§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessments she has made of the method of reporting of progress by energy conservation authorities under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995; and if she will work in conjunction with energy conservation authorities via the National HECA Forum to prepare a better reporting system of energy conservation authorities' progress under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995; [3862]
(2) what steps she has taken (a) to encourage energy conservation authorities to reach her energy efficiency target by 2010 and (b) to assist them in reaching that target; [3864]
(3) if energy conservation authorities are on course to reach the improvement target in energy efficiency by 2010 under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995; [3861]
(4) what steps she proposes to take in each of the next three years to assist energy conservation authorities to meet the energy efficiency target set under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995; and what plans she has to publish a long-term strategy to help energy conservation authorities reach that target [3863]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answers 16 July 2001]: Under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA), energy conservation authorities are obliged to prepare a report identifying practicable and cost effective measures to improve significantly the energy efficiency of all residential accommodation in their area and to report on progress made in implementing those measures. There is no statutory target, but "significant" has been defined as 30 per cent. and strategies are expected to make at least substantial progress towards 30 per cent. improvement over 10 years.
Details of the reported percentage improvements in the period 1 April 1996 to 31 March 2000 have been placed in the Libraries of the House in my reply to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Linda Gilroy) on 30 November 2000, Official Report, columns 757–58W.
The Government assist local authorities with their work on energy efficiency by providing financial support for the Energy Saving Trust's local authority programme. Over the last six years, the HECAction initiative has awarded grants to 339 local authorities, totalling £23 million. This pump-priming has levered in an estimated £200 million in private sector funding.
I recently announced a review of the policy framework within which local authorities carry out their energy efficiency activities, to be completed by the end of the year. One of the issues that this will address is the operation of HECA, including its reporting requirements 297W and how they might be improved. We will involve stakeholders in the review process and will actively seek the views of energy conservation authorities on how they can make greater progress in improving energy efficiency in the future.