Analysis: How will the Burnham Government deliver the Warm Homes Plan?

The Warm Homes Plan was launched earlier this year as: “the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history”. The scheme will be up and running from January 2027, so our new Prime Minister has decisions to make on the nuts and bolts of delivering it.

Focus on affordability

One of Mr Burnham’s first actions as PM was to scrap VAT on household electricity bills and announce: “We need to be a cost of living government,” he said.

We fully expect his first term in government to steer energy policy towards bringing down the cost of domestic energy. This means his delivery of the Warm Homes Plan is likely to prioritise the measures that will deliver savings on heating (and cooling) for households as quickly as possible. He will also want to squeeze the most value possible from the scheme’s £15 billion budget.

It’s likely the Burnham-led government will prioritise:

• A ramping up of solar installations, supported with grants or loans

• Scaling up of heat networks

• Support for home energy storage

• Passive cooling measures to support the effectiveness of energy-hungry active measures like air conditioning

Devolved responsibility

On the campaign trail, Andy Burnham repeatedly promised devolution and decentralisation of powers. In this “rewired Britain”, we can expect the UK’s regions to shoulder more responsibility for the delivery of the Warm Homes Plan.

The original plan included the establishment of a Warm Homes Agency (WHA) to oversee the scheme at national and local level, with “a critical role in place-based delivery”. The WHA is already intended to work in partnership with local authorities and combined authorities, but it is likely this new government will give the regions a bigger say in how to achieve delivery at pace, and at scale.

The WHA was intended to be the scheme’s point of contact with households. It is possible that this will change so that consumers deal directly with their council or combined authority. It’s even possible that Mr Burnham may choose not to establish the WHA, instead delivering the Warm Homes Plan in a different way.

Social housing as a priority

Mr Burnham will know that the quickest way to see results from the Warm Homes Plan is by tackling social housing. His appointment as Energy Minister is Miatta Fahnbulleh is significant – she has previously spoken about the importance of social housing and the need for more. This aligns with his promise to implement “the biggest council house building programme since the postwar period”.

As the original Warm Homes Plan explains, upgrading social housing can mean “upgrades to entire streets at the same time”. Housing associations are already using DESNZ funding to retrofit their properties, and the coming of the Warm Homes Plan will help them build on that success.

When making decisions around a retrofit, this scalability gives housing associations a different perspective from individual private landlords. The Housing Sector wants tried-and-tested products with minimal maintenance – which is where manufacturers like Myson are uniquely placed to support the Government’s delivery goals.

Knowledge and expertise remain key to success, and leveraging this will deliver the best outcomes for associations and local authorities. At Myson, we see first-hand how these organisations are working hard to deliver on decarbonisation – and we recognise the challenges they face now, and in the future. They have invaluable expertise around maintaining and improving homes. They know how to choose effective products, get value for money and engage with residents. We hope – and expect - Prime Minister Burnham to recognise this expertise and draw on this to support the delivery of the Warm Homes Plan – perhaps working to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience between regions.

Of course, we won’t know the full details for a while. But we expect Andy Burnham and his new Energy Minister to take full advantage of the Warm Homes Plan to reduce the strain of high energy bills from 2027.

More about Myson

Myson has carefully created a complete range of heating solutions that caters to all needs. Ranging from hydronic and electric radiators to underfloor heating, heating valves and electronic controls, all our products are designed to offer the highest levels of comfort and efficiency.

To find out how Myson’s technologies can be deployed on your projects, contact our team.