The Warm Homes Local Grant is now being promoted by councils across England, with Worcestershire County Council the latest to publish a local page for residents. The scheme pays for insulation, heat pumps and other efficiency measures in low-income households living in poorly rated homes, but it is not a universal offer, and the money is not evenly spread.
Uswitch has published a plain-English guide to WH:LG eligibility and applications, while Worcestershire County Council has set out its own WH:LG page for residents in the county. Neither outlet has published a full national cost breakdown, which is where this article picks up.
What the Warm Homes Local Grant actually pays for
WH:LG is the successor to the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) and is administered by councils rather than by a single national body. The core measures are fabric-first: cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, loft insulation, underfloor insulation and draught-proofing. Homes that need a heating upgrade can also receive an air-source heat pump, and some councils are offering solar PV where it stacks with the rest of the package.
The grant is means-tested. Households must generally be on a low income, typically defined by means-tested benefits or an income threshold set locally, and the property must have an EPC rating of D or below. That is a deliberately narrow target: the government’s own impact assessment for the predecessor scheme estimated that around 60% of the fuel-poor homes in England fall into this band, but the funding envelope covers only a fraction of them.
Uswitch’s guide is useful on the application mechanics: residents apply through their council, not through a national portal, and each council sets its own assessment process. That means two neighbours in adjacent council areas can face different waiting times, different evidence requirements and, in practice, different outcomes.
Why Worcestershire’s page matters more than it looks
Worcestershire County Council’s WH:LG page is not a national announcement, it is a local delivery signal. When a council publishes a dedicated page, it usually means the authority has signed its grant funding agreement with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and is ready to take referrals from installers and assessors.
For a homeowner in Worcester, Kidderminster or Redditch, that is the moment to act. Councils typically allocate WH:LG funding on a first-come, first-served basis within their area, and the pot is capped. A typical 3-bed semi with cavity walls and a lofts-worth of missing insulation could attract £8,000–£12,000 of grant-funded work, depending on the council’s published statement of intent. The same home in a council that has not yet launched may get nothing this year.
The catch is that neither Uswitch nor Worcestershire has published a full measure-by-measure cost table for the county. Homeowners should ask their council for the local statement of intent before commissioning any assessment, because the measures offered in Worcestershire may not match those offered in, say, Greater Manchester or Cornwall.
How WH:LG compares with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and ECO4
WH:LG is not the only route, and it is not always the best one. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) offers a flat £7,500 grant toward an air-source heat pump and is open to any homeowner in England and Wales regardless of income, but it does not cover insulation. ECO4, by contrast, is obligated through energy suppliers and targets the same low-income, low-EPC households as WH:LG, but is delivered by suppliers rather than councils.
For a typical 3-bed semi with an EPC D and a household income above the WH:LG threshold, BUS is usually the more reliable route to a heat pump. For a household on Universal Credit with an EPC F home, WH:LG or ECO4 will typically pay for the fabric work first, which is the correct order, because a heat pump installed into an uninsulated home will run at a poor seasonal performance factor and cost more to run than the gas boiler it replaced.
What this misses: none of these schemes currently pays for the full cost of a heat pump plus a full fabric retrofit in one go. A household that needs solid wall insulation, new windows and a heat pump may still face a five-figure shortfall even after stacking WH:LG with BUS. The grant is a contribution, not a completion.
What it means for a typical 3-bed semi
Take a 1930s semi with solid walls, an old gas boiler and an EPC E. A WH:LG package in a participating council area might cover internal or external wall insulation (typically £8,000–£14,000), loft top-up (£500–£1,000) and draught-proofing (£200–£500). If the council’s allocation includes a heat pump, add £7,500–£12,000, though most WH:LG statements of intent prioritise fabric measures first.
The EPC impact is the part most homeowners underestimate. Moving from E to C on a solid-walled semi usually requires wall insulation plus a heating upgrade, the exact combination WH:LG is designed to fund. That matters beyond comfort: from 2028, the government’s intended minimum EPC standard for rented homes is C, and mortgage lenders are increasingly pricing EPC D and below into their affordability models. A grant-funded upgrade is therefore a balance-sheet improvement as well as a bill reduction.
The honest caveat: the £8,000–£14,000 figures above are indicative and vary by property, region and council. Homeowners should not treat them as a quote. Only a council-commissioned retrofit assessment will confirm what your home actually needs.
How to apply, and what to do this month
Start with your council’s WH:LG page. Worcestershire residents can use the county council’s page linked above; residents elsewhere should search “[council name] Warm Homes Local Grant” and check whether a statement of intent has been published. If your council has not launched, ask your ward councillor when it expects to, allocations are often announced quietly.
Before applying, check your EPC. If you do not have a valid one, order it through gov.uk (typically £60–£120). A current EPC is almost always required for WH:LG eligibility and is the document that proves your band D or below status.
If you are not eligible, the fallbacks are: ECO4 through your energy supplier (ask for a referral to a TrustMark-registered installer), the Great British Insulation Scheme for single measures, and BUS for a heat pump if your home is already reasonably insulated. Apply for BUS through an MCS-certified installer, the £7,500 is deducted from the quote, not paid to you afterwards.
Finally, do not wait for a cold snap. WH:LG allocations in most councils close when the pot is spent, and the 2026–27 round is already open in Worcestershire. Check your EPC this week, ring your council’s affordable warmth line, and book a retrofit assessment before the winter queue builds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually yes, or on a low income below your council's threshold. WH:LG is means-tested and targets households in fuel poverty or at risk of it. Each council publishes its own eligibility criteria, so check your local statement of intent, the rules are not identical across England.
No. You cannot claim BUS and WH:LG for the same measure. BUS is a flat £7,500 toward an air-source heat pump and is open to any homeowner; WH:LG is council-administered and means-tested. If you qualify for WH:LG, the council will usually fund the heat pump through that route instead.
Typically three to six months from application to completed installation, depending on your council's assessment queue and installer availability. The retrofit assessment comes first, then a statement of works, then installation. Applying early in the financial year gives the best chance of funding still being available.
