The number of people believing self-sufficiency in energy is important has risen by 9% with nine in ten concerned about steep rises in energy prices, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Public Attitudes Tracker.
Outlining the findings of the tracker, UK100 has also shown that four in five people (79%) support renewable energy – and almost nine in ten people (88%) recognise that the way we heat our homes will need to change, up from 84% in the spring.
But only 39% stated they know about changes to home heating, which hasn’t moved significantly since tracking began in 2021. Half (51%) said they want to know more about the most effective ways to cut energy use at home, rising to 61% of private renters.
In 2021, 39% of homeowners said they did not know enough to decide whether to install an air source heat pump, which has now fallen to 19%.
DESNZ’s own research shows support shifts the dial, with cutting the upfront cost of a heat pump by £1,000 lifts demand by around 10%. And 91% of people who have used the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme are satisfied, while demand for local authority schemes is outstripping the funding available.
Councils bid for £1.7 billion of Warm Homes: Local Grant funding and were granted £500 million to 2028. Schemes from York to Sheffield, Lewisham and Cambridge are paused, oversubscribed or rationing by need, as UK100 members said earlier this month.
For the second Budget in a row, ministers are reportedly considering cuts to heat pump grants, in November 2025 and again this month. Last November the grants survived, and in July the grant rose to £9,000 for homes heated by oil. Meanwhile, the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, which requires boiler manufacturers to sell a growing share of heat pumps, has been delayed by a year and the charge for each missing heat pump cut from £3,000 to £500. A UK Government consultation closing on 8 November proposes keeping the lower rate until 2031.
For tomorrow’s Budget, UK100 is asking:
- Commit to fully funding the Warm Homes Plan, including allocating the remaining £3 billion of its low-income budget to strategic and local government and social housing delivery partners, with multi-year certainty.
- Make good on the promise to devolve the Warm Homes Plan, with area-based, non-competitive, multi-year funding that reaches every local leader, not only mayoral areas.
- Pair capital with revenue funding for the local staff and trusted advice that turn money into upgraded homes.
Christopher Hammond, chief executive of UK100, said:
“People want energy Britain controls, and energy security starts at home. Every home that stops leaking heat and moves away from gas represents energy we no longer have to buy and import from volatile international markets.
“People recognise a change in the way we heat our homes is needed. What they are missing is someone they trust to help and support them fairly. Without it, heat pumps stay out of reach for lower earners and renters.
“Councils have shown the demand is there, with schemes oversubscribed from York to Sheffield. Tomorrow the Chancellor can keep us on the right path and protect the Warm Homes Plan. Put it in local hands and fund the people who deliver it, so that the families on those waiting lists get help sooner.”
Image from Shutterstock
