A series of changes to the council’s waste and recycling service are up and running.

All households are now expected to recycle, it is no longer optional. Waste collection crews will no longer collect side waste and all rubbish must fit inside the green wheeled bin and recycling must fit into the supplied boxes.

And from June, cardboard will no longer be accepted in garden waste bins, instead it must be placed in green wheeled bins.

For residents who have questions about the changes, the council’s recycling team will be out and about at locations across the borough.

On Tuesday May 8 the team will be at the Riverhead, Grimsby, then at St Peter’s Avenue shoppers’ car park, Cleethorpes, on Wednesday May 9 moving to Kennedy Way car park, Immingham, on Thursday May 10.

The roadshows also coincide with international compost awareness week and the team will have details about how easy it is for North East Lincolnshire residents to get composting.

Residents of North East Lincolnshire can purchase compost bins at subsidised prices, with the bonus option of buying one and getting a second at half-price, plus all with free delivery.

The compost bins come in two sizes. The larger bin has a 330 litre capacity and is 100cm high with a diameter of 80cm. It costs £14.15 with the option to buy another one for just £7.07.

The smaller composter has a 220 litre capacity and is 90cm high with a diameter of 74cm. It costs £11.15 with the option to buy another one for just £5.57.

For those who can’t make it to one of the roadshows, compost bins can be ordered online at www.nel.getcomposting.com or call 0845 1306090.

There was good news for households at risk of falling into fuel poverty as Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg announced Government support for home improvement measures targeted at the country’s poorest.

In a speech given to industry and environment leaders yesterday morning, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that more than half a billion pounds will be provided by energy companies through the scheme to ensure that hard-up households can receive financial support to help them improve their homes’ energy efficiency, permanently reducing their energy bills.

In his speech, Mr Clegg outlined that the money could help to cover the costs of installing insulation or new boilers amongst other improvements, helping to bring thousands of British families out of fuel poverty, saying:

“We will be requiring the energy companies to provide an estimated £1.3bn a year of support for energy efficiency in our homes with at least £540m to fund energy saving improvements in the worst off homes.

“It is shameful that the UK still has so many families unable to heat their homes. By delivering lasting improvements, each year this money will help 180,000 of the poorest households make their homes cheaper to heat for good.”

Les Bonner says:

“This announcement is great news for North East Lincolnshire. Many of our homes are of Victorian or early twentieth century vintages, whose energy efficiency is sadly very much behind the times. By offering financial support for home improvement, help is now available for those households which would otherwise struggle to afford the measures they desperately need.
“

When it launches this autumn, the Green Deal will become the most ambitious home improvement programme since the second world war. It is at the heart of the Government’s strategy, not just to Green our economy but to also help family’s improve their homes, cut their fuel bills and with that, reduce the UK’s dependence on expensive imported fossil fuels. But to achieve our ambitious goals, it will need to run for nearly two decades. A clear long term perspective, patience and pragmatism will be vital to its success as the market for the Green Deal builds and evolves.

In the next few weeks and months, working closely with the private sector and Local Authorities, we will put in place the final details of the scheme. But before those details have even been announced the sceptics and the critics have been sharpening their pencils. I have no doubt that after the scheme has gone live, with the benefit of real life experience, we will want to come forward with improvements to the way it works and in due course, additional incentives and appropriate penalties to keep it on track, as well as take account of exciting new technologies as they become available.
However the basic Green Deal framework for allowing people to make improvements to their home without any upfront cost which can then be paid for through electricity bills over twenty five years, from the very savings they create, leaving people better off; that is rock solid.

