To ask the Minister for the Economy what proposals she has to provide grants for the replacement of a gas boiler specifically by an air source heat pump.

The provision of financial incentives to encourage the uptake of low carbon heating is being considered as part of my Department’s new Energy Strategy which is due to be published by the end of 2021 and will include further details on the promotion of low carbon heating.

An Energy Strategy policy options consultation closed on 30 June and analysis of the responses is ongoing. The policy options consultation sought views in relation to a wide range of low carbon heating options and included consideration of the gas network and future decarbonisation routes, such as hydrogen and biomethane. Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) were also considered within the options consultation as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Future policy options may differ depending on whether a property is on or off the gas grid. Policy work is ongoing, with input from the consultation exercise, to develop future heat policy. This will help to determine whether grants or other incentives should be offered to encourage the installation of air source heat pumps and other low carbon heating solutions.