Purpose

Bassetlaw District Council has been awarded central government
funding to help households achieve energy bill and carbon savings.
The funding is made available from the Warm Homes: Local Grant
(WH:LG), a scheme launched by the
Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) aimed to reduce
poverty and aid in reaching the UK’s Net Zero target. The
scheme involves installing energy efficiency measures and
low-carbon heating systems in resident’s homes. The Midlands
Net Zero Hub (MNZH) will be operating a consortium to administer
the awarded funding.
 
For
WHLG, the Council has been approved to deliver both Bassetlaw and
Boslover’s allocation to install home upgrades. The joint
scheme will provide benefits including a more cohesive delivery for
towns on the Bassetlaw- Bolsover border and new opportunities for
Bolsover’s residents, as the Bolsover has yet to run a
private domestic retrofit scheme. The total funding from DESNZ for
both Bolsover and Bassetlaw District Councils is
£2,519,000.00 over the three-year period.
 
A
Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) has been drafted by MNZH as the
Council’s consortia lead to facilitate access to the above
funding. As a part of this GFA and scheme operation, the Council
must comply with the GFA’s terms and conditions, which are an
effective step down of the WHLG scheme award from DESNZ to MNZH. It
will be an essential obligation of the delivering Council team to
ensure these conditions are met to reduce risk of funding clawback.
This is particularly pertinent as the Admin and Ancillary funding
over the three year period is limited to
10% of capital delivery, which will need to meet minimum thresholds
to fund the 1 FTE paid for by this scheme. 
 

Decision

To accept the
combined Bassetlaw and Bolsover’s WH:LG allocation and enter
into the Grant Funding Agreement with Nottingham City Council, as
it will expand the green impact the Council makes for the good of
the wider region.