Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on electricity each month for its offices at Unity Square, Nottingham since those offices opened.

The lights in Unity Square are fitted with sensors which are motion activated and, under normal daytime operation, the lights are triggered by low light levels and people movement.

As part of the normal process of delivering a new building and ensuring it is operating effectively and efficiently, HMRC is working to address issues with the way the lighting system in Unity Square is currently programmed which are leading to lights being switched on for longer periods than expected. It has had contractors on site this week to fix this and has reported an improvement, with more work to take place shortly. HMRC will be carefully monitoring whether the changes implemented have been effective.

Once fully implemented, we expect the length of time the lights remain on after the last detected movement will be reduced from 30 minutes to 10 minutes. In addition, after 8:15pm, the lights will be switched off with activation after that time only if movement is detected and will remain on for 5 minutes. HMRC is also reviewing out of hours operating procedures to further reduce energy usage.

Since April 2022, when Unity Square opened, monthly electricity expenditure for the building, including lighting, is as follows.

HMRC’s core hours are 7am until 8pm. Since 1st October 2022 the average number of HMRC staff in the building between 9pm and 6am is 4. Unity Square is a Government Hub and HMRC shares the building with 5 other Government departments. Additionally, there are varying numbers of contractors on site.