§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 27 March 2003,Official Report, column 311W, when final decisions will be made on the level of expenditure in support of energy efficiency in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [110423]
§ Mr. MorleyFinal decisions have now been taken. In 2003–04 the total spending available from Defra to support energy efficiency will be £268,042,000.
This includes £33,500,000 for The Carbon Trust, £22,487,000 for the Energy Saving Trust and £22,055,000 for the Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme. In spite of heavy pressures on Defra's overall spending, these budgets remain broadly unchanged from last year reflecting the importance we attach to energy efficiency following the Energy White Paper. In addition, over £34,000,000 of capital grants and development support are available under the Community Energy. The budget for fuel poverty will be £156,000,000. No decisions have yet been taken about spending levels in future years.