The role of local government
96. Local authorities are clearly crucial
partners in the effort to promote energy efficiency particularly
with regard to their residents, for which the Home Energy Conservation
Act is the spur, but also their local businesses and industry.
We benefited from formal evidence and informal discussions in
Nottingham with the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Local Authorities
Energy Partnership (LAEP). The LAEP involves partnership between
authorities but also between local government and other bodies
including industry and the voluntary sector. We were extremely
impressed with the plans and achievements of the Nottingham and
Derbyshire Local Authorities Energy Partnership. We recognise
that such efforts have not been made everywhere but the initiative
demonstrates what is possible. We have also noted however
the conclusions of the first report by the Secretary of State
for the Environment, Transport and the Regions under HECA. The
report reveals that local authorities have not seized the energy
efficiency agenda across the board but that there are pockets
of excellence of which the LAEP is one. However, we conclude that
where intensive efforts have been made barriers have been encountered
fairly quickly. As noted above a major complaint was over the
time and effort it took to achieve coherence between the various
sources of funding available. There were also significant procedural
barriers and we heard of a number of examples where Government
rules and regulations had to be outwitted to achieve Government
objectives.
97. A main difficulty has been encountered with the
legal propriety of local authorities forming or participating
in energy service companies. The importance of local government
involvement was stressed because of the likelihood that competitive
energy suppliers would cherry-pick higher income customers and
the benefits of market liberalisation would not accrue to those
on low incomes. The role of local government would be to see equitable
distribution of benefits. We recommend that the Government
take steps to address the apparent lack of clarity in Clause 14
of the Local Government Bill regarding the legal capacity of local
authorities to establish or run energy services companies.
98. The Government intends to introduce legislation
to place a new duty on councils "to promote the economic,
social and environmental well-being of their area" providing
an over-arching framework for local government.[124]
Our witnesses believed that implementing this commitment would
assist local authorities to pursue integrated policies on sustainable
development including the promotion of energy efficiency.[125]
We agree and look forward to this duty being given legislative
force in the near future.
99. We welcome the initiative by the DETR to assess
the experience of the LAEP as an example of an excellent striver
in this field. We welcome the Government's plans to assess
formally the lessons to be learned from the Partnership's experience
in terms of disseminating best practice. As well as demonstrating
best practice we regard the Partnership initiative as demonstrating
what is not possible. We recommend that as well as extracting
lessons for best practice, the Government's review process also
focuses upon the barriers encountered by the Partnership and that
Ministers take steps to address these. This would be an example
of the sort of task we envisage for the new unit we recommend
above.
The need for action
100. The integration of efficiency and
conservation into energy policy has not been impressive. The timetable
necessary for action is now being dictated by the UK's international
obligations with results needed under the Kyoto Protocol in 2005
and 2010. Besides the precise legal requirements of the Kyoto
Protocol, there is a need to demonstrate that the UK continues
to take the matter of climate change seriously and is looking
to the longer term so that we can continue to exercise leadership
upon the international stage in this important matter. The liberalisation
of the energy markets and the introduction of competition was
undertaken without due regard for energy efficiency and what provision
was made was hampered by the attitude of the previous Director-General
of Gas Supply. The present Government has understandably been
concerned with policy reviews and consultations on an enormous
range of issues and this has taken its toll on progress in any
one area. However, in the proposals for utilities reform there
exists the potential for a better integration of energy efficiency
considerations with those of supply. But these are as yet still
proposals not even having sufficient weight and clarity to guide
the current regulator. The legislation is awaited and is needed
as is firm proposals for the UK's climate change programme as
a whole. We believe that the Government needs to step up the pace
with these initiatives if it is going to convince onlookers that
it is committed to the project and if it is going to have mechanisms
in place to deliver the 'demonstrable progress' required by 2005
under international obligations.
85 The Case for a Sustainable Energy Agency, The
Green Alliance, 1999. Back
86 Q625 Back
87 See
Q132 Back
88 Ibid
and Q626 Back
89 UK
Energy Policy Review, 1998, p 47 Back
90 Ev
pp 14ff Back
91 Q587 Back
92 Q648 Back
93 Q604 Back
94 The
Trade and Industry Committee has recently concluded taking evidence
in its inquiry into the Climate Change Levy and is expected to
report shortly. Back
95 Q263 Back
96 Q190 Back
97 Q246 Back
98 Ev
p 366 Back
99 IP/99/117:
proposal to amend Dir77/388/EC on a common VAT system to allow
the application of a reduced rate of VAT on labour-intensive services
for an experimental period, February 1998, European Commission. Back
100 Q136 Back
101 HC1006,
1997-98 Back
102 Q439 Back
103 Q63 Back
104 Q492 Back
105 Ev
p 14 Back
106 Q518 Back
107 Q671 Back
108 Q518 Back
109 Q431 Back
110 Ev
p 173 Back
111 Q464 Back
112 Q468 Back
113 Q485-6 Back
114 Q582 Back
115 Ev
p 228 Back
116 DETR,
Building Regulations Divsion, review of energy efficiency requirements
in the building regulations - response to consultation, July 1999. Back
117 Q618 Back
118 Ev
p 228 Back
119 Q141 Back
120 Op
Cit, p 45 Back
121 Warm
homes, low bills, cool planet, p
13 Back
122 Ev
p 60 Back
123 Q626 Back
124 Modern
local government - in touch with the people, Cm
4012, DETR, July 1998 Back
125 Q544 Back