Statement of Intent for ECO4

Statement of Intent for ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme

• Local Authority name: Leeds City Council
  
• Publication Date: 23/12/2024
  
• Version number: V.3
  
• Publication on web site: www.leeds.gov.uk

This statement sets out Leeds City Council’s flexible eligibility criteria for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and Great British Insulation schemes (GBIS) which run until March 2026.

Leeds City Council’s ECO4/GBIS flex scheme is only available for schemes managed by Leeds City Council, as well through contractors who have been endorsed by the council to promote and undertake the ECO4/GBIS flex scheme in the Leeds area, a list of which can be found below. This means home owners and private tenants will need to access funding through one of these schemes, or endorsed contractors if they are eligible for them.

The ECO4/GBIS flex schemes managed by Leeds City Council are:

• Clustering for Warmth project, clusters 1 to 7
• Housing Leeds Warm Home Social Housing Fund: wave 3 works
• Leeds Warm Homes Local Grant works
• Home Upgrade Grant
• Armley Area Based Scheme

Contractors working on the above schemes who can access ECO4/GBIS flex funding in Leeds are Cenergist, Equans and Everwarm.

Please note that in issuing an ECO/GBIS-flex declaration for a property, the council is confirming that the household meets the scheme eligibility criteria. This does not guarantee that measures will be installed by a contractor. The contractors will undertake a survey of the home to determine which measures are suitable for that home. Whether measures can be installed will depend on:

• Whether the property meets the SAP band eligibility criteria
• The installation costs determined by the contractors survey
• The energy savings that can be achieved at the property
• Whether suppliers have achieved or are close to achieving their ECO4/GBIS targets
• Other commercial considerations

The ECO4 scheme will focus on supporting low income and vulnerable households. The scheme will improve the least energy efficient homes helping to meet the Government’s fuel poverty and net zero commitments. The Great British Insulation Scheme will support the ECO4 scheme in the delivery of predominantly single measures targeted at a wider range of households.

The flexible approach for Local Authorities (LAs) to identifying fuel poor and vulnerable households who may benefit from heating and energy saving measures is referred to as “ECO4 Flex” and “Great British Insulation Scheme Flex”.

The Council is publishing this Statement of Intent (SoI), on the 23/12/2024 to confirm that each of the households declared will adhere to at least one of the four available routes outlined below. The tick boxes can be used to indicate to households which routes the council is using:

Route 1: Owner-occupied and private rented sector households with a gross annual income less than £31,000. This cap applies irrespective of the property size, composition, or region.

Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that meet a combination of two of the following proxies:

Route 3: Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that have been identified by either a person registered in the General Practitioner Register, a Scottish Health Board, a Welsh Health Board, an NHS Foundation Trust, or an NHS Trust as vulnerable, with an occupant whose health conditions may be adversely affected by living in a cold home. These health conditions must be cardiovascular, respiratory, immunosuppressed, or limited mobility related.

Route 4 (applicable to ECO4 Flex only): Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that are referred under Route 4: Bespoke Targeting. Suppliers and LAs can submit an application to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero where they have identified new methods to identify low-income and vulnerable households. Applications need to demonstrate a number of factors, including that the proposed methodology is more effective at identify households in fuel poverty than the criterion offered under Routes 1 and 2.

Scheme eligibility

All potentially eligible households should apply through one of Leeds City Council’s approved ECO / Great British Insulation Scheme installers/schemes, to see if they can either benefit from the scheme or be assessed for eligibility under any other relevant programme.

An LA officer (not a 3rd party working on behalf of an LA) will be responsible for checking, and verifying evidence, and issuing declarations. For any general enquiries relating to this SoI please contact:

Name: Robert Curtis

Job Title: Programme Officer

Phone: 0113 378 5874

Email: robert.w.curtis@leeds.gov.uk

CEO or dedicated responsible person mandatory signature

Leeds City Council will administer the ECO4 Flex scheme according to the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 (ECO4 Order).

The Council will administer Great British Insulation Scheme Flex according to the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2023 (ECO4A Order).

The CEO/ dedicated responsible person of the Council will oversee the process of identifying eligible households under ECO Flex and Great British Insulation Scheme Flex. The Council will notify Ofgem of households that declarations have been issued for via the declaration notification template.

All personal data collected or processed by Leeds City Council for the purposes of ECO4 Flex or Great British Insulation Scheme Flex will be processed and stored in accordance with: the Council’s obligations under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the Council’s data protection policy, the Information Commissioner’s Office Data Sharing Code and other guidance, and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero guidance.

Name: Polly Cook

Job Title: Chief Officer Climate Energy and Green Spaces (dedicated responsible person)

Date of signature: 05/12/2024