Agenda item

Members of the Committee heard from the Homes, Health & Wellbeing Team Manager regarding a report detailing the Home Energy Upgrade Grant, advising that the Committee was being requested to authorise the signing of the grant funding agreement which accepted the allocated £10.268m from Midlands Net Zero Hub to the Central and South Lincolnshire Consortium which included West Lindsey, City of Lincoln, North Kesteven and South Kesteven.

It was clarified that the recommendation had been slightly amended from the one published to read: Corporate Policy and Resources Committee agree to accept the award of funding for HUG2 from Midlands Net Zero Hub (MNZH) and authorise signing of the grant funding agreement by Section 151 Officer, for return to Midlands Net Zero Hub. 

The paper set out some of the background to the Home Upgrade grants and the mechanism for delivery up to this point on previous schemes. It was explained Home Upgrades Grants provided energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating solutions to low-income households who were living in some of the worst quality, off-gas homes in the district. Eligible measures for installations under the Home Upgrade Grants included, wall, loft and underfloor insulation, low carbon heating technologies (excluding those that contained a fossil fuel component) and solar panels. Both homeowners and landlords were eligible to apply for grant assistance under this scheme, landlords were however required to make a contribution towards any installations.

As lead authority, West Lindsey had agreed to host an Officer post that would be able to assist officers to deal with the day to day administration of the energy efficiency work along with submitting monthly reports to the Midlands Net Zero Hub and be a point of contact for the consortium for any questions or queries. The post would be a two-year fixed contract and funded through the administration budget provided as part of the grant funding. The project would be delivered with a partner who be procured in the same way as previous grant funding schemes.

It was confirmed that once the grant funding agreement was signed and the delivery plan in place, Officers would provide a briefing note on the grants to Members to ensure all were aware of the available grants for residents in their constituencies.

The Chairman thanked the Officer for a clear and positive report. Members requested clarity as to what could be considered ‘extreme examples’ of properties needing assistance and it was confirmed that there were clear guidelines to be followed and criteria to be met, meaning some of the more ‘extreme examples’ may never come to pass as they would not meet either the guidelines or improvement criteria.

Further clarification was sought regarding additional input from landlords, whether that same expectation was on homeowners, to which it was confirmed to be landlords only, tenants and homeowners were not required to contribute. In response to a query regarding the suitability of low carbon options for older properties, it was confirmed that any works would be technically assessed and appraised by expert in the field before being recommended, ensuring any alterations would be the best solution for each property. In response to a query regarding high carbon fuel sources, the Officer undertook to clarify that information and share details with Committee Members. 

Further discussion took place regarding the need to widen energy efficiency in new builds, as well as trying to ‘back-fill’ older properties. There was wide spread agreement and, in relation to the application process regarding any grant funding, it was suggested the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could be requested to have further input. This was suggested to be via an invite to the delivery partner.

Having been moved and seconded, the Chairman took the vote and it was unanimously

RESOLVEDthat Corporate Policy and Resources Committee agree to accept the award of funding for HUG2 from Midlands Net Zero Hub (MNZH) and authorise signing of the grant funding agreement by Section 151 Officer, for return to MNZH.