The UK government is set to introduce a new scheme this month which will see thousands of homeowners become eligible to apply for home improvement grants of up to £10,000.
The new scheme – which will see the government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements of over 600,000 homes and also support over 100,000 jobs in green construction – will cover a number of green home improvements ranging from the insulation of walls, floors and roofs, to the installation of low-carbon heating, like heat pumps or solar thermal.
These are said to be measures that could help families save up to £600 a year on their energy bills.
The majority of homeowners in England are looking set to be eligible to apply for grants of up to £5,000, but for households on lower incomes, they may be eligible to receive vouchers covering 100% of the cost of the improvements, up to a maximum of £10,000.
Further details of the range of measures included and how consumers in England will be able to claim the new vouchers were set out by government ministers earlier this month.
1/ We’re funding £2bn of Green Home Grants helping to unlock work for thousands of plumbers, builders and tradespeople.
Homeowners will receive vouchers to pay for at least two-thirds of green improvements such as loft, wall and floor insulation. #PlanForJobspic.twitter.com/LMktNyBnAn
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The Green Homes Grant is a vital part of our plan for jobs as we secure the UK’s economic recovery from coronavirus [and] this is going to be a green recovery with concern for our environment at its heart.”
“It will help to protect and create jobs, while also saving people money and cutting carbon.”
The announcement of the new Green Homes Grant last month understandably caught the attention of many homeowners across the country who were eager to make the most of this unique opportunity to carry out environmentally-friendly and cost-effective improvements on their home, but will the scheme really be all it’s cracked up to be?
Who is eligible to apply? What improvements does it cover exactly? Are there any catches that homeowners should be aware of in advance?
Here’s everything we know so far.
Geograph / Lewis Clarke
What is the Green Homes Grant?
In a nutshell, the Green Homes Grant will cover a range of home improvements which look to make properties in England more environmentally friendly, energy efficient and cost-effective.
It could also help homeowners save up to £600 a year on energy bills.
The government has stated that households in England will be offered a list of approved TrustMark and MCS registered tradespeople in their local area to carry out the work and once the works are agreed, vouchers will start to be issued from the end of September so that work can commence.
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What improvements does the grant cover?
The Green Homes Grant will give homeowners – including owner occupiers and social/private landlords – vouchers to install one or more of the following:
Solid Wall, Under-Floor, Cavity Wall, or Roof Insulation
Air Source, or Ground Source Heat Pump
Solar Thermal
Additionally, households can use their voucher for further energy saving measures, and these include one or more of the following:
Double or Triple Glazing/Secondary Glazing (when replacing single glazing)
Upgrading to Energy Efficient Doors
Hot Water Tank/Appliance Tank Thermostats/Heating Controls
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What improvements can I/do I need to make?
Under the scheme, the government has divided energy-efficient home improvements into two categories – Primary Measures and Secondary Measures.
Primary measures are either insulation – for example, in a cavity wall, loft, or roof – low carbon heating, such as ground source heat pumps, or solar thermal systems (solar panels), and secondary measures which include draught proofing, double-glazing or triple-glazing (where you are replacing single glazing), secondary glazing, upgrading to energy-efficient doors and heating controls and insulation, such as thermostats and smart heating controls.
When it comes to identifying what measures you may need to take to make your home more energy efficient, the government says that advice will be available from its Simple Energy Advice website.
The website – which is currently in beta testing mode – will contain information about suitable home improvements, although it has been stated that there is no requirement to follow its advice.
Individual homes will also not be assessed.
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Can I replace my double glazing? What about loft insulation?
When it comes to the upgrading of windows, this falls under the secondary measures, but homeowners will be unable to fund the cost of double glazing replacement under this scheme as it is only applies to the replacing of existing single glazing windows.
The scheme will also unfortunately not cover replacement loft insulation.
It will however cover ‘top ups’, which, for example, means more insulation on top of what you already have.
A crucial point that all homeowners should be aware of is that you are only allowed to claim for one of the secondary measures if you are also installing one of the primary measures in your home, and in the case of secondary measures, you are only allowed to claim up to the amount that you are claiming for the primary measures.
Basically, if you were to claim £1,000 for your under-floor insulation (primary), then you will only be able to claim a maximum of £1,000 for your double glazing instalment (secondary).
Flickr
What other catches are there?
The catches relating to primary and secondary measures unfortunately don’t just stop at windows and insulation either.
Other catches include the fact that you can only able to upgrade to energy-efficient doors if you are replacing doors installed before 2002, the insulation of hot water tanks being categorised under secondary measures rather than in the primary ‘insulation’ measures, and if you are looking to install low-carbon heating (considered a primary measure), then you must make sure that you have, or will be getting, what is considered adequate insulation too (another primary measure).
There is a lot to get your head around.
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How much money am I eligible to apply for?
For the majority of homeowners in England, the Green Homes Grant vouchers will be worth about two-thirds of the cost of the improvements, up to a maximum of £5,000 per household.
