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5 Dec 2005 : Column 1009W—continued
Energy Supplies (Wales)
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what projections his Department has made for carbon dioxide emissions in Wales based on (a) a continuation of the present mix of energy sources, (b) mixes of energy sources that include nuclear power and (c) mixes of energy sources that do not include nuclear power; and if he will make a statement; [33522]
(2) what projections his Department has made for a mix of energy sources to meet energy demand in Wales that (a) includes and (b) does not include nuclear power over the next (i) five, (ii) 10, (iii) 20 and (iv) 50 years; and if he will make a statement. [33526]
Malcolm Wicks: Official energy and emissions projections are not available for Wales. Projections for the UK as a whole were published in November 2004, and are available on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/uep2004.pdf. An addendum was also published, which extended the projections to 2020, and can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/uep_addendum.pdf.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry what assessment his Department has made of the potential for renewable energy to meet energy demand in Wales over the next (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 20 and (d) 50 years; and if he will make a statement. [33523]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government have a target of 10 per cent. of electricity coming from Renewable Obligation eligible sources of renewable energy by 2010, with an aspiration to double that by 2020.
The Department has made no assessment of the potential for renewable energy to meet energy demand by region. However, the Welsh Assembly Government have recently published Technical Advice Note 8:M (Tan 8) Planning for Renewable Energy, and is consulting on Route Map to a clean, low carbon and more competitive energy future for Wales. Copies are available from their website http://www.wales.gov.uk
Enterprise Grants
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many enterprise grants were made available to small and medium-sized enterprises in each year from 1997 until the scheme concluded; and what their total value was in (a) the UK, (b) each region and (c) each constituency. [33469]
Alun Michael: The Enterprise Grant scheme was launched on 1 January 2000 and closed to new applications on 31 March 2004. Scheme information relating to applications, offers and expenditure by region can be found in the Industrial Development Act Annual Report, published by the Stationery Office and placed in the Libraries of the House. Due to changes in data storage the information is not available by constituency.
EU Directive 2001/77/EC
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in meeting the requirements of Article 6 of EU Directive 2001/77/EC; and if he will make a statement. [32746]
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Malcolm Wicks: Article 6 of the EU Directive 2001/77/EC, on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market, refers to Administrative procedures and the need to:
The 2003 Energy White Paper 'Our energy future—creating a low carbon economy', reviewed Government's energy policy including renewables and also gave a commitment to review progress of the Renewables Obligation in 2005–06. The Government are currently consulting on the 2005–06 Review of the Renewables Obligation. The changes under consideration are limited and seek to maintain the stability of the Obligation while improving its effectiveness over time.
A copy of the consultation document is available from the Libraries of the House.
Freedom of Information
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Freedom of Information applications his Department has received; how many have taken more than 20 days to process; and how many of these gave rise to complaints about the time taken. [31222]
Alan Johnson: Between 1 January and 30 June 2005 my Department received 533 requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). 205 requests took longer than 20 working days to respond to, of which 52 were answered within an extended time as permitted by the Act. These figures were published in the Department for Constitutional Affair's FOI monitoring bulletins for the first and second quarters of 2005. The number of complaints about the time taken to respond to requests under the Act is not a figure which is required for central Government monitoring purposes and is therefore not held by my Department.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs is committed to publishing quarterly updates in relation to departmental performance under FOI, including information on both the volume and outcomes of requests. The bulletin for the second quarter was published on 30 September 2005 and can be found on the DCA website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/statsapr-jun05.htm and the bulletin for the first quarter can be found at http://www.foi.gov.uk/statsjan-mar05.htm. The bulletins are available in the Libraries of the House. The next bulletin will be published before Christmas, and an annual report will be published in early 2006.
Gas
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the Gas Exporting Countries' Forum's long-term influence on global gas prices. [32268]
Malcolm Wicks:
The evidence to date indicates that gas exporting countries are seeking to increase their supplies. The Gas Exporting Countries' Forum has said that it does not wish to become a 'gas OPEC'.
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Microgeneration Energy
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research he has commissioned into the potential for microgeneration energy production across the waterways in (a) Leominster constituency, (b) each region of the United Kingdom and (c) the whole of the United Kingdom. [33489]
Malcolm Wicks: I have not commissioned research that focuses specifically on the potential for microgeneration across the waterways in Leominster constituency or on a regional basis. I did, however, commission a report looking into the costs and benefits of a range of microgeneration technologies including micro-hydro. I plan to publish this report shortly.
Miners' Compensation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in how many miners' hearing loss claims his Department has paid for more than one medical examination. [34208]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 2 December 2005]: To date, the Department has met the cost of more than one medical examination in 665 miners' hearing loss claims out of 38,244 received.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid in medical costs under the miners' compensation scheme (a) in total and (b) in hearing loss claims; and in respect of how many claims in each case. [34209]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 2 December 2005]: The total paid for medical costs in the respiratory disease and Vibration White Finger schemes is £311 million. This is in respect of £403,000 settled claims. The figure for medical costs in hearing loss claims is not readily available as these are met in respect of individual claims rather than on a schemed basis.
Nuclear Power
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry whether the (a) modification and (b) upgrading of nuclear power stations requires a planning application to be submitted. [34008]
Malcolm Wicks: Depending on the nature of the change, planning permission may be required.
Patent Office
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the next quinquennial review of the Patent Office will take place. [30052]
Alan Johnson:
A recommendation of Better Government Services—Executive Agencies in the 21stCentury" published by the Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform in July 2002 was that the central programme of quinquennial reviews of agencies such as the Patent Office, was abolished and replaced by business reviews of the end-to-end process in achieving specific outcomes. The methodology for such reviews and the cycle of them is integrated with the departments' business planning process and specific priorities for review agreed as part of Spending Review decisions.
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A methodology has been adopted whereby the Patent Office Business Plan is agreed each year with the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure its objectives match departmental objectives and plans.
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