The UK needs to retrofit 19 million homes to hit net zero, yet only 55,000 heat pumps were installed last year. That is not a technology problem, it is a delivery problem. The missing piece, argues the Stockholm Environment Institute, is local leadership.
As reported by the Stockholm Environment Institute, Whitehall has set ambitious targets but handed councils neither the funding nor the statutory duty to deliver them. For the homeowner waiting on a quote for cavity wall insulation, the result is a postcode lottery.
Who qualifies, and who doesn’t
At present, the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme are administered nationally. A homeowner in Leeds can apply for the same grant as one in Cornwall. But the local reality differs sharply. Leeds City Council runs a home energy advice service; Cornwall Council does not. One household gets hand-holding through the application process; the other faces a web form and a six-week wait.
The Institute’s report calls for every local authority to have a retrofit strategy, backed by dedicated funding from central government. That would mean a named officer in your council who can tell you which installer is accredited, whether your solid-wall home qualifies for the £7,500 heat pump grant, and when the next street-by-street insulation scheme starts.
What it costs a typical 3-bed semi
Retrofit is not cheap. A typical 3-bed semi needs £10,000–£15,000 for a full fabric-first upgrade, loft insulation, cavity wall fill, draught-proofing, and double glazing, before you even touch the heating system. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers £7,500 of a heat pump, but the remaining £3,000–£7,000 for pipework and radiators falls on the homeowner. Without a local coordinator who can bundle grants, the process becomes a maze of separate applications, each with its own eligibility criteria.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates that a well-insulated home with a heat pump can cut heating bills by £400–£600 a year versus a gas boiler at current prices. But that saving only materialises if the insulation is done first, and to a standard that the local supply chain can deliver. That is where councils matter most.
The catch, funding and capacity
Yet local authorities are broke. Council tax freezes, rising social care costs, and the collapse of the Green Homes Grant in 2021 have left many with zero retrofit staff. The Institute’s report acknowledges that giving councils a new duty without new money would be meaningless.
The catch is that central government has already tried the top-down approach. The Green Homes Grant was meant to distribute £1.5 billion in vouchers. It was scrapped after nine months, having delivered only a fraction of the promised installations. The lesson is clear: Whitehall cannot retrofit a street from Whitehall. But nor can a council with two officers and a spreadsheet retrofit a town.
What this misses is the role of the private sector. Installers report that the biggest barrier to scaling up is not demand but uncertainty, about grant continuity, about training standards, about whether the council will sign off the work. A local retrofit strategy that commits to a five-year pipeline of installations would give firms the confidence to hire and train. That is the kind of leadership the Institute is talking about.
What you can do now
Check whether your local authority has a home energy team. If it does, ask about its Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme or Home Upgrade Grant (HUG), these are central government pots allocated to councils, not individuals. If it does not, write to your councillor and your MP. The next Spending Review is due in spring 2025; that is the moment to argue for a statutory retrofit duty backed by real money.
Households on standard variable tariffs can apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme through gov.uk. Eligibility runs until 2028. But the smart money is on waiting until your council has a scheme that can coordinate the whole job, insulation first, heat pump second, and a single point of contact throughout.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the UK, a full fabric-first retrofit for a typical 3-bed semi-detached house costs between £10,000 and £15,000. This covers loft insulation, cavity wall fill, draught-proofing, and double glazing, but excludes heating system upgrades. Adding a heat pump can cost an extra £3,000 to £7,000 for pipework and radiators, on top of the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.
The Great British Insulation Scheme and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme are the main national grants. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £7,500 towards a heat pump installation. However, eligibility varies locally, and without a council coordinator, homeowners may face separate applications and long waits for approval.
The main barrier is a lack of local support, not technology. Only 55,000 heat pumps were installed last year, partly because councils lack funding and staff to guide homeowners through the process. Without a named officer to help with accredited installers and grant applications, many households face a confusing postcode lottery.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates a well-insulated home with a heat pump can save £400 to £600 per year on heating bills compared to a gas boiler at current UK prices. However, these savings only materialise if insulation is done first, which requires a reliable local supply chain.
The Green Homes Grant was a £1.5 billion scheme launched in 2020 but scrapped after just nine months. It delivered only a fraction of the promised installations. This shows that a top-down approach from Whitehall cannot effectively retrofit homes. This is why local councils are now seen as key to coordinating retrofit efforts.
