Local home energy support coming soon as Birmingham Voluntary Organisations secure over £0.8m government funding

• BVSC and a consortium of Birmingham Voluntary Organisations have secured over £0.8m funding following a successful bid to the Government’s Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) Programme funded by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero working with the Midlands Net Zero Hub.
• ‘Birmingham Energy Advice Partnership’ project will be training local energy advisors to deliver independent, high quality home energy advice to Birmingham residents
• Those in ‘hard to treat’ homes, diverse communities and people in vulnerable situations will be helped to be warmer and more comfortable at home, save money, improve health and reduce carbon emissions

BVSC (Birmingham Voluntary Service Council) and a consortium of local Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector organisations have secured over £0.8m funding following a successful bid to the Government’s Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) Programme. LEAD is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero working with the Midlands Net Zero Hub.

The Birmingham consortium, led by BVSC, is one of nine successful applicants to be awarded funding to run a pilot project exploring innovative approaches to providing in person, home energy advice to consumer groups in the Midlands. Across England, a total of 36 projects will be delivered.

Birmingham consortium members include: BVSC; Acocks Greener CIC; Birmingham Council of Faiths: Footsteps – Faiths for a Low Carbon Future; Community Energy Birmingham; ecobirmingham; MECC Trust; The Good Work Coop – Birmingham Green Doors; WLCA (Witton Lodge Community Association).

All consortium members are well placed to provide local energy advice, having been established for many years in local Birmingham communities with wide ranging experience of working with and supporting local residents, including in delivery of energy projects.

The Birmingham LEAD project will be training local energy advisors to deliver independent, high quality home energy advice to Birmingham residents, not restricted to but including those in:

• ‘hard to treat’ homes (e.g. homes with single walls rather than cavity walls or other structural issues which traditionally make these homes harder to insulate and keep warm)
• diverse communities (e.g. older people; those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethic communities; those from diverse faith communities; those without English as a first language)
• vulnerable situations (e.g. people with long-term health issues or disabilities; those on low income)

The project aims to support people to:

• Be warmer and more comfortable at home
• Save money
• Improve health
• Reduce carbon emissions

Amanda Solloway, Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability, said: “We want everyone to be able to get expert advice on how to make their homes more energy efficient, no matter where they live, so they can save money.

“These innovative projects will bring that expertise right to people’s doorsteps, quite literally in some cases, ensuring people are given the best advice on how to save money on their bills and heat their homes for less without needing to search for it. This is alongside our investment of billions of pounds to improve energy efficiency across the country – reducing bills at the same time as making sure Britain’s homes are fit for the future.”

Brian Carr, Chief Executive at BVSC said: "We are delighted to be working with our community and faith sector partners on this exciting and important initiative. The LEAD consortium will be addressing two of the key issues of our time - namely, the rising cost of living, and the accelerating climate crisis. Through training local energy advisors to work with local residents, this will be a truly community-level effort to empower people to keep warm, save money, and reduce environmental impacts. We are grateful to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for the opportunity."

Michael Gallagher, Head of Midlands Net Zero Hub, said: “It is fantastic that we’re able to support nine projects to deliver in-person energy advice to those in need. Digital exclusion is a real risk as the internet has become commonplace for many, but we need to make sure that people are not left behind. Tackling fuel poverty through domestic retrofit schemes such as Sustainable Warmth Competition has been a key priority for the Hub for many years, so I’m looking forward to seeing these projects develop over the coming months.”

The project will start in the autumn/winter and run until end March 2025.

For further information on the Birmingham LEAD Consortium please contact: [email protected]