I have read the "small print" of the Pre-Budget Report and it does not seem to be too bad. The scrappage scheme is separate from Warmfront. It says:
"£200 million to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty by: offering £400 for up to 125,000 households to upgrade their old boilers to the latest efficient models with a greener boiler incentive; and providing extra resources for Warm Front to help 75,000 of the most vulnerable households with heating and insulation."
That's £50 million for the boiler scrappage scheme and £150 million to Warmfront, but reading further it says that the total for both schemes is £215 million. In 2009-10 there was £100 million for Warmfront, which has all been spent, benefitting 38,000 houses - an average of £2632 per house.
There is a lot of inconsistency as they later say:
"• £150 million for Warm Front, which will provide better heating and insulation for an additional 75,000 of the most vulnerable households; and
• £50 million to fund the greener boiler incentive to encourage households to upgrade to more efficient heating systems"
and then:
"£200 million to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty by: offering £400 for up to 125,000 households to upgrade their old boilers to the latest efficient models with a greener boiler incentive; and providing extra resources for Warm Front to help 75,000 of the most vulnerable."
and later on:
"The Warm Front programme ... has helped ... almost 235,000 households last year alone."
Talk about confusing you with numbers! The government are masters of this.
The important difference is that Warmfront is only available to people on certain benefits and you only get a new boiler if your old one is not repairable. The boiler scrappage scheme is available to any one with a working]/b] Sedbuk Band G boiler.
The only thing which is not stated is whether you can only buy certain boilers or use certain installers. Possibly the former, but, as they are only contributing towards the boiler, I don't see why they should limit your choice of installer. Let's hope the more unscrupulous installers don't raise their prices by £400!