Written question WQ86381

We have an overarching strategic intent, in our Net Zero Wales Carbon Budget 2 2021-25, which sets out our vision, our ambition statements and our policies and proposals.

While we intend to develop a comprehensive delivery plan that incorporates work across tenures other than social housing, that plan will be rooted in evidence of what works in decarbonisation. We will learn the lessons of both the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) and other schemes, such as the Innovative Home Programme and the Warm Homes Programme.

We are prioritising investment in social housing decarbonisation through the funding made available to social landlords through the ORP. We are starting in social housing, before moving to other tenures as this is where we have the most levers to then facilitate a long-term strategy for retrofitting all properties across Wales.

Channelling ORP investment through social landlords supports a ‘testing and learning’ approach to decarbonise homes effectively and efficiently. As well as evaluating the technical and tenant aspects of the work, actual costs will be monitored and used in the assumptions of future models of residential decarbonisation.

We are gathering evidence and collecting baseline data from properties currently being retrofitted. This will ensure we can measure the impact of our investment activities.

We know that longer term innovative funding models will be needed to pay for the decarbonisation of these homes, the costs of which cannot rest fully on Welsh Government. However, we are confident that the learning from ORP, and other schemes, along with learning from the wider system (such as other government schemes and our expert Decarbonisation Implementation Group), will put us in a strong position to start the work in other tenures.

In terms of homes in other tenures, initial actions have begun to be considered. Welsh Government has for example started evaluating a variety of options for financing retrofit in the owner-occupied and private rented homes. These incorporate grant funding and repayable finance. The financial capacity of the end user will be utilised to help direct them to the most appropriate financing solution in the medium to long term.