Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce energy costs in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has already made excellent progress in reducing its energy costs by £1.1 million per annum to 2013-14 since 2009-10, despite the cost of energy increasing during the same period.

This has been achieved primarily through low and no cost measures energy efficiency measures, a reduction in size of the Department’s estate and a small number of capital investments. This has contributed to a reduction in associated greenhouse gas emissions of 51% during the same period.

Plans to reduce energy costs further include continuing to refine Building (Energy) Management System programmes; conduct annual audits of all key plant and equipment to identify cost-effective options for asset replacement and enhancement; run staff awareness campaigns; monitor and target unexpected building energy profiles through automated meter reading devices across the estate; and estate rationalisation and co-location.

In addition, the Department purchases its energy through the Crown Commercial Service frameworks which are let following extensive market competition and EU-wide tender processes to guarantee the best prices for energy. The bulk of central Government energy is aggregated under the Crown Commercial Service frameworks, which enable their Energy Team to engage directly with the energy markets to achieve best value and price for the taxpayer.