§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. JackIt is impractical to separate the energy costs of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service agency from the energy costs of the MAFF main estate, as in many cases they share the same buildings. However, the total costs of energy used by(a) the MAFF main estate and the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and (b) MAFF's other agencies over the last three years are as follows.
(a) £ (b) £ 1991–92 2,507,731 1,261,640 1992–93 2,541,730 1,493,300 1993–94 2,638,715 1,537.000 In the main, the increases are due to the introduction of information technology equipment, the modernisation of laboratories and other specialist buildings, and an increase in the work load of agencies and regional offices and a rise in tariffs over the period. The Ministry is stepping up measures to encourage staff to be more energy conscious, and is increasing investment in energy efficiency measures where these are cost effective.