HC Deb 22 July 1991 vol 195 c340W
Mr. Gould

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what new initiatives have been taken since September 1990 to encourage people to use energy more efficiently; and what further action the Government intend to take in the longer term.

Mr. Wakeham

The Energy Efficiency Office, whose budget for 1991–92 has been increased to £42 million, has pursued a number of initiatives since the publication of the White Paper on the environment in September 1990. These initiatives includeestablishment of the ministerial group on energy efficiency, under my chairmanship, which aims to promote awareness of and raise the profile of energy efficiency and monitor the effectiveness of the Government's energy efficiency programmes: introduction on 1 January 1991 of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, which offers grants towards the cost of insulation measures in low income households; increased resources for the Best Practice programme, which continues to offer independent and authoritative advice and information on energy efficiency; reorganisation and strengthening of the EEO's regional energy efficiency office; encouragement for manufacturers and retailers in their current promotion of high efficiency lamps, which have already achieved substantial increases in take-up; and participation, in conjunction with other Departments, in a programme of some 80 seminars for public and private sector organisations; Further initiatives already announced, and on which work continues, include: a major new three-year publicity campaign, conducted jointly with the Department of the Environment, has been announced and will begin this autumn. It is aimed at promoting energy efficiency in the home and explaining the impact of energy use on the environment; a new promotional campaign aimed at the senior management of top energy users in the UK with headquarters in London and operational sites throughout the country; and further progress with the campaign on the Government estate. Continuing support is also being given to the promotion of home energy labelling and the development of a voluntary scheme for appliance labelling in advance of mandatory proposals from the EC. I will be publishing in the autumn a report on the achievements of the ministerial group during the first 12 months of operation.