The timeframe from submission of a change request to approval is expected to be 20 working days after all the supporting information needed for the assessment is submitted. It is important to note that the turnaround for assessment of late change requests submitted after 20 November 2026 is expected to be longer.
Change requests
This page provides guidance on our requirements to approve a request to change the scope of your Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme project, detailing the situations where a change request may be required, the information required for us to be able to assess and approve a change and the key dates for submitting any change requests.
We are keen to support you through your decarbonisation journey helping you meet all your milestones. We only expect to receive scope change requests when there is reasonable confidence in the final design, namely when designs and tenders are complete. For this reason, we expect you to submit a maximum of one change request of good quality to minimise queries. Please see below for definitions of a change request.
Definitions of a change request
- A ‘change’ is defined as any significant alteration in the scope of the project. This includes adding or removing a site to the scope of your Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme project works, any changes to the low carbon heating system or including additional energy efficiency measures which were not previously in the agreed scope
- If there is a change to the scope of existing energy efficiency measures and/or building fabric improvements, a formal change request will be needed if those measures are saving direct carbon
- Minor changes that are required to facilitate delivery and do not affect compliance are not defined as change requests and will be managed through our usual monitoring processes. This includes increasing or reducing the scope of (or removing) energy efficiency measures affecting indirect carbon savings
Grant carbon cost policy
For phase 4, a targeted allocation approach was applied, with the grant carbon cost being a key criteria in determining which applications were successful. The grant carbon cost of the application is calculated by dividing the requested grant value by the direct carbon savings delivered by the measures that are funded by the grant only. If there are any changes to your project scope or costs, the scheme policy limits any changes to a 10% increase to the grant carbon cost stated in your Grant Offer Letter, up to a maximum of £510/tCO2e.
Change request deadlines
Please contact your relationship manager at the earliest opportunity if you expect you may need to submit a scope change request, to discuss next steps.
Projects with grant end date 31 March 2027
Change requests for phase 4 multi-year projects with grant end date 31 March 2027 are required to be submitted by Friday 20 November 2026.
The expected turnaround time for change request assessments will be 20 working days from the point all required supporting information is received. Any change requests submitted after 20 November 2026 will not be held to this 20-day turnaround. Please note that any payment claims submitted to us for measures that are not approved by a change request will not be eligible for payment and the portion of your total grant value impacted will be at risk.
Projects with grant end date 31 March 2028
If you have a phase 4 multi-year project with grant end date 31 March 2028, please inform your relationship manager as soon as a change is identified. Your 2026-27 grant payments are still dependent on the eligibility of your project so we may need to assess and approve the changes to ensure you can access your full grant allocation for this financial year.
We can only pay for installation works or technologies that have passed technical assessment, either as per your original application or approved by us through the change request process. Therefore, if you are intending to claim grant funding in financial year 2026-27 for measures which have not yet been assessed by Salix, a change request must be submitted and passed before payment can be made.
We expect phase 4 change requests to be submitted once final designs are confirmed. If you need to submit a change request before final designs are confirmed, please speak to your relationship manager who can arrange for our technical team to provide additional support and guidance.
How to submit a change request
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Step 1
Step 1
Notify your relationship manager of your change request
- Contact your relationship manager to discuss any changes – what are the changes and which PSDS-funded measures and sites are affected?
- Forecast an expected submission date for your change request – when will you have the full details and supporting information available? Please include this forecast in step two of your monitoring report.
Step 2
Complete and submit relevant documentation to your relationship manager
1. Change request form
Please fill in sections a), b), c) and d) of the change request form template available above with all proposed adjustments to your project outlined clearly. The form has four sections that you need to complete:
- A) Description of the proposed changes
- B) Revised payment schedule
- C) Appendix
- D) Declarations*
*Please note: The declaration section of our change request form will need to be agreed and signed off by the registered accountable officer for your Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme project (named in your Grant Offer Letter). Without this, your change request will not be considered. If a consultant has updated the project form on your behalf, please ensure you are confident that all changes have been made correctly prior to submitting your change request, as the grant recipient is ultimately accountable for ensuring correct information is provided. Incorrect information may affect your maximum eligible grant value upon completion.