To some people this sounds too good to be true and others have misinterpreted existing research or just got their facts plain wrong. So I want to address some of the urban myths about the Green Deal that seem to be doing the rounds:
1.People won’t save money
People can expect to save money.
There will be two assessments to help consumers see for themselves how much they stand to save. The first assessment will take account of the average energy use of the home, and the second will look at how the occupants use the home so they can enter the Green Deal knowing how best to maximise what they will save.
The Green Deal charge will be fixed from the start too and is designed to ensure money is saved based on existing energy prices. So if energy prices rise, which seems likely, savings will substantially increase.
2. The method used to calculate the savings is inaccurate
This isn’t true. The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), which is what we use to calculate how much people will save, is based on a survey of thousands of homes and is being constantly updated to take account of the latest research and experience of energy saving measures.
3.A number of surveys and pilots have shown that people don’t save
Research highlighted recently in the media was based on a handful of homes and included a wide range of home improvements beyond what was necessary to reduce their bills. Further, the trials were not done to Green Deal standards as they included a number of measures that won’t be fully funded under the Green Deal like solar heating which will be subsidised under a different scheme. Therefore they were not testing the Green Deal.
Clearly Government can’t guarantee people will save money if they then change the way they use energy, for example by heating their home for longer each day. But they should still save money compared to what it would have cost to power their home in that way without a Green Deal.
4.People will have to pay for improvement work if they want to build a conservatory
This is simply not true. Standard sized conservatories are not included in the plans that the Communities Department has been consulting on.
5.People will be forced to take out a Green Deal
This is absolutely not true. The Green Deal is simply one option for funding energy efficiency measures which people may wish to consider, but no one will be compelled to take out a Green Deal Plan. Further, Green Deal is not personal debt nor standard credit scored as the finance will be attached to the electricity bill of the property.

22 pioneer providers have already signed up to be part of the Green Deal from the initial stages and more are expected, here’s what a few of them have said:

- Sally Hancox, Director, Gentoo Group, said:
“Gentoo has a firm belief in the potential of the Green Deal to enable large scale retrofit programmes across the UK. The principles of the Green Deal are sound and as a group, Gentoo has a strong desire to enable its customers in Sunderland and others across the UK to benefit.”

- Rob Lambe, Managing Director, Willmott Dixon Energy Services said:
“In the UK we have become too used to living in cold uncomfortable homes with increasing numbers living in fuel poverty, under Green Deal, our strong tradition of home improvement will be able to readily combine aesthetics and function with increased warmth whilst protecting against rising fuel bills and climate change – a great business opportunity”

- Adam Hewson, Director, ReEnergise Finance Ltd said:
“We believe The Green Deal represents an important element in the overall drive to reduce carbon emissions and improve the UK’s overall energy efficiency. It is also a natural part of ReEnergise’s business model – combining energy advice, project management and finance.

- John Egan, CEO, Enact Energy Renewables Limited said:
“Enact is pleased to be a part of the Pioneer Green Deal Provider Group. The Green Deal promises to move the renewable and energy saving market on from the consideration of individual technologies and measures to a genuine ‘whole house’ approach to improving the energy performance of UK homes. The role of a Green Deal Provider very closely matches the role that Enact has played since 1996 under its own name, and in partnership with local councils, and over the last few years on behalf of Marks & Spencer and Tesco.”

- Phil Gilbert, Head of Energy Innovation, E.ON said:
“Green Deal has the potential to help millions of customers to improve their homes, cut their fuel bills and their carbon emissions, without needing to find the upfront investment.”

Wed, 11 Apr 2012

At a speech at ‘Canary Wharf’s greenest building’, the KPMG headquarters, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

There is a myth doing the rounds in political debate today:
That, here in the UK, environmentalism has hit a wall.
That green is for the good times.
We cannot up our efforts to protect our environment…
While simultaneously growing our economy.
That we have to make a choice.

The story goes something like this:

Up until just a few years ago, the green movement was approaching a kind of heyday.
Europe had agreed a plan to combat global warming.
In the UK, the major political parties had united behind the Climate Change Act…
Enshrining our carbon reduction commitments in law.
Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” was a box office hit.
In affluent societies, as sustained growth satisfied citizens’ basic needs…
Climate change was graduating from niche issue to mainstream concern.

