Part of 3. Questions to the Senedd Commission – in the Senedd at 3:16 pm on 7 December 2022.
As I say, there are a lot of positives as to what everybody's doing here. What we say, though—as well as these measures being introduced, it's down to all of us as building users to play our part in assisting with energy-saving measures. I take the point that you said about January and February, because they are, I think, for everyone who budgets for a household, the critical times. Members themselves can adjust the heating and cooling set points in their offices to further reduce energy and utility usage, and they can also ensure that equipment in their offices is turned off when not in use. We already have, as a Senedd, a number of systems that are controlled by movement sensors—for example, in office areas, lights will automatically switch off when movement is not detected—and similarly, in dining rooms, air conditioning will switch off when movement is not detected. This, of course, all helps to play a significant role in ensuring that energy is not wasted in unoccupied areas. These changes have been communicated and agreed with a range of stakeholders, including chiefs of staff, us as Commissioners, trade unions and networks, and information about these changes has been communicated on the intranet.
As the Commissioner for sustainability, it's important that we make real certain that it's not just the fact about the energy and our climate and carbon objectives; it is about cost as well, because, at the end of the day, when people, as you rightly say, are frightened to put the heating on at home, it would look really bad if we were wasting energy to any degree here. So I can assure you that I'm working with the department to ensure that we run the Senedd estate in the most efficient way possible. Thank you.