Supplementary memorandum submitted by
DEFRA
(Answers to questions from the Committee following
the evidence session with Sir Brian Bender on Defra's Annual Report)
1. Which, if any, of Defra's agencies or
sponsored bodies are covered by the Pay and Workforce Strategy?
The Treasury has asked all Departments to look
at the size and type of workforce they will need to deliver the
programmes they are responsible for and to provide plans identifying
the actions that will be needed to do this over the next three
to five years. It has also asked Departments to take account of
the roles that their major delivery partners take in achieving
the targets set and identify pay and workforce issues that could
impact adversely on delivery plans.
Defra is about to submit a Workforce Delivery
Plan to the Treasury that addresses these points.
A comprehensive review of the requirements to
deliver the Defra programmes has been undertaken which has looked
at the changes which will improve delivery to Defra's stakeholders
and customers and identified the skills required to do this. Within
core Defra (excluding the Executive Agencies), recruitment, reward,
learning and development and performance management policies and
practices are being improved, together with a more responsive
Human Resource function better aligned to business delivery goals.
We have identified both the internal capability
issues and what we need from our wide range of external delivery
partners to deliver Defra's objectives, notably on PSA targets.
Our Executive Agencies and major Non-Departmental
Public Bodies (NDPBs) have well developed pay and workforce procedures
aligned to business planning and we have been in touch with them
to identify any issues that would impact on delivery plans. More
widely, we are contributing to the effectiveness of our delivery
partners by improving the quality of the relationship with them.
Specifically on pay, core Defra, the Veterinary
Medicines Directorate and the Pesticides Safety Directorate are
one unit for pay negotiations, the remaining four Executive Agencies
(the Rural Payments Agency, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries
and Aquaculture Science, the Central Science Laboratory and the
Veterinary Laboratories Agency) conduct their own pay negotiations.
NDPBs and sponsored bodies negotiate separately on pay. Agencies
and NDPBs have to clear their pay remits with core Defra.
2. Brian White's Private Members Bill—Sustainable
Energy. What leadership does Sir Brian offer in respect of Defra's
role in the Bill? Why did Defra officials argue that the clause
in the Bill on taking reasonable steps to achieve carbon saving
aims in energy efficiency in residential accommodation could not
be delivered?
The Government has offered its support to this
bill since its publication. Ministers agreed to support the bill
at second reading while making it clear that the Government had
reservations about much of the contents and that substantive amendment
would be sought at Committee stage. Ministers agreed the Government's
position in regard to the amendments that were required at committee
stage in order for the Government to continue supporting the Bill
at subsequent stages. The role of officials has been to ensure
that the policy agreed by Ministers was carried forward.
The original Bill did not refer to carbon savings
from energy efficiency. David Chaytor MP tabled an amendment for
discussion at Committee on 24 June but subsequently withdrew it
after discussion at Committee. His amendment would have required
the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales to
take reasonable steps to achieve the carbon savings in relation
to energy efficiency of residential accommodation specified in
any policy document that has been designated for this purpose.
The Government's difficulties with this amendment were explained
by Stephen Timms MP Minister for Energy, e-Commerce and Postal
Services, at Committee, (column 59 of Hansard for Standing
Committee C, Tuesday 24 June 2003). The Minister said that:
"As for new clause 7, the White Paper applies
to the whole of the UK, not just to England. It is important that
we are clear about the respective responsibilities of the UK Government
and the devolved Administrations. The amendments that my hon.
Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North-East has tabled spell
that out very clearly. Those amendments make it clear that energy
efficiency aims would be designated for both England and Wales,
and that the Secretary of State for Wales and the National Assembly
for Wales would be required to take reasonable steps to achieve
those aims. New clause 7 is not as clear about that matter. There
has been some debate about the discussions of the last two weeks.
I have been a party to those discussions only for the latter part
of that period. However, it is clear that this is a matter on
which the thinking has moved over that period.
New clauses 8 and 9 [Government amendments supported
by Brian White] are helpful in that they require the designation
of energy efficiency aims that are contained in published documents
that relate to the energy efficiency of residential accommodation
in England. That gives us a useful and a better way forward. I
reassure the Committee that my job is to deliver on the aims of
the White Paper, and to work with colleagues across Government
to achieve all 135 of the commitments that it contains."
3. Further information on the economic analysis
conducted by Defra on bioethanol and biodiesel.
Defra commissioned three pieces of work which
contributed to the assessment of the potential of biofuels for
the UK, undertaken prior to Budget 2003. Details and key findings
are as follows.
SHEFFIELD HALLAM:
THE EVALUATION
OF THE
COMPARATIVE ENERGY,
ENVIRONMENTAL AND
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
COSTS AND
BENEFITS OF
BIODIESEL
This was commissioned for the Forum on the Non-Food
Uses of Crops in order to establish the evidence about the benefits
of biodiesel.
