Agenda and minutes

Councillor Bennett proposed and Councillor Tong seconded the following motion: 

 

Background

The current Labour government has proposed cuts to disability benefits (especially Personal Independence Payments) and changes to the Access to Work funding that could leave Cambridgeshire residents destitute.

 

Furthermore, it is proposed that these cuts will be put to a vote without waiting for a full report on the impact of the proposed cuts.

 

The purpose of this motion is not to draw attention to the cruelty of the proposed cuts. That is so blindingly obvious that no motion is required.

 

The purpose of this motion is to contend that the proposed cuts don’t save money. All they do is transfer the costs to hard-pressed local services, the NHS and local economies.

 

These cuts are not just cruelty but stupid cruelty.

 

 

Active Motion

This council notes that the disability cut proposals are not just a threat to disabled residents and their families, although these are quite bad enough. There are also likely to be wider adverse impacts on our city. These include:

·      Local health services - one in 7 hospital beds are already occupied by patients who no longer have a medical need but are trapped in hospital because care is not available.

·      The immediate local economy – disabled residents spend most of their income in local shops and on local services.

·      Increased rent arrears among council tenants.

·      Increased pressure on social services - the county council has the same statutory responsibilities under the Care Act 2014 but residents’ ability to contribute to care costs is reduced.

·      Increased pressure on county council finances - adult social care has to be prioritised by law so funds available for other services are reduced.

·      Increased use of food banks and food hubs - 75% of food bank visits are from households with one or more disabled members.

 

The council proposes to write to the ministers concerned, Liz Kendall and Rachel Reeves and ask local MPs, Daniel Zeichner and Pippa Heylings to co-sign the letter.

 

The council’s letter will ask for the proposed cuts to be abandoned or at the very least paused until a full impact assessment can be undertaken.

 

The council’s letter will also ask whether the proposed cuts will really result in savings or merely transfer the costs from central government budgets to those of the NHS, local councils and struggling local economies.

 

Background Notes

Access to Work (“AtW”)

1              The Access to Work scheme is intended to help people with disabilities or long term health conditions get work and stay in work. Full details of the scheme are here: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

2              Critics of the Access to Work scheme have drawn attention to the long wait for scheme payments and unexpected refusal of funding. The target time to process new schemes is 4 weeks but the average wait is now 12 weeks, up from 8 weeks at the 2024 General Election.

3              It is now proposed that the type of equipment that can be funded, the duration of awards, the use of support workers and the pay rate for support workers will be reduced.

4              It has been claimed that some of these changes have already been put into practice even though the disability consultation is still open.

5              It seems clear that the cuts to Access to Work will make it harder for people to get and keep jobs or achieve self employment.

 

Personal Independence Payments (“PIP”)

 

1              PIP is designed to help with extra living costs if you have both:

a.    A long-term health condition or disability; and

b.    Difficulty doing essential everyday tasks or getting around because of that condition

2              PIP is not means tested and 1 in 6 PIP claimants are in paid work.

3              20% of UK residents have a disability or long-term health condition but only 8% claim PIP

4              PIP is a working age benefit, although 15% of claimants are over working age. This is because if PIP is awarded before retirement, entitlement continues afterwards. The increase in pension age has meant that more people are able to claim.

5              PIP is considered to be a hard to get benefit. The success rate is 52% and the fraud rate is 0.02 per cent.

6              PIP replaced a previous benefit called Disability Living Allowance (“DLA”). The transition is still ongoing, and some Cambridge residents are still on DLA not PIP.

7              Residents who lose out on PIP also lose access to blue badges, free bus passes, discounted rail travel and carer’s allowance and make it harder to access other disability services and concessions.

8              Cambridge has one of the lowest rates of PIP claims in the UK at 4%, compared to 7% for East of England and 8% for the UK. This may reflect a healthier, more youthful population or simply that many residents are still on DLA. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-personal-independence-payment-2

9              However, even in Cambridge, there are 4,300 residents receiving PIP expected to lose a total of £7.5 million in PIP from the proposed changes. This is based on 87% of people on standard PIP and 13 % of people on enhanced PIP losing PIP which is in turn based on FoI figures produced by DWP. https://www.healthequitynorth.co.uk/app/uploads/PIP-REPORT-1.pdf

10           The National Audit Office July 2024 report estimates that £870 million in PIP goes unclaimed every year.

 

Councillor Wade proposed and Councillor Smart seconded the following amendment to motion (deleted text struck through and additional text underlined):

 

Background

The current Labour government has proposed cuts to disability benefits (especially Personal Independence Payments) and changes to the Access to Work funding that could leave Cambridgeshire residents destitute.

Further more it is proposed that these cuts will be put to a vote without waiting for a full report on the impact of the proposed cuts.

The purpose of this motion is not to draw attention to the cruelty of the proposed cuts. That is so blindingly obvious that no motion is required.

The purpose of this motion is to contend that the proposed cuts don’t save money. All they do is transfer the costs to hard pressed local services, the NHS and local economies.

These cuts are not just cruelty but stupid cruelty.

Active Motion

This council notes that the disability cut proposals are not just a threat to disabled residents and their families, although these are quite bad enough. There are also likely to be wider adverse impacts on our city. These include:

· Local health services -one in 7 hospital beds are already occupied by patients who no longer have a medical need but are trapped in hospital because care is not available

· The immediate local economy – disabled residents spend most of their income in local shops and on local services

· Increased rent arrears among council tenants

· Increased pressure on social services --the county council has the same statutory responsibilities under the Care Act 2014 but residents’ ability to contribute to care costs is reduced

· Increased pressure on county council finances -adult social care has to be prioritised by law so funds available for other services are reduced

· Increased use of food banks and food hubs -75% of food bank visits are from households with one or more disabled members

The council proposes to write to the ministers concerned, Liz Kendall and Rachel Reeves and ask local MPs, Daniel Zeichner and Pippa Heylings to co-sign the letter

The council’s letter will ask for the proposed cuts to be abandoned or at the very least paused until a full impact assessment can be undertaken.

The council’s letter will also ask whether the proposed cuts will really result in savings or merely transfer the costs from central government budgets to those of the NHS, local councils and struggling local economies.

Background Notes

Access to Work (“AtW”)

1 The Access to Work scheme is intended to help people with disabilities or long term health conditions get work and stay in work. Full details of the scheme are here: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

2 Critics of the Access to Work scheme have drawn attention to the long wait for scheme payments and unexpected refusal of funding The target time to process new schemes is 4 weeks but the average wait is now 12 weeks, up from 8 weeks at the 2024 General Election.

3 It is now proposed that the type of equipment that can be funded, the duration of awards, the use of support workers and the pay rate for support workers will be reduced.

4 It has been claimed that some of these changes have already been put into practice even through the disability consultation is still open.

5 It seems clear that the cuts to Access to Work will make it harder for people to get and keep jobs or achieve self employment.

