Ministers urged to abandon ‘short-sighted’ plans to cut heat pump grants

THE government was urged today to ditch plans to cut the heat pump subsidy scheme to funnel money into arms. At present, the boiler upgrade scheme offers households grants of up to £9,000 to help with the costs of installing a heat pump in an initial design to both kick-start the industry and drive down carbon emissions. The grants helped drive a 56 per cent jump in heat pump installations in 2024 and a further 7 per cent last year. With fuel prices soaring amid US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wars in the Middle East, a shift away from gas-dependent home boilers could also see lower bills. But ahead of this month’s budget, ministers are understood to be considering scrapping the scheme to plough cash into weapons. Greenpeace UK head of climate Mel Evans said: “Making Britain more dependent on the oil and gas imports fuelling armed conflicts across the globe will only undermine our national security. “Support for heat pumps is growing a vital industry with a long-term future, while cutting emissions, fuel imports and energy bills. “When there are billions in windfall profits piling up in the accounts of the oil majors behind our economic misery, why would the government cut funds benefiting ordinary families instead of taxing polluters fairly?” Jess Ralston, energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, cited figures showing UK gas prices have risen to levels last seen in December 2022, during the fallout from the 2022 energy crisis. She said: “At exactly the moment that our dependency on gas is driving up our bills and harming our economy, reports suggest government support for heat pumps could be cut. “That risks households being unable to switch from gas boilers, meaning the UK is even more subject to the volatile global gas markets that have caused repeated bill crises. “Heat pumps are a matter of national security as gas will increasingly be imported from the likes of Trump as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline.” The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Savings for the defence investment plan are a small part of [the department’s] overall budget, which saw a significant uplift at the spending review. “We will set out how we will fund essential investment in our national security this autumn.” The IMF’s stark warning to the Chancellor as global instability and war is set to further drive prices up ‘After five years of profiting from global turmoil it’s time the banks paid their fair share and helped shield families from soaring bills’