The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA) requires all local authorities (LAs) in England to submit reports to the Secretary of State of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) demonstrating what energy conservation measures they have adopted to improve the energy performance of residential accommodation within that LA’s area. This covers measures to improve properties in the owner-occupier, private rented sector, and social rented sector.
Introductory questions
- Name of Local Authority: Oxford City Council
- Type of Local Authority: Lower-tier Local Government Authority
- Name, job title and email address of official submitting report: Emily Green, Energy Efficiency Officer, egreen2@oxford.gov.uk
Headline and overview
Q1. Does your Local Authority have a current strategy on carbon reduction and/or energy efficiency for domestic properties?
Yes.
Q2. If yes, please provide a link
Oxford City Council’s relevant strategies:
- Carbon Management Plan, Zero Carbon Oxford 2021-2030: Extensive plan for reducing the Council’s carbon emissions from its own assets. Includes behavioural change, retrofit and upgrade measures in plans for the Council’s housing stock and other buildings
- Housing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy (HHSRS) and associated action plan contain actions relating to improving energy efficiency for domestic properties both council housing and private sector housing.
- Zero Carbon Oxfordshire Partnership (ZCOP) Action Plan - this plan sets out priorities for achieving net zero in Oxford by 2040. It includes a roadmap for domestic retrofit in Oxford
- Oxford Local Plan 2036: Policy RE1 “Sustainable Construction and Design” influences new build in Oxford, with strict requirements for energy efficiency, water, heat and carbon reduction. An Energy Statement is required with planning applications to demonstrate compliance. The Local Plan also details requirements and plans for retrofit, monitoring and required standards such as BREEAM
Q3. If no, are you planning to develop one, and in what timeframe?
Not applicable.
Q4. In the last 2 years, what has been the cost (or estimated cost) of your energy efficiency and/or carbon reduction initiatives, schemes and services? Please consider the total cost of running and administering the scheme(s). Please input 0 if no schemes or initiatives has been implemented.
- Energy Advice Officer posts 1 x FTE at £35,000
- Energy Advice Officer marketing materials budget £5,000
- MEES Enforcement officer time 1 x FTE £35,000
- MEES other costs, marketing £2,000
- New build housing (embedded in the councils Local Plan delivery and enforcement functions)
- Planning advice and energy efficiency officer cost 0.5 x £35,000
- SHDF – £913,000, Sustainable Warmth £1.7million via GSENZH
- Better Housing Better Health e.g., £10,000/annum
- Home Improvement Agency e.g., £10,000/annum
- New build OCC social housing (OXPlace) (embedded in the cost of the Council’s core Housing function)
Q5. Which, if any, of the following outcomes have been achieved through your energy efficiency and/or carbon initiatives, schemes and services? Please select all that apply.
- Energy savings: Yes
- Carbon savings: Yes
- Job creation: Yes
- Increased business competitiveness: Yes
- Alleviation of fuel poverty: Yes
- Improved health outcomes: Yes
Consumer Advice and Information
Q6. Do you provide or promote any advisory services to consumers on how to save energy?
Yes.
Q7. If yes, please select all that apply;
- Local Authority website: Yes
- Local advisory service: Yes
- ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ (formerly Simple Energy Advice) gov.uk no
- ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ gov.uk phoneline
- Leaflets
- Social media
- Local energy hubs
- Other- please specify
- Better Housing Better Health, Energy advice volunteers at community centres, WHD advice
Local Retrofit Supply Chain
Q8. Have you conducted any assessment or analysis to understand the existing capacity in your local supply chain to support the decarbonisation of buildings by 2050?
Yes.
Q9. If you answered yes to question 8, please summarise any specific bottlenecks (or provide a link if this information has been published).
A preliminary assessment utilising local stakeholder information was undertaken as part of a wider project looking at feasibility of future one-stop shop for retrofit in Oxfordshire. The assessment showed (in a qualitative way) that the current supply chain does not have the capacity required - but we still do not know what the capacity gap is and it would need more work to quantify. The report is not publicly available.
