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Welsh housing is getting more energy efficient, but 14 out of the 22 councils may fail to meet their performance targets and none will come close to the original aim of securing a 30 per cent reduction in energy use by 1 April 2007. That is the conclusion of a report, published today, by the Auditor General for Wales. It found that councils are focusing most of their efforts on public sector housing. But, with most homes falling outside this sector, councils, the Assembly Government and other bodies should collaborate to find ways to encourage private householders to improve energy efficiency.
The 1995 Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) requires councils to report to the Assembly Government progress made in securing domestic energy efficiency improvements. However, councils measure performance in different ways, making it difficult to accurately chart progress and make comparisons. The Assembly Government needs to develop a standardised performance measurement framework to address this problem.
HECA guidance, issued in 1997, called on councils to identify measures which would achieve a 30 per cent improvement in domestic energy efficiency over the ten year period to 1 April 2007. In 2003 the Assembly Government signed policy agreements with all 22 Welsh councils which included targets to improve domestic energy efficiency. In all cases the targets agreed were well below the original 30 per cent aim set out in 1997 and, in some councils, it was difficult to objectively assess the extent to which they have been achieved.
Today’s report found a wide variation in the staffing resources that councils dedicate to delivering HECA objectives. Some councils are securing additional resources from external sources, such as from utility companies and through the Assembly Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. However, most HECA Officers believe they have insufficient time to deliver targets.
Future progress can be made if local authorities continue to make the most of available partnerships and focus the efforts on improving the energy efficiency of private sector homes. This report makes a number of recommendations designed to support the challenges ahead. These include:
- The Welsh Assembly Government should set a clear direction, including appropriate targets, for councils, to encourage and support further improvements in domestic energy efficiency.
- The Welsh Assembly Government should develop a lead role in encouraging councils to maximise opportunities to improve domestic energy efficiency within the private housing sector.
- Councils should work together more on domestic energy efficiency, via the Welsh Local Government Association and the all-Wales HECA forum;
- Councils could explore the possibility of jointly funding HECA posts to maximise their limited resources.
The Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman said today:
”Although I am pleased to see evidence that councils are reporting some improvements, there are real challenges ahead in getting Welsh homes to become more energy efficient. My recommendations are designed to help councils and the Welsh Assembly Government to further improve domestic energy efficiency. In particular, most homes are privately owned, so councils and the Assembly Government need to do much more to engage with this sector if they want to see real results.”
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