| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
31 Oct 2005 : Column 699W—continued
Departmental Vehicles
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the fuel efficiency is of each make and model of vehicle (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department. [17900]
Alan Johnson: The information requested is as follows.
(a) The Department does not own any vehicles.
(b) The fuel efficiency of each make and model of vehicle leased by staff for business use in the Department is:
| Vehicle | CO 2 emissions (g/km) |
|---|---|
| Citroen C3 1.4i LX | 148 |
| Fiat Punto 1.2 MIA | 136 |
| Ford Focus 1.8TDi | 143 |
| FordKALSi | 154 |
| Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 LS | 183 |
31 Oct 2005 : Column 700W
The following vehicles are provided by the Government Car Service for use by the DTI:
| Vehicle | CO 2 emissions (g/km) |
|---|---|
| Toyota Prius x4 | 104 |
| Ford Mondeo x1 | 218 |
| Ford Mondeo Zetec x1 | 218 |
| Rover 75 x1 | 249 |
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to meet his Department's commitment in the Energy White paper to make maximum use of new vehicles and fuels in the Department's fleet of vehicles. [17901]
Alan Johnson: The Department does not own any vehicles. It provides five vehicles for business use through a vehicle lease contract. DTI is considering joining an across government framework lease car agreement which should be in place in 2006, and will at that point evaluate available vehicle options within that agreement to make maximum use of more fuel efficient vehicles and increased use of low carbon fuels.
The rules relating to the use of official cars by Ministers and their spouses or partners and officials are set out in the Prime Minister's guidance 'Travel by Ministers'. This guidance also identifies the vehicles that can be provided by the Government Car Service.
Developing Countries (Trade)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Department is taking to increase the accessibility of markets in the UK to trade from developing countries. [23144]
Ian Pearson: The best opportunity for increasing the accessibility of the EU market to trade with developing countries is a successful and ambitious result from the Doha Development Agenda in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We are working closely with the European Commission, other member states and other governments to secure this as the WTO Conference in Hong Kong in December draws closer.
In the past year, we have worked with the Commission to revise the EU's Generalised System of Preferences, which offers preferential access for developing countries to the now even larger European market, and tariff and quota free access for the Least Developed Countries. In addition, negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are under way and the Government published a position paper on their development objectives for these agreements in March.
The UK is also supporting capacity building in developing countries in trade policy and negotiations to the tune of £165 million over three years, by supporting organisations such as the Centre for WTO Law and the South Centre.
Diesel
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with EU colleagues on diesel prices. [23564]
31 Oct 2005 : Column 701W
Malcolm Wicks: There have been no discussions with my counterparts on diesel prices.
Recent changes in diesel prices reflect increases in the price of crude oil on the global market. This is due to strong oil demand and geopolitical uncertainty in key producing countries.
Electrical Waste
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the costs which may be incurred by local authorities as a result of the change in the timescale for the implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Directive Legislation; and if he will make a statement. [20892]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government have accepted that the deferral of producer responsibility for waste electrical and electronic equipment may have implications for local authorities due to the Landfill Regulations Waste Acceptance Criteria which now apply to waste, including some WEEE products which may be separately collected and hence classified as hazardous and which is then sent to hazardous landfill.
The Department has undertaken to meet additional costs to local authorities in this context, in relation to any hazardous WEEE in line with the New Burdens principle. The Department is now working to establish the practical arrangements to meet additional costs which local authorities may incur.
Emissions Trading
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effects of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on the investment intentions of the electricity generating sector; and if he will make a statement. [20953]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government have commissioned a report on the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on the electricity generating sector including future investment. The final report will be published in due course.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received regarding the effects of the Emissions Trading Scheme on the investment intentions of the electricity generating sector. [20954]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government has received a number of responses from the electricity generating sector to its recent consultation on Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, many of which covered the impact of the scheme on investment in the sector. The consultation closed on 27 September 2005, a summary of the responses received will be published in due course.
Energy Efficiency/Prices/Promotion Expenditure
Mr. Alan Reid:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken (a) to improve resource efficiency and (b) to reduce waste and harmful
31 Oct 2005 : Column 702W
emissions across business sectors, with particular reference to the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste programme. [21506]
Malcolm Wicks: The joint DTI /DEFRA Envirowise programme is the main government initiative promoting resource efficiency to business, with an emphasis on prevention (avoidance and minimisation of production of waste) rather than cure (managing existing wastes by recycling, disposal, etc). As such the programme is an important delivery mechanism for our Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) aims and objectives, as set out in the Governments SCP Framework Changing Patterns: the UK Government Framework for Sustainable Consumption and Production".
The DEFRA Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme is providing £50 million over three years to be spent through the Technology Programme. Support is provided through competitions held twice a year for collaborative research and development projects, with support also for Knowledge Transfer Networks. To date there have been two competitions held in November 2004 and April 2005.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken by the Government to help energy-intensive small to medium-sized companies tackle rising energy prices. [23173]
Malcolm Wicks: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as large companies are represented by the Energy Intensive Users' Group on the DTI's Gas Prices Working Group, which was set up by the then Secretary of State at the end of last year. This group met monthly in the first half of this year and has agreed an Action List of short to medium term measures, such as maximising gas supplies, improving the functioning of the market, encouraging demand side response and pursuing energy market liberalisation in the European Union.
In addition, the Department and Energywatch are planning a seminar for SMEs and public sector bodies, focusing on energy prices and best practice in contracting. This will take place in the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, on Wednesday 30 November.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money the Government have spent on promoting the use of (a) wind power, (b) solar power, (c) hydro power and (d) nuclear power in each of the last five years. [21687]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 25 October 2005]: It has not been possible to collate all public expenditure and other Government support since 1999 for energy technologies in the time available at proportionate cost. However it is possible to detail direct DTI and Research Council expenditure on new and renewables, and nuclear. These are set out in the following tables.
In addition to this both DEFRA and the Scottish Executive provide funding to the Carbon Trust which conducts research into low carbon energy activities among other activities.
31 Oct 2005 : Column 703W
Notes:
1. From 2000–01, figures do not include spend on contracts placed direct by DTI.
2. For 2004–05, the figure for tidal is a combined spend for the wave and tidal.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |