Warm Homes Fund must target charities or risk losing community services
Nottingham Mencap have seen energy bills decrease 82 per cent since installing solar panels
Charity electricity bills have risen by 12 per cent since the start of the Iran war, and decisions on the £3.3bn Warm Homes Fund could make or break struggling community spaces
Analysis by Cornwall Insight reveals that electricity costs for charities have surged 12 per cent in just four months and will not return to pre-war levels for the rest of the decade1.
Jacob Briggs, Energy Users Lead at Cornwall Insight, says: “The burden is falling on some of the most resource constrained organisations in the country and, without intervention, charities and community groups could face years of sustained high electricity costs”.
The findings come as Ministers weigh how to spend £3.3bn of unallocated funding in the Warm Homes Plan. Charity funder Social Investment Business (SIB) is calling for a portion to be ring-fenced for community buildings at the heart of the most deprived areas.
These spaces underpin Labour’s missions for national renewal, delivering youth work, neighbourhood health, nurseries, hospice care and food banks. Yet a chronic lack of investment has left them in a poor state and over-exposed to volatile energy markets: over the past five years community buildings have improved energy efficiency at half the rate of other non-domestic buildings such as shops and offices1.
Genevieve Maitland Hudson, Deputy Chief Executive at SIB, said the Warm Homes Fund presented a "unique opportunity" to cut bills in the buildings at the heart of communities, but warned it "must be grasped with urgency" and would only work with targeted support.
The Warm Welcome Campaign, a network of nearly 6,000 community spaces, reinforce the need to act quickly. More than one in five (23 per cent) of their warm spaces are already struggling to pay energy bills while more than half (53 per cent) are worried about the future impact of further bill increases1.
David Barclay, Campaign Director at Warm Welcome Campaign, added: “As energy bills continue to rise, the window for intervention is narrowing. Without action, we risk losing the services and spaces communities depend on, and which cannot easily be rebuilt.”
Change is possible
SIB, the non-profit funder and social investor, is already investing £15m to strengthen the energy resilience of charities, demonstrating what targeted support from the Warm Homes Fund could achieve at scale.
Higher Folds Community Centre and Nursery in Leigh, Greater Manchester, provides childcare, work-related training, and an in-house grocery shop to help residents access affordable food. It remains a trusted hub for local families, supporting both day-to-day needs and longer-term wellbeing. Before securing SIB’s support, manager David Rainford recalls “We were in big trouble. If costs stayed that high, we were going to be out of business”. Following the installation of rooftop solar, he adds “we’re now looking at saving just over £1,000 per month”.
Nottingham Mencap have supported people with learning disabilities in their community for over 70 years. Following SIB’s investment for solar panels and a battery system, CEO Danny Hewis said, “Since the work has been completed, we’ve seen an 82% decrease in our energy bills”.
Charities and community organisations operate on marginal budgets in some of the least energy efficient buildings in England. Without intervention, sustained high energy costs pose a direct threat to frontline services.
A dedicated allocation from the Warm Homes Fund – designed as repayable investment, not grant funding – could unlock a radical overhaul to the buildings that anchor communities, safeguard the future of their services, and strengthen the foundations for national and local renewal.
References
- https://www.sibgroup.org.uk/rising-charity-energy-costs-locked-in-for-rest-of-the-decade/
