Homeowners to get £5,000 vouchers to insulate their homes as part of Chancellor's £2bn green scheme | The Sun

HOMEOWNERS will get £2billion of vouchers to insulate homes as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plans to create more than 100,000 green jobs.

Hundreds of thousands of households will get the grants of up to £5,000 to make their homes more environmentally friendly.

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Homeowners will be given £2billion worth of vouchers to insulate their homes Credit: Getty

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce the Green Homes Grant scheme in Wednesday's 'mini budget'Credit: Getty

Vouchers worth up to £10,000 will be available to some of the poorest families.

The Green Homes Grant scheme — which will provide extra work for plumbers, builders and tradesmen and help the Covid-hit economy recover — will be announced in Wednesday's mini budget.

Homeowners will be able to spend the cash on loft, wall and floor insulation, eco-friendly boilers, heat pumps, double or triple-glazed windows, low-energy lighting and energy-efficient doors.

The scheme will go live in September and, according to Treasury estimates, will save families up to £600 a year on energy bills.

The grants will be part of a wider £3billion investment in green technology to be unveiled as the UK moves towards going carbon neutral by 2050.

The extra £1billion will be spent on revamping public buildings and social housing.

Mr Sunak told The Sun tonight: “As Britain recovers from the outbreak, it’s vital we do everything in our power to support and protect livelihoods across the nation.

The green scheme will create more than 100,000 jobs and help the Covid-hit economy recoverCredit: Getty

The Treasury estimate it will save families up to £600 a year on energy billsCredit: Getty

“Our Green Homes Grant will not only cut families’ bills by making their homes more energy efficient, it will also kick-start our economy by creating thousands of green jobs and supporting those skilled tradespeople who are ready to work.”

Under the scheme, the Government will cover at least two thirds of the cost that homeowners in England spend on green upgrades.

For example, householders would pay £1,320 of the £4,000 bill for cavity wall and floor insulation for a semi-detached or end-terrace house. The Government would pay £2,680.

Our Green Homes Grant will kick-start our economy by creating thousands of green jobs.
Rishi Sunak

Those on the lowest incomes will not have to pay anything.

Mr Sunak will also unveil a £50million project to make social housing greener, saving some of the poorest households about £200 in energy bills.

It comes after Mr Sunak was urged to give adults £500 vouchers to spend in shops badly hit by the coronavirus lockdown.

The scheme can target the parts of the economy that have been hardest hit - rather than online sales, the Resolution Foundation claimed.

News of the green voucher scheme was welcomed by business groups.

Mike Cherry, boss of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “This will offer a much-needed boost to tradespeople and others whose livelihoods were affected by the pandemic by creating green jobs, while at the same time improving energy efficiency.