The Warm Homes Plan promises upgrades to thousands of homes – but how do we ensure it delivers lasting impact? Michael McLaughlin, group social value manager at LHC Procurement Group (LHCPG), explains why a strategic, long-term approach to social value is essential
Confirmed in the government’s spending review this year was the allocation of £13.2bn over the next four years for the highly anticipated Warm Homes Plan in England and Wales.
While we await the details due to be published within a month or so, we already know quite a lot about the government’s ideas. The Warm Homes Plan is designed to assist with key government priorities, including tackling fuel poverty, achieving net zero emissions and enhancing social equity.
It will likely extend funding for ECO4, GBIS and the public sector retrofit schemes but also put in place stronger quality assurance and consumer protection measures to counteract criticisms of fraud and poor workmanship.
Quite apart from cost or carbon benefits, within the social housing sector the human value of retrofitting our existing housing stock is also clear: improved health and wellbeing for the most vulnerable in society, reduced burden on the NHS and better, stronger communities.
Careful procurement will provide the backbone for delivering the Warm Homes Plan and making sure those billions get spent wisely. And while the technical elements of retrofit and compliance are crucial, there’s another equally important factor for any social landlord: social value.
From MEAT to MAT
The concept of social value is increasingly influencing public sector procurement strategies and with the introduction of the Procurement Act in February, it became a requirement of all public sector contracts.
In the move from Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) to Most Advantageous Tender (MAT), public procurement is now not only about cost and quality but also the added value that benefits local communities, the economy and the environment. In other words, the social value impacts of a project.
Of course, by its very nature, working in the public sector means already delivering social value. It’s essentially an official term given to the way we improve places and wellbeing. However, too few understand how to implement meaningful social value as something other than a tick-box process, nor how to accurately measure it.
Start with local need, design for long-term outcomes
Social value begins with listening. To achieve genuine outcomes, housing providers must start by understanding both the technical requirements of retrofitting their housing stock and the social and economic needs of residents. This requires place-based intelligence, early engagement and, critically, good data.
The data bit often creates a challenge. Many organisations lack the clarity and consistency in asset performance data to make confident, strategic decisions. As a result, retrofit can feel like a series of isolated compliance tasks rather than a coherent, long-term plan. When retrofit strategies are disconnected from asset management plans, costs skyrocket and opportunities to maximise impact are missed.
A clear retrofit strategy should not only meet EPC or PAS 2035 requirements but also support health, resilience, and opportunity in local communities.
Embedding social value in this strategy ensures it is treated as a design principle, not just a contractual obligation.
Collaboration and consistency through frameworks
For the local authorities and housing associations we work with, frameworks offer a structured way to align procurement with their long-term social outcomes. They tell us that real value lies in providing consistency, scalability and shared learning across regions.
“Careful procurement will provide the backbone for delivering the Warm Homes Plan and making sure those billions get spent wisely. And while the technical elements of retrofit and compliance are crucial, there’s another equally important factor for any social landlord: social value.“
Early engagement through frameworks enables the integration of social value from day one – identifying opportunities, supporting SMEs, building local skills and ensuring funding aligns with community priorities.
Examples from existing retrofit collaborations show how collective approaches to procurement – whether through alliances of housing associations or local authority-led programmes – drive better value for money and stronger social returns.
Framework providers, particularly those like LHCPG with regional insight and national scale, play a critical role in this. We offer the guidance and support that smaller housing providers may lack, making it easier to measure and deliver social value without creating unnecessary burden.
Building capacity in the community
Delivering retrofit should be more than an intervention; it should be an opportunity to build community capacity.
Whether it’s helping residents use new systems effectively, supporting local training initiatives or integrating green skills development into delivery, every retrofit programme can create lasting community benefit.
Training doesn’t just apply to installers or coordinators. Empowering residents – through education, skills or voice – ensures that new technologies are used effectively and sustainably. It also improves tenant landlord relationships, strengthens community identity, and supports the broader mission of social equity.
So as we prepare for the rollout of the Warm Homes Plan, it is clear that technical compliance alone will not transform the sector. Social value must be at the heart of every decision, from the first funding application to the final evaluation. This means treating social value as a measure of how retrofit changes lives, not just homes.
It means shifting from short-term outputs to long-term outcomes. And above all, it means remembering that improving homes is a means to a greater end: creating healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities.
*Please note that this is a commercial profile.
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