Memorandum submitted by the Local Authorities'
Energy Partnership
SUMMARY
1. This report represents the views of the Local
Authorities' Energy Partnership on the role of local government
within any national energy policy framework.
2. The report clearly shows that there is very
little legal responsibility on local authorities to deliver energy
efficiency improvements. Much of the work of the Local Authorities'
Energy Partnership is done on a voluntary basis in order to contribute
to national, European and international targets. There is the
need for a national framework from government to support and encourage
all local authorities to deliver the multiple benefits of energy
efficiency.
3. Key recommendations from the Local Authorities'
Energy Partnership include:
— The need for a national policy.
— The need for a holistic approach
to the energy services issue.
— The need for regionally agreed targets.
— The need for greater resources to
fund a co-ordinated energy policy at the local level.
— The need for changes to the rules
for local government, to allow entrepreneurial approaches to problems
and better use of existing resources.
— The need for nationally co-ordinated
data management, under the responsibility of local authorities.
— The need for longer-term energy strategies,
with a view to effecting significant lifestyle changes through
education.
4. This report has been prepared by Sara Batley
of the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montford
University, as policy advisor to the Local Authorities' Energy
Partnership. Constructive input from a LAEP working group was
crucial in its preparation and submission to the House of Commons
Environment Audit Committee.
INTRODUCTION
5. For many years local authorities have worked
hard to meet the challenges of improved energy conservation and
efficiency in their offices, schools and in the social housing
sector. Often, progress has been achieved despite previously a
lack of financial Government support.
6. In 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit, the UK
Government made a commitment to foster sustainable development
through the Local Agenda 21 process and the Framework Convention
on Climate Change. Local authorities were recognised as key players
in these initiatives which would improve quality of life for everyone.
7. As part of this process local authorities
recognised the pressing need to cut atmospheric emissions produced
by the burning of non-renewable fossil fuels for energy and transport.
The need to improve energy efficiency and conservation measures
still further and to actively promote the use of renewable energy
sources will go some way to reducing the environmental damage
of these activities.
8. Local authorities in Nottinghamshire and
Derbyshire realised that collaborative working would enhance the
effectiveness of individual efforts to carry out these initiatives.
In consequence the Local Authorities' Energy Partnership was established
in February 1996.
9. All the local authorities in Nottinghamshire
and Derbyshire: districts, boroughs, counties and unitaries, are
members of this Partnership which to date has achieved remarkable
successes, including securing grant assistance from within the
UK and EU for innovative energy efficiency and conservation schemes
to be carried out within the Partnership area.
10. In order to direct and focus its work in
future years, the Partnership has produced a Strategy which gives
an overview of current energy issues, examples of best practice
within the Partnership authorities, scenarios predicting the future
energy demands of the economy and recommendations directing collaborative
working between Partnership members to promote energy efficiency,
conservation and the use of renewable energy sources.
11. This Strategy has been cited in the LGA
document "Energy Services for Sustainable Communities"
as an example of integrated local energy planning (page 42). Nottinghamshire
County Council, Derbyshire County Council and the Institute of
Energy and Sustainable Development advised on the LGA document.
The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership welcomes the LGA document
as a complementary position statement to its own Strategy.
12. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
particularly notes the recommendation within the LGA document:
"1. It is now essential for the government to develop
a coherent national sustainable energy strategy integrating environmental,
social and economic aims." (page 11). The Partnership
agrees with this recommendation and welcomes the opportunity to
discuss the local approach to an energy strategy with the Environment
Audit Committee.
THE LOCAL
AUTHORITIES ENERGY
PARTNERSHIP—INTEGRATING
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
13. "The aspirations of the LAEP is to
steer the counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire towards sustainable
development and support local economic regeneration. The vision
of the Partnership is linked to four key objectives."
Quality of life—To be at the forefront
of environmental protection and sustainability by reducing CO2
emissions by at least 30 per cent. of 1990 levels by the year
2010.
Economic regeneration—To establish energy
purchasing to secure increased financial benefits for the Partnership
and wider community and to create local economic regeneration
through investment in energy conservation and renewable energy
initiatives.
Countering Social Exclusion—To progress
initiatives leading to the eradication of fuel poverty and the
provision of affordable warmth and energy for all.
Sustainable development—To become a "European
Centre of Excellence and Innovation" in the field of energy
management, conservation and renewable energy" An Energy
Strategy to 2020, pages 7 to 8.
14. Some of these issues have seen legislative
expression primarily in the form of the Home Energy Conservation
Act 1995 and duties to develop Local Agenda 21 strategies. As
discussed in Chapter 5 of An Energy Strategy to 2020, the Partnership
recognises the complex network of global issues, local issues,
health issues, job creation potential, environmental issues, and
quality of life that surround energy related work. The Partnership
Strategy is an attempt at joined up thinking on the energy issue,
to integrate social, economic and environmental concerns.
