FOI - Warmer Homes Scheme [Apr 2023]

Our response

1. Please can I have the exact start date and date the scheme closed.

The latest round of Warmer Homes scheme opened to applicants on 1 April 2022 and the 
online application form closed for submissions on 2 February 2023. We began operating a waiting list from 9 February 2023. We were still sending referrals over to RetrofitWorks, our delivery partner, for assessments up until 8 February. 

2. Can you let me know how many homes applied for the grant and how many were successful and how many of the homes went on to receive the grant.

Applications - 10,918

Eligible numbers - 3,145

Went on to have energy efficiency measures installed* - 1,551

*Scheme has until 30 September 2023 to finish installs, so figure is correct at 5 May 2023

3. Can you tell me the date the first application that was funded was received and then the date of the last application that received funding.

The first contract was signed on 25 May 2022, and their application was received on 25th April 2022. The applicant does not receive the funding, but it is used to fund the installer to install the agreed measures. This is a live programme, so we don’t have a last application yet. 

4. Could you tell me how much money in total was spent on the scheme.

The final figure will be realised following an audit which we anticipate concluding by the end of 2023.

5. Can you tell me the type of measures that were funded, and give me a breakdown of how many of each measure was funded and the cost.

The breakdown of instalments by measure for the current programme to date are listed below (as of 11 May 2023). Please note that this is a live programme with installations ongoing.

Costs vary for each individual household and we are unable to provide that.

See below for measure and number of measures installed to date:

External Wall Insulation (including IWI)  238
Solar PV 349
Loft Insulation 271 
Underfloor Insulation 89
Double Glazing including  Doors 132
Cavity Wall Insulation 32
Flat Roof Insulation 28
Room in Roof Insulation 2
Heating controls 72
Draught Proofing 17
Air Source Heat Pump 1 
High Heat Retention Storage 
Heaters 30
Flat Roof Insulation 22
Park Homes External Wall Insulation 42

6. Can you tell me the date the funding for the measures of windows was closed.

Eligible window applications were placed on hold around 24 February 2023, whilst we waited for confirmation from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for a time extension for installations and an increase in the number of windows we could complete.

7. Can you tell me the average cost per home funded. 

The cost per home varies and this is a live programme with ongoing installations. The 
programme’s Terms and Conditions outline the guide for maximum grant allowances.

The maximum amount of funding per home under the Sustainable Warmth element of the 
programme is £25,000 including VAT for owner-occupiers and £16,666 including VAT for 
private tenants. Private landlords must contribute at least one-third of the total cost of 
Sustainable Warmth scheme packages.

Within these maximums, grant limits depend on tenure, fuel type and EPC.

8. Can you also confirm how many measures each home had.

9. If any homes had more than one measure implemented, how many homes had more than one measure implemented?

10. Can you inform me how many homes that received funding under the Warmer Homes London scheme received a copy of the survey or EPC prior to being offered measures identified in that survey or EPC?

11. Can you confirm how many days prior to having the measures implemented did people receive the survey or EPC report. If you cannot say for each home that has benefitted from the scheme can you, please give an average.

12. Can you tell me the shortest time period for someone receiving a report before measures are implemented and then the longest time.

13. Can you tell me how many people were unable to take up the measures suggested and quotes for because of practical reasons that were not initially identified in the report or survey?

14. How many quotes have been sent directly to Warmer Homes and Retrofitworks from contractors and installers without the client reviewing it and having the opportunity to clarify and ask questions?

Unfortunately, we have estimated that the cost of complying with questions 8 to 14 would exceed the 'appropriate limit' specified in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulation 2004 SI 2004 No 3244. These are known as the ‘Fees Regulations’ for brevity.

Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides that a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request if the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. The aforementioned Fees Regulations stipulate that this limit is £450; calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described and equates to 18 hours of work.

There are over a thousand invoices, and we have one for each individual properties' installation. All these invoices would need to be located and retrieved to extract and calculate the information you are seeking. There is no mechanism at our disposal to perform an automated search for relevant information. Therefore it would be likely to take one individual at least 10 and 20 minutes per invoice to perform searches.

We have therefore refused this request under the cost limit provisions of section 12 of the Act and this letter therefore constitutes a refusal notice under section 17(1) of the Act.

15. Can you confirm how many people did not take up the measures suggested once receiving the report?

Please see the section 12 refusal above. We can report that we have had 841 cancellations at various points in their application process to date. 

16. Can you tell me the names of the companies who installed measures funded by the scheme? For each of these companies how many households have they 
installed or will install measures for? And a breakdown of the type of measure installed by which company? For example, Company X installed 15 households with windows and 12 households with boilers.

The GLA does not hold the information within the scope of your request. 

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting 
reference MGLA190423-5321.