Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
29 Jan 2004 : Column 498Wcontinued
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the capacity of the national power grid is. [151264]
Mr. Timms: Figures published in National Grid Transco's Seven Year Statement of March 2003 show that the capacity of the England and Wales transmission system is 69.1 GW.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the projected demand for power is in the United Kingdom over the next 25 years; and what steps she is taking to ensure that this demand is met. [151265]
Mr. Timms: The latest provisional DTI energy projections which update those in Energy Paper 68 available in the Libraries of the House, project a demand of 375TWh in 2005, 385TWh in 2010, 386TWh in 2015 and 399TWh in 2020. The projections relate to gross supply to the grid and cover all major power producers and renewable generators and exclude the effect of a number of climate change programme measures whose exact impact had not been estimated at the time of publication.
29 Jan 2004 : Column 499W
The Government attach great importance to reliable energy suppliesreliable supply is one of the four goals of energy policy as set out the Government's Energy White Paper, published in February of last year.
We believe that a market based approach for provision of electricity generation will work. But if the market is to work it needs confidence that Government will not intervene. We have said we will not intervene in the market except in extreme circumstances, to protect safety, and that remains our position.
Through the Joint Energy Security of Supply working group (JESS), we and Ofgem continually monitor developments in the gas and electricity markets over the medium to long term and look for ways to improve the
29 Jan 2004 : Column 500W
operation of the market. The latest JESS report was published on 12 November and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who the members of the (a) National Consumer Council, (b) Welsh Consumer Council, (c) Scottish Consumer Council, (d) Hearing Aid Council and (e) Gas Consumer Council were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and what their remuneration is. [151289]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
(12) Following the passage of the Utilities Act 2000, the Gas Consumers' Council and the Electricity Consumers' Committees of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) were abolished in November 2000, and replaced by the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council (GECC).
Note:
The GECC's Chief Executive, Allan Asher, is also a member of the Council.
29 Jan 2004 : Column 501W
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the current operational status of the MOX demonstration facility at Sellafield is; and if she will make a statement. [149533]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 27 January 2004]: Since February 2002, in accordance with a licence issued by Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII), BNFL has operated the MOX Demonstration Facility (MDF) as a support facility to the Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP).
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government will publish the report of the Office of Fair Trading inquiry into the operation of the voluntary Supermarket Code of Practice. [150986]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is expected to conclude its review of the Code of Practice governing supermarkets' relations with their suppliers shortly. The OFT will then send its report to DTI for formal consideration. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will then decide if any action is necessary and publish the report.
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Scottish Executive Ministers about TETRA masts. [151792]
Mr. Timms: Neither I nor my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry have had discussions with Scottish Ministers on the subject.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what measures she has taken to protect trains carrying nuclear fuel and spent nuclear fuel through Essex from terrorist attack; [150523]
Mr. Timms: The transport of nuclear fuel strictly adheres to the stringent international and national regulations that govern such movements. In the UK security for the transportation of nuclear material is regulated by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security
29 Jan 2004 : Column 502W
(OCNS). OCNS is kept fully briefed about terrorist threat intelligence and in turn keeps security arrangements under review at all times. It is not Government policy to disclose details of security measures or nuclear fuel movements, which may be of potential use to terrorists.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many trains per month travel in Essex carrying (a) nuclear fuel and (b) spent nuclear fuel. [150525]
Mr. Timms: On average the movement of flasks containing spent nuclear fuel through Essex amounts to 12 separate rail movements per month. There are no fresh fuel movements currently through Essex by rail.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which members of the World Trade Organisation have still to implement fully the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Basic Telecommunications. [149080]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The WTO agreement on basic telecommunications came into effect on 5 February 1998. To date, 70 WTO members have adopted the agreement. The nature of the GATS agreement means that members are free to choose the pace and extent of any commitments they wish to make.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on admitting Russia to the World Trade Organisation; and if she will make a statement. [151251]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 27 January 2004]: The Government supports Russian membership of the WTO, on the right terms, as both in our interests and in the interests of Russian economic development. We support the negotiating position taken by the European Commission on behalf of the EU, and we call upon the Russian Government to respond positively to the points raised by the Commission on our behalf. We also call upon the Russian Government to address the issues that have been identified by their WTO Accession Working Party as material to the readiness and ability of Russia to implement WTO rules upon accession. Since December 2000, the UK has provided £1.2 million worth of technical assistance to Russia to support their efforts to accede to the WTO.
29 Jan 2004 : Column 503W
Next Section | Index | Home Page |