Personal Independence Payments (“PIP”)

1 PIP is designed to help with extra living costs if you have both:

a. A long term health condition or disability; and

b. Difficulty doing essential every day tasks or getting around because of that condition

2 PIP is not means tested and 1 in 6 PIP claimants are in paid work.

3 20 % of UK residents has a disability or long term health condition but only 8% claim PIP

4 PIP is a working age benefit although 15% of claimants are over working age . This is because if PIP is awarded before retirement, entitlement continues afterwards. The increase in pension age has meant that more people are able to claim.

5 PIP is considered to be a hard to get benefit. The success rate is 52 % and the fraud rate is 0.02 per cent.

6 PIP replaced a previous benefit called Disability Living Allowance (“DLA”). The transition is still ongoing and some Cambridge residents are still on DLA not PIP.

7 Residents who lose out on PIP also lose access to blue badges, free bus passes, discounted rail travel and carer’s allowance and make it harder to access other disability services and concessions.

8 Cambridge has one of the lowest rates of PIP claims in the UK at 4%, compared to 7% for East of England and 8% for the UK. This may reflect a healthier, more youthful population or simply that many residents are still on DLA. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-personal-independence-payment-2

9 However, even in Cambridge, there are 4,300 residents receiving PIP expected to lose a total of £7.5 million in PIP from the proposed changes. This is based on 87% of people on standard PIP and 13 % of people on enhanced PIP losing PIP which is in turn based on FoI figures produced by DWP. https://www.healthequitynorth.co.uk/app/uploads/PIP-REPORT-1.pdf

10 The National Audit Office July 2024 report estimates that £870 million in PIP goes unclaimed every year.

 

This Council believes in the dignity of all people and their right to respect and equality of opportunity.

 

This Council is a Disability Confident employer and is committed to recruiting, retaining and supporting disabled employees. The Council aims to remove barriers, resolve issues relating to disability and consider individual needs. This includes taking positive steps towards promoting equality of opportunity, reasonable adjustments and accommodations, inclusion for all and promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people.

 

The Government’s ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working’ Green Paper was published in March, and is out for public consultation until 30 June. This Council encourages residents to participate in the public consultation on the Green Paper.

 

This Council notes that:

 

Cambridge has one of the lowest rates of PIP claims in the UK at 4%, compared to 7% for the East of England and 8% for the UK.

This Council has three-year core grant funding agreements with Cambridge & District Citizens Advice and with Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum to provide independent advice and advocacy to residents on a range of subjects, including on benefits, as well as with Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service to provide infrastructure support to the voluntary and community sector. Across its multi-year grants, the Council has allocated £466,113 for the year 2025-26.

 

Cambridge & District Citizens’ Advice (CDCA) statistics show that, for the first half of 2024/25, general help and advice was given on 10,987 issues to 7,950 clients, and the top issue people were seeking advice for was benefits. The top benefit issue was PIP.

 

The total income gains achieved by CDCA for those seeking advice were £2,149,832.00.

 

In the last year, 414 City residents received specialist benefit advice – 54% of these related to benefit applications.

 

From 1 April to 30 September 2024, the CDCA benefits team completed 21 appeals lodged with the Courts and Tribunals Service. 20 of the 21 appeals were won.

 

This Council resolves to:

·      continue the Council’s strategic partnership work with Citizens’ Advice and Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum to support residents to maximise their benefits.

·      work to ensure that all residents are aware of the opportunities for support to maximise their benefits, including by sharing all the relevant information with other stakeholders in the city including landlords and GP surgeries.

·      offer all tenants in sheltered accommodation the opportunity to meet with the Independent Living Service to conduct an income maximisation check, particularly for tenants who don’t currently access to Council support services.

·      submit a response to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper.

 

The amendment was carried by 22 votes to 14.

 

Resolved (by 22 votes to 0 with 14 abstentions) that:

 

This Council believes in the dignity of all people and their right to respect and equality of opportunity.

 

This Council is a Disability Confident employer and is committed to recruiting, retaining and supporting disabled employees. The Council aims to remove barriers, resolve issues relating to disability and consider individual needs. This includes taking positive steps towards promoting equality of opportunity, reasonable adjustments and accommodations, inclusion for all and promoting positive attitudes towards disabled people.

 

The Government’s ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working’ Green Paper was published in March, and is out for public consultation until 30 June. This Council encourages residents to participate in the public consultation on the Green Paper.

 

This Council notes that:

 

Cambridge has one of the lowest rates of PIP claims in the UK at 4%, compared to 7% for the East of England and 8% for the UK.

 

This Council has three-year core grant funding agreements with Cambridge & District Citizens Advice and with Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum to provide independent advice and advocacy to residents on a range of subjects, including on benefits, as well as with Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service to provide infrastructure support to the voluntary and community sector. Across its multi-year grants, the Council has allocated £466,113 for the year 2025-26.

 

Cambridge & District Citizens’ Advice (CDCA) statistics show that, for the first half of 2024/25, general help and advice was given on 10,987 issues to 7,950 clients, and the top issue people were seeking advice for was benefits. The top benefit issue was PIP.

 

The total income gains achieved by CDCA for those seeking advice were £2,149,832.00.

 

In the last year, 414 City residents received specialist benefit advice – 54% of these related to benefit applications.

 

From 1 April to 30 September 2024, the CDCA benefits team completed 21 appeals lodged with the Courts and Tribunals Service. 20 of the 21 appeals were won.

 

This Council resolves to:

·      continue the Council’s strategic partnership work with Citizens’ Advice and Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum to support residents to maximise their benefits.

·      work to ensure that all residents are aware of the opportunities for support to maximise their benefits, including by sharing all the relevant information with other stakeholders in the city including landlords and GP surgeries.

·      offer all tenants in sheltered accommodation the opportunity to meet with the Independent Living Service to conduct an income maximisation check, particularly for tenants who don’t currently access to Council support services.

·      submit a response to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper.

 

Under Council Procedure Rule 26.1, with the consent of Council, Councillor Moore proposed and Councillor Smith seconded the following altered motion: 

 

This council notes;

 

Residential homes are responsible for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions mainly through heating, hot water, and electricity.

 

Public sector buildings account for 17% of Cambridge’s emissions, which is a much higher proportion than the UK average of 3% from this emissions source.

 

In 2022, just over half (52%) of properties in England had Band C ratings – above the average for energy efficiency.

 

National Energy Action estimates that 6.1 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

 

LGA research in 2020 estimated that the average cost to councils in pursuing competitive grant-funding was in the region of £30,000 per application.

 

Retrofitting is a form of home improvement that brings homes up to a better standard of thermal and energy efficiency. It can include installing insulation, improving ventilation, water conservation, replacing gas and other fossil fuel heating systems with heat pumps, and adding solar PV panels and battery storage.

