The latest Green Homes Grant statistics to come from the government show that less than a sixth of the initial projected 600,000 homes will receive vouchers.
The statistics – which cover up to the end of March 2021, when the scheme shuttered to new applications – show that a total of 113,725 household applications were made, however with 17,977 of these rejected or withdrawn and a further 42,861 pending approval, the maximum households to receive vouchers comes in at 95,748.
Of these applications, there were 166,924 individual voucher applications, with 43,535 of these vouchers issued, equivalent to 33%. However, only 6,742 vouchers have been paid, up from 2,908 at the end of February.
The number of measures installed by the end of March was 10,274, which is a significant increase on the 5,804 installed by the end of February.
When it comes to low carbon heat, there were 971 installations in March, with solar thermal remaining the most popular technology choice with 562 installations. This is a slight increase on the month prior, when there were 443 solar thermal installations.
March also saw 334 air source heat pump installations and two ground source heat pumps, with there having only been one ground source heat pump installation prior to this, taking the total under the scheme to three.
The south east of England continued to lead the charge, with a total of 1,898 installations, up from 1,176 the month before. This was followed by the east of England, which recorded 1,517 installations, up from 919 the month prior.
Commenting on the data, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady warned that while the Green Homes Grant was an opportunity to create green jobs and make homes warmer and greener, at the current rate without the scheme “it will take two centuries to reach all English homes”.
The Local Authority Delivery of the Green Homes Grant is still running, with an additional £300 million announced last month to be delivered through both the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator.
Earlier this week, the Environmental Audit Committee slammed the government for “simply abandoning” the Green Homes Grant scheme and urged it to provide a full explanation as to what account was taken of its recommendations that the scheme “should not be scrapped or quietly wound down”.