Then: the credit crunch happened.

The global economy was plunged into unprecedented turmoil.
And, ever since, economic recovery has overtaken every other social and environmental priority.
The assumption is that cash-strapped citizens cannot be expected to live more sustainably:
They have other, more urgent worries to contend with.
Struggling businesses must be liberated from burdensome environmental regulations.
And the upshot, we are told, is that our environmental ambitions must, temporarily, take a back seat.

But this new wisdom, however widely held, is utterly wrong.
Yes, right now climate change may be lower down some people’ thoughts.
Yes, we need to be sensitive to businesses’ needs.
But in so many ways, for so many consumers, for so many firms…
Going green has never made so much sense.

How can we relieve some of the pressure on hard-up households?
By helping families use less energy to cut their bills.

How can we rebalance our economy away from its overreliance on the City of London?
By capitalising on our competitive edge in green industries…
Generating jobs and wealth outside of London and the South East.

How will we find the money needed to renew our infrastructure?
By competing successfully in the global low carbon market…
To attract billions of pounds worth of outside investment to the UK.

And, as we make our way along this choppy recovery…
How can we better shield bill payers from price shocks in oil and gas?
By depending less on fossil fuels…
By producing more clean energy ourselves.

It is simply not true that you have to give up on the green economy if you want to grow.
The countries powering away from the recession…
Germany, China, Korea, Brazil…
Are investing heavily in low carbon industries.

Nor is it true that the best way to unleash growth is through a bonfire of environmental protections.
That’s why, for example, I was determined we get the balance right in our planning reforms – as many of you were.
So not development-at-any-cost.
But sustainable development, driven by local needs.

Our dilemma is not choosing between green and growth.
It’s marrying the two.

Lean times can be green times

I won’t pretend that is easy.
While austerity need not be the death of environmentalism…
It does create challenges.
While greening our lifestyles and decarbonising our economy might be the right thing to do…
For millions of people, it doesn’t always feel like the easy thing to do, especially now.

But, while sceptics say that it’s all too difficult at a time of deep fiscal consolidation…
That economic uncertainty poses too many challenges…
I say that periods of economic reinvention force us to do things differently.
I say that lean times can be green times too.

Just think about today’s Britain:

A nation burned by its excesses.
Paying the price for years spent living on borrowed time and borrowed money.

A nation turning the page on a culture of reckless consumption…
Where we sacrificed tomorrow to get-rich-quick today.

A nation thriftier, more frugal, more careful than before.
Determined to clean up this generation’s mess and leave a better legacy for our children.

We are undergoing a profound transformation within our economy.
And for the first time ever our economic and environmental mantras are exactly the same:
Waste not, want not.
Whether it’s waste of energy, waste of money, waste of our potential…
We are focused on conserving our precious resources.
Responsibility and sustainability are the watchwords of the day.

And that creates a unique opportunity to put environmental thrift into the mainstream.
As we learn to live within our economic means…
We can learn to live within our environmental means too.

To do that, we have to stop treating the environment like an add on; an afterthought.
We must show that, in so many ways, consumer interests, business interests and green interests are the same.
We have to give people the practical help to make more sustainable choices.
Where the benefits of going green are clear.

Of course, the environment contributes to our economy in a range of ways…
Many we don’t always appreciate.
For example, anyone who’s been on the Southbank this morning will have seen Friends of the Earth have turned it into a wildflower meadow…
To publicise the importance of bees to UK GDP.
Because bee populations are in decline and Friends of the Earth estimate it would cost farmers £1.8bn a year to pollinate their crops without them.
I plan to say more about the importance of natural capital in the coming months.
I’ll be representing the UK at the Rio+20 Summit in the summer…
Where I’ll be pushing for greater global protections for our natural assets.

But there are two specific areas I want to focus on today.
Two areas where going green is in the clear interests of individual families and the wider economy…
And where Government is doing everything we can to help consumers and businesses go green.

