Evaluation of a housing retrofit programme delivered across Liverpool City Region 

Lay summary of research 

Housing retrofit programmes include a range of measures aimed at improving the energy efficiency, safety, and comfort of existing buildings. These measures can result in improvements to peoples’ financial situation because their heating costs are reduced, along with health and wellbeing benefits because their home is warmer, less damp and more comfortable to live in which can also help people to feel less stressed. Housing retrofit programmes are typically targeted at those who are less able to afford to make improvements to their home and as such they may play an important role in reducing health inequalities. However, we do not know whether current programmes get support to the people who need it most, what kinds of support have the biggest benefits, and how these differ for different groups. We are therefore evaluating Liverpool City Region’s programme to retrofit more than 6,000 homes between 2021 and the present day (approximately early 2025 when the research commences) to address these knowledge gaps.  

The study aims to understand:

1) whether access to housing retrofit programmes in Liverpool is fair for everyone and, if not, what impact this could have on differences in people’s health

 2) how people experience the programme including the ways in which it has or has not influenced their financial situation, health and wellbeing

3) what helps the programme to work well and what hinders it, and

4) what impact the programme could have on potentially reducing use of NHS services if housing retrofit programmes help improve people’s health and wellbeing.  In this study we are working with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. We will use data they collect on people who make use of their housing retrofit programme to understand whether access is fair for everyone and what impact this could have on differences in people’s health along with the wider implications of any changes in health for NHS services. We will also undertake focus groups with people living in Liverpool who have received housing retrofit support, along with staff and stakeholders across the city who help people to access this support, to understand the ways in which it has or has not influenced peoples’ financial situation, health and wellbeing. The focus groups will also help us to understand what is currently working well in the programme and what hinders it

How are the public involved in the evaluation?

Plans for public involvement during the study will be monitored by the PHIRST LiLaC Public Advisor Panel and the designated public contributor will be involved in overseeing and contributing to public involvement activity throughout the study. We plan to work closely with organisations in Liverpool who support people to access the housing retrofit programme and they will be invited to provide feedback on the findings from the study.