Across the UK there are around 3.9 million social sector homes which is equivalent to18% of the housing stock, half of them are owned by local authorities and the other half by housing associations.

Housing associations and local authorities are responsible for some of the most efficient housing stock due to grant funding made available under the Decent Homes (DH) programme, nevertheless 27% of the total social housing stock is considered non decent. Despite investment in DH, rising fuel prices have pushed many in the sector into fuel poverty.

The group brings together a wide range of the key stakeholders and practitioners in the sector and there is a good representation of major housing associations and close engagement with policy makers such as Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Tenant Services Authority (TSA) and Communities and Local Government (CLG).

In 2009/10 the group undertook a major piece of work in two phases to propose options for new finance mechanisms for energy efficiency and low carbon retrofit. It posed the question 'what finance is available to meet the 2050 target and what is needed to deliver that.'

The first phase (with supportive funding from the National Housing Federation) modelled a range of new financing mechanisms that could be used to support the retrofit of existing housing (both private and social). It outlined the key issues and illustrated the financial viability of each mechanism. The second phase (joint-funded by the Energy Saving Trust) applied the financial modelling of the entire English housing and concluded policy recommendations for Government and potential investment cases for financial institutions.

The establishment of a Social Housing Finance and Strategy Taskgroup was an initiative of the group to map the multitude of existing policies, schemes and research activities on the financing of social housing retrofit. The taskgroup was part funded by an EU project and supported by Places for People. Following a workshop in February 2010, the taskgroup presented strategic options to Government and agencies for the creation of funding and delivery mechanisms for the large scale retrofit of housing.

The group also contributed to the update of the Energy Saving Trust¿s guide to energy efficiency in managed housing, specifically to the sections on fuel poverty and affordable warmth.

In 2010/11 the group intends undertaking a project on how social housing can lead the development of supply chain capabilities for the retrofit of all housing stock.