 

Cambridge City Council’s retrofit programme is delivering multiple dividends for people and the planet and economy:

• Responding to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills
• Mitigating climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions
• Adapting to climate change and creating resilient homes by keeping homes cooler during our more frequent and extreme heatwaves
• Improving quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,
• Improving public health with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.
• Creating conditions for new businesses to grow and build the skilled workforces needed to scale-up retrofit, across the City and elsewhere. A skilled workforce is essential for delivering an effective and sustainable retrofit programme

 

The work that is going on across the city and wider areas is synonymous with the campaign – ‘RetroFit for the Future.’ Fuel Poverty Action, ACORN, Greener Jobs Alliance, Medact and the Peace & Justice Project have teamed up to push for three key interventions in the retrofit debate:

a.    A workforce skills plan

b.    Protecting private renters

c.    Accountability for retrofit work

The Council’s retrofit programme comprises the following work streams:

1. Building capacities and skills to get the job done:

-        Partnership for Government energy efficiency and retrofit funding: The Council has invested in professionals who have in turn built and led the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) which as a grant application and delivery vehicle has attracted over £25m in energy efficiency and retrofit programmes. The latest 2023-2025 £8.6m programme retrofitting 494 low energy efficient homes owned by low-income households across the County. This equated to an estimated 490 tonnes of CO2 saving. This was achieved through a combination of government grant funding and funding awarded by CPCA.

-        Partnership for Government water retrofit programme: The shared planning service is leading a £5m a programme to reduce water consumption in Council homes across the City and South Cambridgeshire

-        On the supply side, CERP procurement for a pipeline of energy efficiency and retrofit works has enabled contractors to invest in their business and critically apprenticeships and skills across the full range of trades.

-        On the demand side, the Council has published a ‘how to’ retrofit guide for different housing archetypes for the construction industry and ‘able/willing to pay’ households which the CPCA is extending and promoting across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The newly developed guide will highlight homes which are “heat pump ready.”

-        The 3C Building Control service has launched a building regulations advisory service for applicants retrofitting houses and listed buildings

-        To encourage retrofit at scale and pace, some of the wider work of Cambridge City Council include collaborating on a research piece with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leaders, which is expected to be released in the Summer: “RetroFit For Future: Scaling building decarbonisation across Greater Cambridge. The aim of this piece will be to identify and detail an array of practical levers for us to encourage retrofit and the co-benefits, such as supporting the increase of green skills, supporting the growth of the local economy, and developing access to finance mechanisms for those that don’t meet grant criteria.

-        City Council has created a new “Energy and Retrofit” team which has pulled together colleagues and expertise from across the organisation who work on energy and retrofit across our council owned homes, private housing and our own corporate, commercial and community properties into a new centre of excellence. The team will seek funding and partnership opportunities to support and deliver our commitments to decarbonise homes and businesses across Cambridge with an invigorated streamlined approach.

-        CERP are currently seeking endorsement to create a retrofit strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. With no national strategy in place to look at retrofit holistically there is a requirement to support local economy, market capacity and upskilling and leverage of private finance – a clear strategic local approach and long-term vision for delivery is important to ensure these can be reconciled.

 

2. Getting the job done, retrofitting most energy inefficient Council homes

-        Council home retrofit comprising external wall insulation, improved ventilation in wet rooms, door undercuts and when required, replacement windows, rear doors and top-up loft insulation to 300mm. To date 225 homes refitted since December 2023, with funding in place for 370 more retrofits

-        We have two principal projects underway. Using a mix of our own funds and central government grants we have so far retrofitted 225 homes to EPC C standard. We have recently received funding for a further 370 council homes over the next two years with support from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 (£2.26m) and the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund Wave 3 and a further 130 properties in 2027/28. The funding focuses on external wall insulation, ventilation through extractor fans and indoor air quality, but general improvements such replacing windows and doors when they are near to end of life and top-up loft insulation to 300mm are incorporated as much as possible.

-        Net zero carbon pilot: Comprehensive retrofit of 50 Council homes The second project is a net-zero home pilot on Ross Street and Coldhams Grove to net zero carbon standards, with monitoring results and practical lessons learned and monitoring to inform future retrofit works.  investing up to £5m to retrofit fully 50 homes to net zero carbon standards. Monitoring and evaluating results are key to this project to inform future retrofit projects and outcomes.

 

More than half of all heat loss from these homes is through uninsulated solid brick walls and about sixth is lost through the floor and roof. The retrofit measures involve:

·        adding insulation to the external walls, floor and roofs to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.

·        replacing gas boilers and fossil fuel systems with clean heat solutions such as air source heat pumps, which typically produce about three times as much energy as they use.

·        installing new mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems. These will replace stale, moist air with fresh, filtered air and reduce heat loss. It also reduces humidity and the risk of condensation and mould.

·        installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to the roofs, to provide electricity for the homes. This will contribute to the running of the heat pumps and MVHR systems. It will also enable qualifying tenants to claim Smart Export Guarantee payments.

·        upgrading to triple-glazed windows and composite external doors to reduce heat loss, draughts and condensation. It will also provide better insulation against external noise.

·        Investing in the Grade II listed Guildhall so that it will be net zero carbon in operation

 

3.    Retrofitting private sector homes

 

-        We are delivering government funded projects to support those on the lowest income with retrofitting their homes to reduce their bills and ensure they are in warm and effect homes, funded through the Warm Homes grant

-        The contractors’ framework agreement is also accessible to residents, helping homeowners who are in a position to navigate the market for suppliers and find contractors to do the retrofit work

-        The Council also developed a retrofit guide to provide homeowners and landlords in Cambridge with practical information on how to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient. The guide sets out a whole house approach to retrofitting, based on the most common archetype of housing in the city.

-        Cambridge City Council acts as Lead Authority delivering government-funded capital retrofit programmes across Cambridgeshire – operating as a partnership between all the Cambridgeshire authorities including Peterborough City Council and CPCA.  Having successfully delivered over £9m of energy efficiency and clean heat measures through the Home Upgrade Grant 2, we have recently secured a further £8.5m from the Warm Homes: Local Grant to continue delivery for the next 3 years.  These grants are designed to support low income, fuel poor households who live in the most inefficient, poorly performing homes.

-        In partnership with the CPCA, the City council was awarded a further £950,000 to complete retrofit upgrades across the County.

-        Cambridge City Council also participates in the Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4) administered by Ofgem, which focusses on supporting low-income, vulnerable and fuel poor households through installation of insulation and heating measures.

-        The Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) operating under the brand of ‘Action on Energy,’ provides communities with advice on how to maximise energy efficiency within homes, save money on energy bills, cut carbon emissions and support to find accredited installers.

-        The contractor’s framework agreement for the provision of energy efficiency works is also accessible to residents across Cambridgeshire, helping homeowners who are able or willing to pay for measures to navigate the market for suppliers and find accredited contractors to do retrofit work.

-        With the framework in place, we have been able to develop the social benefits of the retrofit work. Contractors are offering their skills, volunteering and funding projects through “Match my Project.” This process is demonstrating strong community value in the stimulation of the retrofit market.

 

4.    Retrofitting non-domestic building stock

 

-        This council has set itself an ambitious target to achieve net-zero energy use by 2030 for council properties where we control the energy supply. This includes properties we occupy or manage, like community centres, as well as common areas in housing or commercial buildings we own and operate.

-        In 2023, we completed a £1.7mn project (funded by Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund) to retrofit Parkside and Abbey Pools, installing air source heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades.

-        We have recently won Salix funding for decarbonization measures for the crematorium, Brown's Field Community Centre and Trumpington Pavillion - including systems controls, insulation, lighting replacement and solar panel installation.

