The government has published its first Facilities Management Strategy, setting out a coordinated vision for facilities management across the public sector estate.
It sets new goals for FM, designed to deliver on three core values: enhancing lives, enabling success, and ensuring value. One of the main aims of the Strategy is to place sustainability at the forefront of all FM activities, making public sector buildings “greener, healthier and more sustainable, with positive impacts on nature and biodiversity.”
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The ECO 3 scheme is one of the versions of the Energy Company Obligation ECO scheme from the government, which ran from 2018 to 2022.
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While there have been many benefits to such grants that target low income households, and it is primarily considered a success, some complaints have been registered by homeowners and local authorities; these are aimed to be changed with the ECO4 consultation.
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This version of the scheme focused on turning the least energy efficient homes into safe and warm houses to lower fuel poverty, much as the new iteration will, only on a larger scale.
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During ECO3, it is believed that the cap of 35,000 homes may have allowed vulnerable and fuel poor individuals to fall through the gaps when they could benefit from the ECO funds.
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The ECO4 fund aims to provide a larger range of funding for vulnerable households to improve the efficiency and heating of their home. With inflation taken into account, there will be £640 million available to target support to those in the largest need.
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It also took four weeks to receive a consultation during this form of the scheme, whereas the newer form intends of having an assessment done within a week of the eligibility check.