ENERGY SERVICES
FOR SUSTAINABLE
COMMUNITIES
15. "As advocated by many energy efficiency
practitioners, the home requires heat and light, not gas and electricity."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 29.
16. "But nobody actually wants energy as
such. Rather, we want the services energy provides. We want warm
comfortable homes, not to consume gas or electricity as such.
Businesses want their goods delivered to customers; the consumption
of fuel by the vehicle is only a means to that end. The same principle
applies to all energy uses." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, page 13.
17. Energy services are the key to the provision
of energy efficiency measures on a wide scale. But significant
barriers exist to prevent either the energy regulator, utilities
or local authorities becoming involved in the provision of services
to UK energy consumers.
18. "3. Energy policy should be based on
the principle of providing energy services with less use
of environmentally damaging forms of energy." Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 13.
19. "Recommendation 1; The Partnership
will seek to work with local energy providers to ensure that an
energy efficiency service is provided to the region." An
Energy Strategy to 2020, page 31.
20. "4. Government should create a new
regulatory framework for the energy sector which will enable energy
supply companies to make profits by becoming energy service companies
and by reducing the amount of energy their customers need to use
to obtain the services they need." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, page 14.
21. "16. Regulation of energy industries
should aim to provide affordable energy services for all.
This is not the same thing as cheap energy. This should encompass
all energy companies." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 18.
22. These recommendations have been echoed by
the UK Round Table on Sustainable Development: "Recommendation
4. The Government and the regulators should provide a framework
which encourages companies to develop energy services. Recommendations
5. The Government and industry should consider promoting the development
of energy services if these do not emerge quickly of their own
accord." The domestic energy market: 1998 and beyond, paragraph
14. The Round Table also made recommendations regarding the role
of energy efficiency in the liberalised energy market. The report
is of some relevance to the current inquiry on energy efficiency
held by the Environmental Audit Committee.
23. "29. Government should review the current
rules for private finance, local government housing expenditure,
capital receipts, debts and housing benefit with a view to enabling
energy efficiency investments in public sector housing to be financed
out of future energy savings in straightforward and cost-effective
ways. Local authority powers to provide energy and energy services,
and to link energy charges and rents, should also be clarified.
The guiding principle should be the admirably pragmatic slogan
of Best Value, "what matters is what works". Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 26.
24. "Recommendation 2: The Partnership
will seek to develop an ESCO for the region, or work with an existing
ESCO to support its activities in operating in the area."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 46.
25. "As trusted, non-profit making organisations
working in the public interest, local authorities could play an
important role in energy services in housing of all tenures. Despite
the current barriers and uncertainties, several local authorities
. . . are already in negotiations to support ESCOs or act as ESCOs
themselves." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 26.
26. The Local Authorities Energy Partnership
has had some experience of the difficulties involved in delivering
energy services when constrained by the legal and financial responsibilities
to which local authorities are subject. The Partnership is of
the opinion that "Private sector ESCOs will emerge to target
the fuel rich as deregulation becomes more established and the
initial fuel cost competition fades . . . If the fuel poor are
to benefit it is vital that the existing statutory obstacles to
the public sector and public/private partnership ESCOs are removed.
This is an area where only Government can deliver." Response
to the UK Climate Change Programme Consultation Paper, page 3.
THE ENERGY
HIERARCHY
27. "The large scale implementation of
energy efficiency measures and the increased use of renewable
energy should be seen as part of an overall strategy to reduce,
reuse and recycle resources, as advocated by sustainable development
principles." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 47.
28. "2. These aims could be summed up in
an `energy hierarchy' analogous to the famous `waste hierarchy'
. . .
(1) reduce the need for energy;
(2) use energy more efficiently;
(3) use renewable energy;
(4) any continuing use of fossil fuel to be clean and efficient
for heating and co-generation." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, pages 12-13.
29. Many of the recommendations contained within
the LGA position statement can be found, in some form, in the
LAEP Energy Strategy. Since the LAEP Energy Strategy to 2020 concentrates
on what Local Authorities can deliver within the Partnership framework,
it does not recommend action by central Government, however. Many
of the recommendations made in Chapter 4 of Energy Services for
Sustainable Communities are aimed at central Government, whilst
Chapter 5 discusses the role of local Government.
THE LOCAL
AUTHORITY AND
ITS LEGAL
RESPONSIBILITIES WITH
REGARD TO
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
30. Many of the activities carried out by local
authorities with respect to energy efficiency are not legal obligations
placed upon them, but are added value services to their
citizens. In the sections below, legal aspects of the work of
local authorities are discussed, and recommendations regarding
the integration of such requirements into an energy policy are
included.
