House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 3 Feb 2003 (pt 6)

3 Feb 2003 : Column 18W—continued

Plan Pueblo Panama

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects are being

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funded in the Plan Puebla Panama by her Department; what support she has given the Plan Puebla Panama within the World Bank; and what protection her Department is seeking for the rights of indigenous people. [95245]

Clare Short: DFID is not directly involved in supporting the plan. Any support from the World Bank to the plan would need to take account of the environmental and social safeguards associated with its lending programme, including the issue of indigenous people's rights.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Solar Energy Programme

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many solar PV roofs had been delivered by the end of December 2002 by the United Kingdom solar programme; and if she will make a statement. [95039]

Mr. Wilson: The total number of roofs installed under Stream 1 of the first phase of the major PV demonstration programme by the end of December 2002 was 37.

Structural Funds

Mr. Spring : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect she expects the redefinition of what constitutes an island by statisticians working for the European Commission to have on the structural funding received by regions in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [94475]

Alan Johnson: I am unaware of any plans by the European Commission to change their definition of an island. However, any changes to this definition would not affect current Structural Fund programmes, which are fixed until 2006. It is too soon to say whether any changes to the definition would have an effect on the UK after 2006.

Wind Power

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of Government spending is on the development of wind power in England and Wales. [95250]

Mr. Wilson: Government expenditure on research and development projects related to wind power in 2001–2 was £2.2 million.

The DTI and the New Opportunities Fund have set up a programme of capital grants towards the setting up of offshore wind farms with a total budget of £74 million. Grants of £20 million from this have so far been announced.

The financial incentive for wind power and other forms of renewable energy provided through the Renewables Obligation is funded by the electricity consumer rather than by Government.

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ACARE Strategic Research Agenda

Miss McIntosh : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if the Government will implement the programmes recommended by the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe to meet the environmental targets set out in ACARE's Strategic Research Agenda; [95199]

Alan Johnson: The Department has been fully engaged in all aspects of the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe's Strategic Research Agenda. The conclusions and targets in the Challenge on Environment are extremely ambitious and demanding and will require major breakthroughs in technology. The DTI has been sponsoring studies in this area as part of the industry's Greener by Design initiative. The targets set for environmental work in the DTI Aeronautics Research Programme are in line with the priorities in the environmental targets in the Strategic Research Agenda and the DTI has programmes underway and in prospect with industry on a range of aerospace environmental technology issues. There are also trans-European programmes on aviation environment issues funded by the European Commission's Framework Programmes with UK participation. Aerospace environmental issues have been recognised fully by the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team in its Interim Report.

Animal Cloning

Norman Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on the retail sale of products derived from cloned animals. [94986]

Alan Johnson: Products produced from cloned animals would fall within the scope of the EC Novel Foods Regulation (EC 258/97).

The Food Standards Agency is the Competent Authority for this regulation and has policy responsibility for food safety, including GM foods, and reports to Government through Health Ministers.

British Energy

Norman Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what she estimates the total extra cost will be for each year from 2003 to 2033 arising from the provisions in the Electricity (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. [95024]

Mr. Wilson [holding answer 31 January 2003]: The Bill is an enabling measure which will help Government secure its objectives whether or not British Energy deliver their restructuring plan. It does not of itself require expenditure to be incurred.

Broadband (Rural Areas)

David Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives her Department has undertaken to encourage broadband Internet access in rural areas. [94308]

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Mr. Timms: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Mr. Liddell-Grainger) on 27 January 2003, Official Report, column 589W.

Broadcasting Regulations

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason there are different regulations for images accessed (a) through a television broadcast and (b) through a broadband internet connection. [94931]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 31 January 2003]: There is no statutory regulator of the internet to which the general law applies. There is greater regulation of television broadcasting because it is a different medium with different characteristics and different audience expectations.

Coal-fired Energy Generation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account she has taken in reviewing the Government's long-term energy proposals of the need for coal-fired generation as an effective contribution to UK energy production. [94295]

Mr. Wilson: The Government is currently carrying out a review of future energy policy with a view to issuing a White Paper shortly. The review includes consideration of coal-fired generation and its contribution to UK energy production.

Consumer Affairs Council

Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the agenda is for discussion for the next meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 28 February. [93400]

Alan Johnson: The meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council scheduled for 28 February 2003, is no longer taking place. The next meeting is on 6 March 2003; the agenda has not been confirmed.

Electricity Industry

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 367W, on the electricity industry, why Modification P95A to the Balancing and Settlement Code was rejected; and if she will make a statement. [94527]

Mr. Wilson: Modification P95A to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) was rejected by the BSC Panel on 16 January 2003. The panel's recommendation has now gone to the authority (Ofgem), who will make a final decision on their implementation on the basis of the BSC Objectives and their wider statutory obligations.

The reasons for the panel's rejection are explained in full in the Final Modification Report: Modification Proposal P95—Transitional Amelioration of Barriers to Licence Exempt Generators' Market Participation, prepared by Elexon on behalf of the BSC Panel, January

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2003. This document is publicly available on the Elexon website at http://www.elexon.co.uk/ta/modifications/mods—docs.html.

Correspondence

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Leominster of 12 November 2002, on behalf of Mr. Andrew Stobart, concerning electricity supply security. [95214]

Mr. Wilson: A response was sent to this letter on 25 January 2003.

Mains Gas Network

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many homes in mainland Britain cannot have access to the national mains gas network; and what percentage of the population this represents. [94947]

Mr. Wilson: Approximately 4.5 million households in Great Britain, about 20 per cent. of the total, do not have, or take advantage of, a connection to the mains gas network.

Ministerial Travel

Mr. Laws : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the total expenditure by her Department on ministerial travel (a) in the UK and (b) abroad, in each year from 1995–96 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if she will make a statement. [92470]

Ms Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.

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