Council leaders have called for a new approach to energy efficiency after the latest figures revealed a big drop in the number of homes being insulated.

The Government's energy efficiency scheme supported just 60,000 homes last year - down from almost 500,000 in 2013.

Environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association, Linda Taylor, said: ‘National climate action is essential, but the complexity of supporting retrofitting in our 51 cities, 935 towns and 6,000 villages cannot be managed from a Whitehall desk and the national schemes are struggling.

‘It is now time to shift to a locally-led approach, which would mean councils can target the homes that need the support most while working with local businesses to build skills and growth.'