Non-technical barriers (or bottlenecks) identified as part of the project included:
- Financial
- Supply chain
- Capability and skills
- Perception, engagement and behaviour
- Policy, regulation and standards
- Data
Q10. Which, if any, of the following actions are you taking to upskill and/or grow your local retrofit installer supply chain? Please select all that apply
- Supporting training provision at local training providers: Yes
- Supporting FE colleges to improve facilities or train trainers or otherwise enable better delivery of retrofit training. Yes
- Providing installer networking opportunities or other business support for growing Companies: Yes
- Careers advice or similar involving local businesses doing schools outreach to encourage young people into the sector: Yes
- None of the above
- Other (please state) - ODS have been awarded 100 SHDF properties to develop Retrofit skills to capacity build local skills. We are using Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) for a Green Skills Officer to provide advice and grants to SMEs for green skills development.
Q11. Do you provide advice for your residents and small businesses about how to pick an installer business or how to avoid being mis-sold inappropriate improvements?
Yes – we have advice on our website.
Q12. Has there been any Trading Standards activity against energy efficiency or home retrofit businesses in your area due to mis-selling or otherwise poorly advising consumers about retrofit measures?
Yes – there has been action taken on a regular basis.
Q13. If you received funding under Local Authority Delivery, Home Upgrade Grant or Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, did availability of PAS 2030:2019 or MCS certified and TrustMark registered supply chain affect your ability to deliver?
No.
Social Housing Decarbonisation
Q16. Did you apply to the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2.1?
Yes, and successful in securing funding.
Q17. Which, if any, of the following motivated you to apply for SHDF Wave 2.1? Please select all that apply.
- Financial support for retrofit
- Tenant needs
- Expectations of future energy performance regulations
- Other – Council’s EPC C target
Q18. Which, if any, of the following barriers prevented you from applying to SHDF Wave 2.1? n/a for this round however for future rounds:
- Application window too short
- Not enough capability
- Other – Administrative burden of grant funding
Q19, Have you carried out/planned to carry out any retrofit work in absence of SHDF funding?
Yes.
Q20. If yes, how is this funded/how would this be funded?
Internal funding.
Q21. If no, what is/are the main reason(s) for not planning to carry out any retrofit work?
Not applicable.
Q22. How many of your social housing partners are you aware applied for the SHDF?
Unknown.
Domestic Private Rented Sector (PRS) Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Regulations
Q23. Do you enforce the PRS MEES Regulations in domestic tenancies?
Yes.
Q24. Do you use the PRS MEES Exemption Register?
Yes.
Q25. Are you aware of the PRS MEES draft toolkit for supporting local authorities?
Yes, but haven’t used it.
Q26. In the past 2 years, how many domestic private rented properties have you engaged with in respect to enforcement of the PRS MEES Regulations?
Our landlord forum in November 2023 was dedicated to energy efficiency including MEES with around 100 attendees both landlords and agents. Following the forum, a newsletter was sent to all subscribers. Newsletters are sent twice annually and contain information around improving energy efficiency. There are approximately 1,300 subscribers to the newsletters, many are agents. Around half of our licensed property stock is managed by agents, in total we have almost 16,000 licensed properties though HMO and Selective Licensing so estimate our newsletters and engagement on PRS MEES will reach over 8,000 properties.
Q27. In the past 2 years, how many domestic private rented properties have you found to be non-compliant?
4.
Q28. In the last 2 years, how many non-compliant properties have been improved to EPC Band E after you have engaged with them?
4.
Q29. How many compliance notices have you issued in the past 2 years for non-compliance of the PRS MEES Regulations?
0.
Green Home Finance
Q30. What programmes, if any, do you have to promote domestic energy efficiency improvements for those who are able to pay? Please provide links to any relevant online materials.
The Council Website provides information on all retrofit grant schemes available to residents: Retrofitting your home – Oxford City Council.
Q31. Do you take any steps to raise awareness of the availability of private financing options (such as green mortgages) to fund retrofit works?
No, but we have plans to do this in the future.
Q32. Do you refer homeowners interested in energy efficiency to retail lenders offering green finance products?
No, but we have plans to do this in the future.
Fuel Poverty
Q33. Does your Local Authority have a Fuel Poverty Strategy?
No but embedded in other strategies.
Q34. How do you identify fuel poor households? Please select all that apply and provide additional information if possible.
