Written by Kate Hallewell
If you are looking to upgrade the energy efficiency in your home and you live in the Wealden District Council area you are in the right place. There are very generous Energy Company Obligation grants available now to upgrade heating and insulation. Find out more about these grants below.
1. What is Local Authority Flexible Energy or LA Flex?
The Government has found a way to help those who are living in cold homes but don’t have access to benefits. Local Authority Flexible Energy or LA Flex is an opportunity for households that do not receive government handouts, such as pensions and welfare payments, to get funding from the ECO program where energy suppliers will provide incentives like heating and insulation upgrades.
2. What grants are available?
The types of grants available to residents living in the Wealden District Council area include:
- Air source heat pump grants
- Boiler grants
- Cavity wall insulation grants
- Electric storage heater grants
- First time central heating grants
- Internal wall insulation grants
- Loft Insulation
- Roof Insulation
- Smart thermostat grants
3. Who is eligible for grants?
The grants are available to all households but the type of grants varies by your relationship to the property. The easiest way to see if you are eligible is to use our eligibility checker for an immediate result.
Eligibility
There are 6 ways to qualify for a grant:
1. Receiving a qualifying benefit
2. Receiving Child Benefit and meeting income rules
3. Income-based eligibility (for households that earn less than £31,000 per year)
4. Vulnerable eligibility
5. Health-related eligibility
6. Bespoke targeting
This route to eligibility applies where a member of the household receives or has received a 'qualifying benefit'. If the benefit isn't a current claim (for example for households where they have gone back to work after the pandemic) providing the benefit has been claimed at some point within the last 12 months, the household will still be eligible for a grant.
Qualifying benefits include:
- Child Tax Credit
- Employment & Support Allowance (Income Based) - Income Support
- Housing Benefit
- Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based)
- Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Pension Credit Savings Credit
- Universal Credit
- Working Tax Credit
Note if you receive any of the following benefits you could qualify later in the scheme (or through the ECO4 Flex routes). We advise anyone claiming the following benefits to register for updates so you are the first to know when these benefits are accepted.
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer's Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- War Pensions Mobility Supplement
If you receive Child Benefit you could be eligible for the scheme but unlike the qualifying benefits above they would need to meet an additional income criteria.
The Child Benefit income criteria depends on the number of children in the household and also whether the claim is a single or joint claim.
The income limits are as follows:
Single parents
1 Child – £19,900
2 Children – £24,800
3 Children – £29,600
4+ Children – £34,500
Parents in a couple
1 Child – £27,500
2 Children – £32,300
3 Children – £37,200
4+ Children – £42,000
(figures updated to Ofgem’s Administration Consultation released on 13 June 2022)
If you are eligible through the Child Benefit route you should apply as soon as you can. The Government's Green Homes Grant excluded Child Benefit recipients so potentially this eligibility route could be removed later in the the scheme.
To be eligible through the income-based route your annual household income will need to be under £31,000. You will need to provide evidence such as bank statements and income information to confirm eligibility.
This is an ECO4 Flex route so it requires the applicants council to have published a Statement of Intent and to issue eligibility declarations.
Vulnerable people can access grants if they meet two of the following criteria (1 & 3 can’t be used together):
1. Lives in a Lower Super Output Area
2. Receives Council Tax Rebate (excluding for single person discounts)
3. Householder has a disability, mental health condition, is over 65, school children or under 16 and pregnant women.
4. Receives free school meals due to a low income
5. Supported by a Council scheme described in a Statement of Intent
6. Households referred by a Citizen’s advice as struggling to pay gas and electricity bills
7. Households in energy debt
A medical practitioner will need to complete a referral form to confirm eligibility.
This is an ECO4 Flex route so it requires the applicants council to have published a Statement of Intent and to issue eligibility declarations.
People with health conditions that are made worse by living in a cold home qualify.
These include:
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Immunosuppressed
- Mobility issues
- Respiratory conditions
A medical practitioner will need to complete a referral form to confirm eligibility.
This is an ECO4 Flex route so it requires the applicants council to have published a Statement of Intent and to issue eligibility declarations.
Installers can target specific groups of people living in fuel poverty. Installers will approach you if your property is eligible through this route.
Wealden District Council
If you DON'T claim benefits, the criteria for identifying households in fuel poverty in Wealden District Council are as follows:
| BN20 |
| BN22 |
| BN23 |
| BN24 |
| BN25 |
| BN26 |
| BN27 |
| BN6 |
| BN8 |
| RH17 |
| RH18 |
| RH19 |
| TN19 |
| TN2 |
| TN20 |
| TN21 |
| TN22 |
| TN3 |
| TN33 |
| TN39 |
| TN5 |
| TN6 |
| TN7 |
| TN8 |
| South Downs |
| Upper Willingdon |
| Lower Willingdon |
| Stone Cross |
| Herstmonceux & Pevensey Levels |
| Polegate Central |
| Pevensey Bay |
| Arlington |
| Polegate North |
| Polegate South & Willingdon Watermill |
| Hailsham East |
| Hailsham South |
| Hailsham Central |
| Hailsham North |
| Hellingly |
| Hailsham West |
| Hailsham North West |
| Chiddingly, East Hoathly & Waldron |
| Horam & Punnetts Town |
| Danehill & Fletching |
| Uckfield Ridgewood & Little Horsted |
| Forest Row |
| Hartfield |
| Frant & Wadhurst |
| Uckfield New Town |
| Mayfield & Five Ashes |
| Hadlow Down & Rotherfield |
| Heathfield North |
| Heathfield South |
| Framfield & Cross-in-Hand |
| Uckfield North |
| Uckfield East |
| Maresfield |
| Buxted |
| Withyham |
| Crowborough Central |
| Crowborough St Johns |
| Crowborough North |
| Crowborough South East |
| Crowborough South West |
| Crowborough Jarvis Brook |
5. How much could you get?
The amount of your grant is largely dependent on a number of factors. One important consideration for this calculation, as determined by the Ofgem rules, is whether or not you have heating at your property and if so what type. The lifetime savings value provides installers with an indication of how much funding they can expect from energy providers based upon their current living situation such as where it’s located in relation to other installations available nearby and wall construction types among others like bedrooms are also considered when determining eligibility for grants that will help provide better insulation than before.
The grants are currently available as follows (subject to survey and meeting eligibility rules):
- Boiler grants - this could give you 25% - 75% off the RRP of installing a new boiler
- Cavity wall insulation grants - up to 100% of the installation cost
- External wall insulation grants - up to 100% of the installation cost (only available where electric is the main heating source)
- First time central heating grants - 50-100% of the installation cost (propeties must not have previously had central heating)
- Internal wall insulation grants- up to 100% of the installation cost (only available where electric is the main heating source)
- Loft Insulation - up to 100% of the installation cost (usually only available where electric is the main heating source but in some areas loft insulation is available for gas properties)
- Roof Insulation - up to 100% of the installation cost (usually only available where electric is the main heating source but in some areas roof insulation is available for gas properties where it is installed alongside a new boiler)
- Smart thermostat grants - up to 100% of the cost but only available through some installers
- Underfloor insulation grants - up to 100% of the installation cost but usually only installed alongside another measure like a boiler upgrade
The grant is paid directly to the Registered Installer and because it is a grant, you won’t have to repay. You’ll only be required for contributions if necessary; most often, your installer will quote costs in advance and explain them before proceeding with the installation. Once installed, we can also provide you with funding information through our free no-obligation survey!
Wealden District Council flexible energy (LA Flex) rules are detailed in this Statement of Intent
Apply for a grant
Check eligibility for grants
Fill in the short form to see if you are eligible for Government grants.