Local Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development
31. "Modern societies are critically dependent
on the supply of energy. The way in which energy is produced,
supplied and consumed is one of the major ways in which human
activity affects the environment." Sustainable Development:
The UK Strategy. Summary Report, page 14.
32. Recommendations within Chapter 28 of the
United Nations document on Agenda 21 focuses on the role of local
government and recommends that all local authorities create a
Local Agenda 21 sustainability strategy. Energy is one issue with
which Local Agenda 21 is concerned. Much of the work of Local
Agenda 21 officers and Energy officers on sustainability issues
is not, however, directly legislated for and is in fact voluntary.
The Home Energy Conservation Act
33. "Recommendation 13: The Partnership
will seek to reach the HECA target of an improvement in energy
efficiency of 30 per cent. for the domestic sector by 2005."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 15.
34. This recommendation falls within a section
on quality of life in the LAEP Energy Strategy, which is a key
issue for the Partnership. Newark and Sherwood District Council
is an exemplar listed in the LGA position statement (page 23)
for its work on affordable warmth program.
35. "Local Authorities currently have little
power to deliver HECA targets in the private sector. These need
to be strengthened. Two specific changes needed to increase the
penetration of energy efficiency in private sector housing are:
27. The government should require the energy
performance of all housing offered for sale or rent to be reported
in an informative, standard way and should encourage all mortgage
lenders to take likely energy costs into account in agreeing loans.
28. Powers to intervene over unsafe or unfit
buildings should be extended to allow local authorities to require
owners to bring grossly energy inefficient housing up to current
good practice standard." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, page 25.
36. "26. Government should initiate (and
enable the funding of) a major programme of energy efficiency
retrofit in housing, managed through local authorities. This is
one of the simplest, most obvious and long overdue sustainable
energy initiatives." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 25.
37. "29. Government should review the current
rules for private finance, local government housing expenditure,
capital receipts, debts and housing benefit with a view to enabling
energy efficiency investments in public sector housing to be financed
out of future energy savings in straightforward and cost-effective
ways. Local authority powers to provide energy and energy services,
and to link energy charges and rents, should also be clarified.
The guiding principle should be the admirably pragmatic slogan
of Best Value, `what matters is what works'." Energy Services
for Sustainable Communities, page 26.
38. "30. After the review of rules, government
should support pilots and studies with a view to developing
a major programme of energy services provision in housing with
the active involvement of local authorities." Energy Services
for Sustainable Communities, page 27.
39. As a landlord, the local authority is in
a position to enable energy efficiency improvements in its own
housing stock, although resources are scarce for such works. As
discussed in paragraph 35, central government support is needed
if HECA targets are to be achieved in the private sector. Whilst
the Home Energy Conservation Act requires Energy Conservation
Authorities to develop a strategy, and measures, to deliver energy
efficiency savings of 30 per cent., there is no statutory duty
to carry out the measures identified, and no extra funding allocated
to local authorities to deliver such a target.
40. Rules governing the Housing Improvement
Program (HIP) indicate that allocation of resources, following
the evaluation of a local authority's HIP submission, could be
influenced by energy efficiency considerations. The government
expects a robust policy in respect of housing stock energy efficiency.
In reality the allocation of resources based on the merit of submission
is a small part of the overall allocation, and therefore budgets
rarely reflect a Housing Authority's commitment to energy efficiency.
Building regulations
41. With regard to new housing, much can be
done to improve the current building standards. This will contribute
towards Housing Department strategies, and Home Energy Conservation
Act targets. Without improvements to the standards of new housing,
savings made through work on HECA could be negated by the energy
needs of new homes.
42. "31. The government should progressively
increase the energy efficiency requirements in the Building Regulations
towards the ideal of zero net "greenhouse" emissions.
In addition to insulation performance, regulations should give
due weight to:
— use of renewable (especially solar)
energy;
— built form (e.g., ratio of external
wall to floor area; reflecting energy benefits of medium rise,
terrace);
— natural lighting and ventilation;
— efficiency of appliances and services
(including CHP);
— how well the building encourages/eases
sustainable lifestyles—for example is it easy and straightforward
for occupants to adjust heating to minimise use?" Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 27.
43. "32. The energy efficiency provisions
in the building regulations should be extended and made more effective
for all types of building and applied to all major refurbishment
as well as new construction." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, page 27.
Local Authority building stock
44. With regard to local authority buildings,
the LGA document recommends the following action on central government:
"36. Local government finance rules should be changed to
enable local authorities to make cost-effective energy saving
investments and recoup the costs from future energy savings, as
well as switch to using "green" energy." Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 28. See also paragraph
72 for the Partnership's own targets for local authority building
stock. Many local authorities have been able to make significant
improvements to their own stock, primarily through housekeeping
improvements. However, the pace of technology and the increased
use of personal computers, photocopiers and printers in the work
place has tended to reduce the savings made, and in some cases
negate them.
