§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Energy what advice his Department has made available to the public on the relative benefits of differing methods and types of insulation against heat loss.
338W
§ Dr. John A. CunninghamThe domestic part of the "Save It" campaign, which was launched on 20th January 1975, has concentrated on providing advice to the public on the costs and relative benefits of all forms of home insulation. Special attention has been given to "do-it-yourself" insulation for lofts, hot water cyclinders and draught excluders. My Department has spent some £2 million on its home insulation campaign since January 1975.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Energy what information his Department is making available to the public about the financial savings resulting from home insulation against heat loss.
§ Dr. John A. CunninghamMy Department is currently conducting a national campaign to promote the availability of three booklets—"Compare Your Home Heating Costs"; "How Well is Your Home Insulated?"; "Energy Saving In the Home". These booklets all mention the benefits of proper home insulation and the booklet "How Well is Your Home Insulated?" gives more detailed information about the financial savings resulting from insulation against heat loss. Since the campaign was launched on 5th February some 200,000 requests for these leaflets have come from members of the public.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken or plans to take to encourage owner-occupiers, landlords and tenants to insulate their homes against heat loss.
§ Dr. John A. CunninghamThe financial and other benefits which the individual can gain by wise investment in insulation have been prominently featured in my Department's "Save it" campaign over the last two years. This has included Press and television advertising, posters, leaflets and booklets, and we are currently distributing three booklets or leaflets—"Compare your Home Heating Costs", "Energy Saving in the Home" and "How well is your house insulated?"—all of which refer to insulation; I am sending copies to my hon. Friend. As a further measure aimed at helping local authority landlords and tenants, arrangements have been made whereby 339W local authorities can use labour under the job creation programme for insulating the roofs of council houses. I plan to continue these activities.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the estimated total spending on the provision of thermal insulation in houses and flats in the United Kingdom during each of the last five years for which figures are available.
§ Dr. John A. CunninghamNo information is at present available about total spending on the provision of thermal insulation in houses and flats in the United Kingdom during, and prior to, 1973. For 1974 and 1975, however, rough estimates suggest that for existing and new dwellings a total of perhaps £40 and £55 million in each year respectively may have been spent on cavity-wall fill and loft and hot water cylinder insulation. The cost of double glazing installations, which also contributes to energy conservation, varies widely, and no reliable average cost estimates are available. However, total expenditure on double glazing is likely to have been rather higher than the totals quoted above.