Comment - Whitehall under fire

In the April issue of Electrical Review we reported on what was probably Gordon Brown’s final budget, a disappointing budget many environmentalists would say. As this issue goes to press, Whitehall is again under fire from the green lobby.

According to a report issued at the end of April by the National Audit Office, £3bn a year is spent on building and refurbishing government offices with the aim of making them more environmentally sustainable.

In 2005/06 only 35% (37 of 106) of new builds and 18% (61 of 335) of major refurbishment projects had carried out, or planned to carry out, environmental assessments. The report also found, of the projects that did carry out an assessment, the majority failed to meet the required target of ‘excellent’ for new builds and ‘very good’ for refurbishments.

The report was issued in the same week Miliband stood next to Tony Blair at the launch of The Climate Group – a campaign for businesses, communities and the government to provide practical ideas of how individuals can reduce their carbon footprint.

The final word must come from Liberal Democrat local government spokesman Andrew Stunell: “How can the Government tell people to take action to tackle climate change when it is so spectacularly failing itself?” Indeed.

Elinore Mackay
Editor