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15 Dec 2005 : Column 2250W—continued
Carbon Sequestration
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his plans to promote the use of carbon sequestration technology. [37698]
Malcolm Wicks:
The Carbon Abatement Technologies Strategy for Fossil Fuel Use" which I announced on 14 June this year sets out the Government's policy and views for the future support
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for carbon sequestration technologies. Copies of the strategy are available in the House of Commons Library and at:
In addition to the strategy I also announced £25 million for a demonstration of Carbon Abatement Technologies, which could include carbon sequestration. In his pre-budget statement this month, the Chancellor announced a further £10 million for this demonstration scheme, bringing the total for Government funding to £35 million.
Coal Mining
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much (a) deep mined and (b) opencast coal was produced in the UK in (i) the most recent 12 months for which figures are available and (ii)1995; and what forecast he has made of production in 2015. [37865]
Malcolm Wicks: Over the 12-month period to September 2005 UK deep mined coal production was 9.6 million tonnes and UK surface mined coal production was 11.3 million tonnes.
In 1995, UK deep mined coal production was 35.2 million tonnes and UK surface mined coal production was 16.4 million tonnes.
This Department does not produce regular forecasts for UK coal production. A study commissioned by DTI in 2004 as part of its work on the large combustion plant directive entitled UK Coal Production Outlook: 2004–16". The report projected that the UK's total coal production could be sustained within a band of 21–29 million tonnes in 2010 and 15–21 million tonnes in 2016.
The outturn figures for the 12 months to September 2005 suggest that the lower figures in these projections may be between 2 and 3 million tonnes too high.
Disability
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether a Minister in his Department is planned to be nominated to take responsibility for liaison with the office for disability issues; and if he will make a statement; [37061]
(2) if he will make a statement on the initial activity undertaken by his Department in response to those recommendations in the Prime Minister's strategy unit report, improving the life chances of disabled people, where lead responsibility was assigned to all Government Departments. [37062]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
I am the DTFs representative on the cross-departmental ministerial group charged with taking forward the recommendations of the strategy unit report improving the life chances of disabled people", and accordingly have responsibility for liaison with the office for disability issues.
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DTI is also represented on the cross-departmental senior officials' group, which contributes to the work on establishment of the office for disability issues and oversees the other workstreams that are taking forward the improving life chances agenda.
The DTI supports the recommendations in the strategy unit report and the aims of the office for disability issues; and contributes to implementing recommendations within its area of responsibility. The establishment of the office for disability issues is an important step towards achieving equality for disabled people and its work will complement that taken forward by proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights, for which DTI has the lead.
Energy
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK's priorities were for the EU-OPEC ministerial meeting of 2 December. [34933]
Malcolm Wicks: At the EU-OPEC energy dialogue meeting on 2 December the UK was acting in its capacity as president of the EU Council of Ministers.
The EU sees this dialogue as part of a broader approach to developing the EU's relationship with major energy suppliers. This approach was one of the conclusions reached at the informal EU Heads of State meeting at Hampton Court on 27 of October that looked at the challenges of globalisation.
The overall aim of the dialogue is to promote oil market stability and improve mutual understanding. At the 2 December meeting we agreed that the dialogue would be taken forward in a number of specific areas. There will be:
An experts meeting on energy technologies with a focus on carbon capture and storage, and possible the establishment of an EU-OPEC technology centre;
The next EU-OPEC ministerial meeting will be held in June in Brussels.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the latest estimates are for the percentage of electricity used in the UK produced from (a) coal, (b) nuclear power, (c) gas and (d) each other source; and what forecasts he has made for the percentages in (i) 10 and (ii) 20 years' time. [37862]
Malcolm Wicks: The available information on electricity supplied in the UK is shown in the following table. It is based on information published in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2005 and energy projections published in November 2004.
| 2004 | 2010 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas | 40 | 41 | 58 |
| Coal | 33 | 25½ | 16½ |
| Nuclear | 19 | 18½ | 7 |
| Imports | 2½ | 2½ | 2 |
| Oil | 1 | ½ | ½ |
| Hydro | 1 | 1½ | 1 |
| Other Renewables2½ | 10 | 14 | |
| Other Fuels | 1 | ½ | 1 |
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Other renewables include biofuels, wind, wave, solar photovoltaics and non-biodegradable wastes. Other fuels include coke oven gas, blast furnace gas and waste products from chemical processes.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of resources needed to provide the amount of electricity required in the UK over the next 10 years. [37863]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government's assessment of the adequacy of generating capacity and the availability of supplies of electricity and fuels used for electricity generation in the medium term is set out in the Report of the Joint Energy Security of Supply working group, available on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/jess/jessreport5.pdf and in the Secretary of State's report to Parliament, available from the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/publications/policy/sec_supply_first_report.pdf
Both reports draw heavily on National Grid's Seven Year Statement, available from the National Grid website at http://wwwnationalgrid.com/uk/library/documents/sys05/default.asp.
Gas Prices
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the availability of gas supplies (a) in the UK and (b) from abroad; and if he will make a statement on the impact on British industry of the recent increases in prices for gas. [37864]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government's assessment of the availability of gas supplies from UK sources is set out in the Secretary of State's report to Parliament which is published on the Department's website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/publications/policy/sec_supply_first_report.pdf—see chapter 4, page 14.
The Government are committed to working with others to provide an appropriate framework for international trade in gas, and to developing partnerships with gas producing and transit countries. Decisions as to the amount of gas to be imported, from which sources and through which supply routes and import points, are for individual market participants.
There is a general concern that changes in other governments' national rules are potentially diverting cargoes of liquefied natural gas away from Great Britain, and that gas supplies via the interconnector from continental Europe have not fully responded to recent strong price signals; Ofgem and the Government are pursuing these issues urgently with the European Commission, including through a letter from my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
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Commissioner Kroes. The Government's Energy Review, due to report in 2006, will look at the reliability of energy supplies in the medium and long term.
I, as well as DTI and Ofgem officials, have met representatives of industry on numerous occasions to discuss the impact of gas price rises and ways of mitigating that.
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