§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has to review the(a) administration of and (b) expenditure on home insulation grants; how much his Department has given in home insulation grants in each of the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [6324]
§ Angela EagleWe have no plans to review the administration of the home energy efficiency scheme (HEES), which is carried out by Eaga Ltd. of Newcastle upon Tyne, and which is monitored by my Department. Expenditure on HEES is considered, along with that for all the Department's programmes, as part of discussions on public expenditure.
Expenditure on HEES grants over the last four years is as shown, for Great Britain as a whole and for Wales. The figures for the current year are estimates.
£ million Year Great Britain Wales 1993–94 38.3 1.8 1994–95 77.0 3.7 1995–96 99.7 5.2 1996–97 68.2 3.4 1997–98(estimated) 69.0 3.8 Major changes to HEES, which were made by the previous administration, came into force on 1 July. I shall take an early opportunity to review the operation of the scheme in order to check that it is meeting the needs of customers.