-        We are developing proposals for a district heat network with the University of Cambridge, city centre Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University. The aim is to create a renewable heat network in the city by 2030 to supply renewable heat and hot water around the city centre to help decarbonize buildings. This project is currently in the detailed design and business case development phase.

-        The Civic Quarter redevelopment will upgrade the Guildhall and Corn Exchange. We are aiming for exemplar project outcomes, targeting, water neutrality and a Biodiversity Net Gain of 20% across the Civic Quarter and Operational Net Zero for the Guildhall. The design work to date includes consideration of fabric upgrades and alignment with ENERPHIT and LETI standards, introduction of water saving measures, PV panels and enabling a future connection to the proposed city centre District Heating Network

 

This Council will ask the leader to write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Milliband, and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to ask them to replace the current retrofit and energy efficiency funding programmes that are intermittent, short term and uncertain due to wasteful competitive bidding and hard to meet ring fenced eligibility criteria with consistent long-term funding to give confidence to local government to plan for large scale retrofit programmes and their contractors and firms in the supply chain to invest in apprenticeships and skills training. 

 

This Council will ask the leader to write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Milliband, and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to:

1. Note the nation’s housing stock accounts for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions and is so energy inefficient that over 6m households are in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

2. Note that without increasing investment to acceleratie retrofit, the UK is missing out on multiple dividends for people, the planet and economy as retrofit:

·       Responds to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills

·       Mitigates climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions

·       Adapts to climate change by keeping homes cooler during more frequent and extreme heatwaves

·       Improves quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,

·       Improves public health and productive health life expectancy with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.

·       Creates conditions for new labour-intensive businesses to grow, build the skilled workforces and finance products needed to scale-up retrofit across the UK.

3. Request Government to give local government confidence to plan for large scale retrofit programmes and their contractors and firms in supply chains to invest in apprenticeships and skills training by:

i) Replacing the previous Government’s grant making regimes with one that is:

·       consistent and long term (instead of intermittent and short term),

·       allocated against deliverable programmes (in place of wasteful competitive bidding) and

·       flexible (in place of hard to meet ring fenced eligibility criteria)

ii) Incentivising employers to invest in workforce skills recruitment and development as a well-trained workforce is essential for delivering an effective, sustainable retrofit programme.

iii) Requiring independent regulation of retrofit work with quality assurance standards alongside robust monitoring and measurement of effectiveness and value of retrofit dividends.

iv) Facilitating investment across all tenures from registered providers, afford to pay owner occupiers and private rented sector.

4. Request Government to require in the forthcoming Future Homes Standard to require installation of solar panels, set higher ventilation and building fabric standards and progress approaches to reducing embodied carbon in new buildings, noting that because the last Government scrapped Labour’s zero-carbon home standard, 1.35m homes built since 2016 will have to be retrofitted at a cost of up to £2bn. 

 

Councillor Dalzell proposed and Councillor Porrer seconded the following amendment to motion (deleted text struck through and additional text underlined):

 

This council notes;

 

Residential homes are responsible for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions mainly through heating, hot water, and electricity.

 

Public sector buildings account for 17% of Cambridge’s emissions, which is a much higher proportion than the UK average of 3% from this emissions source.

 

In 2022, just over half (52%) of properties in England had Band C ratings – above the average for energy efficiency.

 

National Energy Action estimates that 6.1 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

 

LGA research in 2020 estimated that the average cost to councils in pursuing competitive grant-funding was in the region of £30,000 per application.

 

Retrofitting is a form of home improvement that brings homes up to a better standard of thermal and energy efficiency. It can include installing insulation, improving ventilation, water conservation, replacing gas and other fossil fuel heating systems with heat pumps, and adding solar PV panels and battery storage.

 

Cambridge City Council’s retrofit programme is delivering multiple dividends for people and the planet and economy:

• Responding to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills
• Mitigating climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions
• Adapting to climate change and creating resilient homes by keeping homes cooler during our more frequent and extreme heatwaves
• Improving quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,
• Improving public health with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.
• Creating conditions for new businesses to grow and build the skilled workforces needed to scale-up retrofit, across the City and elsewhere. A skilled workforce is essential for delivering an effective and sustainable retrofit programme

 

The work that is going on across the city and wider areas is synonymous with the campaign – ‘RetroFit for the Future.’ Fuel Poverty Action, ACORN, Greener Jobs Alliance, Medact and the Peace & Justice Project have teamed up to push for three key interventions in the retrofit debate:

a.    A workforce skills plan

b.    Protecting private renters

c.    Accountability for retrofit work

 

The Council’s retrofit programme comprises the following work streams:

1. Building capacities and skills to get the job done:

-        Partnership for Government energy efficiency and retrofit funding: The Council has invested in professionals who have in turn built and led the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) which as a grant application and delivery vehicle has attracted over £25m in energy efficiency and retrofit programmes. The latest 2023-2025 £8.6m programme retrofitting 494 low energy efficient homes owned by low-income households across the County. This equated to an estimated 490 tonnes of CO2 saving. This was achieved through a combination of government grant funding and funding awarded by CPCA.

-        Partnership for Government water retrofit programme: The shared planning service is leading a £5m a programme to reduce water consumption in Council homes across the City and South Cambridgeshire

-        On the supply side, CERP procurement for a pipeline of energy efficiency and retrofit works has enabled contractors to invest in their business and critically apprenticeships and skills across the full range of trades.

-        On the demand side, the Council has published a ‘how to’ retrofit guide for different housing archetypes for the construction industry and ‘able/willing to pay’ households which the CPCA is extending and promoting across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The newly developed guide will highlight homes which are “heat pump ready.”

-        The 3C Building Control service has launched a building regulations advisory service for applicants retrofitting houses and listed buildings

-        To encourage retrofit at scale and pace, some of the wider work of Cambridge City Council include collaborating on a research piece with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leaders, which is expected to be released in the Summer: “RetroFit For Future: Scaling building decarbonisation across Greater Cambridge. The aim of this piece will be to identify and detail an array of practical levers for us to encourage retrofit and the co-benefits, such as supporting the increase of green skills, supporting the growth of the local economy, and developing access to finance mechanisms for those that don’t meet grant criteria.

-        City Council has created a new “Energy and Retrofit” team which has pulled together colleagues and expertise from across the organisation who work on energy and retrofit across our council owned homes, private housing and our own corporate, commercial and community properties into a new centre of excellence. The team will seek funding and partnership opportunities to support and deliver our commitments to decarbonise homes and businesses across Cambridge with an invigorated streamlined approach.

-        CERP are currently seeking endorsement to create a retrofit strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. With no national strategy in place to look at retrofit holistically there is a requirement to support local economy, market capacity and upskilling and leverage of private finance – a clear strategic local approach and long-term vision for delivery is important to ensure these can be reconciled.

