Councils are calling for a new local approach after a flagship energy efficiency scheme supported just 60,000 homes in Britain in 2022 – down from almost half a million in 2013.
The LGA said the failure to match 2013 installation levels in the following years had cost households £2 billion in lost lifetime energy bill savings.
The LGA’s analysis also found that, on current trends, 2.4 million fuel-poor homes would be left without help from the scheme by 2030, the target date for ending fuel poverty.
It would also take 50 years to deliver loft insulations to all fuel-poor homes needing them, and almost 60 years to deliver wall insulation improvements, with the net-zero target just 27 years away, it said.
Councils have called for “accelerated action” to retrofit all social and fuel-poor homes, arguing that schemes should be devolved to councils to locally target projects to insulate homes and support businesses.
The LGA has proposed focusing on tackling fuel poverty as the foundation for cutting emissions across all homes and buildings, as well as tackling the cost of living.
Cllr Linda Taylor, LGA Environment Spokesperson, said: “Retrofitting more homes is a practical, sustainable and economically responsible solution to raise housing standards and cut bills.
“The complexity of supporting retrofitting in our 51 cities, 935 towns and 6,000 villages cannot be managed from a Whitehall desk, and the national schemes are struggling.
“It is now time to shift to a locally led approach, which would mean councils can target the homes that need the support most, while working with local businesses to build skills and growth.”