Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

The Warm Homes Plan represents the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades. At the Autumn Budget on 26th November, the Chancellor announced an additional £1.5 billion of funding for the Warm Homes Plan, bringing total capital investment to almost £15 billion. This exceeds our manifesto commitment of £13.2 billion and is a major step forward in the government’s plans to upgrade up to 5 million homes over this Parliament and cut energy bills for good.

The government has made clear that it is committed to reform of the consumer protection system and, through the Warm Homes Plan, we will outline our offer for households to confidently and safely take up measures like solar panels, heat pumps, home batteries and insulation, helping them save money on their bills and benefit from cleaner, cheaper heating.

In order to keep the level of reporting on businesses to a minimum, DESNZ does not collect information detailing the uptake of energy management improvements by businesses.

However, Buckinghamshire Business First is a local organisation that works closely with Buckinghamshire Council and has so far provided support to 3,600 businesses in the local area to date to help businesses reach net zero targets.

Small businesses can search for other local grant and advice schemes on the finance and support for businesses page on gov.uk.

The majority of the savings on the costs of domestic energy bills announced at the budget, including the removal of 75% of the domestic Renewable Obligation, will come off the costs of electricity so will benefit all households.

For the savings announced which will be coming off the gas bill, such as part of the ECO scheme cost, government intends to explore how we can further target these savings at electricity bills, meaning more households benefit. These policy costs do not apply currently to those on domestic heating oil.

The Feed-In Tariff scheme does not involve individual contracts between generators and government. Accredited generators may have entered into contracts with their energy suppliers in relation to their FIT payments, but their entitlement to those payments arises from legislation and the standard conditions of the electricity supply licence. Any changes to the indexation methodology would follow the statutory process for changing those conditions.

I confirm that the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero will publish a Reformed National Pricing delivery plan early next year. Some elements of Reformed National Pricing are already under way, including building network infrastructure, and we intend to proceed with other measures, such as reform of transmission charges, as soon as possible in this Parliament.

The consultation closed on 12 December. A government response to the consultation on indexation changes to the Feed-in Tariffs scheme is expected to be published in early 2026.

The Warm Homes Plan, which will be published soon will lower bills, strengthen our energy security, and reduce emissions by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, heat networks, solar, home batteries and insulation.

The Plan represents the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades. At the Autumn Budget on 26 November, the Chancellor announced an additional £1.5 billion of funding for the Warm Homes Plan, bringing total capital investment to almost £15 billion.

The Government has consulted on proposed changes to how support provided through the Feed-in Tariffs and Renewable Obligation schemes is adjusted for inflation. The consultation was accompanied by an analytical annex which set out the potential impacts of the policy. Updated analysis will be published alongside the Government Response next year.

The Welsh Government will administer the additional funding provided by Great British Energy. This will fund solar panels for schools, leisure centres and museums across Wales, as well as supporting a new scheme which will help public sector and communities complete projects such as solar canopies and battery energy storage.

Calculating Barnett consequentials of the Government's spending commitments is the responsibility of HM Treasury.

At almost £15 billion, the Warm Homes Plan is the single biggest public investment programme in energy efficiency in UK history. The Treasury has not yet confirmed the total Barnett consequential nor the specific appointment for Wales. More details on the Warm Homes Plan will be published soon.

As issues of energy efficiency, fuel poverty and heat are largely devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have specific Net Zero strategies. We work closely with our counterparts in the Devolved Governments to ensure our strategies align.

PV battery installations under the Warm Homes: Local Grant Scheme have been temporarily paused while the Department carries out necessary assurance. Although PV batteries were announced as an eligible measure in June 2025, there is currently no MCS Product Standard, which is required under scheme guidance. As the Department remains focused on consumer protection, Grant Recipients have therefore been asked to pause any plans to install PV batteries across the schemes. The Department have been updating Grant Recipients this week (commencing 8^th December) and will continue to work at pace to resolve this issue.

The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025 were debated in the House of Commons on 4 November 2025 and the House of Lords on 4 December 2025. The Regulations should be in place from 18 December 2025.

