Savings by DECC on low-carbon technology programmes
Press release: 10/084
16 July 2010
On 24 May 2010 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £6.2 billion of savings across Whitehall in order to reduce the public deficit. Of the £85 million DECC is contributing to the savings, £34 million will come from expenditure on low carbon technology. We announced in May that £3 million would come from closing the Low Carbon Buildings Fund early. The remaining savings will come from:
- £6.1 million efficiency savings and under-spending on programme budgets within DECC.
- £4.7 million saved by cancelling the final funding rounds of the Bio-Energy Capital Grants Scheme and the Bio-Energy Infrastructure Scheme. These schemes have been responsible for nearly £60 million of public investment since 2002, and have supported around 400 individual projects. £5.3 million of grants for 2010/11 are not affected and will remain in place, closing as planned on 31 March 2011.
- The department will save £1 million on funding for development of Deep Geothermal energy generation, which will still receive £1 million this year.
- Saving £3 million by reducing the scope of the Offshore Wind Capital Grants Scheme.
- Early closing of the Energy Saving Trust technology trials, saving £700 thousand from the £3 million pound programme.
- Reducing the scope of the Central Government Low Carbon Technology Programme saving £2.9 million.
- The Carbon Trust will receive a £12.6 million reduction to this year’s grant for low carbon technology and business support funding from DECC.
This means that DECC will spend over £150 million on low carbon technology this year.
Notes to editors
1. On 24 May the Treasury announced £6.2 billion of cuts across Whitehall. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_04_10.htm
2. The rest of the £85 million in DECC’s spending cuts was announced on 25 May:
- £4.8 million from the department’s administrative costs including savings on pay and travel
- £20.2 million from efficiencies across the Department’s delivery bodies
- £26 million from other efficiencies including £6m by targeting lower impact spend in the Regional Development Agencies, and reducing their running costs
3. The savings on the the Offshore Wind Capital Grants scheme will not affect the £5 million announced on 5 July 2010 by Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne. http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn10_76/pn10_76.aspx