To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the increase has been in the overall committed spend figure under the domestic stream of the Low Carbon Buildings programme since its relaunch on 29 May; and what assessment he has made of the likely spend by summer 2008. (148560)

When the Chancellor announced in the Budget 2007 that an additional £6 million would be made available for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme household stream, we took the opportunity to suspend this funding stream, as it provided us with the opportunity to consult widely over how to use the remaining funds through to scheme closure.

By the time we suspended the household stream on 21 March 2007, we had committed £6,456,091 to 3,988 household projects. Since re-launching the scheme on 29 May 2007, we have to date committed a further £624,316 to 629 household projects, with a much more even spread of funds committed across the technologies.

With the increased flexibility that the removal of the monthly cap provides, we cannot predict future spend with any certainty. However, we will continue to monitor and report on grant commitments and payments going forward.