 

2. Getting the job done, retrofitting most energy inefficient Council homes

-        We have two principal projects underway. Using a mix of our own funds and central government grants we have so far retrofitted 225 homes to EPC C standard. We have recently received funding for a further 370 council homes over the next two years with support from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 (£2.26m) and the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund Wave 3 and a further 130 properties in 2027/28. The funding focuses on external wall insulation, ventilation through extractor fans and indoor air quality, but general improvements such replacing windows and doors when they are near to end of life and top-up loft insulation to 300mm are incorporated as much as possible.

-        The second project is a net-zero home pilot on Ross Street and Coldhams Grove investing up to £5m to retrofit fully 50 homes to net zero carbon standards. Monitoring and evaluating results are key to this project to inform future retrofit projects and outcomes.

 

More than half of all heat loss from these homes is through uninsulated solid brick walls and about sixth is lost through the floor and roof. The retrofit measures involve:

·        adding insulation to the external walls, floor and roofs to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.

·        replacing gas boilers and fossil fuel systems with clean heat solutions such as air source heat pumps, which typically produce about three times as much energy as they use.

·        installing new mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems. These will replace stale, moist air with fresh, filtered air and reduce heat loss. It also reduces humidity and the risk of condensation and mould.

·        installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to the roofs, to provide electricity for the homes. This will contribute to the running of the heat pumps and MVHR systems. It will also enable qualifying tenants to claim Smart Export Guarantee payments.

·        upgrading to triple-glazed windows and composite external doors to reduce heat loss, draughts and condensation. It will also provide better insulation against external noise.

·        Investing in the Grade II listed Guildhall so that it will be net zero carbon in operation

 

3.    Retrofitting private sector homes

-        Cambridge City Council acts as Lead Authority delivering government-funded capital retrofit programmes across Cambridgeshire – operating as a partnership between all the Cambridgeshire authorities including Peterborough City Council and CPCA.  Having successfully delivered over £9m of energy efficiency and clean heat measures through the Home Upgrade Grant 2, we have recently secured a further £8.5m from the Warm Homes: Local Grant to continue delivery for the next 3 years.  These grants are designed to support low income, fuel poor households who live in the most inefficient, poorly performing homes.

-        In partnership with the CPCA, the City council was awarded a further £950,000 to complete retrofit upgrades across the County.

-        Cambridge City Council also participates in the Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4) administered by Ofgem, which focusses on supporting low-income, vulnerable and fuel poor households through installation of insulation and heating measures.

-        The Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) operating under the brand of ‘Action on Energy,’ provides communities with advice on how to maximise energy efficiency within homes, save money on energy bills, cut carbon emissions and support to find accredited installers.

-        The contractor’s framework agreement for the provision of energy efficiency works is also accessible to residents across Cambridgeshire, helping homeowners who are able or willing to pay for measures to navigate the market for suppliers and find accredited contractors to do retrofit work.

-        With the framework in place, we have been able to develop the social benefits of the retrofit work. Contractors are offering their skills, volunteering and funding projects through “Match my Project.” This process is demonstrating strong community value in the stimulation of the retrofit market.

 

4.    Retrofitting non-domestic building stock

 

-        This council has set itself an ambitious target to achieve net-zero energy use by 2030 for council properties where we control the energy supply. This includes properties we occupy or manage, like community centres, as well as common areas in housing or commercial buildings we own and operate.

-        In 2023, we completed a £1.7mn project (funded by Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund) to retrofit Parkside and Abbey Pools, installing air source heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades.

-        We have recently won Salix funding for decarbonization measures for the crematorium, Brown's Field Community Centre and Trumpington Pavillion - including systems controls, insulation, lighting replacement and solar panel installation.

-        We are developing proposals for a district heat network with the University of Cambridge, city centre Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University. The aim is to create a renewable heat network in the city by 2030 to supply renewable heat and hot water around the city centre to help decarbonize buildings. This project is currently in the detailed design and business case development phase.

-        The Civic Quarter redevelopment will upgrade the Guildhall and Corn Exchange. We are aiming for exemplar project outcomes, targeting, water neutrality and a Biodiversity Net Gain of 20% across the Civic Quarter and Operational Net Zero for the Guildhall. The design work to date includes consideration of fabric upgrades and alignment with ENERPHIT and LETI standards, introduction of water saving measures, PV panels and enabling a future connection to the proposed city centre District Heating Network

This Council will ask the leader to write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Milliband, and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to:

1. Note the nation’s housing stock accounts for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions and is so energy inefficient that over 6m households are in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

2. Note that without increasing investment to acceleratie retrofit, the UK is missing out on multiple dividends for people, the planet and economy as retrofit:

·       Responds to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills

·       Mitigates climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions

·       Adapts to climate change by keeping homes cooler during more frequent and extreme heatwaves

·       Improves quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,

·       Improves public health and productive health life expectancy with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.

·       Creates conditions for new labour-intensive businesses to grow, build the skilled workforces and finance products needed to scale-up retrofit across the UK.

3. Request Government to give local government confidence to plan for large scale retrofit programmes and their contractors and firms in supply chains to invest in apprenticeships and skills training by:

i) Replacing the previous Government’s grant making regimes with one that is:

·       consistent and long term (instead of intermittent and short term),

·       allocated against deliverable programmes (in place of wasteful competitive bidding) and

·       flexible (in place of hard to meet ring fenced eligibility criteria)

ii) Incentivising employers to invest in workforce skills recruitment and development as a well-trained workforce is essential for delivering an effective, sustainable retrofit programme.

iii) Requiring independent regulation of retrofit work with quality assurance standards alongside robust monitoring and measurement of effectiveness and value of retrofit dividends.

iv) Facilitating investment across all tenures from registered providers, afford to pay owner occupiers and private rented sector.

4. Request Government to require in the forthcoming Future Homes Standard to require installation of solar panels, set higher ventilation and building fabric standards and progress approaches to reducing embodied carbon in new buildings, noting that because the last Government scrapped Labour’s zero-carbon home standard, 1.35m homes built since 2016 will have to be retrofitted at a cost of up to £2bn. 

 

Further more:

This Council further notes that:

1. Despite the valuable work underway locally, Cambridge's retrofit program could be significantly accelerated with proper support from central government.

2. The council's own Housing Revenue Account Budget Setting Report acknowledges that the current target of 2035 for bringing all homes to EPC 'C' standard is five years behind the government's 2030 requirement, potentially requiring £20 million in additional borrowing without committed government funding.

3. The Labour government's recent 2025 budget failed to deliver the promised Green Prosperity Plan in full, reducing the scale of investment originally pledged during the election campaign that could have helped meet this accelerated timeline.

4. The competitive bidding process for retrofit funding wastes an estimated £30,000 per application (as noted in the LGA research cited in the motion), resources that could be better spent directly on improving homes.

 

Therefore, this Council additionally resolves to:

1. Develop a more ambitious retrofit target that aims to upgrade 100% of all council-owned properties to EPC Band C or above by 2030, establishing Cambridge as a national leader in housing energy efficiency.

2. Create a Cambridge Retrofit Partnership between the Council, local businesses, and community organizations to pool resources and expertise.

3. Establish a dedicated advice service that supports both private renters and landlords - helping tenants understand their rights regarding minimum energy efficiency standards and offering support for enforcement action when needed, while also providing landlords with practical guidance on compliance pathways and available funding options.

