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19 Jan 2006 : Column 1506W—continued
British Nuclear Fuels (Westinghouse)
17. Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the status of the proposed sale of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.'s Westinghouse interest. [43244]
Malcolm Wicks: BNFL is in discussion with parties interested in acquiring the Westinghouse business. Discussions between the parties are subject to confidentiality agreements. The company will make an announcement in the event that these discussions lead to a sale of the business.
Artists' Resale Right
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many British artists he expects will benefit from the artists' resale right. [38081]
Alan Johnson
[holding answer 19 December 2005]: Based on figures from the Art Sales Index for the period March 2003 to February 2004, the most recent we have available, 1,259 works by living British artists were sold at auction which would have attracted a royalty payment. The auction houses represent approximately half of the UK art market and a similar number of sales is expected to have taken place through dealers.
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Biomass (Funding)
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been made available to develop markets for biomass in (a) heat, (b) combined heat and power and (c) power generation in each of the last 10 years. [37603]
Malcolm Wicks: Market development for biomass is supported in a variety of ways, not all of which involve direct funding e.g. bioenergy projects have been developed on the basis of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation and the Renewables Obligation.
The most relevant direct funding has been through projects under the DTI New and Renewable Energy [Research and Development] and the DTI/Big Lottery Fund Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme. The following table gives the combined spend directly addressing the requested categories to December 2005.
There has also been spend on biomass heat under the DTFs Clear Skies Initiative, which has been running since 2003. The total spend since the programme began is £1,499,390 [breakdown into individual years could have been achieved only at disproportionate cost.]
Additionally there has been funding of £60,000 during year 2004–05 from Defra's Community Energy Programme on biomass/CHP schemes. This programme started in year 2001–02, but there was no spend on biomass CHP before 2004–05.
The above figures do not include any support from the Devolved Administrations or the Regional Development Agencies—which could have been reported only at disproportionate cost.
Cape Town Treaty
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effects of the Cape Town treaty on the purchase of more efficient and less environmentally damaging new aircraft in developing nations. [42029]
Alun Michael:
The convention and protocol may help to facilitate the financing of new aircraft in developing nations which ratify these instruments but no such specific assessment has been made. It is for each lending institution to make its own assessment of the likely impact of the convention and protocol in arriving at any decision to finance new aircraft.
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Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any UK companies have registered with the registry that will be overseeing the operation of the Cape Town treaty. [42030]
Alun Michael: No registrations can be made in the registry established under the convention and protocol until it comes into operation on 1 March 2006.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the economic effects of the Cape Town treaty. [42031]
Alun Michael: We will produce a regulatory impact assessment prior to taking forward ratification of the convention and protocol. In 1998 an economic impact assessment was commissioned by the Aviation Working Group (set up as an ad hoc industry group to contribute to the development of the convention) and IATA on the potential economic benefits of the proposed convention and protocol. The study was prepared under the auspices of the INSEAD Business School and the New York University Salomon Center.
Coal-fired Power
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Department plans to take to promote the sale of carbon capture equipment for coal-fired power stations to other countries in 2006. [42033]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department presently has no plans at present to promote the sale of Carbon Capture equipment for coal-fired power stations to other countries. Currently Carbon Capture and Storage technologies are not yet commercially viable and therefore not in a position to be sold for export abroad. However, we are working with China and the United States of America on R&D into Carbon Capture and Storage technologies. In addition with DEFRA we are supporting a £3.5 million feasibility study to assess the possibility of Carbon Capture and Storage in China as part of a EU project.
CREST Scheme
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many pupils have taken part in the British Association's CREST scheme for gifted and talented young people, broken down by local education authority; what other national schemes for gifted and talented young people are supported by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [42066]
Barry Gardiner: The CREST scheme is delivered through SETNET's sub regional network of SETPOINTS. The number of awards presented since the inception of the scheme in 2001 has been broken down by region and is presented in the following table.
19 Jan 2006 : Column 1509W
Information on uptake of the BA CREST awards by local education authority is not collected. The CREST scheme is not specifically targeted at gifted and talented young people, although many gifted and talented youngpeople participate. There are a number of other schemes that fit into this category delivered through organisations supported by core funding from the Department.
The Royal Academy of Engineering runs the Best programme, which includes four schemes which provide personalized learning opportunities for gifted and talented students: the Engineering Education Scheme, Headstart, Year in Industry and the Engineering Leadership Award. In addition to these schemes the Academy also collaborates with the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth.
The Research Councils support BA CREST and Nuffield Science Bursaries. Nuffield Science Bursaries give post-16 students science based projects lasting 4 to 6 weeks during the summer holidays. These projects are carried out in universities, industry and research institutions and students work alongside researchers.
SETNET delivers 32 key national schemes, including those already discussed, comprehensive details are available on their website at http://www.setnet.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/resources/index.html
Departmental Estate
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) land and (b) property is owned by his Department in Castle Point. [42891]
Alan Johnson: The DTI administrative estate does notinclude any land or property in the Castle Point constituency.
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