Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Regeneration and the Director of Regeneration and Culture submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to seek approval for the acceptance of the Local Authority Delivery 2 funding award and the procurement of EON as the Council’s delivery partner, if the application was successful.

The Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Phase 2 (LAD2) Scheme aimed to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income households, help to reduce fuel poverty, phase out high carbon fossil fuel heating and deliver progress towards the UK’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

Phase 2 comprised £300m allocated through Local Energy Hubs for regional delivery up to December 2021. The North East Yorkshire and Humber Energy Hub had secured £51.95m in LAD2 funding from the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Middlesbrough Council had applied for the full £1,091,161 allocation which BEIS had calculated based on Middlesbrough’s fuel poverty figures. That allocation included a maximum 11% allocation for the costs of running the scheme of £108,133.

Middlesbrough Council had been working with the 4 other Tees Valley authorities and all 5 were in discussions with EON to negotiate a contract to deliver the majority of the scheme.

LAD2 would be mainly aimed at homeowners in fuel poverty.

OPTIONS

The alternative would be to not accept the LAD 2 funding of £1,091,161 if the application was successful. The money would have then been offered to other local authorities who felt able to expand their schemes. That would have meant the least energy efficient residential properties in Middlesbrough not receiving energy improvement works, resulting in households remaining in fuel poverty.

ORDERED

That the Local Authority Delivery 2 funding award be accepted and EON be procured as the Council's delivery partner, if the application was successful.

REASON

Due to tight timescales for delivery and lack of internal capacity, appointing a delivery partner was the only way to ensure the Council met the requirements of the grant and avoided any clawback of funding. The 5 Tees Valley local authorities had worked collaboratively with Operational Leads, Procurement, Finance and Legal to ensure the proposed procurement route was compliant with Standing Orders.

The application for LAD2 funding and the delivery of a scheme, if successful, had not been the subject of the Overview and Scrutiny Board or a Scrutiny Panel.