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15 Oct 2003 : Column 240W—continued

Road Deaths

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 15 January 2003, Official Report, column 625W, on road deaths, if he will make a statement on (a) the progress in monitoring the experiments in the Netherlands to reduce road deaths and (b) his Department's work with United Kingdom local authorities. [132140]

Mr. Jamieson: The new traffic arrangements at the various sites in north Holland were not, principally, introduced as casualty reduction schemes. The information that has been provided by the Dutch shows that casualty figures at all the revised sites are at the level of one or none per year. We are happy that, in the context that they are being used in Holland, these ideas do not result in increases in casualties.

The Department for Transport is aware of two authorities in this country that have been considering applying some of the measures used in north Holland, but as redevelopment rather than accident reduction measures. From informal discussions with the authorities, it is understood they are now considering more familiar techniques such as 20 mph speed limit zones. We have not been approached by any authorities planning to remove traffic signals.

Strategic Rail Authority

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether additional funding will be made available to the Strategic Rail Authority to support any increase in funding for Network Rail determined by the Rail Regulator. [131362]

Mr. McNulty: The Regulator is due to conclude his Interim Review of Network Rail's track access charges in December 2003. This, along with work that the SRA and my Department are doing on rail financing and output will be considered as part of the Spending Review, the outcome of which will be announced next year.

Transport Infrastructure (Crosby)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was spent improving the transport infrastructure in Crosby (a) since 1997 and (b) from 1992 to 1997. [132335]

Mr. McNulty: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 11 September 2003, Official Report, column 374W.

I understand Sefton Borough Council are in the process of compiling this information and will supply it to my hon. Friend as soon as it becomes available.

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Walking

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action the Government are taking to promote the benefits of walking. [132419]

Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 October 2003, (PQ references 132357, 132358, 132359, 132360).

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Voice of the Women of Iraq Conference

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Minister for Women what follow-up action has taken place in the United Kingdom following the Voice of the Women of Iraq conference on 9 July. [132148]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 14 October 2003]: Since the Voice of Women of Iraq conference that I attended in July, the Government have seconded two gender experts to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad and Basra. They will take forward the work started in May by the secondee from my Women and Equality Unit, in supporting Iraqi women and to help determine a national policy for women. I continue to meet with a group of Iraqi women to listen to their concerns and experiences, as well as discuss ways to support Iraqi women during this critical phase. I have continued to stress the need to ensure substantial women's representation in all strands of the rapidly evolving political and reconstruction process at the highest level.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Minister for Women if she will make available the recommendations of the conference Voice of the Women of Iraq, which she attended on 9 July. [132253]

Ms Hewitt: I will make the recommendations of the conference Voice of the Women of Iraq available in the Libraries of the House.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Combined Heat and Power

Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the benefits of excess combined heat and power being exported between company sites. [131971]

Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 14 October 2003]: The export of excess good quality combined heat and power between company sites provides benefits to security of supply, carbon emission savings and costs. In 2002, the export of CHP to companies within the same group and to other companies is estimated to have saved up to 1 million tonnes of carbon. The financial benefit provided by exemption from the climate change levy of power outputs for those good quality CHP exports was up to £15 million in 2002.

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Pollution

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for pollution prevention and control permits were received by the Environment Agency in each year from 1996 to date; what the average time taken to determine applications was in each such year; and if she will make a statement. [129350]

Margaret Beckett: The following table gives the number of permit applications made to the Environment Agency since 2000 and the average time taken for them to be issued. No applications were received before that date because the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 ('the PPC Regulations') were not then in force.

Permit applications made to the environment agency

Calendar year	Number of applications received	Number of permits issued	Average time to determine permits issued in year(1) (months)
2000	36	0	n/a
2001	285	54	(2)6.4
2002	167	166	10.3
2003	183	141	12.5
Total	671	361

⁽¹⁾ Total time from receipt until permit issue. No allowance has been made for periods waiting for further information required by Schedule 4 Notices.

⁽²⁾ The 2001 data is not representative because it shows only permits issued in 2001 when the regime was first introduced.

There has been a slight increase to the average determination time in 2003. The process of PPC is complex, and applications have often lacked necessary information which can create substantial delays if further information is sought from the applicant. In such cases a notice is issued to the operator by the regulator and the determination of the application is effectively suspended until such time as further information is received.

The Environment Agency is aiming to reduce delays to permitting; measures include centrally managed "Strategic Permitting Groups" that have been established to focus resources on the effective determination of applications, and the reviewing and simplifying of the regulatory tools that are used to determine applications.

Renewables

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contribution renewable energy made to energy consumption in England in the last year for which figures are available; and what the levels were in other EU countries. [131081]

Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.

The available information is shown in the table and covers renewable energy as a share of total primary energy supply in the United Kingdom and in each of the other EU member states.

15 Oct 2003 : Column 243W

Renewable energy as a share of total primary energy supply, 2001

	Total primary energy supply (Mtoe)	Of which renewables (Mtoe)	Share of renewables Percentage
France	265.6	18.6	7.0
Sweden	51.1	15.0	29.4
Italy	172.0	9.6	5.6
Germany	351.1	9.2	2.6
Spain	127.4	8.2	6.5
Finland	33.8	7.6	22.4
Austria	30.7	6.6	21.5
Portugal	24.7	3.4	13.7
United Kingdom	235.2	2.5	1.1
Denmark	19.8	2.1	10.4
Greece	28.7	1.3	4.6
Netherlands	77.2	1.1	1.4
Belgium	59.0	0.6	1.0
Ireland	15.0	0.3	1.7
Luxembourg	3.8	0.1	1.6

Source:

International Energy Agency

The UK percentage is lower than other renewables percentages published for the United Kingdom because it is expressed in primary energy supply terms and includes energy used for heat as well as for electricity in both the denominator and the numerator. The percentage of UK electricity sales in 2001 that was accounted for by renewable sources eligible for the Renewables Obligation was 1.5 per cent. rising to 1.7 per cent. in 2002.

Whaling

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to encourage Iceland to stop whaling; and if she will make a statement. [131940]

Mr. Bradshaw: While it is certainly most regrettable, Iceland's decision to undertake a programme of lethal scientific research on whales is perfectly legal and our only recourse is thus to diplomatic protest. I met the Icelandic ambassador to London in September and left him in no doubt as to the UK Government's views on Iceland's unjustified and unnecessary plan to kill 38 minke whales this year; (the actual take turned out to be 36). On 10 September the UK Government, represented by the UK ambassador to Iceland, led a demarche of 23 countries urging the Icelandic Government to reconsider its decision to proceed with so-called "scientific" whaling. A demarche on this scale is significant, and I hope that the Icelandic Government will reflect on it before deciding how to take matters forward for next year.

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