§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide results of the success of the green housekeeping action plan and the other schemes in(a) the Northern Ireland Office and (b) each of the other Government departments in Northern Ireland. [15422]
§ Mr. MossAll Government Departments in Northern Ireland have adopted the green housekeeping approach and many measures have been implemented successfully.
Significant success has been achieved in the areas of energy efficiency and recycling.
549WOver the first three years of the UK"wide energy efficiency campaign to reduce energy consumption within the public sector by 15 per cent., Northern Ireland achieved an 8.12 per cent. improvement in energy performance £/m2. Work will continue to implement fully the strategy for the public sector campaign.
Paper recycling has been introduced throughout the entire Northern Ireland civil service, with most offices now having introduced schemes for the recycling of normal "basket" waste paper and a single tender has been awarded for the shredding and pulping of classified material.
Other recycling schemes include the letting of a contract for the collection and recycling of ink/toner cartridges from personal computers.
§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set out the cost of implementing the green housekeeping action plan and similar environmental schemes in(a) the Northern Ireland Office and (b) each of the other Government Departments in Northern Ireland. [15421]
§ Mr. MossThere are no separate budgets assigned to green housekeeping activities within the Northern Ireland Office and other Government Departments as these, to a large extent, formalise good management practice. Costs are absorbed within existing budgets for buildings repair and maintenance, and the purchase of equipment etc.
Green housekeeping measures do not always incur a cost since for example, the shredding and pulping of waste paper instead of incineration provides both financial savings and environmental improvements.
§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide a list(a) of the Property owned by the Northern Ireland Office and leased out and (b) of the property leased by the Northern Ireland Office. [15419]
§ Sir John WheelerThe Northern Ireland Office either leases or owns various properties, most of which are used for official business but there are a number of residential properties.
The Northern Ireland Office does not lease out any of the property owned by the department.
Disclosure of the details of the properties is not considered advisable on grounds of personal security.