OPINION: REGULATIONS
TAXPAYER VALUE IN A PICKLE
The Information Commissioner has ruled that the DCLG should not withhold details of EPCs. Hywel Davies considers the value of making this information more widely available
On 16 January, the BBC1 that the Information
reported
Commissioner upheld an appeal by Martin Rosenbaum of the BBC. He had referred to the commissioner the Department for Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) refusal to release the data it holds on public and commercial buildings, in the non- domestic register of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Display Energy Certificates (DECs). Rosenbaum had previously used the Environmental Information Regulations to obtain the DEC data on large public buildings, but that took several months and involved a change in the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (EPBRs). In March 2013, he requested EPC and
DEC data for the public and commercial buildings listed on the non-domestic register. DCLG refused to release the data, saying the information was already ‘easily accessible’ by entering a postcode or a 20-character unique reference number for each building on the register website, and it was a ‘straightforward’ process to obtain the data, building by building. The BBC estimated it would take at
least 26 months to obtain the data in this way, and the Commissioner ruled it could not therefore be considered ‘easily accessible’, calling the proposed approach an ‘onerous process’. He told DCLG that it cannot justify refusing to release the data on this basis. It is unclear whether DCLG will now comply, or find another reason to refuse. The most frustrating thing is
that DECs must be displayed ‘in a prominent position’ in a public part of the building to which they relate. It is a simple task for Landmark Information Group, which operates the register, to extract the data, but it seems that either it, or DCLG, does not wish to do so. The whole episode shows the misunderstandings and missed
22 CIBSE Journal February 2014
People deserve a comprehensive weekly service in return for their taxes.’ Yet Mr Pickles does not want to reveal
a simple dataset that makes visible the efficiency of public authorities’ use of the same taxpayers’ money in public buildings. Is it because DECs and EPCs are required by an EU Directive? The result is that, while we can benchmark our car’s economy, and the value of waste collections, we cannot readily access the data that reveals how efficiently public buildings use energy. So our public buildings can waste
The BBC is calling for better access to energy performance data
opportunities around public disclosure of energy performance. Every reader understands the concept of fuel economy for cars. The benchmark is distance per unit volume of fuel. This distinguishes the economic models from the gas guzzlers, and allows owners to benchmark performance over time. The idea of trying to keep this data secret is laughable. EPCs provide a similar measure to
the standardised fuel economy test. And DECs are the equivalent of recording the fuel consumed and miles driven every time the tank is topped up. A DEC tells an owner how effectively they are managing their building. Indeed, the headline on a DEC in England and Wales asks: How efficiently is this building being used? The DEC also helps the operator
to improve the performance of their buildings. And, since public buildings’ energy bills are ultimately paid by taxpayers, the idea is for the public to know how their money is being spent. Communities Secretary Eric
Pickles champions taxpayer value. As recently as 4 January he said: ‘Rubbish collections are the most visible service that people get for their council tax bill.
energy – and public money – with impunity. A number of US cities, including Chicago and New York, have introduced disclosure programmes for all large buildings, even private ones. Free market management thinker
All it needs is some leadership and
disclosure by DCLG to make DEC data totally public
Peter Drucker said: ‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure.’ If our public buildings measured and disclosed energy use properly, in one public dataset, they could begin to save energy and reduce spending. Measuring and disclosing would show the private sector what is possible. The best operators in the private sector, such as Building Performance Award-winning British Land and its peers are doing it now. But many others could do much more. Saving energy cuts costs. It also reduces total energy demand, meaning we need to generate less, and invest less in new generating capacity. All it needs is some leadership and disclosure by DCLG to make DEC data totally public and give taxpaying individuals and businesses the information to help them save energy. It is just good business management. That is why CIBSE supports the BBC’s efforts to obtain the data.
References 1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk- politics-25736563
l HYWEL DAVIES is technical director at CIBSE
www.cibse.org
www.cibsejournal.com
GORDON BELL / SHUTTERSTOCK
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