One: through a radical new approach to energy efficiency to cut emissions and bills.

Two: through building up the low carbon sectors on which our future prosperity depends.

Going green is good for consumers: energy efficiency

First, energy efficiency.

The UK still has some of the most energy inefficient buildings in Europe.
Fifteen million homes – more than half – are not properly insulated.
That’s costing us in carbon:
A third of our emissions come from heating our homes.
And it’s costing us in pounds:
Adding hundreds, every year, to bills for the most inefficient homes.

So the case for saving energy is compelling.
It fits perfectly with the waste not, want not mentality.
But we can’t just preach at people.
We can’t just demand everyone turns off their lights.
That has never worked before and it certainly won’t work now.
Instead we have to understand and dismantle the obstacles that can put people off.

One problem is the hassle factor.
Of course, there’s only so much Government can do here.
And making home improvements can be temporarily disruptive.
But there are ways to minimise that disruption…
And we are working with business to test innovative solutions.

For example, we’ve been working with B&Q and Sutton Council to see if offering a loft clearance service makes a difference.
B&Q clear your loft for you;
You go through your belongings while they install the insulation;
They put back the things you want to keep;
And everything else gets taken to Cancer Research shops to be sold for charity.

The first trial found that people were three times more likely to go for this than straight insulation.

[Awareness]

Another problem is awareness
Very few of us really know how much energy we use.
So we have replaced extraordinarily confusing Energy Performance Certificates with a much clearer document…
Showing, in simple terms, the cost of fuelling your home…
And the potential savings of using less energy.

From the summer, we’ll be trialling a new project with First Utility and America’s OPOWER…
Where consumers are told how much energy other, similar households use.

Working with US utilities, OPOWER has helped encourage American households to reduce consumption by around 2%.
That may not sound a lot, but it soon adds up.
In the States, they’ve helped reach around 11 million homes…
So far saving people around $85m.
We want to see what the same approach could achieve here.

And, of course, the biggest barrier for many people is the prospect of expense.
So that’s where we are providing most help.

The Government’s Green Deal, which we’ll begin rolling out in the Autumn…
Will offer businesses and homeowners energy saving home improvements…
But at no upfront cost.
Customers will have energy saving measures installed in their homes by trusted suppliers…
From high street brands to local traders.

?They will only begin paying for those improvements once they’re complete.
?Payment will be made through their bills, over a period of time.
?And they shouldn’t be out of pocket because their homes will be more energy efficient…
?Allowing them to save on their energy bills each month.
?We’ll ensure customers are never charged more for the home improvements than we expect them to make back in cheaper bills.
?Plus the charge is attached to the property, rather than the person.
So if you move, you stop paying.

That is maximum affordability, with savings that should more than cover costs.
Where families still find it difficult to take up the Green Deal…
They will get help with their home improvements.

I can confirm today that we will be requiring the energy companies to provide at least £540m to fund energy saving improvements in the worst off homes:
So for low-income and vulnerable homes, older people, people with disabilities.
These are the households most at risk of fuel poverty.
And there will be specific support for the most deprived areas.

We expect the investment to help 180,000 fuel poor households a year…
Delivering the lasting improvements that will make their homes cheaper to heat – for good.

And, to help everyone with their bills…
To get more people switched on to the energy they use…
I can announce today that we have secured a landmark deal with the six big energy companies…
Who cover 99% of customers…
To give customers a guaranteed offer of the best tariff for them.

Right now, 7 out of 10 customers are on the wrong tariff for their needs – so paying too much.
Yet people rarely switch.
Despite the fact some families could save over £100 a year.
And there are currently over 120 different tariffs…
Making it very difficult to know where to start.

So, as of this Autumn, your supplier will have to contact you, every year, with the best tariff for you.
And, if you call them, they’ll have to offer you the best deal too.

