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17 Apr 2007 : Column 612W—continued
Energy Technologies Institute
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria will be taken into account in selecting the (a) location and (b) partners for the Energy Technologies Institute. [131649]
Malcolm Wicks: Research organisations across the UK were invited in January to provide information on energy-related research capacity, capabilities and resources and to indicate any interest in hosting the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) director and support staff. The submissions are being considered by representatives of the industrial and public sector funding partners who will prepare initial advice for the ETI Board, once legally established, and the director, once appointed, to consider in detail and to follow up as appropriate. Decisions will be a matter for the ETI itself. The key criteria being used to assess the submissions to host the ETI director are:
Reputation and culture: in particular, a world class reputation for research and development across a range of energy themes; and strong existing industrial and academic relationships, with sustained collaborative working and networking track record;
Space, facilities and location: including ability to expand to provide a suite of office/conferencing facilities commensurate with the developing needs and aspirations of the ETI, thus providing a showcase for the ETI; with good communications and access;
Commitment to support and promote ETI; and
Value for money.
An update will be available on the ETI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science-funding/eti/ shortly.
Once specific research and development programmes have been determined by ETI, the selection of research partners will be based on those best equipped to undertake the programmes.
Enterprise Week
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what the cost was of (a) creating and (b) running the Enterprise Week website in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006 to date; [113187]
(2) what the cost was of (a) creating and (b) running the Make Your Mark campaign website in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006 to date. [113188]
Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows.
www.starttalkingideas.org is the website of Enterprise Insight’s Make Your Mark campaign, and includes the dedicated Enterprise Week sub-pages, accessible by the URL www.enterpriseweek.org Enterprise Insight have advised that separate figures for the Enterprise Week sub-pages are not kept, as they come under the contract for the main website.
They also advise that the total costs for creating the campaign website were:
| £ | |
The total costs for running the campaign website were:
| £ | |
I apologise for the delay in responding. This was due to an administrative error.
Low Carbon Buildings Programme
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households were allocated grants under the low carbon buildings programme in each month from May to November 2006. [129501]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows.
| Number of households allocated grants | |
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications have been received by the Low Carbon Buildings programme since 2006. [131252]
Malcolm Wicks: Since the launch of the Low Carbon Buildings programme in April 2006, we have received 6,331 applications to date. The breakdown of this is as follows:
| Stream | Number of applications |
|
2B—Business, public sector, non-profit (< £1 million grants) |
Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Wales
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications to the Low Carbon Buildings programme have been (a) made and (b) granted in Wales, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [131253]
Malcolm Wicks: For the Low Carbon Buildings programme, we only hold statistics for specific areas in Wales as set out in the following table.
| Area | Number of applications | Number of grants |
Natural Gas: Greater London
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information the Government hold on the condition of London's gas mains; what estimate he has made of the funding necessary to improve conditions; how much is being spent on improvements; and if he will make a statement. [130464]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government do not retain information on the condition of London's gas mains.
However, on 26 March, Ofgem published its gas distribution price control review fourth consultation document which contained some relevant information. National Grid gas distribution is forecasting that it will spend £332 million (in 2005-06 prices) on mains replacement between 2008-09 and 2012-13 in its north London network as well as an additional £158 million
on associated service replacement. Scotia is forecasting that it will spend £521 million over the same period in its south England network as well as an additional £384 million in associated service replacement.
This document sets out Ofgem's consultants’ initial recommendations on whether this level of spend was efficient. Ofgem will be publishing their initial proposals on the appropriate level of expenditure for each gas distribution network for 2008-09 to 2012-13 at the end of May.
Natural Gas: Pipelines
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will allow National Grid to consult on all sections of the new national grid natural gas pipeline complying with section 2 of the Public Gas Transporter Pipeline Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999. [130057]
Malcolm Wicks: Regulation 10 of the 1999 Regulations requires an application to be advertised and a period given for representations to be made to the Secretary of State.
Ofgem
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of Ofgem's performance in fulfilling its duty to have regard for the interests of low-income consumers; and if he will make a statement. [131293]
Malcolm Wicks: Under the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989, as amended, the Authority is required, in carrying out its functions, to have regard to the interests of, among others, individuals with low incomes. While the DTI does monitor the overall performance of the energy market and its regularity framework, Ofgem's accountability for its performance against its statutory duties is to the Public Accounts Committee.
Renewable Energy: Grants
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants were made to domestic households in England for renewable energy in each month since April 2006; and for how many days in each month those grants were available. [128789]
Malcolm Wicks: [holding answer 29 March 2007]: The Low Carbon Buildings programme phase 1 was launched in April 2006. The following table shows the grant commitments to householders and the number of days that grants were available in each month since the scheme was launched.
| Grant commitments | Number of days grants available | |
In the Budget 2007, it was announced that a further £6 million will be made available to the household stream of the low carbon buildings programme, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
Before deciding how to make best use of the extra funding, the household stream will be suspended for the monthly allocation in April so that it can be re-shaped.
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