Environmental protection
45. Local Authorities do have responsibility
for local air pollution targets and environmental standards. Energy
has an impact on these aspects of local authority work, particularly
with respect to raw material extraction, refining and electricity
generation impacts on environment and air quality. Many of the
recommendations regarding renewable energy and transport within
the LGA position statement would relate to the duties which local
authorities have towards environmental protection. This report
focuses on energy efficiency only, however.
46. "There are many benefits to the rational
use of energy and the use of renewable energy . . . Environmental:
There is the conservation of scarce resources, reduction in global
pollution threats, reduced impact of raw material extraction,
reduced local pollution, and the positive and negative effects
on local noise levels and visual impact of energy developments/traffic
levels." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 9.
47. "49. `Greenhouse' emissions should
be bought within the UK's system of integrated pollution control,
and should (for example) be a major factor in decisions on Best
Practicable Environmental Option." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, page 34.
Best value, energy purchasing and CHP
48. "58. Government should explicitly sanction
local authorities to apply sustainability criteria in their own
energy purchasing including origin, generation efficiency and
contribution to local sustainable energy strategies; and set an
example itself." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 39.
49. "61. Energy impacts should be considered
as part of Best Value in all local authority service design. Greenhouse
impact per unit of service delivery should be a standard performance
indicator for Best Value in all local authority service areas."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 40.
50. See also paragraph 37 above the LGA recommendations
relating to energy purchasing and Best Value. Best value should
be seen as more than "cheapest", but include sustainability
issues, environmental impact and lifecycle issues, and other long-term
considerations.
The planning authority
51. Under Town and Country Planning Act (1990)
legislation, local authorities have a responsibility to write
plans regarding their area's development. National Governments
acts to inform and guide policy in the form of Planning Policy
Guidance (PPG). PPG1 covers general policy and principles of writing
a development plan. Whilst it includes a section on sustainable
development, no mention is made of energy efficiency. To an
extent, local planning officers have very little guidance on how
to consider energy within any development plan, or how to consider
energy issues when considering a planning application.
52. "38. Local planning authorities should
have powers to discourage unnecessary air conditioning and other
energy intensive building services through policy objectives,
promotion and guidance; supported by fiscal measures." Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 29.
53. The LGA position statement also refers to
transport implication of developments and the role that the Planning
Authority can take, in recommendation number 43 (page 32).
Social energy benefits: health and jobs
54. Much of the work done by Partnership members
to link energy with health and jobs issues in the local authority
have been done without any significant legislation. The impact
of the development of Health Action Zones, Health Improvement
Programs, Welfare to Work, and the Environmental Task Force is
as yet uncertain, but could have positive benefits on the energy
issue.
THE LOCAL
AUTHORITY AND
ITS VOLUNTARY
ACTIONS WITH
REGARD TO
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
55. Despite a lack of UK legislation, local
authorities have been able to make significant contributions towards
European and International targets on sustainable development.
Not all local authorities are making the same level of progress,
however. The Home Energy Conservation Act targets are very difficult
to achieve with limited resources. Sustainable development issues
are still not being taken up at the Chief Executive level. National
and regional policies are required to help drive change. With
further policy support at a national and regional level, ambitious
government targets on energy efficiency, CO2 emissions
and renewable energy will be more rapidly and easily achieved
at the local level.
56. "20. The government should establish
a single focus of responsibility within Whitehall for a national
sustainable energy strategy, with the power to co-ordinate all
the disparate government interventions to achieve overall policy
aims." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page
20.
57. "21. Government needs to establish
a non-competitive process for sharing out responsibility
for achieving national targets between different regions on a
negotiated basis taking full account of the different characteristics,
circumstances, opportunities and barriers in each region."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 20.
58. "22. Energy efficiency promotion needs
to be given a higher profile in the work of the regional government
offices, and fully integrated with their other responsibilities."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 20.
59. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
has recognised the value of working with European partners, particularly
on energy issues, since many European countries have more experience
in the integration of renewables in the built environment and
the development of low energy load buildings. Successful projects
include the Newark and Sherwood Energy Agency.
60. "5. Government should welcome the European
Commission communication "Energy efficiency in the European
Community—towards a strategy for the rational use of energy",
and work with European partners to put its recommendations on
energy services into practice on the basis this paper outlines."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 14.
