Can Warm Homes Plan tackle fuel poverty?

The Warm Homes Plan (WHP), published in January 2026 and updated in March, is a £15 billion investment programme designed to upgrade up to five million homes by 2030.

Tackling fuel and water poverty is one of the four key pillars of the CIPHE Manifesto. This long-term strategy aims to cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions, replacing previous fragmented schemes (such as ECO4). Electrification is the main focus of the plan, primarily through heat pumps and solar technology.

Industry impact

The major expansion of clean heating means that heat pumps are expected to be positioned as the default clean-heat solution for most homes. The government has set a target of up to 450,000 installations per year by 2030 – some 25% lower than the previous target.

“At face value the plan is welcome, however there are some disappointing aspects,” says Jeff House, director of external affairs and policy at Baxi. “Firstly, there is no mention of the role hybrid heat pump systems can play. There is an ever-growing body of evidence to support the rollout of this technology in the UK and effective policy examples in EU member states to learn from.

“There is insufficient detail or action on reducing electricity pricing, beyond what has been announced. A critical factor to mass market uptake of heat pumps and electrification will be the spark gap; more work is needed here if we are to achieve the stated ambition of 450,000 annual heat pump installations by 2030.”

Funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) has increased to £2.7bn. There are grants of up to £7,500 per installation and the scheme now includes hydronic systems.

“We welcome the plan to address the upfront cost barriers to uptake of products such as batteries, heat pumps and solar panels,” says Matt Mahony, CIC policy and public affairs manager. “For this to work, and for the market to grow, government needs to prioritise helping consumers tackle the time and administration associated with the grants and the work needed, and help to ensure that they get the best possible use out of the products when installed.

“Consumer awareness and confidence is key. There must be a robust plan for upskilling rapidly to cope with demand, as increased deployment can correlate with higher defects and lower quality. Neither government nor the public can afford another flop along the lines of ECO4, GBIS or the earlier Green Deal for Home Improvement, so a robust system of oversight must be established.”

If homeowners are struggling to finance an upgrade, installers can apply for the following grants on their behalf:

• £7,500 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump.
• £7,500 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump, including water source heat pumps.
• £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler.

Although it was not expected as part of the WHP, Baxi is urging the UK government to look at long-term certainty and funding for the non-domestic sector.

“With the end of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) in 2028, and little else in the way of funding for decarbonisation of heat in this sector, there is a gap to be addressed.”

Move to electrification

Although there is no immediate ban on gas boilers, it’s clear that the UK is moving away from fossil fuel heating systems. As a result, gas boiler replacements are likely to decline over the next 10 years as incentives favour electric.

“Plumbing skills remain essential, but adaptation to hybrid systems, heat pumps, buffer tanks and smart controls is critical,” points out Kevin Wellman, CEO of the CIPHE. “The new Level 2 and Level 3 apprenticeships recognise and support the future skill requirements.”

While the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) welcomes the ‘ambition’ of the plan, it states it lacks “explicit and substantial detail about investment in the training and skills development required to deliver quality home upgrades at scale”.

“SNIPEF is clear that without a properly trained and competent workforce, large-scale retrofit and low carbon heating deployment will falter,” warns Scott Sanford, head of technical services and certification.

“Previous government-supported insulation schemes allowed complex work to be carried out by inadequately trained and poorly supervised installers. In practice, this meant almost anyone could undertake publicly funded retrofit work, leading to serious failures, as seen in the recent spray foam insulation scandal, which is now costing millions to resolve.

“If this programme is to succeed, investment in homes must go hand in hand with investment in people, skills and competence. Quality, safety and consumer confidence must be built in from the start, not dealt with after the damage is done.”

The fact that the Heat Training Grant fund will continue until 2029 will help to increase the number of low-carbon heating installers who will be vital in the successful delivery of the WHP.

“Apart from upskilling the installer base, we also need to encourage more young people into the sector,” says Mark Krull, director of LCL Awards and Logic4training. “The £20m expansion of ‘free’ construction-based courses is welcome, but I would like to see the new Level 2 Heating and Plumbing Engineer Apprenticeship, mentioned alongside diplomas in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems.”

Supporting low-carbon tech

Solar, batteries and integrated systems are being championed, with solar PV, battery storage and smart controls promoted as routes to reducing bills.

“Energy storage is critical,” says Krull. “The introduction of government-backed zero- and low-interest loans will help to establish domestic battery storage and remove the upfront cost barrier for homeowners. Ambitious plans for heat networks are also encouraging.”

While the WHP focuses on reducing energy use and lowering bills, Levelise believes the government has missed the opportunity to help households understand their role in a changing energy system – and how they can earn money from the grid.

“As homes install batteries, heat pumps and solar, they are no longer passive energy consumers, yet policy and public debate hasn’t caught up,” says Iván Castro, managing director of Levelise.

“The government signals genuine commitment, but execution matters. Subsidising hardware alone risks a missed opportunity to cut bills, support the grid, and integrate renewables. Levelise has delivered exactly this outcome through energy flexibility, paying over £2m directly to more than 5,500 customers by trading their battery storage across energy markets.

“Installing solar panels and batteries is just the start. The real test is building the infrastructure to make every home an active participant in Britain’s energy transition, delivering zero bills as a market-enabled reality.”

The demand for plumbing and heating engineers is expected to exceed current skills capacity by the late 2020s, which will have a significant impact on the plumbing and heating industry. The government forecasts up to 180,000 clean energy and retrofit jobs and explicit support for UK manufacturing and installer training.

CIPHE says…

“The Warm Homes Plan is the largest home upgrade investment in UK history,” says Kevin Wellman, CEO of the CIPHE. “With major implications for plumbing and heating professionals, it represents the biggest opportunity for stable, long-term growth the sector has seen in decades.”

Rather than a decline, says Wellman, the WHP signals a structural transformation of the plumbing and heating sector. “Traditional skills remain vital,” he adds, “but the centre of gravity shifts towards heat pumps and low-carbon heating, electrified and hybrid systems, large-scale retrofit delivery, and higher standards, professionalism and consumer trust.”