§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will give for each available year from 1978 the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency of his Department in(a) cash terms and (b) 1990–91 money terms;
(2) if he will give for each available year from 1978, the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by his Department, expressing the figures in (a) cash terms, (b) 1990–91 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes; and if he will give the square footage of accommodation to which these figures relate;
(3) if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in his Department in the last five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 3 June 1991]: The Department is committed to supporting the Government's initiative aimed at reducing energy consumption on the civil estate by 15 per cent. over the next five years. In addition to the two technically qualified energy managers, energy liaison officers have been appointed in the Department's agencies, and within each of the major operational units at Newcastle and Fylde benefit directorates and in the territories supporting the district offices of the benefits agencies. They have been trained in the mechanisms for assessing building performance and have been given an operational appraisal of the characteristics of heating and lighting systems to enable opportunities for improvement to be identified. Performance measures have also recently been introduced which will assist in setting and monitoring the agreed overall departmental target of 3 per cent. saving in energy consumption in the 1991–92 financial year.
An allocation of £562,000 has been made for energy efficiency initiatives in the financial year 1991–92. This is in addition to sums which will be spent as an integral pan of building refurbishment and new construction projects. Particular attention is being given to boiler replacement and improvements to lighting using high-frequency, low-energy fluorescent and ultra-sonic controls.
The figures in the table show the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency in the Department since 1987–88. Information is not available separately for the Departments of Health and Social Security prior to 1989–90. Further investment was made by the Property Services Agency but the amount cannot be identified separately from the agency's overall expenditure on energy 277W efficiency. Figures have not yet been finalised for 1990–91 but it is estimated that the amount in cash terms will be approximately £140,000.
Year Cash terms £ 1990–91 money terms £ 1987–88 54,000 166,501 1988–89 65,000 174,490 1989–90 133,000 2143,308
Year £ million Cash terms £ million 1990–91 Money terms Therms million Kwh million Litres million Tonnes Area sq. ft million 1985–86 11.76 15.75 13.34 1l0 9.50 7,314 15.93 1986–87 9.68 12.55 8.5 110 9.05 8,230 16.25 1987–88 9.80 12.07 8.4 130 9.05 7,077 16.79 1988–89 9.95 11.40 7.8 130 4.60 4,250 17.33 1989–90 9.87 10.63 7.6 145 3.94 4.201 114.75 1 DSS only The 16 energy audits carried out between 1986–87 and 1988–89 in the DH/DSS buildings and in 14 DSS buildings in 1989–90 have concentrated on the least efficient offices. In addition to the initiatives mentioned which address some of the conclusions we are considering others such as the installation of water meters and water flow controls, remedying defects to window frames, maintaining records of the utilities and displaying "Energy Management" posters for publicity.