Once launched, our analysis suggests that households who own a car could save an average of around £40 a year.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofgem on a range of issues.

Standing charges predominantly recover fixed costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes supplier’s operational costs and the cost of essential network maintenance and upgrades.

Levels of standing charges in the non-domestic market are a commercial decision for suppliers and are not subject to the Energy Price Cap, which only applies to the domestic market. We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges, and we are committed to ensuring that standing charges are fair to all consumers.

The North Sea Transition Authority will publish detailed guidance on the application and assessment process for Transitional Energy Certificates in due course, including plans to ensure that the changes do not adversely impact seismic and other activity which is not for the purposes of oil and gas exploration.

The Budget took action to reduce energy bills for households. This will be delivered through the government funding 75% of the domestic cost of the legacy Renewables Obligation for the rest of this spending review period from 2026-27 to 2028-29 and ending the Energy Company Obligation.

Both these measures reduce electricity costs, and therefore benefit all households that have a domestic electricity account, regardless of their heating type. This will include the vast majority of heat network customers.

The government will consider how to further target the savings announced in the Budget towards electricity bills. The government will set out how it intends to deliver this through the Warm Homes Plan.

The department publishes official estimates of electricity prices within Quarterly Energy Prices. These statistics are published quarterly and provide our most recent estimates of domestic and non-domestic electricity prices. These include a time series, through which trends can be assessed.

The recommendations of the Taskforce will radically move the dial on the regulatory regime for civil and defence nuclear in this country, and ministers from a number of government departments will have a role in overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the Taskforce.

As the Chancellor set out at Budget, we will present a full government response to the review within three months, taking account of our international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes.

The government will complete implementation within two years, subject to legislative timelines on elements requiring primary legislation.

The North Sea Future Plan sets out the Government’s globally standard setting, 1.5°C and climate science aligned approach to future oil and gas production, including how we will deliver our commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields.

The Government is also introducing new Transitional Energy Certificates to enable some oil and gas production in areas adjacent to already licensed fields, to ensure existing fields can be managed for their lifespan. Developers will not be permitted to carry out new exploration on these areas.

The information requested is attached.

For the last financial year, the total cost to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) of payments associated with settlement agreements and special severance payments was £60,000.

There were 24 concluded disciplinary cases recorded in the past twelve months in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Data is not held centrally for Departmental Agencies and ALBs.

Broken down by outcome (i):*

• Final written warning – ^
• First written warning – 6
• Informal action – ^
• No action – 9
• Resignation – ^
• Withdrawn – ^
• No outcome provided – ^

Primary allegation (ii)

• Performance: 0
• Conduct: 24

*Volumes which are five or fewer have been redacted to avoid potential identification of individuals.

The government recognises that the closure of the supplier obligation schemes will present challenges for companies in the supply chain and is committed to supporting businesses to transition to new opportunities for delivering clean heat and energy efficiency measures. The Warm Homes Plan will set out the Government’s plans to invest nearly £15 billion in home upgrades. The number of UK jobs supported in clean energy industries and their supply chains is estimated to increase from around 440,000 today to around 860,000 by 2030 and we are working closely with the sector to support its growth.

The Government does not hold specific data on the number of biomass boilers that have subsequently been replaced under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Ofgem, the scheme administrators, continue to work closely with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and consumer codes to monitor any complaints received, and to identify and resolve any issues with systems installed under the scheme.

Biomass deployment under the scheme represents a relatively small proportion of overall installations.

The current AWDL for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is 3.8.

The department does not have any Arms length’s bodies that are requested to submit AWDL figures.

The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.

The department regularly engages with key CCUS stakeholders, including BP, to understand progress towards the industry-led, voluntary 50% local content target. The department has emphasised in discussions with industry partners the importance of supporting the UK steel sector and maximising opportunities for British businesses within the UK’s transition to net zero.

