Chancellor announces £5,000 'green' giveaway for home owners and landlords

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced thousands of pounds in green giveaways for Brits in his ‘summer statement’ on Wednesday, part of the government’s plans to get the economy moving again.

Sunak announced a new Green Homes Grant scheme that will allow people to apply for up to £5,000 ($6,276) to fund green renovations on their homes. The cash can be used to fund insulation, eco-friendly boilers, and other energy efficient improvements.

The government will pay at least two thirds of the costs of renovations. The poorest households can claim grants of up to £10,000 to cover the full costs.

The programme forms part of a wider “green” recovery push by the Chancellor, which will also see £1bn spent on improving the energy efficiency of public buildings and social housing.

Sunak called it a “£3bn green jobs plan to save money, cut carbon, and create job.”

“Taken together, we expect these measures to make over 650,000 homes more energy efficient, save households up to £300 a year on bill, cut carbon by more than half a megaton per year, equivalent to taking 270,000 cars off the road, and most importantly right now, support around 140,000 green jobs,” Sunak said.

Talking about the grant scheme on Tuesday, Business Secretary Alok Sharma told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Ultimately this is about providing and supporting jobs.

“This is tradespeople, this is builders, plumbers, and ultimately this is a policy which is about putting money into people’s pockets – people will save hundreds of pounds a year in terms of lower energy costs.

“It is good for jobs and, of course, ultimately it is also very good for the environment.”

Sunak set out measures to protect and create millions of jobs in his statement on Wednesday, including one-off bonuses of £1,000 for employers who bring back furloughed staff.