Official Statistics

Summary of the Great British Insulation Scheme: May 2024

Published 23 May 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Introduction

The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) is a government scheme to help people insulate their homes, make them more energy efficient and save money on their energy bills.

The government announced the scheme at the end of March 2023. The £1 billion scheme will help around 300,000 households across the country with the cost of installing new home insulation. The scheme is scheduled to run until March 2026.

What you need to know about these statistics

These statistics are based on data provided by Ofgem, covering installations of measures between May 2023 and March 2024. Data are based on the date of completed installation of measures as recorded in the Ofgem register.

All figures are provisional and subject to revision.

Key statistics

Delivery by month

Since the start of GBIS, there have been 9,480 measures installed in 7,720 households up to the end of March 2024.

Measure delivery has continued to increase, with 1,919 measures installed in March 2024 – the highest level since the scheme began.

Figure 1: Number of measures installed by installation month

Delivery by measure type

The most common measure delivered to date has been cavity wall insulation, accounting for 53% (5,047 measures) of the total 9,480 measures. This was followed by heating controls which accounted for 19% (1,760 measures) and loft insulation which also accounted for 18% (1,712 measures).

Figure 2: Number of measures installed by measure type (May 2023 to March 2024)

Delivery by region

The highest regional delivery has been in Yorkshire and The Humber (1,465 measures, 15%), followed by the South East (1,359 measures, 14%) and the North West (1,074 measures, 11%).

Figure 3: Proportion of total measures installed by geographic region (May 2023 to March 2024)

There have been 7,720 households upgraded under GBIS up to the end of March 2024, meaning they have had at least one measure installed. This is around 28 per 100,000 households (based on estimated household levels for 2022). The rate for England was slightly higher at 29 per 100,000 households, with Wales and Scotland having a rate of 27 and 21 per 100,000 respectively. The region with the highest rate was Yorkshire and The Humber with an average of 52 households upgraded per 100,000.

The regional breakdown of upgraded households is largely the same as the regional breakdown of measures installed, as the majority of households (6,801 out of 7,720) have had one measure installed under the scheme. The remaining 919 households have had one or more heating control measures installed. These are secondary measures installed alongside another measure under the scheme, and only in households that are in the low-income eligibility group.

Delivery by property type and tenure

This release provides an update to quarterly data on the tenure of properties receiving measures under GBIS and for the first time includes data on property type. Data on property type and tenure are updated quarterly in this release and are due to be next updated in the 22 August 2024 release.

Houses and bungalows were the most common property types upgraded to the end of March 2024, respectively accounting for 5,670 (74%) and 1,440 (19%) of the households that have received measures under GBIS. Flats accounted for 501 (7%) of the households receiving measures and maisonettes accounted for around 16 (less than 1%).

To the end of March 2024, the most common tenure type of households that received measures under GBIS was owner-occupied, accounting for 6,206 (80%) of the households that received measures. The remainder of households were rented, with socially rented households accounting for 16% and private rented households 4%.

Annex: Further information

Next publication date

The next publication will be at 09:30am on Thursday 20 June 2024.

Scheme information

More information on the GBIS scheme can be found at the Department’s website and at Ofgem.

Accompanying tables

Tables showing the number of measures installed and households upgraded under GBIS are available.

The following additional table has been included in this release:

Table 7 - Households in receipt of GBIS measures by property type and quarter

Note that the inclusion of this table has changed the numbering of later tables in this release from what they were previously.

Revisions policy

The Department’s statistical revisions policy sets out the revisions policy for these statistics, which has been developed in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority Code of Practice for Statistics.

User engagement

Users are encouraged to provide comments and feedback on how these statistics are used and how well they meet user needs. Comments on any issues relating to this statistical release are welcomed and should be sent to: EnergyEfficiency.Stats@energysecurity.gov.uk. The Department’s statement on statistical public engagement and data standards sets out the department’s commitments on public engagement and data standards as outlined by the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Pre-release access to statistics

Some ministers and officials receive access to these Official Statistics up to 24 hours before release. Details of the arrangements for doing this and a list of the ministers and officials that receive pre-release access to these statistics can be found in the Department’s statement of compliance with the Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008.

Contact

Responsible statisticians: Isi Avbulimen and Mark Piatek

Email: EnergyEfficiency.Stats@energysecurity.gov.uk

Media enquiries: 020 7215 1000
Public enquiries: 07927 579551