We’re also working with energy companies to put special barcodes on energy bills.
You’ll be able to scan them with your smartphone to get quotes and switch tariff or supplier in a matter of minutes.

Plus we’re working with consumer groups to make it easier for people to club together and switch supplier…
Helping consumers use their collective

purchasing power to bring down bills.

These are the kinds of changes that help people save money.
That get us thinking about the energy we use.
That promote the kind of thrift that is good for pockets as well as the planet.
Going green is good for the economy: boosting low carbon industry

And just as we help UK consumers reap the benefits of going green…
We need to help more businesses seize the opportunities it presents too.

This country is already a powerhouse in green industries.
The sixth largest low carbon market in the world.
Home to an unrivalled research base;
With enviable natural resources for wind and wave energy.

In just the last year £5.7bn worth of planned investment in UK renewables has been announced…
In wind, biomass and energy from waste…
Potentially supporting tens of thousands of new jobs.

And we’re seeing traditional British firms excelling in new markets.
I recently visited David Brown Gear Systems…
A Huddersfield-based business that has successfully bid for Regional Growth Fund money.
During the First World War they built propulsion units for warships.
Now, by combining a tradition of British engineering with cutting edge innovation…
They’ve secured a multimillion pound contract to help build wind turbines for Samsung.

And yet, despite our clear strengths in these sectors…
We are still not tapping all of our potential.

When I speak to representatives from low carbon sectors…
I am always struck by their optimism for their companies and this country.
But I also hear time and time again that they have concerns about expanding;
They’re finding it difficult to secure investment;
They have to go elsewhere to source their supply chains because British firms can’t support their needs.

It cannot be right that our competitors aggressively back their strengths…
While we tread hesitantly around ours.
Perhaps part of that timidity is a hangover from the 1970s.
Where the attempt to back winners collapsed into huge state subsidies for losers.
But, whatever the reason, we’ve swung too far the other way.

So I am determined that this Coalition strains every sinew…
To give these sectors the certainty and backing they need;
To help more of our businesses move into these markets;
And to help energy intensive industries make the transition…
Securing their place in our low carbon markets of the future.

That’s not the same as picking winners…
The market has already done that – these sectors and firms are already a success.
It’s government joining the dots to make the most of all our talents and skills.

Whether by improving infrastructure…
Where we’re setting up the Green Investment Bank…
With UKGI beginning lending next month.

Whether by making sure we have the right skills.
For example through protecting science spending…
And massively increasing investment in apprenticeships.

We’re supporting green R&D.
For example in low carbon cars…
Encouraging companies like Nissan to build these vehicles here in the UK
We’re working extremely hard to open up export markets…
Using UKTI to identify high value, environmentally friendly infrastructure projects that can be supplied by UK companies.

We’re creating better, smarter regulation… Crucially by overhauling our electricity market…
And more detail on that will be coming in the Queen’s Speech.
We’re using the tax system – with our Carbon Price Floor and the Climate Change Levy.

And, because not all companies can change to low carbon overnight…
We’re helping traditional industries become more sustainable.
One of the first areas UKGI will look at, for example, will be industrial energy inefficiency…
Making £100m available from this month.

We need to be realistic about the time transition will take.
Which is why we’re looking at how we ensure these companies aren’t disproportionately affected by some of our measures.
Because, let’s be clear:
It is in no one’s interests for these industries to pack up and go abroad.
They are vital for UK jobs.
Their products – steel, chemicals – are critical to green industry.
And would we rather have them here, where we can help them cut their emissions?
Or in countries with lower environmental standards and ambitions?

So proper support. Real certainty.
With Government sending a clear signal across the world:
We want the UK to be the number one destination for clean, green investment.
We want low carbon industries serviced by British supply chains.
In waste not, want not Britain, we are going to play to all our strengths.

So, to finish as I began:
There is no choice between protecting the environment and growing the economy.
Go green and you help hard-pressed families with their bills.
Go green and you build up the businesses that will be generating jobs and wealth for years to come.

