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15 Feb 2006 : Column 2037W—continued
Carbon Trust Grants
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of Carbon Trust grants have been allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and what guidance she has issued to the Trust on making grants to SMEs. [50285]
Mr. Morley: The Carbon Trust is a private company grant funded by DEFRA and the devolved administrations to lead on energy efficiency support for the business and public sector in the UK, and support the development of low carbon technology. Since the Trust is a private company DEFRA does not provide detailed guidance on its approach to its own work, however we are content that the Trust takes account of the needs of SMEs in developing its activities.
The Carbon Trust inform me that in 2004–05 they provided over £18.1 million of direct support for SME's which accounts for just under a third of DEFRA Grant funding received.
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been given by her Department to the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in each of the last five years. [48176]
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Mr. Morley: DEFRA has given the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology the following funding in each of the last five years.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 4.11 |
| 2001–02 | 3.23 |
| 2002–03 | 4.18 |
| 2003–04 | 4.11 |
| 2004–05 | 3.32 |
Commercial Developments (Energy Efficiency Standards)
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the change in the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from commercial buildings in England in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [49538]
Mr. Morley: Estimates of carbon emissions from commercial buildings in England since 1997 are presented in the table.
These estimates are based on energy consumption data from the Digest of UK Statistics (DUKES) for the commercial and miscellaneous sectors. The data take account of emissions incurred by providing electricity and other forms of delivered energy for use in the buildings. Emissions for England have been estimated by scaling on the basis of the ratio of total carbon emissions from England for 2003 to that of the UK. The DUKES allocation between commercial and public sector may mean that this data underestimates emissions from the commercial sector. Much of the variation observed is attributable to annual changes in the emissions from electricity generation.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of UK carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings other than household dwellings; and if she will make a statement. [49540]
Mr. Morley: In 2003, 13 per cent. of total UK carbon emissions arise from energy use in buildings in the service sector. This is based on delivered energy consumption data for the public, commercial and miscellaneous sectors published in DUKES 2005 (the service sector) and delivered energy emission factors for fuels used in buildings.
In addition to energy used in the service sector a proportion of energy used by industry will be used to provide building services. Assuming 20 per cent. of
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carbon emissions for industry is for building services, non-domestic buildings would account for 18 per cent. of the UK carbon emissions in 2003.
Departmental Staff
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to change the London allowance of its staff; and if she will make a statement. [50002]
Jim Knight: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not pay an allowance to staff working in London.
Instead it operates and maintains two separate sets of pay ranges for staff working in the London and national pay areas. The effect of this, is that for staff employed in the London pay area, they receive a pay lead over those staff employed in the national pay area.
There are no immediate plans to consider changes to the existing differential pay arrangements that exist between the London and national pay areas. However, the Department will continue to monitor and evaluate the relative pay position of staff employed in the London pay area, with a particular focus on recruitment and retention issues.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the environment if each household (a) had one energy-efficient lightbulb fitted and (b) ceased to leave televisions on standby overnight. [51323]
Mr. Morley: Studies carried out by the Energy Saving Trust and Defra via the Market Transformation Programme estimate that:
(a) if each UK household replaced a traditional light bulb with an equivalent compact fluorescent light they would save on average 33KWh of electricity per annum—around 840GWh per annum across the UK;
(b) if all of the 63 million televisions in use in the UK were not left on standby the UK would save around 1,000 GWh per annum.
English Nature
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what role English Nature plays in (a) advising on and (b) approving regional spatial strategies of regional chambers. [51105]
Jim Knight:
English Nature plays an important role in the planning process, as a statutory consultee, and in providing proactive guidance to regional and local
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authority planners on their regional spatial strategies (RSS). The agency contributes by responding to formal consultations, having strong involvement with RSS working groups, and advising on sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental assessment. The advice given by English Nature makes sure that biodiversity and geological conservation interests are taken fully into account during the decision making process.
In particular, the Government's Planning Policy Statement 9 (published in August 2005) sets out policies on protection of biodiversity and geological conservation through the planning system. These policies need to be taken into account by regional planning bodies in the preparation of regional spatial strategies, and regional planning bodies should liaise closely with regional biodiversity fora or equivalent bodies, English Nature or its successors.
Environmental Policy
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the environmental implications of replacing glass bottles and glasses with plastic versions in pubs, clubs and bars. [50819]
Mr. Morley: The Department has not carried out such an assessment.
Farm Subsidies
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact on hill farming of the timescale for implementing a replacement scheme for the hill farming allowance in (a) Westmorland and Lonsdale and (b) England. [50789]
Jim Knight [holding answer 13 February 2006]: The Hill Farm Allowance will end this year, when the current rural development programming period finishes. We are looking at the best ways to support upland communities using rural development funding from 2007 onwards. We will consult on the options shortly.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much in EU subsidies farmers in the UK received in each year between 1997 and 2005. [50978]
Mr. Bradshaw: Farmers in the United Kingdom receive a variety of payments which are recorded in the income account of the economic accounts for agriculture prepared by DEFRA annually. A summary is show in the following table.
(2) Provisonal
Source:
Defra Statistics
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