main parties ahead of the last election.
Fixing the market is not just about affordability, it’s about fairness and public trust. Without it, today’s warm homes plan investment will be undermined by persistent injustice in how energy is priced and delivered.
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And, of course, there are other threats to progress. With Reform threatening to scrap net-zero funding entirely, there will be political voices arguing for the government to water down or walk away from green investment. That would be a mistake – morally, economically, and electorally.
Poll after poll shows that voters want warmer homes, cleaner air, secure energy, and well-paid green jobs. Far from being a drag on the economy, investment in insulation, renewables and clean heating creates thousands of skilled jobs and keeps more money in local communities. It’s not just good climate policy, it’s good economic strategy.
What today’s announcement has created is political space, backed by a public mandate, to go big on green energy and energy efficiency. With luck this will help to ensure that policy makers do not cave into climate denial and short-termism.
As the chancellor herself said, there is no national security without energy security. And there is no energy security without warm, efficient homes.
Given the well-established health impacts of living in cold damp homes, we now need today’s funding to be delivered with urgency and transparency, starting with those in deepest fuel poverty.
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To be effective, the funding must also be clearly allocated across key programmes, such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Home Upgrade Loans and Warm Homes Local Grant schemes and cash for low-carbon heat networks.
Crucially, this £13.2bn must be additional to, not a rebranding of, existing ECO and GBIS funding pots, which should continue as standalone schemes.
After four winters of record-high energy bills, today’s announcement offers real hope. But to truly end fuel poverty, we need more than one-off pledges. We need permanent reform.
With this £13.2bn commitment, the government has finally opened the door to fix Britain’s broken energy system. It must now – briskly – walk all the way through it.
Simon Francis is a coordinator at the End Fuel Poverty Coalition.
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