Supporting your Warm Homes applications: A conversation with RISE Programme Director, David Kemp

David - how do the Warm Homes schemes differ to the previous funding programmes? Is there anything really critical that applicants need to be aware of?

In many ways, the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WHSHF) is a continuation of the previous programme, and that’s recognised in the name; we’re referring to Wave 3 when we talk about this latest phase. But there are some key changes that have been made in Wave 3, including alternations to the base cost caps, expanded inclusion of EPC C+ homes and non-social homes, and there is now no minimum application size for smaller housing landlords. 

"The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has really listened to the sector, and it’s great to see some of the changes that have been made." 

For details of all the Wave 3 changes, our Warm Homes webinar recordings are a good place to start.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG) is a new scheme, focused on funding the energy performance upgrades for those low income households that need the most support. A lot of the learning from previous schemes have been integrated into the WHLG; the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has really listened to the sector, and it’s great to see some of the changes that have been made. Households living in an income deprived postcode, receiving some benefits or with a gross household income of under £36,000 are all now considered, and all fuel types are also now included. Again, for the full details of the new WHLG, check out our webinar recording on the RISE website.

The funding request window for WHSHF has already opened; can you explain the process that is now in place for applicants?

There are two new routes to access funding; the Challenge Fund, and Strategic Partnerships.

The great news is that all applications that meet the minimum requirements for delivery will be awarded some funding under the Challenge Fund, which has also been designed to suit a more phased and flexible approach to delivery (requiring detailed information on properties when they’re ready to deliver a phase) something that we know will work well for lots of organisations.

The Strategic Partnerships route is for applicants with a proven track record of successful delivery and meet four strategic priorities of delivery at scale, preparing for future ‘at scale’ delivery, low carbon heating and innovation.

These two routes aren’t completely mutually exclusive; Strategic Partnership applicants can indicate on their application form submission if they want to be automatically considered for funding via the Challenge Fund route if their Strategic Partnership application isn’t successful.

"There are a very wide range of ways a prospective applicant can engage and get the support they need, no matter whether they have a lot of experience of applying for previous waves of funding, or they are completely new to retrofit, and the funding available."

What support is available to applicants?

RISE has been established to support housing providers and local authorities that are looking to develop retrofit programmes, and make a request to either of the Warm Homes schemes.

What’s so impactful about RISE is that there are a very wide range of ways a prospective applicant can engage and get the support they need, no matter whether they have a lot of experience of applying for previous waves of funding, or they are completely new to retrofit, and the funding available.

Underpinning everything we offer is our comprehensive learning and development programme – made up of hundreds of online and in-person training events, Masterclasses, advice drop-ins and CPD-accredited courses. Alongside these, we have our RISE podcast, online toolkits, advice packs, deep dive articles and back catalogue of on-demand Masterclasses, so providers will always be able to find detailed information on any retrofit related topic, whenever they need it.

We also have our ‘technical support’ service – one to one, bespoke support that applicants can access by completing an initial short Self Assessment form online. This unlocks help from a dedicated support manager who then develop a support plan that’s bespoke to each organisation. How this support is delivered is really varied; from toolkits, guides and templates to access to housing stock data. We can run workshops for teams to help them focus in on key areas and offer Critical Friend Reviews of applications and mock interviews. We’re even able to bring in specialist consultants where there is a very specific need or challenge, to give housing providers access to the right people to help solve what are sometimes complex challenges.

"We’ve been offering support for a number of years. 98% of the successful bidders into the previous social housing funding scheme were supported by the RISE team, and the average Home Upgrade Grant award was £3m more for those who accessed support from us."

What difference will engaging with RISE’s support really make to those looking at making an application?

RISE isn’t a new service, and under the previous names of Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator and Home Upgrade Hub we’ve been offering support for a number of years. 98% of the successful bidders into the previous social housing funding scheme were supported by the RISE team, and the average Home Upgrade Grant award was £3m more for those who accessed support from us. Working with the RISE support managers, and making the most of the learning and development programme that’s on offer (all free, fully funded by DESNZ) has made a huge difference to the outcomes of hundreds of housing providers’ applications and retrofit programmes. And we expect RISE’s impact to be even greater under the Warm Homes schemes!

Are there any classic pit falls, or ‘gotchas’ that all applicants need to look out for?

It’s really important to say that the whole process of making a funding request to either the WHSHF, or an Expression of Interest to the WHLG is designed to be as straight forward as possible – it’s not designed to catch anyone out! However, there are some mistakes that we sometimes see applicants make, and we work really hard to help anyone accessing the RISE support avoid them:

• Don’t make any assumptions about the application criteria or process, even if you’ve made successful applications to previous schemes or waves of funding. Make sure you’re really aware of what has changed; our briefing webinar recordings lay it all out for you so even if you attended one of these webinars live, go back and watch again – don’t let any of the changes catch you out!
• Don’t leave it too late to start the application. By delaying the process of starting the application, you can reduce your ability to access much needed support, like a Critical Friend Review of your drafts. One of the first things our Support Managers can do is help you with planning the process of writing the application itself, so you can pace the process out realistically, and make the most of all the help that is available.
• Don’t under estimate the importance of good quality data; on your properties (their type, current state of repair and their energy performance), and also on your occupants. Poor quality or incomplete data leads to delays in project delivery or resident refusals, both of which can really affect your retrofit roll out. RISE has some brilliant data support on offer, to really help you crack this, early on.

Thank you David!

The Warm Homes webinar briefing recordings that David mentions are all available to watch here.

For more information on what RISE can do to support you, please visit riseretrofit.org.uk

WHSHF remains open for funding requests until midday on 25th November 2024.

WHLG is expected to open before the end of 2024.