There has already been extensive investment in the CCUS supply chain, with £1 bn in UK-based subcontracts already being awarded across the Net Zero Teesside project and its associated CO2 Transport and Storage Company, the Northern Endurance Partnership, both of which are BP led. This demonstrates a strong commitment to supporting domestic industry and jobs.

The department will continue to explore further opportunities to maximise the role of the UK supply chain and we look forward to working closely with BP and other developers to achieve this.

Last December, the Government published the Clean Power 2030 Action plan. The Plan provides the foundation for the UK to build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good, including those who are most disadvantaged. We are also delivering improvements to home energy efficiency through a number of targeted schemes including the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant, which support low income and fuel poor households, alongside the continuation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which is providing grants to thousands of households to help upgrade their heating systems.

As more homes are made energy efficient this will reduce carbon emissions, reduce overall energy demand and reduce energy bills for consumers. We will share more details on our plans to upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country as part of our upcoming Warm Homes Plan to cut energy bills for good. At almost £15bn, the Warm Homes Plan is the single biggest public investment programme in energy efficiency in UK history. We will publish more details soon.

Government does not set annual targets for heat pump installations, however we are working to facilitate the growth of the market, consumer offers available, and the market for green finance. We will continue to support households with the cost of heat pump installations through our support schemes. We will set out more details in the Warm Homes Plan.

We support supply chain growth through the reformed Clean Heat Market Mechanism, invest in manufacturing capacity through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, and help installers train through the Heat Training Grant.

Our expectation is that the vast majority of end-of-life heating system replacements will be with heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies, as these become the natural, affordable choice.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. The Government works closely with the energy industry, regulators and other stakeholders to continually improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure against risks including severe weather events, such as storms. This includes working with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, the Distribution Network Operator for Surrey and Surrey Heath Constituency.

Ahead of this winter period, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) have assessed industry resilience and preparedness for winter risks, including severe weather, and have provided assurance to my department that the electricity network operators are prepared for these risks.

The affordability crisis is the biggest issue facing this country. That is why the Autumn Budget acted to take £150 of costs off people’s energy bills. This support comes on top of the £150 off energy bills provided for around 6 million families under the Warm Home Discount this winter, cutting fuel poverty. We’re also driving forward with home upgrades, with £1.5 billion increased capital in this Budget for our Warm Homes Plan.

This Government is tackling energy costs at every avenue, to drive growth. This builds on our Modern Industrial Strategy, which is slashing industrial energy bills by up to £420million for electricity-intensive businesses and will cut costs for 7,000 more businesses in 2027.

We are repairing a broken energy system. Funding more of the investment we need from public spending is the right and progressive thing to do and takes pressure off bills.

The North Sea Transition Authority will publish detailed guidance on the application and assessment process for Transitional Energy Certificates in due course.

Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for this Government. We will be publishing a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that many more fuel poor households are protected by 2030, in parallel to the Warm Homes Plan.

In March the Government allocated around £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers to support low-income households through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. This funding will support 170,000 households to get energy saving upgrades, helping families stay warm and cut bills.

In addition, the Chancellor has announced a further £1.5 billion to support upgrades for low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. The details of this will be set out soon in the Warm Homes Plan.

Financial support is available to eligible low-income households across Great Britain through the Warm Home Discount which has been expanded for this winter increasing the total number of households that are estimated to receive the discount from 3.2 million to around 6 million.

DESNZ is working with other government departments to drive better availability and sharing of data to enable us in the future to more effectively target support to those who need help with their energy bills.

Quarterly electricity transfers from Scotland to Northern Ireland are published in Energy Trends table 5.6.

Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to develop the SMR project, subject to final government approvals.

GBE-N’s ambition is to ensure that 70% of supply chain products are British built across the SMR fleet, creating thousands more jobs across the supply chain.

The government will continue to engage with industry to address barriers to entry in the nuclear sector so that UK companies are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities created.

The Government launched a consultation on 18 November to explore alternative clean heating solutions that may play a role in some homes, including renewable liquid fuels (RLFs) such as hydrotreated vegetable oil. The consultation will run for 12 weeks.