- Used local data sets on energy efficiency/housing: YES (PARITY PROJECTS)
- Used local data sets on household income: YES (Department for Work and Pensions data)
- Campaigns to encourage potential households to reach out: YES (on social media, through mail-outs, through fliers in public locations, and through public events)
- Other
Q35. What actions are you taking to reduce fuel poverty in your area? Please select all that apply and provide additional information if possible.
- Delivery of government wide schemes such as the Home Upgrade Grant or Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Yes
- Actions to increase financial support to low income or vulnerable households.
- Other - Better Housing Better Health
Q36. Does fuel poverty interlink with your local authority’s overall Carbon Reduction Strategy?
Yes.
If yes, please can you explain how it does this?
We are promoting grant funding as a means to encourage retrofit and reduce fuel poverty. We are targeting able to pay and those able to access funds for retrofit. In Oxford City Council, 59% of emissions come from buildings, with 25% arising from residential buildings. The Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and has outlined its desire in the Zero Carbon Oxford Roadmap/Zero Carbon Oxford Action Plan to be Net Zero as a Council by 2030 and Net Zero as a city by 2040.
In Oxford City, 49.3% of properties are privately rented, a significantly higher proportion than the national average of 20% between 2016–18. Of all properties in Oxford City Council, 11% are in fuel poverty - the majority of these are in south and east Oxford. Therefore, reducing fuel poverty across the city has the potential to significantly decrease emissions in line with the Zero Carbon Action Plan.
Local Authority Delivery
Q38. Does your local authority have access to good quality housing data for on-gas properties?
Yes.
Home Upgrade Grant
Q41. Does your local authority have access to good quality housing data for off-gas properties?
Yes, primarily from Parity Projects.
Q42. If no, please specify what is lacking.
The Energy Company Obligation (ECO).
Q43. Did your local authority have a published Statement of Intent (SoI) for ECO flexibility eligibility under ECO3, during 2022?
Yes.
Please answer the following questions to help us to understand LA Flex delivery in more detail during the course of 2022:
Q44. How many declarations were issued for low-income vulnerable households during ECO3?
Data not available for 2022.
Q45. How many declarations were issued for Fuel Poor households under ECO3?
Q46. How many declarations were issued for in-fill under ECO3?
Q47. What was the highest income cap published in your SoI?
Q48. If you have used an income over £30k gross, what reason did you give?
Q49. Did you charge for declarations to be signed?
No.
Q 50. If so, please state how much and how you decided on this figure.
Q51. ECO4 commenced in July 2022, has your local authority published a Statement of Intent (SoI) for ECO flexibility eligibility under ECO4?
Yes.
Q52. If ‘No’ are there any specific barriers preventing you, from publishing and participating in the scheme?
Q53a. Do you directly engage with energy suppliers either for ECO Flex (or other domestic energy efficiency schemes?
No - the National Energy Foundation (NEF) have their own supplier list and directly communicate with the suppliers.
Q54b. If yes, please provide the name of the scheme and indicate whether this is an LA, Supplier, DESNZ or other organisational run scheme (please specify)
Q55. Which route(s) do you envisage submitting referrals through under ECO4 Flex? Select all that apply.
- All four routes available: Yes
- Route 1
- Route 2
- Route 3
- Route 4
Smart Metering
The following questions refer to smart metering advice. Please provide any additional details where possible.
Q56a. Do you provide smart metering advice when implementing energy efficiency improvements (including through grant schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation and the Home Upgrade Grant) in residential accommodation?
Yes.
Q57b. If no, please explain why not, and what plans will be put in place to implement this.
Q58a. Do you encourage landlords to promote smart meter uptake, e.g., landlord licencing schemes.
Yes.
Q59b. If no, please explain why not, and what plans will be put in place to implement this.
Q60a. Do you arrange for smart meters to be installed by energy suppliers in vacant social housing premises?
No.
Q61b. If no, please explain why not, and what plans will be put in place to implement this.
We don’t fit smart meters during tenancy voids. the turn around period is too short so the appointments offered by the supplier are normally after the property would have been let to a new tenant and our energy account for the property closed. the other issues is the supplier wants a person present at the property and we don’t have the resources to have someone waiting at a property for 4 hours in at the appointment window.
