Green upgrades for public buildings

Aimed at enabling public buildings to achieve net zero and switch to cleaner energy, Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) funding is available to help schools, hospitals and other public sector buildings decarbonise their sites. It is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and administered by Salix Finance.

The funding for this scheme will be identified through the Spending Review and it is expected that Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will receive an allocation of this funding as part of government’s commitment to the pilots announced in the trailblazer devolution deal. As a result, the GMCA, its ten constituent local authorities and other public sector stakeholders in Greater Manchester will not be permitted to participate in the national scheme. However, at present, the final shape of our devolved trailblazer deal, including eligibility criteria, outcomes and outputs, has yet to be agreed. This presents a period of uncertainty as we transition from a national to a devolved scheme.

We are hopeful that an agreement will soon be reached, but this could be after the Salix PSDS Phase 4 application deadline. Therefore, to minimise confusion and inconvenience we ask that GM public sector organisations apply for PSDS Phase 4 funding via the national scheme. Once agreement on our devolution deal has been reached, applications that fall within our devolved scope will be transferred to GMCA for assessment under our devolved scheme. Eligible organisations that fall outside of the devolved scope will continue to be assessed by Salix under the national scheme.

The national application portal for the scheme will open by mid-October and will close on 25 November. For more information, visit the PSDS Phase 4 website.

I am a public sector organisation within the GMCA area. Which scheme am I eligible for?

At present, the final shape of each devolved scheme, including eligibility criteria, has yet to be agreed. Public sector organisations in the GMCA area which fall outside the scope of the devolved scheme (once the scope is determined) but are eligible for PSDS will be able to apply to Phase 4 before the application deadline.

It should be noted no central government sites will be in scope of the trailblazer deals, and therefore these should continue to apply to the national scheme.

When will I know whether I am eligible for the devolved scheme in my combined authority area?

Government departments and GMCA are working to agree the scope of the devolved schemes as quickly as possible. Further communications will be made by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Salix Finance to inform public sector organisations as soon as the scope of the devolved scheme is finalised.

Will the application process and assessment criteria be the same for the devolved schemes as it is for Phase 4 of the PSDS?

The application process for the devolved schemes has yet to be determined and will be at the discretion of the GMCA.

We appreciate that a great amount of time and resource goes into creating a PSDS application. We are hopeful that, where appropriate, the same information collected for PSDS applications can be used for the relevant devolved scheme if eligibility determines that an application cannot be submitted for Phase 4 of the PSDS. This of course depends on the eventual design of the devolved scheme.

If I am preparing a PSDS application but it turns out I am eligible for the devolved scheme, what happens to my PSDS application?

If a PSDS applicant becomes eligible for their devolved scheme (once eligibility is confirmed), any submitted PSDS application will not be eligible for PSDS funding, and the applicant must apply to the devolved scheme instead. We will seek to minimise any duplication for applicants.

Can I just transfer my PSDS application over to the devolved scheme when further details are announced?

Once agreement on our devolution deal has been reached, applications that fall within our devolved scope will be transferred to GMCA for assessment under our devolved scheme.

We will share further information on our devolved PSDS scheme in due course, but in the meantime if you have any queries please email psds@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk, letting us know if you are planning to apply for the national PSDS scheme, particularly if you you are concerned with meeting the timescales and / or compliance criteria, as this will be helpful information for developing our devolved scheme.