61. The International and European agenda has
driven much of the work on the LAEP's own Energy Strategy. The
energy departments of these local authorities have been willing
to adopt the principles of sustainable development, and hope that
by example they can influence other local authority decision makers
to do the same. Collaboration on long-term energy strategies for
the UK, involving central and local government, can significantly
benefit the integration of energy and sustainable development.
62. "63. Government and local governments
should develop a new kind of longer range planning framework
to guide the transition to sustainable energy over a 30 to 50
year horizon, with explicit overall and stage targets, and consideration
given to regional aspects." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, page 42.
Climate Change
63. "Recommendation 12: The Partnership
will strive towards the reduction of energy use in Authority owned
non-domestic buildings, with a target of 30 per cent. reduction
on 1990 CO2 emissions in this sector by 2010."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 12.
64. The LGA position statement recognises the
actions Local Authorities can take with regard to occupation of
a large and varied estate (offices, sports halls, schools, residential
centres, community rooms, etc.). The work of Nottinghamshire County
Council in improving the efficiency of solid fuel boilers is cited
as an exemplar project (page 24).
Local Agenda 21 and sustainable development
65. The LGA recognises that "There is a
key role for local authorities in education, in its widest sense,
and in supporting behaviour changes in their communities."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 39.
66. "Recommendation 18: The Partnership
will seek to inform people of possible actions on energy efficiency
and renewable energy through regular local news items. Local Agenda
21 meetings, neighbourhood centre notice boards and other information
networks." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 13.
67. "An effective LA21 should therefore
incorporate an energy policy which advocates reducing the consumption
of energy and making greater use of renewable energy and Combined
Heat and Power." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 13.
68. Sustainable development, Local Agenda 21
and energy issues are very closely linked. Education to support
behavioural change is a key component of this work. The delivery
of sustainable development and climate change targets is commonly
seen as requiring 20 per cent. technical, 80 per cent. behavioural
solutions. The attitudinal change needs to come from more than
just the home owner.
69. "Creating a sustainable community will,
to a large extent, depend on the standard of energy efficiency
of the homes within the community. Housing associations, local
authorities and independent construction companies are already
building homes that exceed the 1995 Building Regulations, and
use the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) to measure
performance. However, achieving energy efficiency of the level
required for a sustainable community requires a radical re-think
of materials, methods and design." GIR 53, page 12.
Home Energy Conservation Act
70. "Recommendation 3: Partnership members
will seek to make energy efficiency an integral part of housing
and building maintenance." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page
30.
71. The Home Energy Conservation Act has great
potential to achieve energy efficiency improvements. What is also
required is a focus on affordable warmth and fuel poverty, and
resources to deliver the measures identified within HECA reports.
Local Authority building stock
72. "Recommendation 12. The Partnership
will strive towards the reduction of energy use in Authority owned
non-domestic buildings, with a target of 30 per cent. reduction
in 1990 CO2 emissions in this sector by the year 2010."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 12.
73. "Recommendation 11. The Partnership
will seek to share examples of good practice within the area through
increased dissemination of project results." An Energy Strategy
to 2020, page 41. This relates to more than local authority building
stock, since the activities of the Partnership are so wide ranging.
Best value, energy purchasing and CHP
74. "Recommendation 8: Partnership members
will seek to collaborate on the purchase of electricity which
utilises a high proportion of renewable and/or CHP generation
capacity. Where possible, the most rational method of generation
will be chosen, in terms of economics, environment and efficiency."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 22.
75. "Recommendation 6: The Partnership
will seek to support environmentally benign CHP developments in
the area whenever possible and where the market for heat and electricity
exists." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 21.
76. At present there is no thermal aspect of
the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation. There is considerable scope for
CHP and district heating within the UK, and the current structure
of NFFO discourages the development of renewable-fuelled combined
heat and power plant. The UK Climate Change Consultation Paper
estimates that a NFFO-type scheme to promote additional CHP linked
to community heating could save an additional 1.5 million tonnes
of carbon equivalent (page 46). A review of the means by which
CHP can be promoted should be carried out by government at the
local and national level.
77. "57. With input from environmental
and consumer groups, government should establish a standard method
for measuring the environmental credentials of energy supplies
and encourage energy suppliers to offer "green" options.
It should also encourage others—and the public sector in
particular—to set an example in buying "green energy".
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 39.
78. "Recommendation 4: The Partnership
members will seek to collaborate on the development of an energy
efficient purchasing policy, and where possible used combined
purchasing power to obtain the most economical purchase of efficient
products." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 46.
79. Green purchasing is an area of interest
to the general public and to the public sector. The local authority
could play a significant role as an independent advisory body
on such consumer issues.
80. "64. Local authorities should be encouraged
to identify and research opportunities, "broker" and
negotiate agreement between potential energy producers and users
seeking to ensure community stake in the development, and to invest
in relevant infrastructure such as heat mains." "Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 43. This recommendation
has implications with regard to the current legal powers that
local authorities have.