2. Supporting information
Please see the webinar slides and crib sheet available to download below for a checklist showing what is required for the different types of scope change.
The following supporting information is required to assess a scope change:
- A project form recording all changes to any sites or measures.
This includes fields to detail the type of change and reason for the change. The data for these measures will be checked against your latest approved application form. If in any doubt, please ask your relationship manager to send you the correct latest version.
- Updated energy saving calculations
- Updated project programme
If there is any change to the expected practical completion date of your project as a result of the scope change, please speak to your relationship manager to discuss how this may affect your grant.
- Updated risk register
- Updated cost evidence
- Feasibility study, options appraisal
- Data sheets, schematics, peak heat loss calculations
- Information to satisfy outstanding conditions
If your change request includes a site change, additional information is required, with the expectation that the level of detail will resemble that provided at the initial application stage:
- End-of-life boiler evidence
- Options appraisal
- Feasibility study (including peak heat loss calculations)
- Energy consumption data
- Data sheets, schematics (existing and proposed)
Further information required to complete the change request assessment may be requested at the discretion of the assessor.
Step 3
Salix assessment
Your relationship manager will acknowledge that you have completed the form and you will be contacted by either a member of our energy and carbon technical team or one of our external technical advisors if any other supporting information is required for our review process. Swift responses to any queries will enable us to support the timely approval of your change request.
We can only begin reviewing your change request once all the requested documentation is received and will aim to confirm a decision within 20 working days. If insufficient information is provided or there are inadequate responses within a given timeline, we reserve the right to reject the change request.
Step 4
Salix confirms the outcome of your change request
Your relationship manager will inform you when the assessment is completed. If your change request is approved, you will be issued a Grant Amendment Letter confirming the approved changes, for signature by your authorising official. If your change request is rejected, your relationship manager can discuss the options with you.
Important notes
Change requests must be submitted to us and approved prior to the delivery of any amended elements of your project. Any changes to the project may affect your ability to meet the scheme criteria and therefore the level of funding available, so we advise seeking approval before proceeding with changes to the project as funding is not secure until this point.
You should be aware that a reduction in gas savings or total project costs may see your eligible grant value decrease. We encourage you to update your project form regularly to understand whether your grant value is impacted by any project changes.
We expect all outstanding conditions associated with the 'project approval' and 'detailed designs complete' milestones to be resolved prior to a change request. All other outstanding conditions, that are considered by by us as reasonable by this stage in your project, should also be resolved as part of your change request assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Change request process 2026-27
The key difference is that phase 3c and 4 projects are now required to submit a project form as part of their supporting information when submitting a change request. The project form requires you to complete additional fields detailing the type of change, if any, and the reason for the change.
Project forms are now in use for all PSDS 4 change requests. When you notify us that you are expecting to submit a change request, we will ask you to forecast a date by when you expect to submit all the required information to us. Based on this date we will generate a bespoke project form for your project and notify you if you will need to fill in the new project form.
Grant period and change requests
If your grant offer covers financial years 2026-27 and 2027-28, we encourage you to confirm your detailed designs and raise any required changes with your relationship manager early. A scope change may impact your ability to access your grant funding allocated in 2026-27 as we will need to have technical assurance that your revised project is compliant before we can release your funds. You will still be able to submit a change request in 2027-28 if there are further changes.
Multiple change requests
In the interest of giving each of your submissions the right amount of time to be assessed we request that you submit a change request to us only when you are confident with the final design you are proposing so we may keep the numbers to one change request per project where possible.
If your expected design completion dates are too far apart to be able to submit just one change request for your project, please inform your relationship manager who will support you in managing your change requests.
You are encouraged to notify us of any changes to your project even if you have already submitted a change request before 20 November 2026 and you will be requested to submit another change request form if further changes arise. Please note any change request submitted after 20 November 2026 is not guaranteed to be assessed within the 20-day timeframe and may put your final grant payment at risk.
We request that you try and include all of your changes into a single change request. However, if this is not possible for you, we encourage you to discuss the reasons for this with your relationship manager at the earliest opportunity so they can support you in submitting another change request where needed.
