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for 1990-91 for each local education authority in (a) the north-west, (b) Yorkshire and Humberside, (c) Northern Ireland, (d) Wales and (e) Scotland.Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 20 June. TVEI does not operate in Northern Ireland.
Employment Training
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of employment training places are not filled.
Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is not available.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are estimated to have been on employment training courses since the inception of the scheme ; what has been the cost ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : About 700,000 people have entered employment training at a cost of about £1.6 billion. This is indicative both of the programme's success in attracting large numbers of unemployed people and the Government's significant investment in adult training.
Fatal Accidents
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the latest figures for fatal accidents at work per million employees and the comparable figure for 1979.
Mr. Nicholls : The figure for 1979 was 27 per million employees. The latest available figure, for 1988-89, was 24 per million employees-- provisional--which includes the fatalities from the Piper Alpha disaster.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of women (a) in full-time work, (b) in part-time work and (c) self-employed for the current year and for 1979.
Mr. Nicholls : The information is as follows :
Female employment-Great Britain
Thousands seasonally adjusted
Workforce in employmSelf-employed
Period |Full-time|Part-time
--------------------------------------------------------------
June 1979 |5,960 |3,837 |348
December 1989 (latest
available) |6,709 |4,997 |775
Skill Centres
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total expenditure involved in the payment to METEL for the acquisition of the Liverpool skill centre.
Mr. Eggar : No payment was made to METEL for its acquisition of Liverpool skill centre. METEL paid the Government £65,000 for the centre.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total payment to the Training Business Group Ltd. for the acquisition of the Lambeth skill centre.
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Mr. Eggar : The sale of the training businesses at Lambeth skill centre to the Training Business involved a payment of some £800,000 from the Government to the consortium.Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the members of the Lakin consortium who successfully bid for skill centres.
Mr. Eggar : The members of the consortium, headed by Mr. Christopher Lakin, who successfully bid for the training businesses at Cumbria, East Lancashire, Ipswich and St. Helens skill centres, are :
Mr. Christopher Lakin
Mr. Howard Lien and
Mr. Clive Ibbison-Steele
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which skill centres have achieved approved training organisation status for employment training.
Mr. Eggar : Employment training providers have two years to achieve approved training organisation status. The assessment process for organisations which joined employment training at its outset on 5 September 1988 is still under way. No skill centres have as yet been fully assessed.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total payment to Mr. Lakin for acquisition of skill centres.
Mr. Eggar : The sale of the training businesses at Cumbria, East Lancashire, Ipswich and St. Helens skill centres to the consortium headed by Mr. Christopher Lakin involved a payment of some £2.1 million from the Government to the consortium.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the dismissed staff at Liverpool skill centre have been offered re- engagement by the METEL group ; and under what terms and conditions of employment.
Mr. Eggar : Merseyside Education Training Enterprise
Ltd.--METEL--purchased Liverpool skill centre on 14 May 1990. From the completion of the sale contract, responsibility for the continuing employment of former STA staff, and the terms and conditions of their employment passed to it. It is understood that four former STA staff were offered re-engagement, but I am not aware of the terms and conditions which are a matter for METEL.
Employment Service Offices
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the total number of full-time employment exchanges ; and if he will list the full-time employment exchanges which his Department is currently considering closing for Scotland, Wales, the standard regions of England and Great Britain ;
(2) what is the total number of local employment exchanges ; and if he will list any part-time local employment exchange which his Department is currently considering closing for Scotland, Wales, the standard regions of England and Great Britain ;
(3) what is the total number of part-time unemployment benefit offices ; and if he will list the part-time
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unemployment benefit offices which his Department is currently considering closing, for Scotland, Wales, the standard regions of England and Great Britain ;(4) what is the total number of full-time unemployment benefit offices ; and if he will list the full-time unemployment benefit offices which his Department is currently considering closing, for Scotland, Wales, the standard English regions and Great Britain.
Mr. Eggar : The Employment Service became an executive agency on 2 April 1990. Mr. Mike Fogden, the Employment Service agency's chief executive, will be replying in writing to the hon. Gentleman.
