LESS than 70 vouchers for an energy-saving scheme were issued to Maldon residents before it was scrapped this year, figures show.

Launched in September, the Government’s green homes grant was designed to help homeowners install energy efficient improvements with vouchers of up to £5,000, or £10,000 for those on low-incomes.

Figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show residents applied for 153 vouchers by the time the scheme was axed at the end of March.

Of those, 62 were issued – including 29 to low-income households.

It was due to run until March 2022 before being scrapped last month, with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng admitting applications were not processed quickly enough.

By the end of March, around 10,300 energy efficient measures had been installed across England – with 27 in Maldon.

Under the scheme, £1.5 billion was made available across England for 600,000 vouchers towards paying for measures such as insulation and low-carbon heating in hundreds of thousands of homes.

However, just 49,000 vouchers, worth £208 million, had been issued by April 19.

A Government spokesperson said an additional £300 million has been allocated to local authorities for the green homes scheme.

They added: "All applications received by March 31 will be processed, meaning installations will continue over the coming months, supporting jobs and delivering energy efficiency to homes."