Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 4522 on District Heating: Whitehall, how much was charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall boiler system in 2022-23.

A number of departmental buildings have transferred ownership to the Government Property Agency and the details of buildings served by the Whitehall Boiler System are provided in the table below.

The total costs that were charged to Government Departments by the Government Property Agency for the provision of heating from the Whitehall Boiler System is as follows;

(a) 2022 - 23: £4.8m

These costs include standing charges for the operation and maintenance of the Whitehall Boiler System along with the cost of actual heat consumed by each building.

Meeting the Greening Government agenda objectives has been a key consideration for the Government Property Agency as the Whitehall Boiler System undertakes a decarbonisation project to support reaching Net Zero. This has involved works to insulate pipework and decommissioning assets that do not support the future operating system. Future phases include works to allow the operating temperature to be lowered to further reduce carbon emissions.

The Whitehall Boiler System energy centre is considering options to achieve Net Zero through a federated approach which may include connecting to district heating networks for an external low carbon heat source. This option can be implemented when the system is operating at a medium temperature. The best source of external low carbon heat for the Whitehall Campus is likely to be achieved by connection to an external low carbon heat source similar to that as proposed under ‘South Westminster Area Network’ (Project SWAN) or a variant on this project.

Currently the project is at development stage and it is proposed that, subject to the required budget being available, works will commence in 2026.