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17 Sep 2007 : Column 2255W—continued
Figures are not available before 12 October 2003 when the Career and Succession Planning Unit was established (now Succession Management Unit). These figures do not accurately cover all deputy governor posts as the unit is only responsible for senior operational manager grades A-D. The table therefore reflects all deputy governor moves at D level or above. Figures are not held for E level deputy posts.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Companies House
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how Companies House is expected to report on its activities to (a) the public and (b) Parliament following the introduction of the Companies Act 2006. [155588]
Mr. Timms: Companies House will continue to report on its activities to the public and to Parliament by means of its annual report and accounts.
Departments: Aviation
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2007, Official Report, columns 619-20W, on Departments: Aviation, how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by officials from (a) outside his core Department and its predecessor, (b) the Patent Office and (c) the Competition Commission in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost was of such flights. [148417]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 10 July 2007]: In each of the last three calendar years, the number of flights taken to overseas destinations and the cost of those flights was:
| Competition Commission | ||
| Number of Flights | Flight Costs (£) | |
| Intellectual Property Office (formerly Patent Office) | ||
| Number of Flights | Flight Costs (£) | |
| National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) | ||
| Number of Flights | Flight Costs (£) | |
These figures were included within the departmental figure provided in the answer of 26 June 2007, Official Report, columns 619-20W. Figures are not available for flights taken by officials from outside the core Department and its Agencies. The figures provided are from the Department's travel agent Carlson Wagonlit. The figures do not include any flights that may be booked through other travel agents as this is not separately captured or recorded.
The number of flights corresponds with the number of tickets issued and may include a number of flights to different destinations made on the same business trip. The number of flights may also include tickets from an overseas destination to the UK if the flight is on a different carrier from the outward flight, or if the return leg is in a different class of travel with the same or a different carrier.
Departments: Recruitment
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people have been appointed to his Department outside Civil Service grades in the last 30 days. [153133]
Mr. Thomas: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided at disproportionate cost only.
Electricity Generation: Wind Power
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the total cost to energy companies of supplying power lines and other infrastructure to connect wind turbines to the national grid in each of the last 10 years; and what forecast he has made of the equivalent costs over the next 10 years. [155514]
Mr. Timms: Investment in electricity networks is made by the Transmission Owners and Distribution Network Operators under the regulatory supervision of Ofgem. Investments will in most cases reflect the cumulative effect of a number of generators of all types seeking to connect.
In terms of investment over the next few years, Ofgem have agreed £560 million of investment in the transmission network specifically to connect new renewable generation in Scotland and the North of England. In the Transmission Price Control, which covers the five year period from 1 April 2007, a further £3.8 billion of investment in the transmission network was agreed. This figure includes both refurbishment and the costs of connecting new generators of all types and may increase if warranted by generator demand.
Industrial Disputes: Arbitration
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of mediated employment disputes were successfully concluded at that stage in the latest period for which figures are available. [151290]
Mr. McFadden: Mediation is a widely used term which covers a number of activities related to the resolution of disputes or the management of conflict. ACAS staff are involved in working in a number of areas which sit under this umbrella term. These are:
Conciliation in employment tribunal cases
Conciliation in collective disputes
Mediation in work-place disputes
Mediation in collective disputes.
Conciliation in employment tribunal cases
In almost all cases where a claim is submitted to an employment tribunal, ACAS has a statutory duty to promote a resolution that both sides find acceptable instead of going to a tribunal hearing.
In 2006-07 ACAS received a total of 105,177 employment tribunal claims for conciliation. During the same period 38 per cent. of claims were subject to a legally binding settlement brokered by ACAS, 31 per cent. of claims were withdrawn following discussion of the case with the ACAS conciliator, and 27 per cent. of claims proceeded to an employment tribunal for hearing. 4 per cent. of claims were disposed of in other ways.
During the period, and in addition, ACAS brokered a resolution to 57,476 potential claims, of which 56,159 were potential local authority equal pay claims.
Conciliation in collective disputes
ACAS also assists parties to resolve their differences where a dispute arises between an employer and trades union or other work force representation group, or between groups of workers.
In 2006-07 ACAS was involved in 912 collective disputes. During the same period, 835 were completed, 91 per cent. successfully.
Mediation in work place disputes
In 2006-07 ACAS accepted 134 individual work place disputes for mediation. 99 of these were resolved through mediation, and in a further eight cases progress was made, giving a total success rate of 80 per cent.
Mediation in collective disputes
Where a collective dispute is resolved by means of a reference to an independent mediator who is empowered to write a formal report making
recommendations, ACAS will appoint a mediator from its list of independent arbitrator/mediators.
In 2006-07 ACAS received two requests for collective mediation, both of which were resolved.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 16 July on a constituent, Ref 625784; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply. [155017]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The response to my hon. Friend was delayed by administrative issues. The response was sent on 11 September 2007.
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 5 July on a constituent, Ref 624991; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply. [155019]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The response to my hon. Friend was delayed by administrative issues. The response from my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Services was sent on 12 September 2007.
Renewable Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations he has received from (a) the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (b) other Government departments, (c) the private sector and (d) non-governmental organisations on proposed stakeholder participation in developing policies to meet the UK's commitment to the EU 20 per cent. renewable energy target; and what recent changes his Department has made to its plans. [155415]
Mr. Timms: The Government have received two requests from industry to set up a 2020 renewables taskforce. Rather than setting up a new body we are now working with the Renewables Advisory Board (RAB), which was set up to improve Government understanding of the obstacles and opportunities for the development of renewable technologies in the UK. The Government have also received correspondence calling for a transparent process of policy development. This is entirely in line with our plans for a full and transparent public consultation following publication of the draft Renewables Directive by the European Commission.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the renewables obligation will be banded in order to provide different levels of support for different renewable energy technologies. [155500]
Mr. Timms: Yes. We confirmed in the Energy White Paper 2007 our intention to introduce banding.
A consultation on the reform of the renewables obligation including the practicalities of implementing a banded system closed on 6 September 2007 and we will be considering the responses to this consultation before setting out our response.
Seals: Animal Products
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will introduce a national ban on the import and sale of seal products. [155371]
Mr. Thomas: National measures would be impossible to enforce under EU single market rules so the Government are instead pressing hard for EU-wide action. The European Commission is currently conducting a study of the Canadian seal hunt in order to assess the need for EU-wide measures.
Wind Power
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many wind turbines were installed in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; what total installed wind turbine capacity was in each such year; and what forecast he has made of such capacity in each of the next 10 years. [155539]
Mr. Timms: The Department does not keep statistics on the number of wind turbines installed though we do have figures for the number of wind farm sites for the past eight years and the installed capacity from wind farms for the past 10 years.
These figures are published annually in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES) and can be found in the following tables:
| Number of sites | |||
| Onshore wind | Offshore wind | Total | |
| Installed capacity (MWe), end December each year | |||
| Wind (onshore) | Wind (offshore) | Total | |
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