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15 Jun 2004 : Column 813W—continued
Shipbuilding
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of defence-related ship building in the United Kingdom. [178588]
Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has embarked on the largest procurement programme of new ships for the Royal Navy in many years, including orders for six Type 45 destroyers, three ASTUTE Class submarines and four Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary).
Future plans include the purchase of two new aircraft carriers, further orders of Type 45 destroyers and Astute Class submarines, and the progressive replacement of existing RFA vessels.
Looking further ahead, we expect to replace the capability provided by the Type 22 and 23 Frigates with the Future Surface Combatant.
It remains the policy of this Government that all warships for the Royal Navy, or vessels designated warlike, will be built in the United Kingdom, although weapon, command and propulsion systems, may be procured from overseas, following open competition.
All bidders for new procurements will, of course, have to demonstrate the capability and competitiveness to meet our needs, but this future programme should provide an excellent opportunity for the UK's shipbuilding industry.
Thales (Racal Acquisition)
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what undertakings were given to his Department by Thales when they acquired Racal. [177146]
Mr. Ingram: When Thomson CSF (now Thales) acquired Racal Electronics plc in July 2000, contractual undertakings addressing national security aspects were provided to the Ministry of Defence by Thomson CSF.
Statutory undertakings were also provided to the Department of Trade and Industry as part of the regulatory clearance for the acquisition. These are in the public domain and provide assurance that the company will comply with the contractual undertakings provided to the MOD.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Business Support
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies have benefited from the Small Businesses Loan Scheme in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last three years. [177130]
Nigel Griffiths:
The Government do not operate a Small Business Loan Scheme.
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Carbon Emissions
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of changes in carbon emissions which would result if all gas fired power stations which have been approved, but are yet to enter service, replaced existing carbon emitting generators. [178323]
Mr. Timms: The answer depends on the assumptions made about the type of existing carbon emitting generation which the new gas-fired capacity would replace and the load factor for the new gas-fired plant. There is currently around 4,800MW of gas-fired capacity, comprising six large stations, approved but yet to enter service.
If coal-fired plants are replaced then the carbon saving would amount to around 4 million tonnes per annum as coal emits more than twice the amount of carbon as gas per TWh of generation. If older gas-fired generation plants were replaced then the change in emissions would be around 0.3 million tonnes per annum, the change reflecting only the higher efficiency of new gas-fired generation compared with older gas generation technologies. A load factor of 70 per cent. is assumed for gas-fired generation.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of how much carbon would be emitted if all gas fired power stations which have been approved, but are yet to enter service, entered service. [178324]
Mr. Timms: There is currently around 4,800MW of gas-fired capacity comprising six large stations, approved but yet to enter service. The level of associated carbon emissions will depend on the operational load factor associated with this capacity. On the assumption of a 70 per cent. load factor, emissions from these stations would amount to around 3 million tonnes of carbon per annum. The net impact on UK emissions will depend on what type of capacity (conventional fossil fuel or nuclear generation) this new capacity is replacing.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the likely changes in carbon emissions if all renewable electricity generators which have been approved, but are yet to enter service, replaced carbon emitting generators. [178325R]
Mr. Timms: There is currently around 1700MW of renewable capacity approved but yet to enter service. This comprises 500MW of onshore wind and 1200MW of offshore wind as well as 20MW of hydro power. The change in carbon emissions associated with this level of new renewables capacity will depend on the assumption made about the type of carbon emitting generation which it replaces and the operational load factors associated with the renewables capacity.
If new renewables capacity replaces gas-fired generation, which would otherwise have been built, then the reduction in emissions would amount to around 0.5 million tonnes of carbon per annum. If the new capacity is assumed to have replaced coal-fired generation then the change in emissions would amount to around 1.2 million tonnes of carbon per annum.
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These figures are based on the assumptions of a 30 per cent. load factor for onshore wind and 35 per cent. for offshore wind and hydro.
Combined Heat and Power
Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies her Department has undertaken to assess the (a) economic impact and (b) carbon savings of requiring energy suppliers to have a statutory requirement to include combined heat and power as part of their overall production; and if she will make a statement. [177692]
Mr. Timms: In 2003, the DTI and DEFRA commissioned Cambridge Econometrics to undertake a study of the prospects for CHP to 2010. This work included an analysis of the effects of a CHP obligation along the lines of the existing Renewables Obligation. The results of this study were published in November of that year and can be found at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/environment/energy efficiency/chpreport.pdf
DVDs/Videos
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1442W, on DVDs/videos, if she will ask the Office of Fair Trading to investigate whether fair pricing competition exists between national supermarket chains and small independent retailers of DVDs and videos. [178670]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 14 June 2004]: It is for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), as the UK's independent competition authority, to decide whether to investigate competition issues. Any information or evidence concerning market failure or anti-competitive practices should be submitted directly to the OFT.
Management Earnings (Merseyside)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average gross weekly pay for (a) managers and (b) senior officials in (i) Merseyside and (ii) the UK was in 2003; and if she will make a statement. [177918]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Claire Curtis-Thomas, dated 15 June 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the average gross weekly wage for (a) Managers and (b) Senior Officials in (i) Merseyside and (ii) the UK for 2003. (177918)
Average earnings are estimated from the 2003 New Earnings Survey (NES) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for NES tables. The NES does not collect data (on the self employed and people who do unpaid work. I attach a table showing the average gross weekly wage for Managers and Senior Officials in both Merseyside and the UK.
The NES, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the UK. It is a one per cent. sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes, but because of its sampling frame, it
- has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
The New Earnings Survey publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive and of reliable quality. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
| Weekly earnings (£) | |
|---|---|
| Managers | 732.2 |
| Senior Officials | 1,739.9 |
| Merseyside | |
| Managers | 585.6 |
| Senior Officials | (1)— |
(1) Data are not shown due to the small sample size.
Notes:
1. The occupation groups are defined using Standard Occupational Coding 2000.
Managers have been taken as SOC 2000 Major Group 1, Managers and Senior Officials.
Senior Officials have been taken as SOC 2000 Minor Group 111 Corporate Managers and Senior Officials. Here is a link to SOC 2000:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/methods quality/ns sec/downloads/SOC2000 Vol1 V5.pdf
2. The New Earnings Survey release criteria currently require that any estimate:
(a) of a mean is based on a sample size of at least 30
and that the associated coefficient of variation does not exceed 5 per cent.
(b) of a quantile such as a percentile, quartile or median, or of a percentage, is based on a sample size of at least 10 and that the sample size is either at least 225 or that the relative coefficient of variation is less than 20 per cent.
3. Estimates are based on the workplace location.
Source for earnings data:
New Earnings survey, April 2003
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