Miliband unveils £100m solar top-up for Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund

“Our vision is a street-by-street approach where tens of thousands of low-cost solar panels are delivered to those most in need,” the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.

Speaking at the Good Growth Foundation on 21 April, Mr Miliband set out additional measures to cut bills for families and deliver more clean power.

These include an increase in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for properties heated by oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to £9,000, an uplift of £1,500. The grant helps homeowners in England and Wales to install a heat pump and electrify their heating.

This summer, the government will legislate to introduce permitted development rights to make it easier to install electric vehicle charging for renters, people who live in flats and households without a driveway. It will also launch a consultation this summer on changes to permitted development rights to make it easier to install air source heat pumps, including how to enable more installations in flats.

Finally, £90m of funding has been earmarked to help build and expand heat pump factories in the UK, creating around 2,000 jobs.

Officials added that the government is monitoring the impact of the current Middle East crisis on energy bills and “will be ready to step in to provide targeted support where necessary”.

Mr Miliband said: “As we face the second fossil fuel shock in less than five years, the lesson for our country is clear: the era of fossil fuel security is over, and the era of clean energy security must come of age.

“That’s why we’re doubling down on clean power, to give our country energy security and bring down bills for good.”

The measures were welcomed by housing associations and developers. Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “As another international crisis starts to push energy bills even higher, it is right that the government looks to accelerate the Warm Homes Plan.

“Every piece of loft insulation or solar panel that we install helps to keep homes warmer and cheaper to power, while reducing our reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets.”

Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “With bills forecast to rise from July, moves to get energy efficiency measures into homes and plans to delink the cost of gas from electricity bills can’t come soon enough.

“But until these reforms take effect, it’s clear that households will also need support with their energy costs. 

“The households most exposed to that increase need support now, not just long-term structural change. That means help for those on low incomes, in poorly insulated homes, or relying on heating oil and LPG outside the price cap.”

Rob Wall, assistant director of the British Property Federation, said: “We welcome the broad thrust of the announcement, including more funding to retrofit social housing, the use of more public land for solar and new measures to speed up the connections process and cut delays to essential grid upgrades.”

However, he added, there is “little recognition of the huge impact of grid constraints on development”.