To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) associated non-departmental public bodies plan to sign up to the 10:10 campaign for cutting carbon usage in 2010; and if he will publish the (i) criteria and (ii) research upon which such a decision will be taken. (312112)

HM Treasury Group and other Chancellor's Departments are committed to seeking year-on-year improvements in their environmental performance. HM Treasury was the first central Government Department to receive the Carbon Trust's ‘Carbon Standard’ for all operations, including official transport, in March 2009. HM Treasury has recently been rated the best performing department in Whitehall by the independent Sustainable Development Commission.

In 2009 the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked each of his departments to consider what more they would be able to do to achieve the minimum standards proposed by the 10:10 campaign, where possible aiming for a 10 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions in 2010.

Details of performance against a range of environmental indicators, including carbon emissions, are published by the Treasury Group and other Chancellor's departments in their annual reports.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change also publishes progress against carbon reduction targets for all Government Departments on its website at:

www.decc.gov.uk