London, UK - The research and innovation foundation Nesta has welcomed the UK government’s announcement that it will devolve elements of the Warm Homes Plan, while warning that going further and devolving a key heat pump grant scheme would be a mistake, in a new blog by Andrew Sissons, director in Nesta’s sustainable future mission.

At Labour Party Conference, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh announced on Monday 28th September that she would devolve the Warm Homes Plan, the UK government’s £15 billion funding pot for upgrading homes.

In the new blog, Sissons responds outlining how having mayors and strategic authorities in charge of upgrading home energy and heating “makes a lot of sense”.

But he warns that in its drive to devolve, the government should avoid devolving the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), a successful national programme that provides grants for people replacing fossil fuel heating, such as gas boilers, with low-carbon equivalents, such as heat pumps.

Sissons says that devolving heat pump subsidies to local authorities could “would effectively mean ending” the UK’s most successful low-carbon heating scheme. He cites challenges around allocating funding, creating uncertainty within the heat pump industry and making it more difficult for consumers, while making a case for how the BUS could be made to work better for local authorities.

Notes to editors

1. Andrew Sissons’ full blog is here: https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/devolving-the-warm-homes-plan/
2. For more information on the analysis or to speak to one of the experts involved, please contact the Nesta press office on 07942 499048, or [email protected]. Spokespeople are available for broadcast interviews.

About Nesta

Nesta is a research and innovation foundation that designs, tests and scales solutions for the biggest challenges of our time.

Driven by a vision to improve the lives of millions of people, our focus up to 2030 is on three missions: breaking the link between family background and life chances, halving obesity and cutting household carbon emissions.

We work with partners to develop high-potential solutions and test them as they evolve, drawing on expertise in qualitative and quantitative research, data science, behavioural science and design.

Once confident in the effectiveness of a solution, we take it to scale. We create national policy proposals, develop consumer-facing products and services, build and spin out commercial ventures and harness the power of the arts.

We work with two specialised units: BIT applies a deep understanding of human behaviour to help clients achieve their goals. Challenge Works designs and runs challenge prizes to spark innovation in science, technology and society. Find out more at nesta.org.uk