Commentary on Sections Section 1: Annual reports on progress towards sustainable energy aims
5.This section puts the Government’s commitment to publish an annual report on progress towards the goals set out in the Energy White Paper on a statutory basis. A report must be published each calendar year, beginning in 2004, and each must cover the year leading up to the 24th February (the anniversary of publication of the White Paper on 24th February.
6.Subsection (4) provides flexibility in the form of the report, which may be published as a single document or in parts and as part of a wider document. As information and statistics on a wide range of topics may be included, not all of which may be available to match exactly the reporting period, subsection (5) allows for the report to be based on the information available at the time a report is written. The definition of fuel poverty in subsection (6) is the same as that presently contained in section 1(1) of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 (c.31).