Local councils were more trusted than national government to deliver on climate change in their areas, such as improving homes, protecting green spaces and clean energy, according to polling by Climate Barometer supported by UK100.
It comes as councils across England have warned that money is running out and not being replaced quickly enough to upgrade homes as part of the Warm Homes Plan, announced by energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh last month.
At the end of 2024 councils bid for £1.7 billion of Warm Homes: Local Grant funding; they have been granted £500 million to 2028, the i Paper reported.
Among people who voted Reform UK at the 2024 general election, 29% trusted their local council most, against 24% for the national government. Among those who voted Conservative in 2024, the margin was 33% to 28%.
But the public also expects central government to take responsibility with 44% saying it has the biggest responsibility for climate impacts, such as flooding, whereas only 19% said it for their council.
Asked who should pay for most of the costs of climate impacts in the UK, 41% chose the national government and arm’s-length bodies, against 28% for local government.
Nearly half (44%) do not believe the government will protect them and their homes from extreme heat, flooding and storms, and while three in four people (74%) experienced extreme heat this summer, only 14% noticed cooling measures such as tree planting or shading where they live.
Local leaders say the trust is matched by demand they cannot meet, with Liverpool, Leeds, Northumberland and Tunbridge Wells having stopped taking applications. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have allocated their whole £3.5 million budget for the year, and Sheffield is rationing by strict need. Lewisham has identified 4,500 eligible council homes and funding to upgrade 800 of them by 2028. City of York Council has paused its scheme for the rest of the financial year after allocating its entire budget with almost no advertising, and expects next year’s waiting list to be full within a month.
UK100 is calling at the upcoming Budget for full-funding of the Warm Homes Plan, ensuring every home is reached as a quarter live outside a mayoral strategic authority, and pairing capital with capability funding, like the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure programme.
Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency, City of York Council said:
“York shows what happens when a local Warm Homes scheme works. We allocated our entire budget with almost no advertising, and next year’s waiting list will be full within weeks. Our team and contractors can deliver far more than the funding allows. If the Chancellor allocates the rest of the Warm Homes Plan at the Budget, we can deliver comfortable homes and energy security for more of our residents.”
Christopher Hammond, chief executive of UK100, said:
“People trust the people and organisations closest to them to get on with the job. That is exactly the direction the Energy Secretary set out at the Labour conference, and it is the right one.
“But you cannot devolve good intentions and an empty pot. The public rightly puts the responsibility for coughing up squarely at the door of the Treasury. From York to Lewisham, local leaders are turning families away because demand for warm, comfortable homes has outstripped the money available. Councils asked for £1.7 billion and got £500 million. Every scheme that closes to new applicants is proof that local delivery works, that demand is there, and that it is underfunded.
“It doesn’t have to be that way. Energy security this winter begins in our homes. The Budget can be where the government makes good on its promises. We’re calling on Ministers to allocate the rest of the Warm Homes Plan investment, ensure the money reaches every postcode and back every pound of capital with the staff and skills to get it to the homes that need it most.”
Adam Corner, Strategy Lead, Climate Barometer, said:
“Climate impacts are no longer abstract. After the summer we just sweltered through, three in four Britons have now experienced extreme heat. And our latest polling shows who people trust to lead the response where they live: their local council (and this includes Reform and Conservative voters). People want to see action in their area and they’re looking to local leaders to deliver it.”
Cllr Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said:
“Demand for our Warm Homes scheme is already high enough that we need to ration by strict need criteria. If the Chancellor commits the rest of the Warm Homes funding at the Budget, we can start delivering more comfortable homes this winter rather than telling families they need to wait.”
A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said:
“The queue behind those 800 homes is long. What we need from the Budget is certainty that the rest of the Warm Homes money will flow to local communities, and the flexibility to deliver a truly multi-year programme so the teams and supply chains we have built can keep working to provide comfortable homes year-round.”
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
