Guidance

Warm Homes Agency

Published 4 November 2026

Factsheet relating to the Energy Independence Bill.

Summary

The Bill will pave the way for a Warm Homes Agency (WHA), a public body to support the delivery of the Warm Homes Plan and guide consumers through the energy transition. As a body dedicated to making homes warm, green, and cheaper to run, the WHA will seek to enhance the support available for home upgrades and clean heat. This approach comes in response to consumer feedback indicating that they are often unaware of available home decarbonisation and clean heat support schemes, and report confusion about the grants currently on offer.

The WHA will administer certain national energy efficiency and building decarbonisation schemes and will work with devolved authorities to deliver home upgrades at the local level. Devolving funding in England will empower mayors who know their own regions to support households through localised, targeted delivery of energy efficiency upgrades. The WHA will help shift power into the hands of communities by supporting Mayoral Strategic Authorities as they develop and deliver local programmes. The WHA would provide a nationally recognisable route to impartial consumer information and support, common data standards, and accountability.

The WHA will also take on the delivery of functions currently within Salix (an existing non-departmental public body), which will be combined with relevant roles from DESNZ and Ofgem. This approach ensures that there is no net increase in the number of arm’s length bodies, in line with the overall objective to bring control closer to government. The WHA will be an Executive Agency and legislative references in the Bill are therefore to the Secretary of State. We are seeking to establish the WHA as soon as possible, subject to passage of this Bill.

Why are we legislating?

Primary legislation is needed now because the policy intent cannot be delivered through existing powers. The Bill establishes a flexible ‘designated administrator’ model under which responsibility for administering and enforcing a range of statutory and non statutory energy schemes may be transferred either to the WHA or to another body. The Bill enables enforcement, compliance, audit and information gathering powers to move with scheme administration functions. This ensures that designated administrators or the WHA have the necessary powers to take enforcement action, and coordinate with Ofgem where their regulatory oversight remains relevant, maintaining the effectiveness of existing regimes under the new administrative arrangements. This model anticipates the transfer of some existing statutory schemes out of Ofgem via secondary legislation, allowing Ofgem to refocus on its core regulatory functions, as outlined in the Ofgem Review.

Non legislative action would not allow for the transfer of the administration of some schemes nor would it support effective set up of the WHA and delivery of the Warm Homes Plan. The legislation also restores the statutory power to amend the GB and NI 2003 Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin Regulations (repealed following EU Exit), so both schemes could receive stronger audit and compliance powers and the ability to be updated in future to adapt as our electricity system changes.

Further information on the WHA is available in the ‘Warm Homes Plan’.^{[footnote 1]}

What are the government’s objectives with this measure?

The WHA will help to enable the rapid rollout of clean energy technologies by providing a trusted source of advice and support. Working together with devolved authorities, the WHA will support efforts to reduce bills, decarbonise homes, and strengthen the UK’s energy security by reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels. The WHA will guide consumers through their home energy upgrade journey and seek to enhance the support available to them. The WHA will also play a pivotal role in improving consumer awareness and engagement, building on existing government campaigns and advice services.

In addition to supporting the consumer, the WHA will play a critical role in helping businesses grow and support the energy transition. This will help workers and firms in the energy efficiency and clean heating supply chain to thrive as the country switches to low-carbon heating. The new agency will also work with installers, manufacturers, retrofit companies, and Trade Unions to help existing heating engineers transition, providing information and support on training requirements, government initiatives and how to access them, and analysing trends in market demand.

How will this measure deliver the objectives?

The Bill supports the establishment and operation of the WHA in several ways. It provides for specific energy schemes to be administered by the WHA, or another administrator, together with the associated enforcement and data gathering functions. It enables Ofgem, designated administrators, and the WHA to share scheme data to help administer and enforce schemes. It also provides the powers to create transfer schemes, which can move property such as the contracts, IT equipment, and software used to administer schemes.

The WHA will enable improved consumer advice, which should reduce drop-out rates and contribute to the accelerated uptake of schemes, ultimately reducing energy bills and supporting the installation of clean energy technologies. The expected increase in scheme uptake, alongside engagement with the private sector, should also bolster demand to support market supply, which should drive reductions in bills, energy upgrades in homes, and electrification to help reduce our reliance on international gas markets, bolstering energy security.

1. DESNZ (2026) ‘Warm Homes Plan’ ↩