A Green Deal for Reading: but will Labour flunk it?

Andrew Stunell MP, Lib Dem Minister for Local Government who visited Reading a couple of month ago was right to highlight the fact that 40% of carbon emissions each year are generated by existing buildings.

The Government's Green Deal - a key plank of the Lib Dem General Election Manifesto of 2010 is the first major step towards tackling fuel poverty and cutting harmful carbon emissions in housing across all sectors by improving energy by any British government and no amount of carping by Labour politicians makes up for their abysmal lack of action in this area.

I find it deeply depressing that, less than a month into her new job, that the new Labour Lead Member for Housing is already preparing excuses as to why things can't happen (to cover up her own inaction) rather than leading on this agenda.

No scheme of this scale is likely to be 100% perfect but rather than whingeing it is up to councillors and councils to make the best of what is available and champion opportunities for local residents and businesses presented by the Green Deal , not sit back and wait for government handouts.

When we ran the Council we led the agenda and didn't delegate thinking about solutions to Council officers.

Visitors to the Council tell me that the new administration lacks ambition in this area. This is very bad news for residents.

Those of us keen to do something about carbon emissions and housing waited 13 years for the last Labour government to make progress on this agenda and they comprehensively failed.

Somehow I do not think this project would have survived Alistair Darling's planned cuts to public spending (£40bn) given we know that Ed Balls and others failed to commit to carbon reduction targets during the Coalition negotiations.

Enough about politics - what is the Green Deal?

• The Green Deal will become available in 2012 will help householders improve the energy efficiency of their homes at no upfront cost.
• By allowing them to pay for green home improvements over time rather than upfront, through the savings in energy bills, it will remove one of the biggest barriers they currently face to retrofitting - being able to afford the initial investment.
• Feed-in Tariffs are available to support homes in generating their own renewable electricity, and support for renewable heat will be available for homes.
• Looking to the future, the Government's policy on Zero Carbon means that from 2016, new homes will need to be built to a zero carbon standard (and all non-domestic buildings from 2019).

The Coalition administration of Reading Borough Council set out a ambitious vision on the green agenda including in relation to housing.

From what I hear Labour's silo mentality has already kicked in with officers firmly back in the driving seat.

We made it clear tackling climate change was everybody's business in the Council and we will continue to campaign for residents in Reading to realise the full benefits of all the Green Deal has to offer.

Action Not Words Needed to Cut Energy Bills and Fuel Poverty

I read with interest in the Evening Post that the Green Party in Reading are planning to campaign on fuel poverty at the elections this year.

I am grateful to them for helping to highlight this important issue and delighted that Green Party activists are backing the work we in the Coalition Administration of Reading Borough Council and Coalition Government are doing on this issue where Labour failed.

Tackling fuel poverty and climate change is a huge, vitally important agenda that all political parties in Reading need to get behind.

But as politicians and community leaders we work hard at this agenda all year round, not just at election time.

Last November, Chris Huhne MP, Lib Dem Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change launched the Green Deal which will create 100,000 new jobs for people working to insulate 3.5 million homes across the country.

However, it is important to get the issue of fuel poverty in perspective.

9 % of families in Reading currently live in fuel poverty compared to the national average which is around 14%.

We need to target resources at people who are hardest hit and help others to improve energy efficency of their homes.

The recently reopened Warm Front scheme will help us do this.

Many of people living in fuel poverty in Reading live in poor quality housing in the private rented sector.

I have led the campaign at local level to improve standards in this area - the home of 25 % of Reading residents.

Labour overlooked private rented housing when they were in government and in control of the Council.

Locally, the Lib Dems have led the green agenda in Reading.

We have successfully campaigned to extend the range of materials that can be recycled at the kerbside and we have pledged in our manifesto to continue to do so.

Under Liberal Democrat control, Reading Borough Council is pioneering new low carbon heating.

Since we took control of the Council in 2010, we have held regular meetings with officers in both the housing and sustainability teams to discuss ways in which fuel poverty in all types of housing can be tackled.

These cross-Council discussions have been the first of their kind and never happened under Labour.

As part of the Council's Decent Homes Programme we are taking steps to increase insulation across Council-owned properties.

We are also investigating bringing in new feed-in tariffs and new more sustainable forms of energy to heat Council homes.

The Council also works closely with landlords in the private sector to promote insulation and energy savings schemes.

All these measures will go towards reducing fuel bills and saving precious energy.

