A South Swindon resident recently wrote an email to me to make a valid point: he said that if MPs are willing to suggest that everyone should do their bit to help the environment, the Government should be doing the same.      

       He asked me if I had ever considered, if every household is expected to save energy, what difference Government departments could make if they did the same. He suggested I write an article about it, so here it is!   

      People in Swindon care deeply about the environment and the youngest members of our community, as usual, are ahead of the game when it comes to the new technology. When I launched the at Climate Change Bill at Toothill Primary School the pupils were full of knowledge about energy saving lightbulbs and micro-generation.   

       Government departments are taking action but more can be done. The Government target for purchasing renewable energy is 10% across the board and many departments are exceeding that already. The Department for Environment, naturally leading the way, purchased 63% of its total energy from renewable sources. Government offices are using energy saving light bulbs and education to help reach their target of purchasing renewable energy and cutting down on waste. The Department for International Development are investigating the possibility of other forms of energy such as wind turbines.   

      David Miliband, the Secretary of State for the Environment has an innovative scheme to boost the use of renewable energy which has a £10 million investment from the Government. The new venture, Partnership for Renewables (PfR), partners local authorities, hospitals and other public sector bodies with private sector organisations to develop onsite renewable energy projects. The Government support will pave the way for PfR to catalyse the expansion of the public sector renewables market.   

     As this article goes to print the new Prime Minister may be announcing his new Cabinet. The Treasury, run by Gordon Brown, has been committed to meeting environmental challenges, and promoting household energy efficiency through a range of tax and other policy measures, so I have high hopes for him as PM.   

    But to help keep the Government on track, I will make sure I raise this issue, so it’s the first thing Ministers see on their desks when they start their jobs. I will table a Parliamentary Question to each department, asking what plans they have to reduce their own emissions further. The answers to these questions will appear, in time, on the “In Parliament” section of my website.

  In the meantime I will keep encouraging people in Swindon to save energy – and using Swindon’s good example to shame any government department that doesn’t live up to our example.