Extra funding for social homes in Wales

The Welsh Government has announced an additional £14.1 million for energy efficiency improvements for social housing.

The funding boost brings total investment in the Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) to £107.1 million this year.

Since 2020, the programme has provided 31,000 energy efficiency upgrades to social homes across Wales.

The money can be spent on improvements like insulation, efficient heating systems and renewable energy installations in social housing.

Social landlords working through the programme also monitor health indicators such as mould and moisture levels, enabling them to provide targeted advice and support to vulnerable tenants.

Cabinet secretary Jayne Bryant visited a retrofitted sheltered scheme run by Hedyn at Tredegar, to see the programme's impact.

She said: "The Welsh Government has set ambitious standards for new and existing social housing to ensure homes are safe, comfortable, healthy and low carbon.

"This additional ORP funding demonstrates our commitment to help social landlords like Hedyn to meet these standards, whilst tackling fuel poverty and climate change, and supporting the creation of green jobs."

Whilst there, Bryant met with John Nicholls whose annual energy costs have fallen since upgrades were made to his home.

Mr Nicholls said: "I've lived in this flat for 30 years and it is the best it has ever been. It's fantastic now. It’s warm and I can keep an eye on it all the time.

"If I am out, I just use the app on my phone to switch the heating on before I get home."