4. Call on the government to reinstate the full funding originally promised in the Green Prosperity Plan and to introduce a specific funding stream for both social housing providers and private landlords in historic cities like Cambridge, where retrofit solutions often need to accommodate conservation requirements.

 

The amendment was lost 9 votes to 19 with 2 abstentions.

 

Councillor Clough proposed and Councillor Tong seconded the following amendment to motion (deleted text struck through and additional text underlined):

 

This council notes;

 

Residential homes are responsible for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions mainly through heating, hot water, and electricity.

 

Public sector buildings account for 17% of Cambridge’s emissions, which is a much higher proportion than the UK average of 3% from this emissions source.

 

In 2022, just over half (52%) of properties in England had Band C ratings – above the average for energy efficiency.

 

National Energy Action estimates that 6.1 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

 

LGA research in 2020 estimated that the average cost to councils in pursuing competitive grant-funding was in the region of £30,000 per application.

 

Retrofitting is a form of home improvement that brings homes up to a better standard of thermal and energy efficiency. It can include installing insulation, improving ventilation, water conservation, replacing gas and other fossil fuel heating systems with heat pumps, and adding solar PV panels and battery storage.

 

Cambridge City Council’s retrofit programme is delivering multiple dividends for people and the planet and economy:

• Responding to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills
• Mitigating climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions
• Adapting to climate change and creating resilient homes by keeping homes cooler during our more frequent and extreme heatwaves
• Improving quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,
• Improving public health with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.
• Creating conditions for new businesses to grow and build the skilled workforces needed to scale-up retrofit, across the City and elsewhere. A skilled workforce is essential for delivering an effective and sustainable retrofit programme

 

The work that is going on across the city and wider areas is synonymous with the campaign – ‘RetroFit for the Future.’ Fuel Poverty Action, ACORN, Greener Jobs Alliance, Medact and the Peace & Justice Project have teamed up to push for three key interventions in the retrofit debate:

a.    A workforce skills plan

b.    Protecting private renters

c.    Accountability for retrofit work

 

The Council’s retrofit programme comprises the following work streams:

1. Building capacities and skills to get the job done:

-        Partnership for Government energy efficiency and retrofit funding: The Council has invested in professionals who have in turn built and led the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) which as a grant application and delivery vehicle has attracted over £25m in energy efficiency and retrofit programmes. The latest 2023-2025 £8.6m programme retrofitting 494 low energy efficient homes owned by low-income households across the County. This equated to an estimated 490 tonnes of CO2 saving. This was achieved through a combination of government grant funding and funding awarded by CPCA.

-        Partnership for Government water retrofit programme: The shared planning service is leading a £5m a programme to reduce water consumption in Council homes across the City and South Cambridgeshire

-        On the supply side, CERP procurement for a pipeline of energy efficiency and retrofit works has enabled contractors to invest in their business and critically apprenticeships and skills across the full range of trades.

-        On the demand side, the Council has published a ‘how to’ retrofit guide for different housing archetypes for the construction industry and ‘able/willing to pay’ households which the CPCA is extending and promoting across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The newly developed guide will highlight homes which are “heat pump ready.”

-        The 3C Building Control service has launched a building regulations advisory service for applicants retrofitting houses and listed buildings

-        To encourage retrofit at scale and pace, some of the wider work of Cambridge City Council include collaborating on a research piece with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leaders, which is expected to be released in the Summer: “RetroFit For Future: Scaling building decarbonisation across Greater Cambridge. The aim of this piece will be to identify and detail an array of practical levers for us to encourage retrofit and the co-benefits, such as supporting the increase of green skills, supporting the growth of the local economy, and developing access to finance mechanisms for those that don’t meet grant criteria.

-        City Council has created a new “Energy and Retrofit” team which has pulled together colleagues and expertise from across the organisation who work on energy and retrofit across our council owned homes, private housing and our own corporate, commercial and community properties into a new centre of excellence. The team will seek funding and partnership opportunities to support and deliver our commitments to decarbonise homes and businesses across Cambridge with an invigorated streamlined approach.

-        CERP are currently seeking endorsement to create a retrofit strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. With no national strategy in place to look at retrofit holistically there is a requirement to support local economy, market capacity and upskilling and leverage of private finance – a clear strategic local approach and long-term vision for delivery is important to ensure these can be reconciled.

 

2. Getting the job done, retrofitting most energy inefficient Council homes

-        We have two principal projects underway. Using a mix of our own funds and central government grants we have so far retrofitted 225 homes to EPC C standard. We have recently received funding for a further 370 council homes over the next two years with support from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 (£2.26m) and the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund Wave 3 and a further 130 properties in 2027/28. The funding focuses on external wall insulation, ventilation through extractor fans and indoor air quality, but general improvements such replacing windows and doors when they are near to end of life and top-up loft insulation to 300mm are incorporated as much as possible.

-        The second project is a net-zero home pilot on Ross Street and Coldhams Grove investing up to £5m to retrofit fully 50 homes to net zero carbon standards. Monitoring and evaluating results are key to this project to inform future retrofit projects and outcomes.

 

More than half of all heat loss from these homes is through uninsulated solid brick walls and about sixth is lost through the floor and roof. The retrofit measures involve:

·        adding insulation to the external walls, floor and roofs to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.

·        replacing gas boilers and fossil fuel systems with clean heat solutions such as air source heat pumps, which typically produce about three times as much energy as they use.

·        installing new mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems. These will replace stale, moist air with fresh, filtered air and reduce heat loss. It also reduces humidity and the risk of condensation and mould.

·        installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to the roofs, to provide electricity for the homes. This will contribute to the running of the heat pumps and MVHR systems. It will also enable qualifying tenants to claim Smart Export Guarantee payments.

·        upgrading to triple-glazed windows and composite external doors to reduce heat loss, draughts and condensation. It will also provide better insulation against external noise.

·        Investing in the Grade II listed Guildhall so that it will be net zero carbon in operation

 

3.    Retrofitting private sector homes

-        Cambridge City Council acts as Lead Authority delivering government-funded capital retrofit programmes across Cambridgeshire – operating as a partnership between all the Cambridgeshire authorities including Peterborough City Council and CPCA.  Having successfully delivered over £9m of energy efficiency and clean heat measures through the Home Upgrade Grant 2, we have recently secured a further £8.5m from the Warm Homes: Local Grant to continue delivery for the next 3 years.  These grants are designed to support low income, fuel poor households who live in the most inefficient, poorly performing homes.

-        In partnership with the CPCA, the City council was awarded a further £950,000 to complete retrofit upgrades across the County.

-        Cambridge City Council also participates in the Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4) administered by Ofgem, which focusses on supporting low-income, vulnerable and fuel poor households through installation of insulation and heating measures.

-        The Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) operating under the brand of ‘Action on Energy,’ provides communities with advice on how to maximise energy efficiency within homes, save money on energy bills, cut carbon emissions and support to find accredited installers.

