Siân Gwenllian MS, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing
and Planning: In our First 100 Days Plan, I committed to review
the existing Warm Homes Programme, and work to introduce changes
so that we can go further and faster on improving home energy
efficiency raising living standards, tackling fuel poverty, and
reducing carbon emissions for more households, more quickly.
I set to work immediately, rapidly reviewing the existing
delivery schemes in the context of wider policy, including UK
Government initiatives and responsibilities. Today, I published
a report on the review,
and I can now set out my immediate response to its findings.
I am using existing budget within my portfolio to inject a
further £17 million of funding into housing retrofit
schemes.
£5 million is allocated to the Nest scheme, taking the total
funding for the demand-led scheme to £37 million this financial
year. The scheme has been proven to deliver quality installations
and outstanding benefits to households and is a lifeline for many
low-income households living in cold, damp homes.
An additional £8 million to the Optimised Retrofit Programme
brings its total budget to £106.75 million this financial year,
to continue the momentum to improve our social housing stock.
This is the last year of the Optimised Retrofit Programme, and
insights from it will inform our future policy and interventions.
I am keen to try new delivery models and approaches testing,
learning, building on successes and being willing to fail to do
better in the future. I am pleased to make a further £4 million
available to fund alternative and novel delivery models, working
with innovative local partners across Wales. Details of these
schemes will be set out in due course.
These pilots will complement Tai Clyd Caerdydd, a pilot
area-based project in the Splott, Adamsdown and Fairwater areas
of the city. The previous government committed £3 million to the
project, which we are delivering in partnership with Cardiff
Council. It will explore the value of taking a neighbourhood
level approach to cross-tenure retrofit supporting communities to
act together. Today, I can confirm the project will open for
applications in September, when eligible residents will be
contacted with further details.
The report also pointed out some additional work required over
the coming months, to inform the next emissions reduction plan.
This will start immediately by reviewing the evidence on
cost-effectiveness, including where we should target Welsh
Government funding and wider policies to deliver the biggest
impact. We will also look for opportunities to maximise the
benefit to Wales of UK Government funding streams.
This morning, I visited a family in a social home in Ammanford.
Their lives have been improved dramatically by the upgrades to
their home, with reduced bills and an improved living
environment. I want more people to feel like them. I want cold,
damp, unhealthy homes to be a thing of the past. It is what
drives me to do this job every day, and it starts with these
investments.
