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24 Nov 2005 : Column 2207W—continued
Electricity Generation
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent research has been (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated by his Department on ways to store bulk generated electricity. [23085]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 10 November 2005]: Since 1999, the Department has commissioned a number of studies to examine the future role of bulk electricity storage in the UK, its economics and the potential of various storage technologies. These studies are summarised below.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the total capacity of electricity generating plant that will need to be constructed by 2015; what projections his Department has made of the type of plant that will be constructed; and what estimate he has made of the average time required to construct a (a) coal-fired and (b) gas-fired power station. [30600]
Malcolm Wicks
[holding answer 21 November 2005]: According to the DTI's most recently published projections, dating from November 2004, around 14
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Gigawatts of new capacity is expected to be constructed by the end of 2015. Nearly all of the new capacity built is expected to be either CCGT or renewable.
The generic assumption in energy projections work is that construction of new CCGT plant can be achieved in around 3 years and for new coal plant, around 4 to 5 years. These assumptions do not include the time taken in the approval process.
Energy Review
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ensure that Parliament is the first to be informed, in an oral statement, of the terms of reference of the forthcoming Energy Review. [31578]
Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Review terms of reference will be placed in the House as soon as they are available.
England-Scotland Interconnector
David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the extent to which Ofgem consulted (a) the Scottish Executive, (b) Scottish local authorities and (c) Scottish consumer bodies about transmission investment for renewable generation, with particular reference to the proposals for the England-Scotland interconnector. [29290]
Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem issued public consultation documents regarding its proposals for Transmission Investment in Renewable Generation which provided the opportunity for all stakeholders to comment.
EU Directives
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the (a) administrative introductory cost, (b) annual recurring cost and (c) total cost to date to UK business of (i) Directive 97/75/EC amending and extending Directive 96/34/EC on parental leave, (ii) Directive 97/74/EC amending and extending Directive 94/45/EC on works councils, (iii) Directive 98/23/EC on the extension of Directive 97/81/EC on part-time work, (iv) Directive 98/52/EC on the extension of Directive 97/80/EC, on the burden of proof in sex discrimination cases, (v) Directive 1999/70/EC on fixed-term work and (vi) Directive 2002/14/EC on the information and consultation of workers; and if he will make a statement. [31569]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 2001 extending the 1999 Regulations implementing Directive 97/75/EC estimates no significant one off implementation costs. Additional recurring annual costs to employers are estimated to be between £6 million and £39 million.
The Regulatory Impact Assessment on the extension of the Council Directive on European Work Councils to include the UK estimates one off non-recurring costs of £8.4 million, affecting 111 UK based undertakings. Estimated annual recurring costs are estimated to be £14.5 million, assuming all affected undertakings set up a European Works Council.
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The Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations implementing Directive 98/23/EC estimates costs of £27.4 million. These are annual and recurring costs to businesses.
The sole purpose of Directive 98/52/EC on the extension of Directive 97/98/EC on the burden of proof in sex discrimination cases was to amend the implementation date of Directive 97/80/EC in the UK from the 1 January 2001 to 22 July 2001. Consequently no Impact Assessment was prepared.
The Regulatory Impact Assessment on the implementation of Directive 1999/70/EC on fixed term work estimates a one off administrative implementation cost to businesses of £2 million. Annual recurring costs are also estimated and include increased access to training for fixed term employees (£39 million to £73 million) and additional costs from paying all fixed term employees Statutory Sick Pay after day one of their employment (up to £7 million).
The Regulatory Impact Assessment on the implementation of the Information and Consultation Regulations 2004 estimates one off costs of between £24 million and £53 million spread between 2005 and 2012. Additional recurring costs are estimated to be between £20 million and £46 million each year to 2012.
Each Regulatory Impact Assessment described above also identified significant monetary and non-monetary benefits associated with the relevant legislation. Regulatory Impact Assessments are an integrated policy tool designed to ensure that new regulations are proportionate and impose the minimum regulatory burden in a way such that the benefits justify the costs.
EU Satellite System
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which British companies are expected to participate in the construction of the EU Global Monitoring for Environment and Security satellite system; what representations the Government is making on their behalf at an EU level; what funds the Government expects to contribute for the system's construction; and if he will make a statement. [30612]
Barry Gardiner: A number of UK companies are already working on this project. The UK Government has regular interaction with the Commission on GMES although the majority of industrial contracts over the foreseeable future are likely to be let by the European Space Agency (ESA).
My noble Friend the Minister for Science and Innovation and I are in discussion with Ministerial colleagues about the UK's position on funding the GMES Space Component Programme at the ESA Ministerial on 5–6 December.
Freedom of Information
Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to his Department passed to the FOI clearing house for evaluation, broken down by (a) subject and (b) date of request. [28945]
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Alan Johnson: Information about the handling of Freedom of Information requests is published in Freedom of Information Statistics on Implementation in Central Government". The most recently published report was 30 September 2005, copies were placed in the Libraries of the House. Additional information about the role of the Clearing House can be found on the DCA website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/guidance/index.htm#2. Departments do not release information about the internal handling of requests, such as details of which requests were referred to the Clearing House for guidance.
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