Councils to Train Workers for Green Home Upgrades

0:00On February 26, this episode is brought to you by NordVPN, Fast, Reliable Online Privacy, links in the episode description. Here's the latest in UK news. A new report from the Commonwealth think tank calls for England's councils to train their own workers to install insulation and drafty homes. The idea is to create home improvement corporations that let local governments lead low-carbon upgrades street-by-street, starting in the poorest. Neighborhoods. This would make better use of the government's 15-billion-pound warm homes plan over the next three years, which aims to add insulation, heat, pumps, and solar panels to cut bills and emissions. Past efforts have fallen short, with private contractors handling most of the work. A national audit found that 98% of homes with external wall insulation from earlier schemes needed repairs and over a quarter with. Internal insulation did too. Councils often struggle with time-consuming bids for funding, leading to patchy results and even calls for fraud probes into

1:02those failed programs. Experts say shifting to in-house teams would build skills for the 140,000 workers needed long-term. Lead author Madeleine Pocker argues the public sector must drive this to boost standards and oversight, moving away from household by household. Applications to opt-out street programs that include repairs. Local leaders agree more control is key. In leads, the whole-back area saw huge success with 90% resident uptake when the council combine insulation and fixes. A network of climate-focused councils praises the warm homes, plan for giving them a bigger role, but one steady, non-competitive funding to scale up. The Energy Department welcomed street-wide upgrades and has launched a new agency for better consumer advice and quality work. With 30 such corporations across England, this approach could finally deliver reliable warmth to deprived communities while keeping benefits. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local. Local.