---

10 Apr 2003 : Column 357W—continued

Millennium Dome

Mr. Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total cost has been to public funds of the millennium dome project. [107951]

Mr. McNulty: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) was responsible for building the dome and running the Millennium Experience. NMEC was allocated £628 million of National Lottery funds from the Millennium Commission for the Millennium Experience, which included the associated national programme of events across the United Kingdom as well as the dome at Greenwich. NMEC is currently in solvent liquidation and it is expected that some £25 million of this grant facility will not be required.

Up to the end of December 2002, English Partnerships (EP) had incurred a total cost of £22.9 million. This includes, from 1 July 2001—when EP took over the ownership of the dome—£4 million for the management, maintenance and security of the dome; £6.5 million for decommissioning the contents of the dome and its site in preparation for the future long-term use; and £5.7 million in connection with the sale process. It also includes £6.7 million for the previous competition to find a long-term use for the dome. All of these costs incurred by EP in relation to the dome will be recovered from sale proceeds.

Ministerial Transport

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of (a) ministerial cars and drivers and (b) taxis for his Department was in 2002. [101542]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002.

Part (a) of this question will be addressed in a letter from Nick Matheson, the Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) to the hon. Member for Buckingham. As for part (b), the cost of taxis from 1 June to 31 December 2002 was £21,704.

Mobile Home Parks

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce legislation to regulate the running of mobile home parks; and if he will make a statement. [108518]

10 Apr 2003 : Column 358W

Mr. McNulty: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently considering how best to take forward the agenda for reform following the undertakings given by the Government in their response to the Park Homes Working Party report.

Mobile Phones

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many mobile phones used by (a) himself, his Ministers of State, and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, (b) his Department's special advisers and (c) his department officials have been listed as lost or stolen in each year since 1997. [98574]

Mr. Leslie: Since the creation of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 29 May 2002, the number of mobile phones used by Ministers, special advisers and departmental officials that have been lost or stolen are set out in the following table.

	Number of mobilephones lost	Number of mobilephones stolen
Ministers	0	0
Special advisers	0	1
Departmental officials	(6)Records not held centrally	(6)Records not held centrally

⁽⁶⁾Records on mobile phones are not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost—the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently in the process of compiling a comprehensive list following the Machinery of Government changes.

Parish Council Elections

Mr. Luff: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the forthcoming parish council elections in (a) the Wychavon district council area, (b) Worcestershire and (c) England are contested. [108143]

Mr. Leslie: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Public Sector Pensions

Mr. Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which his Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if he will make a statement. [104930]

Mr. Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has policy responsibility for the Firefighters' Pension Scheme. There is no pension fund and the scheme is a pay-as-you-go system with costs being paid by the employing authorities out of revenue and receiving contributions from employees. As an unfunded scheme administered by separate fire authorities no formal overall actuarial valuation is carried out.

10 Apr 2003 : Column 359W

The last actuarial valuation of the English Partnerships Pension Scheme was carried out as at 31 March 2002. The value of the assets was £76.451 million and no deficit applied as at the last actuarial valuation.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Energy Policy

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase spending on energy efficiency and renewable energy; and if she will make a statement [103307]

Mr. Morley: In 2003–4 the total spending available from Defra to support energy efficiency will be £268,042,000.

This includes £33,500,000 for The Carbon Trust, £22,487,000 for the Energy Saving Trust and £22,055,000 for the Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme. In spite of heavy pressures on Defra's overall spending, these budgets remain broadly unchanged from last year reflecting the importance we attach to energy efficiency following the Energy White Paper. In addition, over £34,000,000 of capital grants and development support are available under the Community Energy programme. The budget for fuel poverty will be £156,000,000. No decisions have yet been taken about spending levels in future years.

The Government have recently increased support for renewable energy by £60,000,000. Over the next four years, the Government plan to provide nearly £350,000,000 in direct support, mainly in the form of capital grants. Future increases in funding have not yet been decided.

Agricultural Shows

Mr. Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on behalf of the Monmouthshire Show Society about the impact of the six day rule on the movement of livestock to agricultural shows; and if she will make a statement. [107224]

Mr. Morley: Letters have been received from the Monmouthshire Show Society expressing concern on this subject and a reply will be sent shortly.

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requirements her Department has placed on agricultural shows to provide licensed areas for livestock; how these requirements have changed since 2002; and whether the requirements differ for (a) cattle, (b) sheep and (c) goats. [107255]

Mr. Morley: Livestock shows in England and Wales must be licensed by the relevant Department before they can operate to make sure that they can comply with biosecurity standards. There may be an 'animal area' within the licensed premises if the whole of the licensed premises are not used for animals. Licence conditions for shows have been simplified in 2003 to make the biosecurity requirements easier to understand and

10 Apr 2003 : Column 360W

operate. In particular, the new requirements focus on those dealing with animals at the show rather than visitors.

The requirements do not differ for cattle, sheep and goats.

Animal By-products

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department plans to demonstrate to the European Commission that it is complying with the new Regulation of Animal By-Product disposal; and if she will make a statement. [107693]

Mr. Morley: Member States must ensure that

"adequate arrangements are in place, and that a sufficient infrastructure exists"

to ensure compliance with the new rules. The collection and disposal industries advise that there is sufficient capacity within the existing infrastructure to deal with the estimated additional quantities of fallen stock arising from the ban on burial which comes into effect from 1 May. In addition, there will be a requirement for record keeping which will ensure that all animals which die on-farm are accounted for and disposed of through permitted routes.

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds she has made available to the livestock industry to assist with costs incurred as a result of the implementation of the EU Animal By-Products Registration. [107594]

Mr. Morley: No funds have been made to the livestock industry to help them meet the costs of complying with the EU Animal By-Products Regulation. However, Government are willing to contribute to the establishment of a national fallen stock collection scheme provided that part of the costs are met by farmers themselves. We plan to write to livestock farmers shortly to invite expressions of interest in a voluntary subscription scheme to meet farmers' contribution to the costs.

---