Which Councils are on the UK ECO Grant Naughty or Nice List This Christmas?

The UK Government’s Energy Company Obligation scheme, currently in its fourth phase known as ECO4, is designed to provide vital energy-saving improvements to vulnerable households.

Qualified applicants and properties can benefit from extensive home improvements, including heating upgrades, insulation, and renewable energy installations. Yet, the complexity of the scheme has posed significant challenges for applicants. For individuals receiving qualifying benefits, applying for grants across the UK is relatively straightforward. However, those without benefit claims but with health conditions or vulnerabilities must navigate a substantially more complicated route called ‘ECO4 Flex.’

However, before an applicant can access the grant via ECO4 Flex, councils must publish a Statement of Intent on their website and issue a declaration to the installer or managing agent to confirm eligibility. Unfortunately, many councils have not yet published Statements of Intent despite the scheme commencing in July 2022. Worse still, some councils have no intention of doing so.

Kate Hallewell
, spokesperson for Energy Saving Genie, expressed concern: “While we understand that councils are facing challenges, it’s heart-breaking to turn away eligible applicants due to a lack of council cooperation. We need swift changes in the scheme’s rules or mandatory action to prevent councils from blocking their residents from accessing essential funding.”

For some of the councils that have released Statements of Intent, their approach has posed additional hurdles for applicants. For instance, some councils that have released Statements of Intent charge over £500 per application for issuing a declaration, making the scheme unaffordable for many residents.

As a result, terminal cancer patients, individuals with heart conditions, frail elderly citizens, and many others have been turned away. Some applicants have tragically passed away while awaiting council Statements of Intent.

So, which councils are leaving their vulnerable residents in the cold with soaring energy bills when they could benefit from the Government’s £4 billion Energy Company Obligation grant scheme?