§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what specific guidelines he has issued to hospitals about energy consumption during the last three years.
§ Mr. John PattenDuring the last three years, the Department has issued guidelines to health authorities on a number of energy conservation measures including recovering waste heat from incinerators and in laundries, minimising heat losses in hot water systems, energy management systems, replacement of inefficient boilers, thermal insulation of buildings and appropriate engineering services, small-scale combined heat and power plants and checks on energy saving effectiveness. A computer program has been made available for making decisions locally, when planning long-term investment in energy saving measures.
572WRegional health authorities have been provided with an analysis of the energy consumed in their districts over a seven year period ending 1981–82, together with the national average figures to assist them in their monitoring role.
The Department is working with the relevant regional health authorities on the development of low energy hospitals on the Isle of Wight and at Ashington, Northumberland, from which lessons can be learned for more general application.