Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

Infrastructure and Construction

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: £2.3bn
Published schedule: 09/09/2020 – 31/03/2030
NISTA delivery confidence: AMBER
Senior responsible owner: Selvin Brown

What the project is for

The SHDF capital programme, which includes new projects delivering as the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund since April 2025, is designed to improve the energy performance of social housing through targeted investment and collaborative engagement with social housing landlords, funding the installation of energy efficiency measures and low-carbon technologies in social homes. SHDF began delivery in 2021 through the SHDF Demonstrator, and the latest project, WH:SHF Wave 3, begun in Spring 2025.

Departmental delivery commentary

Compared to financial year 24/25, the NISTA/SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating at 25/26 remains at Amber. This reflects sustained delivery progress across the programme, effective management of previously identified risks, and increased confidence in the programme’s ability to deliver its objectives within agreed parameters. In particular, the programme successfully launched a new scheme (Wave 3) and is forecasting to have delivered nearly all of its capital budget for 25/26. The overall programme reached a notable milestone, with the 100,000th energy efficiency measure installed during 25/26, demonstrating the scale and impact of the scheme to date. Wave 2 concluded delivery on the majority of projects, with residual activity focused on formal closure, reconciliation, and assurance processes agreed for the first quarter of 26/27. The Wave 2 project is on track to meet FBC targets. Wave 3 entered active delivery with all Grant Funding Agreements in place and projects progressing through delivery phases as planned. Delivery momentum strengthened during the year, evidenced by increased grant drawdowns and phase requests, demonstrating that projects are mobilised and delivering at scale. As at end of March, the delivery team are confident that close to the capital budget was successfully spent by grant recipients. Programme governance and controls continued to mature over the reporting period, with progress made in addressing assurance recommendations, improving data quality and reporting, and embedding lessons learned from earlier waves. The programme received a joint Amber at Gateway 3 assurance in Q4. Overall, the Green DCA rating for 25/26 reflects the demonstrable delivery progress on both outcomes and financial outturn. Sustaining this delivery confidence will only be possible if the programme receives strong support for resourcing needs, with proactive support as part of wider departmental transformation taking place in Q1/Q2.

Schedule

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's end-date at 25/26-Q4 remained the same.

Cost

Baseline WLC remain unchanged as per the latest agreed business case.

Benefits

The project's departmentally agreed Benefits for 25/26-Q4 have not changed.