In the government’s own provided example, a homeowner installing cavity wall and floor insulation costing £4,000 would only pay about £1,320, with the government contributing the remaining £2,680 through the voucher scheme.
Homeowners and households eligible to apply are all live-in homeowners, including long-leaseholders and shared ownership, landlords of private rented sector domestic properties, and park home owners, including traveller sites.
New-build homes and commercial premises are unfortunately believed to not qualify.
It is also worth noting that some homeowners may need to seek permission from the freeholder, particularly for shared ownership homes.
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Who qualifies to apply for £10,000 grants?
The government has stated that “low income” households will be able to apply to cover the whole cost of improvements made to the home up to £10,000.
Only owner-occupied homes or park homes will be eligible for this scheme.
To qualify for the Green Home Grants low-income scheme, you must receive at least one of the following benefits:
Income based Jobseekers allowance (JSA)
Income based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
Income Support (IS)
Pension Guarantee Credit
Working Tax Credit (WTC)
Child Tax Credits (CTC)
Universal Credit (UC)
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Attendance Allowance
Carer’s Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Contribution based Jobseekers allowance (JSA)
Contribution based Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
Housing benefit
More information regarding eligibility for the low-income scheme can be found here.
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How and when can I apply?
The exact details of how to apply are yet to be revealed by the government, with homeowners advised to keep their eyes peeled for the announcement of the scheme officially going live, but it is understood that when the process is launched, you will need to fill out an online application, get a quote from an approved supplier and have the quote approved.
The scheme is set to go live next month and is likely to last until March.
There will be strict TrustMark accreditation rules for tradespeople involved in the scheme in order to give households the confidence that improvements to their homes will be of the highest quality.
For further information on the Green Homes Grant, visit the gov.uk website here.
Additional guidance on a number of green energy saving measures can also be found via the Simple Energy Advice website here.
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Liam is paying a subtle nod to another member of the Gallagher family in the Oasis reunion set
Danny Jones
In yet another cute and rather unexpected moment about the Oasis reunion set during the first two nights in Cardiff, Liam Gallagher paid a lovely tribute to an unsung member of the musical family: his adopted dog, Buttons.
Because rock stars do whatever they want.
That’s right, while most people were understandably keeping their eyes firmly fixed on Liam and Noel as they still try and get to grips with the fact that they’re both actually there, on stage, in the flesh, other eagle-eyed viewers noticed a subtle nod playing on the massive telly behind them.
Flashing up right in the middle big screen was a technicolour image of none other than Buttons himself, whose adorable little face appeared during ‘Roll With It’ on night one at the Principality Stadium.
I’ll share more of Buttons story today on my insta for the day that’s in it…https://t.co/B8ruKgLn4p
This video from Niall Harbison – the person who was responsible for putting the two together in the first place – was likely something the animal rescuer was made aware of ahead of time, but it’s nevertheless still a very lovely touch.
For anyone unfamiliar with the full story, Niall has spent years saving dogs and other pets from poverty and the street over in Thailand, and one of those was Buttons.
During a visit from Liam and partner Debbie Gwyther (also his manager), the pair ended up being introduced to the pup and instantly fell in love.
Arranging to have what would soon be his favourite pet shipped over to the UK, he and LG have now been pretty much inseparable since September 2023.
This isn’t the only touching gesture seen so far on the Live ’25 tour:
Buttons the dog wasn’t the only soul that Oasis paid tribute to.
The Burnage boys’ comeback was always going to be unforgettable, even if they just got up there and did little more than play the songs, but it’s extra touches like these that are helping make the memories even more special.
In the case of Niall, regardless of whether he knew this was going to happen or not, it must have been an incredible feeling to see one of the countless street dogs he’s saved, not only now rehomed and happy but quite literally getting his own moment in the spotlight.
There were a lot of little details we noticed on night one of Live ’25 in Cardiff, and who knows how many of them will remain in the set for the rest of the reunion tour, but it’s great to see Oasis being reactive and the crew going the extra mile.
'I Hope, I Think, I KNOW' #Oasis Manchester homecoming is going to be nothing short of a religious experience. 🙏
What we know about Oasis’ Heaton Park reunion shows based on their first comeback gig in Cardiff
Danny Jones
Ok, so there’s no more need to pinch ourselves or double-take every time we check our phone: Oasis aren’t just back together, they’ve now kicked off the reunion and following those incredible Cardiff scenes, we’re already thinking about what this means for their Heaton Park homecoming.
There simply isn’t a brick-and-mortar Manchester venue big enough to hold as many Manc fans as want, need and deserve to see them back on stage after waiting all this time, so it’s only fitting that barely a month on from Parklife, the massive outdoor space will welcome us all back to witness history.
Quite literally millions of people tuned into various livestreams on Friday evening to see Oasis return at the Principality Stadium, so lots of you will have already seen plenty from the colossal concert – including that bald bloke balancing a pint on his head – but there was, understandably, a lot to take in.
