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3 Feb 2003 : Column 22W—continued
New Nuclear Technologies
Norman Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to refuse licences for new nuclear technologies. [95027]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 31 January 2003]: No.
Power Plants (Desulphurisation Technology)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to support flue gas desulphurisation technology in power plants. [94293]
Mr. Wilson: There are currently no plans to support flue gas desulphurisation technology in power plants.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to encourage coal burn in power plants equipped with sulphur dioxide abatement equipment. [94294]
Mr. Wilson: Sulphur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power generators are controlled through limits placed on the amount which can be released. The Environment Agency encourages generators to construct new flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) equipment by allowing coal-fired generators, building a new FGD plant, an increase in their limit.
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These increases are allowed for the two years in which the FGD is under construction. This provides the operator the opportunity to increase the utilisation of his plant in that period.
The agency encourages more intensive use of FGD once constructed. Where a generator takes all practicable steps to ensure that the operating load factor of its FGD units is at least twice the factor for unabated units, the agency will grant an increase in their limit.
Service Delivery Agreement
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when (a) the Export Credits Guarantee Department's and (b) British Trade International's service delivery agreements for 2003 to 2006 will be published. [94115]
Ms Hewitt: The Export Credits Guarantee Department produces a service delivery agreement (SDA) for each year, rather than for the period 2003–06. Its SDA for 2002–03 is currently available on its website and it expects to publish its SDA for 2003–04 in April 2003.
British Trade International's SDA is being finalised and will be published on its website shortly.
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department's service delivery agreement for 2003 to 2006 will be published. [94117]
Ms Hewitt: We are currently finalising the DTI's service delivery agreement for April 2003 to March 2006. I expect it to be published on the Department's website within the next month.
Steel Production
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the level of production of steel in the UK in each year since 1997. [94128]
Alan Johnson: The information requested is as follows.
| Year | Crude Steel Production |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 18,501 |
| 1998 | 17,315 |
| 1999 | 16,298 |
| 2000 | 15,155 |
| 2001 | 13,543 |
| 2002 | 11,668 |
Source:
Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau
Wind Energy
Mr. Burnett : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies the Government have made into the savings in greenhouse gases in respect of wind energy produced by onshore wind turbines. [94378]
Mr. Wilson: The Government's Inter-departmental Analysts Group, comprising officials from DTI, DEFRA, the former DTLR, Treasury and the
3 Feb 2003 : Column 24W
Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) of the Cabinet Office published in February 2002 the report "Long-Term Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the UK". (The report is available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/greenhousegas/index.shtinL). The report assessed the potential carbon savings from onshore wind in 2025 and 2050. The PIU Energy Review (http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/innovation/2002/energy/report/index.htm) also assessed the potential carbon savings for onshore wind in 2020 and 2050.
We are taking forward the work of the Inter-departmental Analysts Group and the PIU Energy Review, as part of the analysis for the forthcoming Energy White Paper, which will be published shortly.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Departmental Budget
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list her Departmental budget for each year since its creation. [93676]
Alun Michael: The information requested is as follows:
- 2001–02: £2,959,389,000
2002–03: £2,458,720,000
Farmers (North West)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial support and assistance she is able to provide to farmers in the North West; and what grants are available for farmers in the North West for diversification. [94862]
Alun Michael: In addition to the support provided by the Common Agricultural Policy production-based subsidies, £1.6 billion has been made available to farmers and the rural community through the 10 schemes which make up the seven year England Rural Development Programme launched in 2000.
A wide range of assistance is available, including financial incentives for managing and enhancing the environment, support for the production of organic and energy crops, and funding skills training for farmers.
Defra actively encourages farmers to widen their business base in order to develop new sources of income. The Rural Enterprise Scheme and Processing and Marketing Grant provides financial assistance for farmers seeking to pursue good quality, sustainable farm diversification projects, in addition to other broader farm-based and rural community activities.
From September 2001 the Department has also offered assistance in the form of free planning consultancy advice to farmers who intend to pursue a viable diversification project through the Rural Enterprise Scheme.
The support provided to farmers in the North West mirrors that provided elsewhere in England.
3 Feb 2003 : Column 25W
Flood Defences
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action her Department is taking on producing flood plain maps that take into consideration existing and planned flood defences. [94299]
Mr. Morley: The Department is fully aware that current indicative flood plain maps provided by the Environment Agency do not differentiate between areas that have defences and those that do not, nor between different standards of defence. The first generation of the indicative flood plain maps was designed to influence the planning process and support initiatives to raise awareness of flooding to those living in flood risk areas. The Department is working with the Environment Agency to develop a second generation of these maps that will enable a more realistic representation of actual flood risk, taking full account of the presence and condition of defences, on flood risk maps. This is difficult to achieve on a consistent basis for the whole country but the aim is to publish such maps towards the end of 2003. In subsequent years these maps will be the subject of continuing improvement as the quality of data and techniques of data analysis improve.
Paper Supplies
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who the suppliers are of her Department's (a) paper and (b) paper products. [91908]
Alun Michael: The current suppliers of the Department's paper and paper products are:
- Premier Paper
Guilbert
21C
Talkpaper (Modo)
Banner
MG Print
Antalis (Wiggins Teape)
James McNaughton
Robert Home
Howard Smith Papers
Public Service Agreement
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department will publish efficiency targets for each year from 2003 for each business area in the Department, as specified in the technical note to the 2002 Spending Review Public Service Agreement; and if she will make a statement. [94598]
Alun Michael: Over the next three financial years (2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06) Defra is committed to make efficiency savings of £16/38/85 million pounds. In order to achieve these savings, each Defra division must make, efficiency gains of at least 3 per cent. year on year. The balance of the efficiency savings is expected to accrue from the successful completion of a number of large-scale departmental wide projects.
3 Feb 2003 : Column 26W
Rural Payments Agency
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to resolve the issue of delayed payments from the Rural Payments Agency due to Mr. Peter Taylor of Preesall referred to in a letter from the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre of 15 January. [94641]
Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency has investigated Mr. Taylor's case and has confirmed that the bovine subsidy claims which are due for an advance payment have either been paid or are being processed for payment. Also, Mr. Taylor has just been paid under the Arable Area Payments Scheme.
Mr. Taylor's payments under the bovine schemes had initially been delayed due to the need to resolve anomalies discovered while cross checking the details of his claimed animals against information held on the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) database operated by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS). Following further investigation I am pleased to confirm that these have now been satisfactorily resolved thus allowing payments to be made.
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