Advice falls on deaf ears

The present position in which the government finds itself is entirely due to the fact that it, and several previous governments, have failed to produce a long-term policy. A recent article drew attention to the number of times the Institution has pointed the way forward or made worthy suggestions to other bodies in order to further general progress. Regrettably, not all of these have been acted upon.

The one important issue that has been ignored is fuel. The Institution has, for many years, urged successive governments to draw up a comprehensive fuel policy, which could be adopted in its future deliberations.

As an example, showing just how many years this has been an issue, I quote the Institution’s publication Domestic Engineering Services, published in 1974 by a study group of which I was a member under the chairmanship of president Neville Billington. This included the following recommendation: ‘We think there is a need for a published fuel policy, to prevent wrongful or wasteful use of resources… More study should be made of the consequences of national and local fuel policies...’

In addition to this, BSJ published a letter I wrote on this subject back in February 1993, in which I suggested that the lack of a firm fuel policy would result in the squandering of the remaining natural gas without thought of the consequences.

A G Hall, FCIBSE