The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and Home Upgrade Grant are collectively worth £1.4bn, which will be used to fund energy-saving measures ranging from loft insulation to new windows.

The government claimed the schemes could  support around 20,000 jobs in the construction and home retrofit sectors.

An additional £1.1bn in match funding for social housing provided by local authorities, providers of social housing and charities will bring the total investment to £2.5 billion to upgrade social and private homes in England.

On top of this, a further £409m has been granted through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to help 144 public sector buildings such as schools and hospitals drive down their carbon emissions.

The funding will be rolled out from April 2023 to upgrade homes over the next two years.

Cash will go towards improvements to vulnerable households and off-gas grid homes with an EPC rating of D or below and could save tenants between £220 and £400 a year on energy bills.

Energy cutting and cost saving measures provided through the schemes include exterior wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, new windows and doors and draft proofing measures, as well as heat pumps and solar panel installation.

The schemes form part of the government’s commitment to reduce overall UK energy demand by 15% by 2030, as well as supporting the ambition for the UK to move towards greater energy independence.