§ Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring her Department has carried out to assess the effectiveness of the(a) Carbon Trust and (b) Energy Saving Trust; and if she will make a statement. [113452]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Carbon Trust is a private company created in April 2001 to take the lead on energy efficiency in the business and public sectors, and to support the development of the low carbon sector in the UK. The Trust has already done much valuable work in developing its three main programme areas and is taking a proactive role in the energy efficiency arena in its role as the main source of energy efficiency information and advice for the non-domestic sector. An initial impact assessment programme for the Trust is being developed and should provide preliminary results over the summer.
890WA policy evaluation of the Energy Saving Trust to review their effectiveness in carrying out their objectives in the period 1996–99 was completed in September 2000. The report concluded that the Energy Saving Trust had a valuable contribution to make to the Government's sustainable energy objectives in promoting energy efficiency and that there was a continuing case for funding those objectives that could not be met through other sources.
The Government's Energy White Paper has made clear that they will continue to support the work of the two trusts. It also announced a review of low carbon delivery programmes and associated support bodies before the end of 2004.