I cannot remember a time when consumers, industry and environmentalists had so much in common.
Those of us who believe in a more sustainable future must seize the opportunity that creates.

Don’t believe the naysayers when they tell you environmentalism is off the agenda.
And don’t be in any doubt of our commitment to being the greenest government ever.

This is a Coalition that has committed to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2025:
The boldest target set, in law, by any government, anywhere in the world;
And we’ll be pressing our neighbours to set much more ambitious EU targets at talks in Denmark next week.

A Coalition leading the biggest shakeup of the electricity market in thirty years.

A Coalition creating the UK’s first ever market in energy efficiency through the Green Deal.

A Coalition investing in a series of world firsts despite the huge pressures on the public purse:

The first ever national bank devoted to green investment.

The first ever Carbon Capture and Storage project at commercial scale.

In just four months, the greenest ever Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Make no mistake: the economic situation creates challenges…
But it has not weakened our resolve.
It has only strengthened our ambition.

Thank you.

The Deputy Prime Minister has announced that at least £540 million of the government’s home energy efficiency programme – worth £1.3bn per year – will be targeted at helping the poorest.

In a speech to leading environment and industry figures in London, Nick Clegg revealed the support will protect the poorest and most vulnerable in society, including people in deprived areas, from rising energy bills by upgrading their homes so that they are cheaper to heat for good.

The Green Deal is the government’s plan to upgrade the nation’s hardest to heat homes at no upfront cost. Where the cost of the work outweighs the savings, or people need extra financial help, energy companies will be able to step in to top up the loan under the Energy Company Obligation.

In his speech, Nick Clegg said:
“We will be requiring the energy companies to provide an estimated £1.3bn a year of support for energy efficiency in our homes with at least £540m to fund energy saving improvements in the worst off homes.

“It is shameful that the UK still has so many families unable to heat their homes. By delivering lasting improvements, each year this money will help 180,000 of the poorest households make their homes cheaper to heat for good.”

Alongside discounts on energy bills, the Winter Fuel Payment and financial support if it gets really cold, the Energy Company Obligation will be available to help the fuel poor heat their homes to a healthy level more affordably by installing insulation or new boilers. The recently published Hills Review found targeted energy efficiency policies are the key to effectively tackling fuel poverty.

The Energy Company Obligation will now target support, worth an estimated £540m every year, to fund energy saving improvements in the worst off households.

This includes:

Around £350m a year to deliver heating and insulation measures to around 270,000 low income and vulnerable households by 2015, helping them to heat their homes to a healthy level and demonstrating our commitment to tackling fuel poverty. This will focus assistance where fuel poverty rates are highest, and ensure help is available for those most in need.
In light of responses to the recent public consultation on the Green Deal we are considering ways to provide more targeted support for the lowest income homes. This could mean that for those living in the poorest areas, including in social housing, specific support worth around £190m a year will be available from the energy companies to upgrade homes and flats with loft and cavity wall insulation, as well as other insulation measures, to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
Also:

Increase the eligibility criteria for the Affordable Warmth element of the ECO, for example to include low income households on working tax credit so that more fuel poor families can be helped.
A large proportion of the Energy Company Obligation will still be targeted at solid wall insulation, but support will be opened up for more measures than before – including hard to treat cavity walls. And where solid wall or hard to treat cavity insulation is being installed this can be accompanied by other measures which reduce heat loss from a property, such as glazing and draught proofing.
Energy companies will be allowed to carry forward overachievement against their targets under the current Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) and count it towards their ECO targets.
These changes will help smooth the transition for the insulation industry between current schemes and the Green Deal. We will continue work with this industry to see if there is more we can do to help them manage the impacts of the transition.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg has announced that at least £540 million of the government’s home energy efficiency programme – worth £1.3bn per year – will be targeted at helping the poorest.
In his speech, Nick Clegg said:

“We will be requiring the energy companies to provide an estimated £1.3bn a year of support for energy efficiency in our homes with at least £540m to fund energy saving improvements in the worst off homes.