-        The contractor’s framework agreement for the provision of energy efficiency works is also accessible to residents across Cambridgeshire, helping homeowners who are able or willing to pay for measures to navigate the market for suppliers and find accredited contractors to do retrofit work.

-        With the framework in place, we have been able to develop the social benefits of the retrofit work. Contractors are offering their skills, volunteering and funding projects through “Match my Project.” This process is demonstrating strong community value in the stimulation of the retrofit market.

 

4.    Retrofitting non-domestic building stock

 

-        This council has set itself an ambitious target to achieve net-zero energy use by 2030 for council properties where we control the energy supply. This includes properties we occupy or manage, like community centres, as well as common areas in housing or commercial buildings we own and operate.

-        In 2023, we completed a £1.7mn project (funded by Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund) to retrofit Parkside and Abbey Pools, installing air source heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades.

-        We have recently won Salix funding for decarbonization measures for the crematorium, Brown's Field Community Centre and Trumpington Pavillion - including systems controls, insulation, lighting replacement and solar panel installation.

-        We are developing proposals for a district heat network with the University of Cambridge, city centre Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University. The aim is to create a renewable heat network in the city by 2030 to supply renewable heat and hot water around the city centre to help decarbonize buildings. This project is currently in the detailed design and business case development phase. The Civic Quarter redevelopment will upgrade the Guildhall and Corn Exchange. We are aiming for exemplar project outcomes, targeting, water neutrality and a Biodiversity Net Gain of 20% across the Civic Quarter and Operational Net Zero for the Guildhall. The design work to date includes consideration of fabric upgrades and alignment with ENERPHIT and LETI standards, introduction of water saving measures, PV panels and enabling a future connection to the proposed city centre District Heating Network

 

This Council believes that social justice and climate justice are inextricably linked. In the current cost of living crisis and given the limited availability of funding and skilled workers, the Council is minded to use its funds to prioritise partial retrofit to low income residents’ homes so that the benefits can be shared as fairly as possible. This is exemplified by the Ditton Fields scheme.

 

This Council will ask the leader to write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Milliband, and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to:

1. Note the nation’s housing stock accounts for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions and is so energy inefficient that over 6m households are in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

2. Note that without increasing investment to acceleratie retrofit, the UK is missing out on multiple dividends for people, the planet and economy as retrofit:

·       Responds to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills

·       Mitigates climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions

·       Adapts to climate change by keeping homes cooler during more frequent and extreme heatwaves

·       Improves quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,

·       Improves public health and productive health life expectancy with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.

·       Creates conditions for new labour-intensive businesses to grow, build the skilled workforces and finance products needed to scale-up retrofit across the UK.

 

3. Request Government to give local government confidence to plan for large scale retrofit programmes and their contractors and firms in supply chains to invest in apprenticeships and skills training by:

i) Replacing the previous Government’s grant making regimes with one that is:

·       consistent and long term (instead of intermittent and short term),

·       allocated against deliverable programmes (in place of wasteful competitive bidding) and

·       flexible (in place of hard to meet ring fenced eligibility criteria)

ii) Incentivising employers to invest in workforce skills recruitment and development as a well-trained workforce is essential for delivering an effective, sustainable retrofit programme.

iii) Requiring independent regulation of retrofit work with quality assurance standards alongside robust monitoring and measurement of effectiveness and value of retrofit dividends.

iv) Facilitating investment across all tenures from registered providers, afford to pay owner occupiers and private rented sector.

4. Request Government to require in the forthcoming Future Homes Standard to require installation of solar panels, set higher ventilation and building fabric standards and progress approaches to reducing embodied carbon in new buildings, noting that because the last Government scrapped Labour’s zero-carbon home standard, 1.35m homes built since 2016 will have to be retrofitted at a cost of up to £2bn. 

 

The amendment was lost by 5 votes to 26.

 

Resolved (by 26 votes to 0 with 5 abstentions) that:

 

This council notes;

 

Residential homes are responsible for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions mainly through heating, hot water, and electricity.

Public sector buildings account for 17% of Cambridge’s emissions, which is a much higher proportion than the UK average of 3% from this emissions source.

 

In 2022, just over half (52%) of properties in England had Band C ratings – above the average for energy efficiency.

 

National Energy Action estimates that 6.1 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

 

LGA research in 2020 estimated that the average cost to councils in pursuing competitive grant-funding was in the region of £30,000 per application.

 

Retrofitting is a form of home improvement that brings homes up to a better standard of thermal and energy efficiency. It can include installing insulation, improving ventilation, water conservation, replacing gas and other fossil fuel heating systems with heat pumps, and adding solar PV panels and battery storage.

 

Cambridge City Council’s retrofit programme is delivering multiple dividends for people and the planet and economy:

• Responding to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills
• Mitigating climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions
• Adapting to climate change and creating resilient homes by keeping homes cooler during our more frequent and extreme heatwaves
• Improving quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,
• Improving public health with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.
• Creating conditions for new businesses to grow and build the skilled workforces needed to scale-up retrofit, across the City and elsewhere. A skilled workforce is essential for delivering an effective and sustainable retrofit programme

 

The work that is going on across the city and wider areas is synonymous with the campaign – ‘RetroFit for the Future.’ Fuel Poverty Action, ACORN, Greener Jobs Alliance, Medact and the Peace & Justice Project have teamed up to push for three key interventions in the retrofit debate:

a.    A workforce skills plan

b.    Protecting private renters

c.    Accountability for retrofit work

 

The Council’s retrofit programme comprises the following work streams:

1. Building capacities and skills to get the job done:

-        Partnership for Government energy efficiency and retrofit funding: The Council has invested in professionals who have in turn built and led the Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) which as a grant application and delivery vehicle has attracted over £25m in energy efficiency and retrofit programmes. The latest 2023-2025 £8.6m programme retrofitting 494 low energy efficient homes owned by low-income households across the County. This equated to an estimated 490 tonnes of CO2 saving. This was achieved through a combination of government grant funding and funding awarded by CPCA.

-        Partnership for Government water retrofit programme: The shared planning service is leading a £5m a programme to reduce water consumption in Council homes across the City and South Cambridgeshire

-        On the supply side, CERP procurement for a pipeline of energy efficiency and retrofit works has enabled contractors to invest in their business and critically apprenticeships and skills across the full range of trades.

-        On the demand side, the Council has published a ‘how to’ retrofit guide for different housing archetypes for the construction industry and ‘able/willing to pay’ households which the CPCA is extending and promoting across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The newly developed guide will highlight homes which are “heat pump ready.”

-        The 3C Building Control service has launched a building regulations advisory service for applicants retrofitting houses and listed buildings

-        To encourage retrofit at scale and pace, some of the wider work of Cambridge City Council include collaborating on a research piece with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leaders, which is expected to be released in the Summer: “RetroFit For Future: Scaling building decarbonisation across Greater Cambridge. The aim of this piece will be to identify and detail an array of practical levers for us to encourage retrofit and the co-benefits, such as supporting the increase of green skills, supporting the growth of the local economy, and developing access to finance mechanisms for those that don’t meet grant criteria.