So, with that being said, here’s what we hope, we think, we know about Oasis’ highly anticipated Heaton Park shows based solely on the details we gleaned from Cardiff night one.
The timings (roughly)
For starters, one of the most important things fans will be hoping to know is when Oasis got back on stage, as well as the set times of the other ‘Live ’25‘ support acts.
Liam, as per usual, was the mouthier of the two Gallagher brothers and let the cat out of the bag early on X (Twitter), before being clearly told off by management and deleting the details shortly after; still, it was confirmed that the main event for Friday and Saturday night gets underway at 8:15pm.
However, these things are always subject to change, as both Richard Aschroft and Cast were slightly premature on night one in Cardiff, and who knows what other arenas will be like for the rest of the reunion tour?
Another big debate online that has raged ever since the Oasis reunion was confirmed is the subject of what they’re going to play from their extensive catalogue.
Obviously, most people could rattle off most of the all-time favourites and cobbble together a pretty decent ‘greatest hits’ of Oasis setlist, but people have been more concerned with what the opener, closing track, and encore will be.
Having watched all of these moments back multiple times already, we can confirm the first track was the classic intro ‘F***in’ in the Bushes’, as many fans suspected, followed by ‘Hello’ as the first full song, rather fittingly.
As for the last track in the main running order, the crowd got to bounce up and down to ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ before the legendary ‘Champagne Supernova’ beckoned the very end of the first night in Cardiff.
— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) July 4, 2025
They’ll still be reactive
That being said, this inaugural comeback show was somewhat of a pilot for the rest of the ‘Live ’25 world tour, which now totals more than 40 dates, and any good artist knows that tweaking the setlist from show to show can be key to not only to success, but keeping things fresh for you and the audience.
As a result, we wouldn’t be surprised if you see Oasis mix things up as the nights roll on, especially when playing multiple gigs in the same city as they’re doing pretty much everywhere for this reunion.
That flexibility isn’t just limited to song choice either: Liam did his famous twist on the ‘Wonderwall’ lyrics and told the crowd, “There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don’t speak Welsh”, and in case you haven’t seen it already, they also took a moment to honour a late Liverpool star.
There were lots of little details on night one in Cardiff, but this was a very nice touch from Oasis.
A bigger focus on production than ever
The glimpse at the AV presentation seen above is just a small taster too. From the various clips we’ve seen on social media over the last 24 hours or so, Oasis aren’t just back playing music together, but they’ve levelled significantly in terms of production and stage design.
Now, if you’ve ever been to see either of the brothers’ solo shows, you’ll know that football and, more specifically, references to Man City, often feature at some point.
Noel, in particular, has maintained a strong City presence in his set, be it the blue colour palette, the MCFC badge, or even a tall cut-out of manager Pep Guardiola half during most High Flying Birds gigs.
Cardiff night one was no different as his LG instructed the crowd to turn around and do the familiar ‘Poznan’ celebration regularly seen up in the stands of the Etihad Stadium.
Gallagher brothers kick off Oasis world tour with Cardiff show, as Liam tells fans 'do the poznan'.
It was bits of comedy like this that’s been one of the biggest part we’ve missed about Oasis; both Liam and Noel have always been very humorous in their own ways over the years, but they were never funnier than in those old clips you see of them cracking each other up in their younger days.
Despite being estranged for more than a decade and a half and who knows how many years of bad blood overall, they look to have at least put it to one side and what was once a combative back and forth from a distance has circled back around to brotherly banter – or at least we hope it has.
We’re not going to pretend they absolutely adore all of a sudden, but they’re at least trying and recognising each other’s roles.
As you can see, those snaps of them smiling during the first reunion photo shoot back together don’t appear to be just for show.
Seeing the two of them walk out holding hands sent the internet into an absolute frenzy of emotion and had people joking that they were finally going to message their own troublesome relative and at least try to mend fences.
But that was just one small moment.
The duo have always admired and respected their respective talents, but for the first time in even longer than the 16-year hiatus itself, it seems like there’s some genuine love there again. See for yourself:
They’re still as massive as they ever were – if not more so
All this is to say that, in short, Oasis’ first comeback show in Cardiff isn’t just the start of the ‘Live ’25 reunion tour that will span the globe, it’s also confirmation of something people began to question in their lengthy absence…
They really are the biggest and, in so many people’s opinions (including our own), the greatest rock band of all time.
From what we can tell, it feels like one of those watershed music moments where you have be there in person to truly see and believe it – not to be part of some exclusive ‘I was there’ comeback, but because we can’t thing of any other reunion that has had this kind of impact.
Roll on the five nights at Heaton Park and strap in, folks, because you will never forget it.
I've never felt so excited about a gig I didn't even have a ticket for! I'm so glad you had a great time, the clips I've seen looked INCREDIBLE.
The Manc -
13th August 2020 