The main findings in the report were:
— The fossil energy input into producing
biodiesel is 40% of that for the equivalent amount of ultra-low
sulphur diesel from mineral oil.
— Greenhouse gas emissions from biodiesel
from oilseed rape are 56% lower than those from ultra-low sulphur
diesel. This can be increased to 80% if the energy used in production
is from renewable sources.
— Consistent differences between biodiesel
and ultra-low sulphur diesel in tailpipe emissions (excluding
CO2) could not be established.
— Compared with other renewable energy,
energy saving, and greenhouse gas abatement measures, biodiesel
from oilseed rape is expensive. It provides 3-6 kg saved CO2/£
compared with 20 kg/£ for electricity from short rotation
coppice and up to 500 kg/£ for domestic insulation.
— Government support for biodiesel
from oilseed rape would produce approximately £1.00 rural
income per £ subsidy compared with £1.50-£2.00
per £ subsidy for short rotation coppice grown for energy
use.
CENTRAL SCIENCE
LABORATORY: LIQUID
BIOFUELS—PROSPECTS
AND POTENTIAL
IMPACTS ON
UK AGRICULTURE, THE
FARMED ENVIRONMENT,
LANDSCAPE AND
RURAL ECONOMY
Key findings were:
— Biodiesel production in the UK currently
relies on the use of waste vegetable oils as a low cost feedstock.
— Assuming 2% growth in fuel use, EU
indicative targets mean substitution of 806,000 tonnes and 2.56
M tonnes in 2005 and 2010 respectively.
— Typical costs of biodiesel production
in the UK are in the range 27-32 pence/litre.
— Bioethanol from wheat could be produced
at around 29 pence/litre and from sugar beet at around 39 pence/litre,
the latter based on the then relatively high costs of sugar beet.
— Limited European data suggests production
costs of around 71 pence/litre for lignocellulosic ethanol.
— Around 1m hectares of land would
be required to provide the range of feedstocks needed to achieve
the 2010 indicative target.
— A plant producing 125,00 tonnes of
biodiesel per annum would employ around 43 staff and create 146
extra jobs in agriculture (1.8 jobs on-farm for every 1000 ha
of crops grown on set-aside land).
CENTRAL SCIENCE
LABORATORY—REVIEW
OF BIOFUELS
COSTINGS SUPPLIED
TO DEFRA
BY THE
NORTH EAST
BIODIESEL PARTNERSHIP
The North East Biodiesel Partnership has, for
some years, been enthusiastic to develop biodiesel production
on Teeside utilising locally grown feedstocks. CSL were asked
to examine data supplied by the Partnership in support of their
case for further duty reductions. The analysis showed:
— On-farm costs for the production
of oilseed rape are in a range £147-180/tonne, depending
on efficiency of production. Spot prices at the time the report
was written were £147/tonne.
— Total net cost for the production
of refined rapeseed oil ranged from £0.384 to £0.441
with a spot price of £0.317.
— The additional duty derogation of
7.7p sought by the Partnership is very sensitive to feedstock
costs, the value of by-products such as glycerine and optimised
crop production.
— Increasing feedstock costs by £10/tonne
adds 2.6p/litre to the cost of biodiesel produced.
— Estimates of jobs created on-farm
and in production facilities are similar to those set out in earlier
CSL work.
Available data was shared with other departments.
Current work is revising data on farming impacts, taking account
of the CAP reform settlement, and is looking at alternative support
options such as capital grants for processing plants.
4. When does the Department expect the changes
recommended in reviews of its Fuel Poverty Programme to be implemented?
The findings of the NAO review into Warm Front
and the Department's own internal policy review will be considered
as part of the development of the Warm Front scheme to run from
2005.
5. What progress has the Strategy Unit made
in its review of fishing and fisheries?
The project aims to study the medium to long-term
issues facing UK fishing and develop a long-term strategy for
the sustainable future of the UK marine fishing industry. This
will take into account the need for the sustainable management
of marine resources, the diverse and changing circumstances of
the fishing industry and the social and economic development of
communities that depend on fishing. The Strategy Unit will work
closely with the fisheries departments: the Department for Environment,
Food & Rural Affairs, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly
Government and the Northern Ireland Office, as well as Scotland
Office and the Wales Office. In June the new fisheries Minister,
Ben Bradshaw, took over from Elliot Morley as sponsor of the project.
The Unit aims to report in December 2003.
Since announcement of the project on 27 March,
the Unit has undertaken fact finding trips and held informal consultations
with a wide variety of stakeholders across the UK. On 10 June
the Unit published a consultation paper to seek stakeholder views
on the crucial issues facing the industry.
The first stage of the project (an analysis
of the current situation) is nearing completion. The Strategy
Unit are about to embark on the "futures work" to model
different scenarios for the fishing industry. At this stage the
Unit is considering a broad range of possible policy goals and
measures.
July 2003
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