This includes:

• Around £350m a year to deliver heating and insulation measures to around 270,000 low income and vulnerable households by 2015, helping them to heat their homes to a healthy level and demonstrating our commitment to tackling fuel poverty

• For those living in the poorest areas, including in social housing, specific support worth around £190m a year will be available from the energy companies to upgrade homes and flats with loft and cavity wall insulation, as well as other insulation measures, to make them warmer and cheaper to run.

Also:

• A large proportion of the Energy Company Obligation will still be targeted at solid wall insulation, but support will be opened up for more measures than before – including hard to treat cavity walls. And where solid wall or hard to treat cavity insulation is being installed this can be accompanied by other measures which reduce heat loss from a property, such as glazing and draught proofing.

• Energy companies will be allowed to carry forward overachievement against their targets under the current Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) and count it towards their ECO targets.

• These changes will help smooth the transition for the insulation industry between current schemes and the Green Deal. We will continue work with this industry to see if there is more we can do to help them manage the impacts of the transition.

The full speech is available on the Cabinet Office website.

Help is on hand for those looking to plan the perfect bike ride over the Easter break, Liberal Democrat Local Transport Minister Norman Baker announced today.

Any cyclist, from enthusiasts planning a fun and healthy countryside ride over the long weekend to families looking for a safe, pretty route linking city parks can benefit from the Department for Transport’s online cycling journey planner.

Part of the Transport Direct Portal, the planner now covers every road in England. Cyclists tap in their planned start and end points and the tool calculates a route that suits.

Users can easily tweak the settings to meet their needs, filtering journeys to select the quickest, quietest or most recreational routes – those which take them through parks and green spaces. The planner can even plot routes avoiding steep hills.

Norman Baker said:

“Cycling is a fantastic leisure activity that’s becoming increasingly popular, and rightly so.

“It’s good fun, it’s good for the environment and it’s good for your health. Indeed, the Chief Medical Officer has suggested that if cycling were discovered today it would be hailed as a miracle cure.

“Our route planner helps people wanting to get out and about and enjoy cycling, as well as those who want to map the best bike route to work.”

As well as being great for those cycling for leisure, the planner is also designed to be used by those commuting by bike, who can use the online tool to find a well-lit, direct route to and from work.

The Transport Direct Portal receives more than 2 million visits a month and increasing numbers of people are using the website to plan their journeys by bike.

The Cycle Route Planner can be found online at http://ht.ly/a6JaB

30 million homes and small businesses will have smart meters by 2019 enabling all consumers to have access to accurate information and bringing an end to estimated billing.

Energy and Climate Change minister Charles Hendry said:

“In less than three years energy suppliers will begin the mass rollout of smart meters across the country and I am determined that consumers are at the heart of this ambitious programme. That is why today we are proposing tough guidelines on installation, which will minimise inconvenience and help people to make the most of their smart meters to save energy and save money.

“In addition, I want to be absolutely clear to consumers that they will be in control of their energy consumption data. So apart from where it is required for billing or other regulated purposes, it will be for consumers to decide who can access their data.”

Key conclusions set out today include:

- there should be no sales during the installation visit

- installers must provide energy efficiency advice as part of the visit

- they will need the consumers permission in advance of the visit if they are to talk to them about their own particular products

- all households will be offered an in-home display allowing them to see what energy is being used and how much it is costing

Key proposals set out in the consultation documents include:

- consumers will have a choice about who has access to their data, except for data which is needed for billing and meeting other regulatory obligations, typically on a monthly basis

- a model for centralised communications activity to help all consumers understand how to use smart meters to better manage their energy consumption and expenditure

- proposals to ensure that vulnerable and low income consumers can benefit from the rollout

Mike O’Connor, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus said:

“We welcome the banning of sales during installation and that marketing will only be allowed if the customer agrees. This shows the Government has listened to consumers. We support the proposals to address consumer concerns around the privacy of information. But, to make this work, people must be aware of their rights and the choices available to them on how much information is passed to suppliers.