The Planning Authority
81. "Recommendation 10: The Partnership
Planning Authorities will seek to support the development of renewable
energy generation and CHP generation where the local market for
electricity and heat is demonstrated, and where local impacts
of such developments are acceptable." An Energy Strategy
to 2020, page 14.
82. "Recommendation 9: The Partnership
Planning Authorities will seek to consider the environmental and
energy implications of all major planning applications, and to
request environmental statements to be published where appropriate."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 34.
83. "Recommendation 7: The Partnership
will seek to support the development of low energy load buildings
in the region." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 31.
84. "56. In the planning process, local
authorities and government departments should be empowered and
required to consider all the local environmental, social and economic
benefits and disadvantages of proposed energy developments, including
the need for the development and its consistency with sustainability
policies—not only land use effects (e.g., is it more efficient
to invest in reducing demand not increasingly supply?)."
Energy for Sustainable Communities, p38.
85. "62. The government should require
any new settlements and major housing development (whether in
or out of existing urban areas) to achieve overall energy performance
(measured in greenhouse emissions per inhabitant over all day-to-day
activities) at least 80 per cent. better than current UK norms.
Local planning authorities should be given a duty to enforce such
targets, and powers to co-ordinate the inputs of planners, developers,
energy infrastructure and service providers, employers, and other
public agencies to achieve them." Energy Services for Sustainable
Communities, p42.
86. Planners themselves are not oblivious to
the need for a strategic approach to energy in order to influence
the UK's environmental performance. The Royal Town Planning Institute
states: "Current energy prices are not encouraging timely
action to implement the essential `clean' technologies and demand
management. But planning authorities can help by guiding investors
towards economic forms of development with buildings, services,
and transport systems which `sustainable communities' will find
reliable and affordable in terms of heat, power and access."
Energy planning: a guide for practitioners, p11.
Social energy benefits: health and jobs
87. "The provision of energy efficient
housing can reduce fuel poverty and provide affordable warmth.
Improvements to the housing stock can also reduce the incidence
of cold related illnesses. An Energy Strategy to 2020, p13.
88. "It is now recognised that up to 8
million people in the UK are in conditions which lead to fuel
poverty." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page
16.
89. "The Green Paper's recognition of the
influence of housing upon health is very welcome. In particular,
the importance of housing as an environmental impact on health
is given some prominence. The key role of housing in relation
to social and economic factors influencing health should be given
greater emphasis. For example, fuel poverty is presented (paragraph
2.5) as a problem attributable to low income. The relevance of
energy efficient housing is not mentioned." Local Government
Association response to Our Healthier Nation.
90. "Both energy efficiency and renewable
energy generally produce more local employment than other
energy generation/use technologies. Employment directly in the
energy sector supports many other jobs in the local economy, in
associated industries and also more generally due to the multiplier
effect. Reducing unemployment in the local area also reduces
the burden on the Treasury." An Energy Strategy to 2020,
page 14.
91. "The application of Welfare to Work
schemes to address a range of issues with multiple benefit could
usefully be explored For example, whilst providing employment,
a scheme focussed around installing insulation in homes could
also address environmental, economic, social inclusion and fuel
poverty issues." Local Government Association response to
Our Healthier Nation.
Education and advice
92. 40 per cent. of people in the LAEP area
are school children. Education for children on energy efficiency
is vital, since these people are our future decision makers. Lifelong
learning could also integrate the energy aspects of sustainable
development, when considering social responsibility of citizens.
The provision of energy efficiency advice, to the public, businesses
and to local authority officers, is a key part of the voluntary
work which the Partnership is undertaking. Members of the Partnership
are, for example, involved in "Turning the Tide", an
East Midlands educational campaign aimed at changing lifestyle
habits with regard to energy, waste, water and transport."
93. "Recommendation 17: the Partnership
will seek to prepare educational material suitable for school
and public use. This material will be made available in all public
buildings in the area." An Energy Strategy to 2020. page
42.
94. "Recommendation 16: The Partnership
will seek to provide telephone advice on energy efficiency and
renewable energy during office hours." An Energy Strategy
to 2020, page 41.
95. "Recommendation 14: The Partnership
will seek to share energy efficiency training events for staff,
where economic." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 41.
96. "Recommendation 15: The Partnership
will seek to include energy efficiency awareness as part of staff
induction training." An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 41.
97. "Recommendation 5: The Partnership
will seek to support the activities of the SATEEACs and the Newark
and Sherwood Energy Agency, through funding application support,
shared training activities, and campaign support and collaboration,
where appropriate, "An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 42.