The Government will review evidence from this consultation to help inform any future decision on whether or not to support the use of RLFs in heating.

Ofgem recently launched a “Gas Disconnections Framework Review” — a “Request for Information” gathering stakeholder views and data on the wider disconnections process are how they are handled for domestic and small-business consumers. The conclusions of this exercise will be published in early 2026.

Energy suppliers can arrange to remove a gas meter and the gas distribution network operator can arrange for the gas pipe to the property to be safely disconnected from the mains supply.

Charges for these services can differ depending on the amount and complexity of work required, location, and other work that may be going on at the same time, such as fitting a heat pump.

We expect that where a consumer wishes to have their meter removed and supply capped, their supplier will do so promptly and at the lowest cost possible.

To bring energy bills down for all, the decision has been made not to continue the Energy Company Obligation and associated Great British Insulation Scheme when they end next year. This will save on average £60 on energy bills per household. Combined with other essential support delivered through the Budget, this will reduce energy costs by £150 from next April.

Government expects the transition to clean heat will involve installing a heat pump for most oil-heated homes as they are cost-effective, proven technologies and several government schemes support their installation. We will share more details in the Warm Homes Plan soon.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has grants available for air source and ground source heat pumps of £7,500. There is also a 0% rate of VAT on heat pump installations until March 2027. Low income and fuel poor homes may be able to access support through the Warm Homes: Local Grant.

We are undertaking research on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes and expect to receive results early next year.

Great British Energy (GBE) and the UK government will turbocharge support for local and community energy projects across the UK.

In 2025/26, Great British Energy have allocated £5 million to the Great British Energy Community Fund (GBECF), a grant scheme designed to help community groups develop local clean power projects.

£6.8 million has been allocated to maintain Local Net Zero Hubs located across England, which provide free expertise and resources to help local authorities deliver clear energy projects.

GBE is in the process of developing its longer-term funding offer and strategic support for working with Local Government and Community Energy Groups, as well as working with devolved governments. This includes commercial, technical and project planning assistance to increase capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in local areas.

As set out in their Strategic Plan, published on 4 December 2025, GBE aims to support over 1,000 local and community projects by 2030.

The Government is reducing dependency on volatile fossil fuel markets, with investment in homegrown energy. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan estimates £40 billion per year for clean energy projects, with significant upgrading of a dysfunctional grid system, ending delays by expanding the renewable auction process, and speeding up planning decisions to prioritise critical infrastructure.

To reduce energy demands the government announced an additional £1.5 billion for the Warm Homes Plan, bringing total investment to almost £15 billion. This major step forward in the government’s plans will upgrade millions of homes over this Parliament and cut bills for good.

The table below summarises numbers and proportion of DESNZ staff in the top performance category for the most recent performance year as reported at end March 2025:

Any sample sizes below five are not reported.

Transitional Energy Certificates will give the holder exclusivity over a specific area of the seabed. These areas of the seabed must be adjacent to an existing licensed block and will be managed on an ‘out of round’ basis by the North Sea Transition Authority.

Prior to undertaking any development activities within areas covered by Certificates, project developers will need to submit applications for consents or directions in accordance with the requirements of offshore environmental impact assessment legislation and associated guidance.

We believe that, where communities do the country a service by hosting clean energy infrastructure, they should benefit from it directly.

No formal analysis has been carried out to compare the community benefit funds of proposed NSIP projects with those of non-NSIP projects. However, we are aware that the current voluntary provision can be variable and inconsistent.

That is why we recently published a working paper proposing to make it mandatory for developers to contribute to community benefit funds. A government response setting out next steps will be published shortly.

We have committed £1.5 billion in new grant funding to help low-income households with upgrades, taking total investment under the Warm Homes Plan to almost £15 billion. UK clean energy and related supply chain jobs are projected to rise from around 440,000 in 2023 to around 860,000 by 2030, offering transition opportunities for businesses currently installing measures under ECO4. Further details will be provided in the Warm Homes Plan.