Supporting information
A single report can include both a feasibility study and an options appraisal, both are important documents to assess a project, and missing one of these may lead to a request for further information and your change request assessment taking longer.
In this situation we request that you inform your relationship manager who will collect all the supporting information you have. Please note that the change request will not be submitted for technical assessment until we have all the supporting information we need to be able to assess the eligibility of your change.
In the scenario where we identify that we need further information during the assessment, our assessors will contact you with a request to provide this and we request that you respond to this within two working days to avoid delays in the assessment.
Changes and submission of the change request form
Changes in technology types will generally need a change request as we need to review the energy saving calculations used (submitted in an unlocked Excel sheet) to ensure that the proposed carbon savings are correct and eligible, even if it improves CO2 calculations.
We also need to keep an updated record of the measures you are delivering in your project scope, as we will not be able to approve funding claims for costs related to technologies that don’t appear on your latest approved scope.
In this situation, since solar PV is an existing measure on your latest approved application and does not impact direct carbon, you will not need a formal change request for this.
However, we request you to provide us with an updated project form with the increased scope and updated total costs, which may affect your minimum contribution, to sufficiently document the change in the scope of this measure. Notifying us of this change in your monthly monitoring report (MMR) and in your monthly meetings with your relationship manager is encouraged.
Yes, you can propose to add a completely new energy conservation measure to your project. This will need to be assessed through our change request process and approved by us before you can start claiming for costs related to that measure.
You must notify your relationship manager of any make or model change to your low-carbon heating system. This should be on an updated project form and should be sent through with the relevant data sheets. We will then review the changes and determine whether a full change request is required. A like-for-like swap will likely not trigger a change request, but any material change to the units, including but not limited to changes in total size/output, flow/return temperatures and sCOP, will require a full change request to enable us to assess the impact of the change on your project’s eligibility and feasibility. These are reviewed on a case by case basis.
Available funding and change requests
Our delayed completion pathway gives you the ability to extend the practical completion date of your project beyond the grant end date. Please note that, due to HM Treasury rules, you will not be able to claim grant funding for costs relating to works that take place after your grant end date, even if you were unable to claim the full grant value due to the delays to your project. This means that you will need to fund all the remaining works yourselves and we will request you to confirm you have this funding available before we approve an extension to your completion date.
All phase 3c funding has now been allocated and we have started collecting data on underspend from projects.
Underspend from Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme projects is reported to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) monthly throughout the delivery of the scheme. Funding will not be reallocated to other projects. Your grant value cannot increase after your Grant Offer Letter has been issued.
It is not possible to move grant funding between financial years for any project due to HM Treasury rules. This means that once you have signed your Grant Offer Letter to confirm your year one, two and three grant funding allocation, the maximum funding you can claim for your multi-year project in each year is capped at the values approved.
You can use your minimum recipient contribution (the greater between your like-for-like costs or 12% of your total project value) flexibly based on the requirements of your project, including completing your project after the grant end date subject to our approval of an extension to your project’s practical completion date. An extension does not allow you to claim any grant funding after the grant end date.
Please note that, if the costs of completing your project to its agreed scope after the grant end date exceeds your minimum recipient contribution amount, an alternative source of funding will be needed to cover these additional costs.
Impact on other measures and grant claims
Yes, we will not be able to continue making grant payments for works affected by a change request and if the change request affects the eligibility of the entire site, any other measures that you may proceed with on that site will be at your own risk until the change request has been approved.
The exception to this is claims for costs for measures on other sites that are still compliant and part of your latest approved project scope.
Yes, design costs for a new measure can be claimed from your grant. To be able to do so this measure will first need to be approved through a change request. If this change is not approved, you will not be able to claim the cost of these works from the grant.
You will only be able to claim design costs for the measures that are in the latest approved scope of your project.
Any design fees that include other costs, including costs for the design of new measures intended to be added through a change request, need to be excluded from the claims you submit to us.
In this situation, we request that you review your forecasted payments and provide us with an updated payment forecast that reflects the exclusion of the expected costs related to the new measures which may be added back into the forecast after the change request is approved.
Any further questions?
Please contact your relationship manager who will be happy to support.
