Households to be granted up to £7,600 for energy-efficient home improvements

A £1,500 grant could cover the entire cost of some combinations of measures, such as the £1,000 cost of new high-spec external doors and £500 on cavity wall insulation, or £1,000 for floor insulation and £350 for new or replacement storage heaters.

Consumers can also qualify for up to £6,000 to cover up to 75 per cent of the cost of installing solid wall insulation, and can claim a £100 refund for the cost of the initial Green Deal Assessment, which can cost up to £150.

There are no financial eligibility criteria for the new grants, meaning millionaires could access the taxpayer funds, a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change confirmed.

The Government is already running a £125m cashback scheme intended to encourage uptake of the Green Deal, but only about £4m has so far been paid out.

In December it increased the payouts on offer, and Thursday's new grants are more generous still.

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour's shadow energy minister, said: “The way to get energy bills down in the long term is to invest in insulation and save the energy that escapes through our windows, walls and rooftops. But the Green Deal has been a total flop. Today’s announcement is just another example of a desperate Government trying to fix a broken scheme.

"No amount of gimmicks and giveaways can distract from the fact that the fundamental problem with the Green Deal is that the interest rates are too high. Unless the Green Deal is a good deal and saves the public money, then it will not be a success."

There was also criticism of the Government's failure to target the latest cash at those who are unable to pay for the measures themselves.

Friends of the Earth Energy Efficiency Campaigner Sophie Neuberg said: “Extra money on making homes more efficient is long over-due. But an extra £120m is a paltry sum given the scale of the problem, and should be targeted at the fuel poor - not those who can afford the upfront costs.

“These new incentives won’t make up for the swingeing cuts to the Energy Company Obligation, which will lead to far fewer homes being insulated over the next year."

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