Skills Training Agency
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total amount paid to Mr. Bishell, Mr. Kent and Mr. Wells for consultancy fees on the sale of the Skills Training Agency ; if he will list the consultants involved ; whether the advance has been repaid ; and for what period consultancy advice was given.
Mr. Eggar : As I informed the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer) on 3 April 1990, Official Report, column 585, Mr. Bishell, Mr. Wells and Mr. Kent appointed Coopers and Lybrand to advise on their bid for the Skills Training Agency and Irwin Mitchell to provide legal advice.
Following the announcement by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir N. Fowler) on 13 March 1989 that he intended to make financial assistance available to members of STA staff contemplating a buy- out, Messrs Bishell, Wells and Kent applied for help. This was offered on 31 March 1989. A total of £82,500, excluding VAT, was made available to them as a contribution to their costs, and this has now been repaid in accordance with the terms on which it was offered.
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total estimated expenditure involved in the payment of fees to Deloitt Haskins and Sells for work done on the privatisation of the Skills Training Agency, for the most recent dates for which figures are available.
Mr. Eggar : Similar questions were recently posed by the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer). I have nothing to add to the answer which I gave to him on 27 March, Official Report column 158 which was reiterated on 3 April, Official Report column 585. Total expenses in connection with the sale of the Skills Training Agency in 1989-90, including professional fees and expenses paid to Deloittes and other advisers will be available in the appropriation accounts--class VI, vote 5--to be published in the summer.
Health and Safety Executive
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed by the Health and Safety Executive at the latest available date.
Mr. Nicholls : At 1 April 1990 the Health and Safety Executive employed 3,698 staff.
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Employment Schemes
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which of the Government schemes to increase employment he has assessed as producing the best results.
Mr. Eggar : Indicators of the cost-effectiveness of Government measures to assist unemployed people into work are published in chapter 6 of "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1990-91 to 1992-93" (Cm. 1006). Since the nature of the measures and the characteristics of their respective client groups differ, it is not possible to single out any one as producing results which are better than the others.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 448, what is the square footage of office space to which these figures relate.
Mr. Nicholls : The square footage is 16,913,143.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 448, if he will break down the figure of £0.578 million into spending on solid fuels, liquid fuels and any other categories.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 22 June 1990] : Cost details were not collected in the form requested and this information is not readily available.
ENERGY
Energy Efficiency
2. Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the effect of the top limit of 90 per cent. of the grant available under the home energy efficiency scheme, especially to households in the lowest income brackets.
Mr. Baldry : A number of representations have been received about the 90 per cent. limit as part of the consultation process. These are currently being considered.
8. Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to promote energy efficiency in business and industry.
Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to promote energy efficiency in business and industry.
Mr. Baldry : The Energy Efficiency Office encourages the adoption of energy efficiency measures in the home and the workplace, through a comprehensive marketing strategy at national and regional levels. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State is currently hosting a series of seminars for key energy users throughout the country.
28. Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many homes he expects to be provided with energy conservation improvements via the home energy efficiency scheme in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom as a whole in the next financial year.
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65. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the number of homes he expects to be provided with energy efficiency improvements via the home energy efficiency scheme in the next financial year.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The home energy efficiency scheme will increase the take-up of basic insulation measures in low-income households. Final targets for the number of homes to be treated will be set following finalisation of the details of the scheme in the light of the consultation process.
53. Mr. Rost : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what calculations his Department has made of the potential reduction in greenhouse gases which would result from the improved thermal efficiency achievable by industrial, commercial and city combined heat and power ; and if he has any plans to provide stronger market signals.
Mr. Peter Morrison : "An Evaluation of Energy Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions", published as energy paper No. 58 estimated that growth in CHP could, based on plausible assumptions, lead to reductions of 5 to 10 per cent. of United Kingdom carbon dioxide emissions.
Interest in CHP is already increasing rapidly in response to direct market signals. These are supplemented by my Department's encouragement of the use of combined heat and power through its best practice programme and by the industry's own marketing initiative, under the auspices of the Combined Heat and Power Association.
63. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he has taken to ensure Government Departments practise greater energy efficiency.
Mr. Peter Morrison : Since the details of a campaign to promote energy efficiency within Government Departments were announced on 20 July 1989, Ministers with special responsibility for departmental energy use have met three times to discuss progress towards the Government's aim of achieving savings rising to £45 million per annum--15 per cent. of the current bill--over five years. The first report on the campaign will be published shortly.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much was invested in improving the energy efficiency of his Department in the latest available year.
Mr. Wakeham : Investment in items expected to make a significant contribution to the energy efficiency of the new headquarters building into which my Department moved in September 1989 is estimated by the Property Services Agency to have cost around £1 million. It includes an up-to- date electronic building energy management system, and additional air conditioning and secondary glazing beyond that specified by the developer.
Offshore Energy Production
6. Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the total stock of fixed capital investment in offshore oil and gas fields has been invested since 1979.
Mr. Baldry : Of the £65,000 million capital investment in offshore oil and gas fields, over 60 per cent. has been invested since 1979.
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10. Mr. Douglas : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the current output of oil and gas from the United Kingdom sector of the continental shelf.Mr. Baldry : Oil and gas production in the first quarter of this year were, respectively, 24.2 million tonnes and 5,700 million therms.
18. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what level he expects exploration and appraisal drilling on the United Kingdom continental shelf to reach in the current year.
30. Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what level he expects exploration and appraisal drilling on the United Kingdom continental shelf to reach in the current year.
Mr. Baldry : A survey of company intentions by my Department showed that a record number of more than 200 exploration and appraisal wells could be drilled in the United Kingdom continental shelf this year.
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Renewable Energy
19. Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he uses on the comparative costs of renewable sources of energy, fossil fuel and nuclear power to guide his conduct of energy policy.
Mr. Baldry : In the pursuit of energy policy I make use of information from the energy industries and a variety of other sources.
21. Mr. Boswell : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy by how much investment by the Government in the development of renewable sources of energy has risen since 1979.
Mr. Baldry : Annual expenditure since 1979 by the Department of Energy on its renewables programme has more than doubled from £8.2 million to £17.9 million.
I will arrange for a table of annual expenditure to be published in the Official Report .
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Department of Energy research, development and demonstration expenditure on renewable energy (£ millions)
|1979-80|1980-81|1981-82|1982-83|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wind |0.6 |0.8 |0.9 |2.5 |2.5 |4.8 |5.4 |3.7 |4.0 |3.9 |4.8
Wave |3.0 |3.3 |4.4 |3.1 |1.0 |0.4 |0.4 |0.1 |0.2 |0.1 |0.1
Geothermal Aquifers |1.3 |1.7 |2.6 |1.5 |1.8 |1.1 |0.3 |0.1 |0.0 |0.1 |0.2
Geothermal hot dry
rocks |0.0 |0.6 |5.6 |3.0 |2.9 |4.6 |3.5 |3.5 |3.6 |3.5 |3.3
Solar |1.2 |0.9 |0.7 |1.4 |0.9 |0.5 |0.7 |0.9 |1.1 |1.4 |1.9
Biomass<1> |0.1 |0.4 |0.4 |1.2 |0.7 |1.1 |0.8 |1.3 |2.2 |1.5 |1.4
Tide |0.6 |1.4 |0.4 |0.0 |0.0 |0.3 |0.1 |0.1 |1.4 |1.2 |1.1
Hydro/General studies |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.8 |0.8 |0.8
Technology transfer and
promotion |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |0.7 |1.0 |1.6
ETSU services |1.4 |2.2 |2.3 |2.0 |1.9 |2.1 |2.0 |2.3 |2.3 |2.5 |2.7
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
|8.2 |11.3 |17.3 |14.7 |11.7 |14.9 |13.2 |12.0 |16.3 |16.0 |17.9
<1>Includes expenditure on "waste as a fuel" under the Energy Efficiency Demonstration Scheme.
Note:
Up to 1986-87 total for R & D also includes expenditure on low head hydro and general studies. These are separately
identified for 1987-88 and include work carried out by the Chief Scientist's Group, ETSU.
44. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans to reassess the potential for wave power ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Morrison : As I announced to the House on 13 November 1989, an updating study to review cost, technical and commercial viability and prospects for wave energy in the United Kingdom is currently under way. The views of all interested parties are welcome and I will ensure that they are all taken into account. Further consultation will take place as work progresses and the final report will be published.
45. Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the development potential of Salter's Duck.
Mr. Peter Morrison : While my Department has no current plans for additional funding of this project, an updating study to review wave energy in the United Kingdom is currently under way. Interested parties will be consulted fully as this study progresses ; indeed, only last week I met Professor Salter to ensure that I was personally aware of his views.
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48. Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans he has to encourage the generation of wind power.
Mr. Peter Morrison : The Government will continue to support a major research and development programme on wind power aimed at developing its commercial viability and environmental acceptability for electricity generation. In addition, wind-generated electricity should benefit from the non-fossil fuel obligation and, at the present time, the public electricity suppliers are examining a number of possible schemes which have been submitted for inclusion under the renewables order to be made in the late summer.
50. Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much his Department allocated in 1989 to research and development for (a) nuclear fission and (b) renewable energy sources ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Morrison : Provision for research and development into nuclear fission in 1989-90 was £135.4 million. This includes research and development into nuclear materials and radioactive waste management. Provision for renewable energy research and development in the same year was £17.9 million. Of the total expenditure of £153.3 million, some 35 per cent. was spent in Scotland.
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54. Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has made an assessment of the appropriateness for the development of renewable energy of placing the energy technology support unit at the Atomic Energy Authority's research site at Harwell.62. Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has made an assessment of the appropriateness in respect of the development of renewable energy sources of locating the energy technology support unit at the Atomic Energy Authority's research site at Harwell ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : Responsibility for the research and development programme on renewable sources of energy remains with my Department. The energy technology support unit is responsible for the day-to day-management of the programme. On that basis, the Advisory Council on Research and Development, set up independently to advise the Secretary of State for Energy on matters of research and development for fuel and power, has reviewed and endorsed my Department's programme on renewables.
Electricity Generation
20. Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the most up-to-date estimate of the share of electricity generation in England and Wales fuelled by (a) coal, (b) nuclear, (c) gas and (d) oil in the year 2000.
Mr. Wakeham : Future fuel shares are uncertain and will depend largely on decisions taken by the market. Two possible scenarios for 2005 were published in energy paper No. 58--table 4.10--a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
69. Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his best estimate of the level of gas burn in electricity generating power stations in 1995, 2000 and 2005.
Mr. Baldry : The future levels of gas burn in electricity generating power stations are highly uncertain and will depend on future electricity demand, relative fuel prices, and the investment decisions in the privatised electricity supply industry. Two scenarios of the future gas burn levels in the United Kingdom were published in energy paper No. 58-- table 4.11--a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Flue Gas Desulphurisation
22. Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he last met the chairmen of National Power and PowerGen regarding flue gas desulphurisation.
Mr. Wakeham : I meet the chairman of PowerGen and chief executive of National Power frequently and discuss a wide range of issues, including flue gas desulphurisation.
EC Ministers
23. Mr. Buckley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet his European Community counterparts to discuss energy and environment issues.
Mr. Wakeham : I expect energy and environment issues to feature regularly at future meetings of the Energy Council. Community Energy Ministers will be meeting informally in Rome next month.
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43. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to attend a meeting of the European Community Council of Energy Ministers.
Mr. Wakeham : The next meeting of the European Communities Council of Energy Ministers is due to take place on 29 October 1990. The United Kingdom representation at this Council will be decided on nearer the time. In addition, Energy Ministers of member states will meet informally in Rome on 16 July.
Electricity Privatisation
24. Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has recently met, or is planning a meeting with, the chairman of Nuclear Electric to discuss privatisation.
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