This “Statement of Intent” sets out the participation of Westmorland and Furness Council in the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) Flexible Eligibility (Flex) scheme as of 10 October 2025, with the intent to identify households that may benefit from the installation of a measure as part of an ECO4 or GBIS project.
ECO4 and GBIS place legal obligations on energy suppliers to deliver insulation and heating measures to homes, with the aim to reduce home heating costs for fuel poor households and the least energy efficient homes. The Flexible Eligibility (Flex) component of ECO4 and GBIS allows Local Authorities (LAs) to identify and refer consumers that live in private tenure properties and are considered low-income, fuel poor, or vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home.
Please contact us with any enquiries.
Email: better.homes@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Telephone: 01768 212 348
Scheme eligibility
All potentially eligible households should apply through an approved ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme installers to see if they can either can benefit from the scheme or be assessed for eligibility under any other relevant programme.
Households may be eligible if they can meet and evidence that they meet one of the eligibility routes outlined.
Route one
Owner-occupied and private rented sector households with a gross annual income less than £31,000. This cap applies irrespective of the property size, composition, or region.
Route two
Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that meet an eligible combination of two of the following proxies. Proxies 1 and 3 cannot be used together. Proxy 7 cannot be used in combination with proxy 5 or proxy 6.
Proxy 1
Homes in England in Lower-layer Super Output Area 1-3 (LSOA)
Proxy 2
A person living at the premises is entitled to a Council Tax reduction on the grounds of low-income.
Proxy 3
A person living at the premises is considered to be vulnerable to the cold under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance NG6: Recommendation 2, for a reason other than their low-income.
Proxy 4
A child living at the premises is eligible for free school meals, due to low income.
Proxy 5
A person living at the premises is supported by a scheme established by the LA that is named and described within their Statement of Intent and established to support people living on a low-income and considered vulnerable to the cold under NICE Guideline NG6.
Proxy 6
A household referred to the LA for support by their energy supplier or Citizens Advice, because they have been identified as struggling to pay their electricity and/or gas bills.
Proxy 7
This proxy is for supplier owned debt data and is listed here for information only. Households identified through energy supplier debt data. This route enables obligated suppliers to use their own debt data to identify either non pre-payment meter households (non-PPM), or pre-payment meter households (PPM).
Route three
Owner-occupied and private rented sector households that have been identified by either a person registered in the General Practitioner Register, a Scottish Health Board, a Welsh Health Board, an NHS Foundation Trust, or an NHS Trust as vulnerable, with an occupant whose health conditions may be adversely affected by living in a cold home. These health conditions must be cardiovascular, respiratory, immunosuppressed, or limited mobility related.
Personal data
All personal data collected or processed by Westmorland and Furness Council for the purposes of ECO4 Flex or Great British Insulation Scheme Flex will be processed and stored in accordance with:
- the Council’s obligations under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
- the Council’s data protection policy
- the Information Commissioner’s Office Data Sharing Code and other guidance
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero guidance
An LA officer (not a third party working on behalf of an LA) will be responsible for checking and verifying evidence and issuing declarations.
More information about ECO4 and GBIS Flex
Read about routes for ECO4 Flex eligibility at ofgem.gov.uk
Read about routes for GBIS Flex eligibility at ofgem.gov.uk
Read details about the administration of ECO4 and GBIS Flex at ofgem.gov.uk