BUSINESS Secretary Alok Sharma has urged tradespeople in Devon and across England to step forward and sign up to be able to offer services through the government’s new Green Homes Grants scheme. More than 1,000 businesses across the country have already applied so far.

The £2 billion Green Homes Grant Scheme will see the government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements up to £10,000 to make over 600,000 homes across the country more energy efficient, supporting over 100,000 jobs in green construction, cutting carbon emissions and helping people save money on their energy bills.

To take part and offer their services through the scheme, all tradespeople must register with TrustMark.

Where tradespeople are installing energy efficiency measures, they must also be certified to installation standards.

To install low carbon heat measures, tradespeople must be TrustMark registered and certified through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme for the relevant heating technology.

Anyone wishing to do so can simply register with TrustMark at: https://www.trustmark.org.uk/tradespeople/join-through-trustmark .