“It is also welcome that the Government has recognised the need for a much stronger and better co-ordinated strategy to engage consumers. Smart meters will only help people to become more energy efficient and cut their bills if they are able to easily understand and use the new technology. We hope this move will pave the way for a support scheme for vulnerable customers to ensure everyone gets the benefit of smart meters.”

Christine McGourty, Director of Energy UK, said:

“Smart meters are set to transform how consumers understand and manage their energy use at home, and today’s publications are an important milestone in this exciting national programme. Energy suppliers are working closely with DECC and other stakeholders to ensure that smart meters deliver real benefits to people in homes and businesses around Britain, and to ensure that protections for customers are robust. We also welcome the opportunity to continue to contribute to the consultation on the consumer engagement strategy, which has a crucial role to play.”

As the programme gears up for the beginning of mass rollout in 2014, the Government is consulting on proposed frameworks for consumer engagement and data access and privacy. These proposals will give greater clarity to suppliers and consumers about how that rollout will take place.

The Government has also confirming that suppliers should develop a code of practice covering a range of key areas around the installation process.

The Government is also publishing an update to the Smart Meters Implementation Programme, consultations on the Smart Energy Code and the Data and Communications Company licensing conditions, the Government Response to the Rollout consultation, and updated Impact Assessments for the domestic and non-domestic sectors. It is also publishing the Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specifications (SMETS), which will enable suppliers to install smart meters during the Foundation Stage that will satisfy their rollout obligations.

A new telephone line opened on Monday to give the public advice on how to save energy in their homes and businesses.

The phone line will be run by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) with Careline Services. As well as giving out advice on energy efficiency, it will provide information about existing government schemes like the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), which requires energy suppliers to install free or subsidised insulation, and Warm Front, the government’s heating grant scheme.

Energy efficiency advisors will be on hand to take calls from the public on the new number of 0300 123 1234.

When the Green Deal launches in the autumn, the advice line will provide information to people wanting to learn more about the scheme. The Green Deal is the coalition’s plan to upgrade the nation’s draughty homes at no upfront cost.

Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:

“Having a central and trusted advice line is crucial to ensure people have all the right information about how they can save energy and money. This phone line will ultimately be one of the ways the public will be able to learn more about the Green Deal when it is launched later this year, providing information on how people can benefit from this new and groundbreaking scheme.”

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said:

“We’ll continue to help people get the right advice at the right time, giving them the confidence to fit energy saving measures which help them to start saving money on their fuel bills. Drawing on our 20 years of consumer advice experience we’ll make sure that the advice given remains impartial and at the highest standard.”

The Jubilee Woodlands Project is being organised by the Woodlands Trust in commemoration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year.
The Trust aims to create 60 Diamond Woods – each a 60-acre-sized woodland in areas across the country, as well as hundreds of smaller Jubilee Woods and copses to signify the countrywide celebration of this historic event.

And as a lasting tribute to her majesty’s 60 year reign, North East Lincolnshire Council has been chosen as one of only 60 locations in the country to plant a Diamond Wood.

The Council is awaiting a formal offer which will provide more details of the grant expected.

The woodlands will be in Immingham, Grimsby and Cleethorpes totalling 25 hectares.

The sites are yet to be finalised but sites being considered include :Spring Street and Coomb Briggs, Immingham, Westwood Ho in Grimsby and Cleethorpes Country Park.

The woodlands will be a lasting legacy for the people of North East Lincolnshire and visitors to enjoy.

We will be holding tree planting events all through the winter months of 2012/2013 and everybody is welcome to take part. We will also be approaching clubs, schools and groups so they can have their own tree planting event.

Everyone who plants a tree will receive a commemorative medal, funded by the Woodland Trust grant.