But there is more to do which is why following pressure from the Lib Dems the Council has set up a new housing and sustainability officer group to ensure that there is a green thread running through all housing policies.

Last October the Council agreed the following motion, put forward by the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Groups which gave a very clear signal to residents about our commitment to the environment.

(It replaced a rather feeble motion tabled by a Labour councillor.)

It is just as relevant now as it is then.

"This Council welcomes:

The Coalition Government’s commitment to making renewable energy sources account for over 33GW of new energy production.

The Coalition Government’s removal of the bar that prevented local authorities selling back to the grid the energy they have generated.

This Council notes:

•  The Council’s commitment to promote green jobs and sustainability across the Council and Borough and to promote the climate change agenda as a high priority.

• That the number of households in fuel poverty in England rose from 1.2m in 2003 to a projected 4.0m in 2010

• That Reading schools already have two schools with solar PV, one with solar hot water, two with air source heat pumps, two with ground source heat pumps and one with a wind turbine.

This Council resolves:

• To provide local leadership on the climate change agenda by:
• Maximising, wherever possible, the use of renewable energy schemes to generate income across all existing and future council properties and operations.
• Considering all options across the Council’s housing stock to both generate and conserve energy to reduce fuel poverty.
• Taking the lead in encouraging local businesses and commercial buildings to embrace renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes.
• Promoting and assisting local residents, schools and organisations to take advantage of the opportunities available to them to benefit from renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes."

The Coalition Government has set itself the target of being the "greenest government ever".

When it comes to the environment we need to be as ambitious here in Reading.

Lib Dems will continue to work hard to tackle these issues inside and outside the Council and f the Green Party are serious about turning their fine words into action on fuel poverty they need to work with us on this agenda.

Carbon Plan to cut emissions and energy bills

Today saw the publication by the Government of the Carbon Plan. This was a key plank of the Liberal Democrat manifesto in 2010 so it is fantastic to see it being delivered in Government by the Coalition.

"Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister backed cross-Government action plan on climate change has been launched today which sets strict actions and deadlines that Whitehall will have to meet to ensure that the Government lives up to its ‘Greenest Government’ ever aim.


The Carbon Plan:

Shows that the delivery of the Government’s low carbon agenda is the shared responsibility of the whole of Government with key actions for BIS, DfT and HMT.


Will help ensure that each Whitehall department deliver key climate actions for which they are responsible to a clear framework of deadlines. Progress against these deadlines will be published quarterly on the No.10 website.


In a foreword to the document, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change write:


"This Carbon Plan sets out a vision of a changed Britain, powered by cleaner energy used more efficiently in our homes and businesses, with more secure energy supplies and more stable energy prices, and benefiting from the jobs and growth that a low carbon economy will bring.


Becoming a low carbon economy will be one of the greatest changes our country has ever known. But it is a change for the better, for our economy, our society, and for the planet. This Carbon Plan shows how, together, we can make it happen."

The Plan announced today includes a target to deliver zero carbon new homes from 2016 and zero carbon new non domestic buildings from 2019 and a much more flexible approach to reducing emissions - across housing tenure and type:

"There will be no one-size-fits-all solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our homes. For instance, while most homes in the UK rely on gas boilers for their heating and hot water, there are also around 4.8 million homes that are not connected to the gas grid and that use other options, such as heating oil or electric heaters.16 While a rural farmhouse may benefit from improved loft insulation and installation of a ground source heat pump, a modern tower block might be able to reduce its emissions more cost effectively by fitting cavity wall insulation throughout and being connected to a form of network heating for all the flats in the block, even where this still relies on (more efficient) fossil fuel supply. Or, better still, the tower block could be connected to a source of heat from a local power station or a large source of renewable heat such as a biomass boiler. The Government’s aim is to set the right legal and financial framework and provide the right information to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from"

A key component of the Plan will be the so-called 'Green Deal'. As part of this from 2012 the households will be encouraged to invest, at no upfront cost, in home energy efficiency improvements that are expected to pay for themselves through energy bill savings. In Reading we are working across the Council to cut carbon emissions and householders energy bills - to benefit residents in across Council and private housing. We are piloting work to make Council housing more energy efficient by increasing insulation of properties and exploring sustainable energy solutions. In the private rented sector the Council supports private householders looking to cut emissions through grants and loans.
The work being done by ministers at national level will help us make real progress on this agenda for the benefit of residents including many families living in fuel poverty, as well as helping to safeguard the future of our Planet.