The Government has launched a brand new ‘Green Homes Grant’ scheme and is now urging tradespeople to sign up and play their part in improving the country’s energy efficiency. Business Secretary, Alok Sharma has called on tradespeople across the UK to step forward and sign up to be able to offer services through the new scheme.

The £2bn scheme will see the Government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements up to £10,000 to make over 600,000 homes across the country more energy efficient. The new scheme will also support over 100,000 jobs in green construction, cut emissions and help people save money on their energy bills.

The Green Homes Grant scheme will cover green home improvements ranging from insulation of walls, floors and roofs, to the installation of double or triple glazing when replacing single glazing, and low-carbon heating. These measures have the potential to save up to £600 a year on their energy bills.

To take part and offer your services through the scheme, you must register with TrustMark via their website. To install any low carbon heat measures, tradespeople must be certified through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme for the relevant heating technology.

Creating new jobs for tradespeople

The government claims that the new scheme won’t just cut emissions and save money on energy bills, but will create new work for thousands of talented builders, plumbers and other tradespeople across the country.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has commented: “in a world where anyone can set themselves up as a builder, I welcome the government’s emphasis on accreditation for tradespeople and quality assurance as part of the Green Homes Grants scheme.”

Simon Ayers, chief executive of TrustMark, added: “The £2bn Green Homes Grant scheme is the best kickstart we could have hoped for, 24 million homes require improvements to enable us to meet the government’s 2050 net-zero carbon target.”

You can find out more about the scheme on the gov.uk