98. "33. The government should increase
the resources available to local authorities to provide advice,
education and information on energy efficiency, both directly
and through the independent Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs)
or Energy Agencies." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 28.
99. "34. Energy suppliers should discharge
their duties to provide information and advice on energy efficiency
by funding independent public-interest bodies such as local authorities/Energy
Saving Trust (EST)-funded energy-efficiency advice centres."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 28.
100. With so many agencies involved in the provision
of advice to home owners, businesses, developers and local authorities,
there is confusion as to the role of these agencies.
101. "66. Government should review the
roles and relationships of the large number of government and
quasi-government agencies involved in energy matters including
the Energy Saving Trust, Environment Agency, the utility regulators
and consumer councils, the Benefits Agency, the Energy Action
Grants Agency and a range of economic development bodies. The
review should seek to clarify and simplify these roles, increase
transparency and restore local democratic accountability."
Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page 43.
102. Newark and Sherwood Energy Agency, a member
of the Partnership, recently aided in the production of a good
practice guide for developers. GIR 53 "Building a sustainable
future: Homes for an autonomous community" has been published
by BRECSU for the DETR and provides designers with sustainable
solutions for increased community self-reliance.
103. "35. Training to increase the capacity
of the building and public professions and trades to design, plan,
install, manage and maintain energy efficiency measures and to
deal with renewable energy should be a priority." Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 28.
104. "50. Local authorities should be empowered,
encouraged and funded to give energy efficiency advice to businesses
in the course of all their regulatory, advisory and partnership
contacts with businesses including building control, environmental
health and licensing functions as well as economic development
activities. Training for this will be needed." Energy Services
for Sustainable Communities, page 35.
105. Business support incorporates more than
just advice on energy efficiency. But other services to businesses
can dovetail with energy efficiency concerns, to deliver best
value to the business.
106. "48. All public sector business support
activities should be conditional on minimum standards of energy
efficiency. Regional Development Agencies should work towards
targets for energy efficiency improvements in the businesses in
their area." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 34.
107. "51. The government should initiate
a major program of research and development in sustainable energy
technologies, and fund public-sector economic development bodies
to support business development in the field." Energy Services
for Sustainable Communities, page 35.
Monitoring and measuring
108. In the development of "An Energy Strategy
to 2020" the Partnership came to realise the significant
need for quality information on energy sources and uses in the
Partnership area. No suitable accurate statistics were available
for the Partnership Strategy. "Baseline consumption for
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire was calculated by apportioning
UK 1995 consumption using appropriate ratios for each sector considered."
An Energy Strategy to 2020, page 35. Access to data will not be
possible without the necessary changes to utility and energy regulator
duties. This has implications not only for energy, but also for
sustainability indicators.
109. "17. The government proposals to give
the energy regulator a duty to promote sustainability needs to
be implemented. The regulators should also be given clear and
explicit guidance that the interests of energy consumers are far
broader than price cuts, and they should be empowered and required
to take a proactive and creative approach to their duties, incorporating
the messages of this position statement." Energy Services
for Sustainable Communities, page 19.
110. "18. Schemes to implement energy efficiency
and renewables should be expanded and should cover all energy
companies. All energy companies should have a duty to provide
basic energy data for local communities to measure their impacts
and progress." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities,
page 19.
111. "19. There should also be regional
consumer committees, and one in Wales. These need to include a
representative mix of customers and formal links to Trading Standards
departments, and a voice for energy efficiency." Energy Services
for Sustainable Communities, page 19.
112. "23. Government should develop, and
use to guide and measure the success of its energy strategy, indicators
of:
— whether all people (and all social
groups) have affordable access to basic energy services;
— the greenhouse impacts of lifestyles;
— the attractiveness (including availability,
cost, convenience and information) of more sustainable lifestyle
options." Energy Services for Sustainable Communities, page
21.
113. "24. The government should commission
the development of indicators of energy consumption and environmental
(especially greenhouse) social and economic impacts:
— for different kinds and purposes
of building (per square metre and per occupant)—replacing
the confusing mix of rating with an improved Standards of Performance
scheme for domestic properties;
— for different industrial processes
(per unit of output);
— for different products (per unit
of product);
— for modes of transport;
— standardised indicators for use by
local communities.
114. "25. Normalised performance measures
should be used:
— to set mandatory minimum standards
for all significant energy—using products and processes,
which will be made more exacting over time;
— as a basis for setting targets and
negotiating agreements over the contributions different sectors
and organisations will make to the achievement of national policy
aims;
— to define "good practice"
standards for energy use in all public procurement and as criteria
for government funding and support;
— to provide standardised information
to purchasers and consumers.
