§ 29. Mr. Gregoryasked the Secretary of State for Energy what assistance his Department is giving to neighbourhood energy action; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David HuntMy Department's grant to neighbourhood energy action for 1986–87 is £275,000. This compares with a grant of £186,764 in 1985–86. The increase is to enable NEA to expand the services that it provides to the voluntary insulation projects. The number of projects has increased from 114 in March last year to over 260 in May this year, and is expected to increase further to about 400 by the end of this year. NEA provides management advice, information and training to the projects. I regard NEA's services as a major contribution to the success achieved by the projects in insulating over 170,000 low-income households to date.