-        City Council has created a new “Energy and Retrofit” team which has pulled together colleagues and expertise from across the organisation who work on energy and retrofit across our council owned homes, private housing and our own corporate, commercial and community properties into a new centre of excellence. The team will seek funding and partnership opportunities to support and deliver our commitments to decarbonise homes and businesses across Cambridge with an invigorated streamlined approach.

-        CERP are currently seeking endorsement to create a retrofit strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. With no national strategy in place to look at retrofit holistically there is a requirement to support local economy, market capacity and upskilling and leverage of private finance – a clear strategic local approach and long-term vision for delivery is important to ensure these can be reconciled.

 

2. Getting the job done, retrofitting most energy inefficient Council homes

-        We have two principal projects underway. Using a mix of our own funds and central government grants we have so far retrofitted 225 homes to EPC C standard. We have recently received funding for a further 370 council homes over the next two years with support from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 (£2.26m) and the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund Wave 3 and a further 130 properties in 2027/28. The funding focuses on external wall insulation, ventilation through extractor fans and indoor air quality, but general improvements such replacing windows and doors when they are near to end of life and top-up loft insulation to 300mm are incorporated as much as possible.

-        The second project is a net-zero home pilot on Ross Street and Coldhams Grove investing up to £5m to retrofit fully 50 homes to net zero carbon standards. Monitoring and evaluating results are key to this project to inform future retrofit projects and outcomes.

 

More than half of all heat loss from these homes is through uninsulated solid brick walls and about sixth is lost through the floor and roof. The retrofit measures involve:

·        adding insulation to the external walls, floor and roofs to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.

·        replacing gas boilers and fossil fuel systems with clean heat solutions such as air source heat pumps, which typically produce about three times as much energy as they use.

·        installing new mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems. These will replace stale, moist air with fresh, filtered air and reduce heat loss. It also reduces humidity and the risk of condensation and mould.

·        installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to the roofs, to provide electricity for the homes. This will contribute to the running of the heat pumps and MVHR systems. It will also enable qualifying tenants to claim Smart Export Guarantee payments.

·        upgrading to triple-glazed windows and composite external doors to reduce heat loss, draughts and condensation. It will also provide better insulation against external noise.

·        Investing in the Grade II listed Guildhall so that it will be net zero carbon in operation

 

3.    Retrofitting private sector homes

 

-        Cambridge City Council acts as Lead Authority delivering government-funded capital retrofit programmes across Cambridgeshire – operating as a partnership between all the Cambridgeshire authorities including Peterborough City Council and CPCA.  Having successfully delivered over £9m of energy efficiency and clean heat measures through the Home Upgrade Grant 2, we have recently secured a further £8.5m from the Warm Homes: Local Grant to continue delivery for the next 3 years.  These grants are designed to support low income, fuel poor households who live in the most inefficient, poorly performing homes.

-        In partnership with the CPCA, the City council was awarded a further £950,000 to complete retrofit upgrades across the County.

-        Cambridge City Council also participates in the Energy Company Obligation (ECO 4) administered by Ofgem, which focusses on supporting low-income, vulnerable and fuel poor households through installation of insulation and heating measures.

-        The Cambridgeshire Energy Retrofit Partnership (CERP) operating under the brand of ‘Action on Energy,’ provides communities with advice on how to maximise energy efficiency within homes, save money on energy bills, cut carbon emissions and support to find accredited installers.

-        The contractor’s framework agreement for the provision of energy efficiency works is also accessible to residents across Cambridgeshire, helping homeowners who are able or willing to pay for measures to navigate the market for suppliers and find accredited contractors to do retrofit work.

-        With the framework in place, we have been able to develop the social benefits of the retrofit work. Contractors are offering their skills, volunteering and funding projects through “Match my Project.” This process is demonstrating strong community value in the stimulation of the retrofit market.

 

4.    Retrofitting non-domestic building stock

 

-        This council has set itself an ambitious target to achieve net-zero energy use by 2030 for council properties where we control the energy supply. This includes properties we occupy or manage, like community centres, as well as common areas in housing or commercial buildings we own and operate.

-        In 2023, we completed a £1.7mn project (funded by Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund) to retrofit Parkside and Abbey Pools, installing air source heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades.

-        We have recently won Salix funding for decarbonization measures for the crematorium, Brown's Field Community Centre and Trumpington Pavillion - including systems controls, insulation, lighting replacement and solar panel installation.

-        We are developing proposals for a district heat network with the University of Cambridge, city centre Colleges and Anglia Ruskin University. The aim is to create a renewable heat network in the city by 2030 to supply renewable heat and hot water around the city centre to help decarbonize buildings. This project is currently in the detailed design and business case development phase.

-        The Civic Quarter redevelopment will upgrade the Guildhall and Corn Exchange. We are aiming for exemplar project outcomes, targeting, water neutrality and a Biodiversity Net Gain of 20% across the Civic Quarter and Operational Net Zero for the Guildhall. The design work to date includes consideration of fabric upgrades and alignment with ENERPHIT and LETI standards, introduction of water saving measures, PV panels and enabling a future connection to the proposed city centre District Heating Network

 

This Council will ask the leader to write to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Milliband, and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to:

1. Note the nation’s housing stock accounts for almost 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions and is so energy inefficient that over 6m households are in fuel poverty, unable to afford to heat their homes to the temperature needed to keep warm and healthy.

2. Note that without increasing investment to accelerate retrofit, the UK is missing out on multiple dividends for people, the planet and economy as retrofit:

·       Responds to the cost-of-living crisis through lower energy bills

·       Mitigates climate change through lower fossil fuel emissions

·       Adapts to climate change by keeping homes cooler during more frequent and extreme heatwaves

·       Improves quality of life through consistent and comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year,

·       Improves public health and productive health life expectancy with better ventilation and indoor air quality protecting residents from damp, condensation and mould associated asthma and bronchial illnesses.

·       Creates conditions for new labour-intensive businesses to grow, build the skilled workforces and finance products needed to scale-up retrofit across the UK.

3. Request Government to give local government confidence to plan for large scale retrofit programmes and their contractors and firms in supply chains to invest in apprenticeships and skills training by:

i) Replacing the previous Government’s grant making regimes with one that is:

·       consistent and long term (instead of intermittent and short term),

·       allocated against deliverable programmes (in place of wasteful competitive bidding) and

·       flexible (in place of hard to meet ring fenced eligibility criteria)

ii) Incentivising employers to invest in workforce skills recruitment and development as a well-trained workforce is essential for delivering an effective, sustainable retrofit programme.

iii) Requiring independent regulation of retrofit work with quality assurance standards alongside robust monitoring and measurement of effectiveness and value of retrofit dividends.

iv) Facilitating investment across all tenures from registered providers, afford to pay owner occupiers and private rented sector.

4. Request Government to require in the forthcoming Future Homes Standard to require installation of solar panels, set higher ventilation and building fabric standards and progress approaches to reducing embodied carbon in new buildings, noting that because the last Government scrapped Labour’s zero-carbon home standard, 1.35m homes built since 2016 will have to be retrofitted at a cost of up to £2bn.