AN INTEGRATED
AND COHERENT
APPROACH
115. In developing any national policy towards
energy efficiency, the government should recognise the commitments
made at international and European level with regard to climate
change, greenhouse gas reduction targets, energy efficiency and
renewable energy policies, and sustainable development. There
is clearly an international dimension to work on energy issues.
But the environmental, social and economic benefits can be clearly
demonstrated locally.
116. Moves towards local governance are welcome.
"65. Current innovations in community planning and local
governance should be applied to energy planning." Energy
Services for Sustainable Communities, page 43. A coherent approach
across national, regional and local energy policy is needed, however,
to give energy issues the priority they require. Energy issues
do not just affect energy policies, they impinge on health, fuel
poverty, social exclusion, equity, environment, employment, economy
and Local Agenda 21 policies, to name a few. The Local Authorities'
Energy Partnership supports the LGA position statement in calling
for a national energy policy, for that policy to address energy
services, for duties to be placed on RDAs, regulators and utilities
to incorporate sustainable development issues, and for the role
of the many agencies involved in energy efficiency to be simplified.
117. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
has attempted to develop a coherent approach to energy issues
through the production of "An Energy Strategy to 2020".
Whilst this document has been a key driver of LAEP activities,
it has clearly highlighted to the Partnership the need for accurate
data to inform policy makers.
118. Communication is needed between
regional bodies and local authorities if regional policy is going
to succeed. Without suitable communication channels, policies
within a region could be conflicting with local authority priorities,
or neighbouring local authorities may miss opportunities to collaborate
on the delivery of policy objectives, for example.
119. Much of the current good work on energy
efficiency in Local Authorities has been done in a voluntary way,
without any driving legislation. More could be achieved, and a
more uniform approach taken across regions and the country, if
legislation and resources are introduced to support a national
energy strategy.
120. "Improved energy efficiency is a major
policy aim in this country and throughout the European Union.
Local authorities have an increasing obligation to consider and
control energy use in the area they cover. The simplest and most
cost effective way of reducing emissions is to improve the energy
efficiency of transport, appliances, homes and businesses, etc.,
and to maximise the use of renewable energy resources. The local
benefits of such an approach are not simply environmental. They
are also:
— social, providing more comfortable
homes, reducing people's expenditure on energy and reducing pollutants
that diminish the quality of life in our cities, and
— economic, making businesses more
competitive and creating new businesses in energy services and
renewable energy fields." Croner's Energy Management, pages
2/373.
121. In recognising the environmental, social
and economic benefits of energy efficiency, the Local Authorities'
Energy Partnership realises that the best way to deliver maximum
benefits to the community is through a partnership approach. This
could involve energy utilities, Health Authorities, water utilities,
Regional Development Agencies, Energy Saving Trust etc. It is
therefore vital that energy policy and legislation does not restrict
partnership working with non-local government bodies.
RECOMMENDATIONS
122. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that the Environmental Audit Committee considers all
the points raised in the LGA document "Energy Services for
Sustainable Communities".
123. The Local Authorities' "Energy Partnership
recommends that a national energy policy should integrate an energy
hierarchy, and that energy efficiency should not be considered
in isolation but should be part of a holistic approach to integrate
energy efficiency, renewable energy, combined heat and power and
transport issues.
124. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that barriers be removed which currently prevent local
authorities developing Energy Service Companies. Without such
a change, given recent LAEP experience, the Partnership will fail
to deliver on its own recommendation 2 within "An Energy
Strategy to 2020".
125. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that consideration be given to the duties of various
agencies involved in energy, with the view to including a remit
on sustainable development. This would allow such agencies to
develop a flexible approach to renewable energy and energy efficiency
in all sectors, whether they be in transport, domestic, business,
local government, or simply putting their own house in order.
It would also introduce common ground for agencies to work more
effectively in partnership.
126. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that locally negotiated, regional targets be set, based
on national policy to deliver 20 per cent. CO2 reduction
by 2010 and 10 per cent. of electricity from renewables by 2010.
Suitable further targets (e.g., to 2050, for CHP, renewables,
affordable warmth) should be included in a national policy, to
drive change at the local level.
127. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that responsibility for the monitoring of progression
towards such targets be placed at the local level, on authorities,
and the the powers to collect the required data be given. Data
collection could be done by a single agency on behalf of all local
authorities, but the emphasis is on the reporting of local improvements,
thereby enquiring data of a suitable resolution.
128. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that the Government reviews the current rules on local
government finance and considers the resources needed locally
to deliver national policy targets. A review of resources should
ideally take account of longer term energy policy goals, with
funding schemes being non-competitive in nature.
129. The Local Authorities' Energy Partnership
recommends that the government recognises the educational/behavioural
change role that local authorities should take within their remit
on energy and Local Agenda 21 in order to raise awareness of the
lifestyle changes needed to achieve local sustainability.
March 1999
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