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Green Light is Inside Housing’s new campaign to secure social landlords’ access to vital green subsidies so the sector can protect tenants from fuel poverty.


Social housing providers are to be hit by a heavy cut to the feed-in tariff , which has jeopardised much of the sector’s plans to fit solar panels that could reduce tenants’ bills by up to £150 a home.


In addition, the government is planning to exclude social landlords from the fuel poverty element of the energy company obligation subsidy, or ECO, which will make it hard for them to deliver energy savings when the green deal begins next Autumn.


Social tenants, including some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society, are at risk of not benefiting from this badly needed funding and falling into fuel poverty – despite paying for both subsidies through their energy bills.


Green Light is calling for the government to provide the financial support for social landlords to protect tenants from fuel poverty through delivering the green deal and installing photovoltaic panels on their roofs.


To add your voice email Nick Duxbury or sign our petition


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Campaign articles

  • Bill Hull

    Where next for the green deal?

    22/02/2012

    As the government ponders its response to the green deal consultation, Bill Hull, from law firm TLT, examines the key areas of interest for registered providers

  • Stuart Macdonald

    FIT for success

    17/02/2012

    Last Thursday Inside Housing’s Green Light campaign enjoyed its biggest success since launching in November.

  • PV FITTING

    Big win for Green Light campaign

    17/02/2012

    Social landlords are set to be exempted from an extra 20 per cent cut to the feed-in tariff as part of a government overhaul of the solar subsidy system unveiled last week.

  • Nick Duxbury

    Pros and cons

    09/02/2012

    This morning climate change minister Greg Barker announced a fundamental overhaul of the feed-in tariff.

  • Shadow secretary for energy and climate

    Flint: ban benefit payments for substandard homes

    09/02/2012

    Private landlords whose homes do not meet minimum energy efficiency standards should be not be able to house tenants on housing benefit, the shadow energy secretary has argued.

  • Solar panels

    Solar subsidy to be linked to PV panel costs

    09/02/2012

    The government will today move to shore up the future of the bruised solar sector by announcing an overhaul of the way renewable subsidies are paid.

What our backers say


‘Government plans to exclude social landlords from accessing the multi-billion pound energy company obligation fund will put at risk the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society.’ Jack Dromey, shadow housing minister, Labour Party


‘The reckless decision to slash feed-in tariffs for solar by half poses a serious risk to the UK’s burgeoning solar photovoltaic industry – and proves yet again that not even a successful, jobs-rich sector like solar is safe from the anti-green forces in the Treasury.’ Caroline Lucas, Green Party


‘We are really concerned about the impact both these policies will have on fuel poverty in the north – there is huge potential for it to worsen as a result of this.’ Charlotte Harrison, Northern Housing Consortium


‘It’s not fair or equitable. Social tenants in fuel poverty shouldn’t be precluded from accessing this fund of money.’ Jeremy Kape, Affinity Sutton


‘Social landlords have made great strides to cut carbon, save energy and reduce fuel poverty in their properties. However, the recent announcements put this under threat.’ John Alker, UK-GBC


‘Social landlords must be given equal access to fuel poverty funding and should be treated as community organisations under the tariff system.’ Councillor Bill Randall, Green Party


‘Social landlords should be key players in this agenda.’ Anne Power, London School of Economics


‘Without a rethink and more consideration at government level of what social landlords and local authorities can do on this if they were properly supported, the picture for further reducing fuel poverty for social tenants currently looks bleak.’ Carl Bairstow, Efficiency North


‘We in social housing led the charge on energy efficiency and yet we could be seemingly excluded from fair access to these funding streams.’ Bob Hopkins, assistant director of property, Aragon Housing Association


‘After what has been a devastating week for the social housing sector and our drive to reduce fuel poverty and improve the environmental performance of our homes, The Guinness Partnership are keen to put their name behind Green Light.’ Victoria Cartwright, sustainability manager, The Guinness Partnership


‘Unreasonable policies that exclude the [social housing] sector or fail to acknowledge the community investment role of social housing providers would not only be inequitable, but will be a glaring missed opportunity.’ Matt Bush, sustainability manager, Metropolitan Housing Partnership


‘The result of the FIT review will be a mad scramble to get solar pv installed in the next few weeks – and the groups most likely to lose out as a result will be community schemes and social housing projects.’ Juliet Davenport, Good Energy

Other supporters


  • The Chartered Institute of Housing
  • The National Housing Federation
  • Peabody
  • Willmott Dixon
  • Matt Roberts, Salix Homes
  • Andrew Eagles, Sustainable Homes
  • Orbit Group
  • Mears
  • Savills
  • Daren Nathan, Durkan
  • E.ON
  • PRP Architects
  • Community Housing Cymru
  • The Tenant Participation Advisory Service
  • Carillion Energy Services
  • Lakehouse
  • Family Action
  • Halton Housing Trust
  • Jenny Jones, Green Party - London Assembly
  • Sentinel Housing
  • Callao Housing Consultancy
  • Misia Carroll, South East Consortium
  • Patrick Odling-Smee, Islington Council
  • Matthew Rhodes, Encraft


For more backers see our petition