Agenda item

At the request of the Chair and following the Executive Member Decision Session, 14 July 2022,  the Scrutiny Committee will receive an update on the Retrofit programme.

The importance of housing energy efficient retrofit was highlighted to address carbon usage and to reduce energy bills which were a significant contributor to the current cost of living crisis. Officers highlighted that the Council had been successful in applying for a series of grants to fund programmes to improve the energy efficiency of Council homes. It was confirmed that the Council had collated a lot more data on the Councils housing stock which provided useful information about the work that was required and where. The cost of retrofitting every property was identified by officers as being significant and it was suggested that external funding would be required to deliver the developing action plan.

Members discussed what work could be undertaken to encourage residents to support retrofit actions in their homes, be this Council tenants or private homes. An example of the work undertaken by Cartas in Germany was highlighted which employed people who had experienced poverty to speak to residents about the benefits of retrofit work. Officers noted that the work that had been undertaken so far in gathering data was crucial to understand the kinds of interventions which were possible and were required, they confirmed that there was a clear opportunity moving forward, now this data had been gathered, for resident engagement in the action plan.

The negative health issues relating to fuel poverty was discussed. Cold homes were confirmed to exacerbate a great many health conditions and this has a knock on effect on hospital admissions. With retrofitting it was confirmed that the Council was aiming to tackle the least efficient homes first as this should give the biggest impact for the city subject to the work that can be delivered on different house types.

Members enquired as to whether the Council had the relevant skills currently to deliver retrofit and what models such as an energiesprong model could be used. The committee raised the current role of void properties and whether these were ideal homes while no one was living in them to retrofit and build up a skilled workforce. Officers noted that due to the many different types of homes that this would currently require individual design plans for individual homes and that there was a pressing need due to the housing waiting list for homes to be made ready for tenants as soon as possible. It was noted that the Council would need to develop skills for retrofitting internally and that external contractors would likely be required for some work. Officers did confirm that at a future stage of the programme newly void properties could be targeted for retrofit when they return to the Council.

Resolved:

                      i.         Noted the progress to date on delivering retrofit works within council homes alongside the development of further analysis and options to deliver further improvements this year and beyond.

Reason:     To deliver the council’s ambitions for minimising tenants’ energy bills, building the local green economy and retrofit supply chains, and reducing carbon emissions in the City.

                     ii.         Noted the ongoing preparation for a Social Housing Decarbonisation Wave 2 bid following the council’s successful application for Wave 1 funding and that a business case for this investment will be brought forward later this year.

Reason:     Grant funding of up to 50% of total costs can substantially increase the pace of retrofit improvements carried out in HRA stock.

                    iii.        Noted the intention to submit a bid through the anticipated Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund “digitalisation” programme for building performance monitoring and data analytics technology. This would need to be supported by HRA investment and a business case will be brought forward for approval prior to committing to this programme of works.

Reason:     This technology can support better informed forecasting of residents’ energy bill savings following retrofit works. This will enable leverage of financial opportunities and facilitate learning opportunities as well as supporting the most effective investment in improvement works.

                   iv.        Noted the intention to continue work towards HRA stock decarbonisation within the Retrofit Action Plan including commissioning of an evidence base to support this.

Reason:     To identify long-term investment priorities and build on the existing stock analysis, and to provide net zero pathway options.