Homeowner feared energy grant scheme was a scam

A homeowner admits he feared a government scheme to make homes more energy efficient may have been a scam until it was completed.

David Brain, from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, had solar panels installed as part of the warm homes local grant scheme, designed for people on lower incomes.

He said he was "sceptical" beforehand but claimed his electricity bill was now down to 2p a day since having them installed.

Councils in Cambridgeshire - who have helped 245 homes so far - have now used up the £3.5m grant and written to the government asking for more money. The government said the Energy Secretary's priority was "bringing bills down for good".

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) spokesperson said: "Our Warm Homes Plan will roll out more upgrades across the country."

The warm homes grant is available for homes in England with an energy performance certificate of D or below and an annual household income of usually £36,000 or less, or those in receipt of certain benefits.

If the local council has funding available, a home survey will be arranged, and improvements such as air-source heat pumps, insulation and solar panels could be installed.

In Cambridgeshire the grant is delivered through the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership, which combines six councils.

Labour councillor Rosy Moore, from Cambridge City Council, which is the lead authority, said: "We've been so successful that all of our [grant] money is booked to be spent, as it were, that's all in the pipeline.

"So we've actually written to the department and asked if they could extend it for us because our partnership is working so well."

Brain said he learned of the scheme through a representative at the door.

"We were very sceptical, but we went online and we checked them out, and then we checked whether it was a legitimate thing through the government website," he said.

"We registered, and then we got a call from a contractor that had been appointed, they came and did a survey, and we were still very, very sceptical, but we worked through the process.

"They answered the questions. There was no hard sell or a hard push, and because they'd satisfied my scepticism, we went ahead."