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New £1bn government upgrade to plug UK’s draughtiest homes

Households could save up to £400 a year on energy bills under a new means-tested scheme to insulate more than 300,000 of Great Britain’s draughtiest homes.

The government is spending £1bn on grants for homes that have low energy efficiency ratings and are in lower council tax bands.

The Great British insulation scheme, which was announced in November and is up and running, will offer upgrades – such as roof, loft or cavity wall insulation – that could cut energy costs by between £300 to £400 a year.

The move has been welcomed by consumer experts and the Energy Saving Trust as a “step in the right direction”.

Households can check if they are eligible using an online tracker. The live tool will ask a series of questions – including how they heat their home, whether their home has solid or cavity walls, and if they are receiving any benefits. Customers will then be referred to either their energy supplier or council to take the next steps.

The energy security secretary, Claire Coutinho, said the government was “determined to help families keep their homes warm through the winter months and save on their energy costs”.

She added that the scheme would help hundreds of thousands of people, including some of the most vulnerable in society, get the upgrades their homes need while cutting their energy bills.

A fifth of those helped will be from low-income households, targeting those on means-tested benefits, living in the least-efficient social housing, or referred by a participating local authority or energy supplier and considered vulnerable. The rest of the support will be available for other households in the lower council tax bands A-D – properties ranging from £40,000 to between £68,000 and £88,000 – in England and A-E in Scotland and Wales with an energy performance certificate rating of D-G, as well as low-income households. It includes park homes.

The government said the additional 300,000 who could sign up amounted to 2.4 million homes already benefiting from new energy-efficiency measures under existing support programmes.

A separate checker has also been launched for the home upgrade grant, which could help up to 25,000 homes that are off the gas grid and have an energy performance certificate rating of D-G.

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