Latest figures from the Department for Energy and Net Zero reveals that only 4,648 of UK households have taken up the government’s current Great British Housing Insulation Scheme.

This is lower than 2 per cent of the government’s much trumpeted target of 300,000 UK households by March 2026.

The Independent newspaper’s Advisor Katharine Allison who studied the government’s data, said: “Improving the energy efficiency of your home is a surefire way to lower your heating costs and improve the general comfort of your home. One way to do so is to ensure that your home is properly insulated through loft and cavity insulation and have your windows glazed.

“In terms of window glazing, double or triple glazing is the most energy-efficient; these are windows with more than one pane of glass. Anything less simply won’t be as effective at keeping heat in your home. Other options are installing heavy thermal curtains on your windows as an extra layer of insulation for those cold winter nights.

“Other benefits of having multi-glazed windows are that there will be fewer draughts when hot air escapes, less outside noise will be able to penetrate your home, and there will be reduced condensation, which can help prevent mould.”

However it has been found that only a tiny amount of those who should be taking advantage of the Great British Housing Insulation Scheme are doing so.

The regions which took most advantage of the scheme are the North West of England, Yorkshire and The Humber, and North East of England.

Energy regulator Ofgem is responsible for the running of the scheme which is available to homeowners, landlords and tenants who have been allowed by their landlords to apply to the scheme, and includes properties owned by management companies or social housing providers.

Households that can apply are mostly made up of properties that have EPC ratings of D to G which fall under council tax bands A to D in England and A to E in Scotland and Wales.

Properties that are eligible to qualify for the scheme must be in need of energy-efficiency upgrades such as cavity wall insulation. The scheme will fund one insulation measure per household decided upon by a retrofit assessment that analyses how potential changes to the property could reduce energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions.