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Climate Change Levy
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises in manufacturing of the introduction of the climate change levy; and if he will make a statement. [97640]
Mrs. Liddell: The Government believe that small and medium-sized enterprises also have a contribution to make towards reducing greenhouse emissions. Their initial proposals for the climate change levy reflect Lord Marshall's conclusion that a tax could help improve energy efficiency in small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government are seeking to design and implement the levy in a way that maximises the environmental benefits, while at the same time safeguarding the competitiveness of business of all sizes.
The Government have previously announced that £50 million per annum of the anticipated revenues from the levy will be used to provide energy efficiency advice for business, including small and medium-sized enterprises; as well as for increased support for renewable sources of energy and a "carbon trust" to develop low carbon technologies. This represents a step change from previous levels of funding. The Government are preparing proposals on the details of these arrangements and expect to make further announcements in due course.
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the effect the climate change levy will have on UK industrial competitiveness relative to that of (a) Belgium, (b) Norway and (c) Sweden; and if he will make a statement. [97860]
Ms Hewitt:
The Government aim to design the climate change levy in a way which safeguards the international competitiveness of UK business.
The United Kingdom is not alone in having to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nor in using economic instruments to do so. We expect that, on current projections, most OECD countries will have to introduce new measures of one kind or another in order to meet their Kyoto obligations. Governments are considering the policies and measures which they will need to deliver these commitments. This will take account of their various national circumstances, including existing fiscal regimes.
9 Nov 1999 : Column: 477
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for compensation from miners and miners' widows have been received to date for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema in (i) South Yorkshire, (ii) Yorkshire and (iii) the UK. [97283]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 5 November 1999]: As at 1 November 1999, the Government have received 87,336 claims from ex-miners and their families for respiratory diseases, of these 17,741 are from claimants in the Yorkshire area and 11,986 of these are from South Yorkshire. On VWF, the Government have received 50,755 claims from ex-miners and their families for vibration white finger, of these 12,783 are from claimants in the Yorkshire area and 10,299 of these are from South Yorkshire.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the compensation that will be paid out over the next three years to miners and miners' widows for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema in (i) South Yorkshire, (ii) Yorkshire and (iii) the UK. [97282]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 5 November 1999]: The gross level of provision for the British Coal health liabilities assumed by the Department is:
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 228.2 |
| 2000-01 | 490.3 |
| 2001-02 | 507.5 |
Due to a number of uncertainties--not least the number of claims likely to be received and the actual levels of compensation payable in individual cases--it is not possible to say how much will be required to meet the specific cost of miners' health claims for vibration white finger, and chronic bronchitis and emphysema, or to provide regional breakdowns.
The Government have, however, made clear that they will provide the funds necessary to meet the cost of legitimate claims.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he introduced his stricter consents policy on energy sources for power generation; and when he will relax it. [97659]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: The White Paper of October 1998 "Conclusions of The Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government responses to fourth and fifth Reports of the Trade and Industry Committee" (Cm 4071) set out the Government's programme of reform in the electricity market and introduced a stricter policy on consents for gas-fired power stations to protect diversity and security of supply while the programme of reform was underway. As set out in the White Paper, the policy will be relaxed as soon as the Government conclude, on the basis of advice from the Director General of Electricity Supply on progress in addressing the competition issues, that the reform programme has been undertaken and the
9 Nov 1999 : Column: 478
distortions in the electricity market removed. While this would not necessarily mean completing every aspect of the programme, the Government expect the reforms to be substantially complete across the picture before the consents policy is relaxed.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms are in place to control and monitor advertisements on his Department's export website; and if he will make a statement on the advertisement placed on his Department's website by Nisam International of Esher listing stun guns among the equipment the firm was prepared to sell. [97482]
Mr. Caborn
[holding answer 8 November 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Dr. Tonge) on 5 November 1999, Official Report, columns 335-36.
The information included in the TradeUK entry for Nisam International Ltd. was provided by them on their application form. The reference to stun guns was removed by the TradeUK contractor on Friday 29 October 1999.
Ms Dari Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce his decision on proposals by Burlington Resources (Irish Sea) Limited to build a combined-cycle gas turbine power station at Rhosgoch, Anglesey and by Kent Power Limited for the construction of a combined-cycle gas turbine power station on the Isle of Grain, Kent. [98158]
Mrs. Liddell:
A direction has been given to Burlington Resources (Irish Sea) Limited under section 14(3) of the Energy Act 1976 in response to their notice under section 14(1) of that Act to prevent the building of a 560 MW combined cycle gas turbine power station to be fuelled by natural gas at Rhosgoch, Anglesey. Although the scheme would make significant heat supplies available, these would not be sufficient to demonstrate the efficiency levels for combined heat and power set out in the October 1998 White Paper. As well as the benefits which would result from the heat utilisation, the project offers other distinct environmental benefits. However, taken together, I do not consider that these are sufficient in this instance to outweigh the Government's concern over new gas-fired generation.
Consent, under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, has not been granted to Kent Power Limited (Enron Europe Ltd.) for the construction and operation of a 1,200 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station on the Isle of Grain, Kent. The company's application will be put on hold unless a case is put forward for a decision to be taken now.
I have taken these decisions in accordance with the policy set out in the White Paper entitled "Conclusions of the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government response to fourth and fifth Reports of the Trade and Industry Committee" (Cm 4071). I would be prepared to review these decisions, if requested, when the stricter consents policy announced in the White Paper is lifted.
9 Nov 1999 : Column: 479
Copies of the relevant Press Notice and letters are being placed in the Library of the House.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many persons are employed in the opencast coal industry in (a) Scotland and (b) England; what is the annual output of the industry in each country; and what percentage of the output of each is used by power stations. [R] [97677]
Mrs. Liddell:
At the end of March 1999, employment in the opencast coal industry (including contractors), as declared to the Coal Authority, was 1,301 in Scotland and 1,882 in England. Opencast output in the year to 31 March 1999 was 6.4 million tonnes in Scotland and 7.0 million tonnes in England.
Information on the percentage of opencast output used in power stations is not readily available, but in 1998, 82 per cent. of all the coal produced in the United Kingdom by the five largest producers (one third of which was from opencast mining) was sold to power stations.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the total amount of coal imported to the UK in each of the past five years broken down by the nations from which the coal was imported. [R] [97680]
Mrs. Liddell:
The information requested is shown in the table.
| Thousand tonnes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 |
| Australia | 3,993 | 3,641 | 3,748 | 4,362 | 4,610 |
| Belgium/Luxembourg | 5 | 13 | 19 | 45 | 31 |
| Canada | 830 | 1,364 | 1,410 | 1,632 | 1,552 |
| Colombia | 2,963 | 2,686 | 2,824 | 2,810 | 3,820 |
| France | 15 | -- | 23 | 9 | -- |
| Germany | 191 | 132 | 151 | 86 | 25 |
| Indonesia | 153 | 64 | 27 | 84 | 24 |
| Irish Republic | 32 | 25 | 40 | 64 | 32 |
| Italy | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Netherlands(9) | 225 | 104 | 253 | 183 | 157 |
| Norway | -- | 2 | 6 | 102 | 120 |
| People's Republic of China | 77 | 77 | 30 | 78 | 132 |
| Poland | 1,961 | 1,274 | 850 | 700 | 950 |
| Republic of South Africa | 706 | 1,314 | 1,559 | 2,472 | 2,463 |
| Russia | 353 | 160 | 75 | 36 | 20 |
| Spain | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 |
| Sweden | -- | 10 | 33 | -- | -- |
| United States of America | 3,167 | 4,859 | 6,657 | 6,950 | 6,746 |
| Venezuela | 15 | 101 | -- | 97 | 399 |
| Vietnam | 217 | -- | 26 | 15 | 80 |
| Other countries | 133 | 70 | 68 | 131 | 67 |
| Total all countries | 15,041 | 15,895 | 17,799 | 19,856 | 21,233 |
(9) Includes some coal from outside the European Union routed through the Netherlands.
Source:
HM Customs and Excise as published in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1999
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