The higher than anticipated demand from the household stream under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 meant that the limited funds available to householders would have been exhausted by early 2007. As a result, we announced on 25 October 2006 that £6.2 million from the £28.5 million budget would be re-allocated to the household stream in order to satisfy demand through to June 2008. This re-allocation of funding to the household stream was made possible by transferring the majority of pubic and non-profit sector projects to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2, where £50 million of funding is being made available to specifically support projects in the public and non-profit sectors.
Since the launch of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 in April 2006, the higher than anticipated demand from the household stream meant that the limited funds available to householders would have been exhausted by early 2007. By introducing a monthly cap, it will contribute to funding household installations through to June 2008, when some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold.
The programme has a total budget of £80 million divided into two phases. When the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 was launched in April 2006, there was a budget of £30 million to be allocated to successful projects over three years. Of this amount, £1.5 million was brought forward for use on the Clear Skies and Solar PV Major Demonstration Programmes to smooth the transition between these legacy programmes, and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. A further £50 million has been made available for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2, which was launched in December 2006, providing funding specifically for the public and non-profit sectors.