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26 Nov 2007 : Column 113W—continued
Companies: Registration
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many late filing penalties were imposed by Companies House in October (a) 2007 and (b) 2006; and how much revenue was raised by the Government through such late filing penalties in each year. [168377]
Mr. Timms: In October 2006 Companies House issued 15,969 late filing penalties with a value of £3,868,000. The actual revenue received in that month was £3,435,537.
In October 2007 Companies House issued 17,397 late filing penalties with a value of £4,168,000. The actual revenue received in that month was £3,339,974.
The total amount of late filing penalties collected and passed to the Treasury for the months requested does not relate to the amounts levied for the same periods as there is a time lag between penalties being issued and collected.
Consumers: Protection
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) if his Department will commission research on the effect of Postwatch's merger with the National Consumer Council and Energywatch on consumer protection; [166811]
(2) if his Department will put in place procedures to review the effect on consumer protection of the merger of Postwatch, Energywatch and the National Consumer Council. [166812]
Mr. McFadden: The new NCC is not scheduled to be vested with its full powers until 1 October 2008. It will require a further period after this before it is operating at its full capacity. The National Audit Office has already indicated that it has an interest in the merger outcomes and the Department will consult with the NAO about the timing and of and prospective approach to any future review.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions his officials have had on protecting the interests of business consumers of mail services with particular reference to the merger of the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch. [166813]
Mr. McFadden: Officials from the Department meet monthly with colleagues from Postwatch on all issues concerning complaints whether from vulnerable consumers or from small businesses.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions his officials have had on the transitional arrangements in the process of merging the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch, with particular reference to the interests of consumers. [166814]
Mr. McFadden: Officials from the Department are working in collaboration with colleagues from the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch to draw up transition plans. The project is governed by a steering and delivery group comprising Department officials, the consumer bodies, Consumer Direct and the sector regulators for the postal services and energy sectors. Working groups are considering HR, IT, legal contracts, finance, complaints handling, policy and campaigns and communications.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what contribution his Department and its predecessor made to meeting the target to reverse the upward trend in carbon dioxide emissions from the Government estate by April 2007. [165936]
Malcolm Wicks: BERR and its predecessor, the DTI, and its executive agencies have reduced its carbon emissions from the estate by 14.4 per cent. since baseline levels (1999-2000) and have initiatives in place to further improve performance through awareness and energy efficient product trials.
Departmental Manpower
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many civil servants in his Department and its predecessor (a) transferred to other Government Departments and (b) left the civil service in each of the last five years. [162723]
Mr. Thomas: I refer the hon. member to the answer given by the Exchequer Secretary on 13 November 2007, Official Report , column 203W.
Departmental Renewable Energy
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what percentage of the electricity used by his Department was generated from (a) renewable sources and (b) on-site microgeneration facilities in the last period for which figures are available. [166473]
Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows:
(a) The Department and its predecessor—DTI, has purchased electricity from renewable sources since 1999. From October 2007 all HQ buildings have been supplied with green electricity where the Department is responsible for the purchase of electricity supply which compares favourably to the Sustainable Development target for energy target which is to buy 10 per cent. by 2008. The previous percentage was 36 per cent.
(b) The Department does not currently have any on-site microgeneration facilities on its HQ estate and therefore does not produce any energy from such a source. During May 2006 Future Energy Solutions (AEA Technology) in conjunction with the Carbon Trust were commissioned to perform a Renewable Energy Feasibility Study on the DTI HQ estate, now BERR. The Department are investigating the installation of feasible solutions where practicable and where leases permit.
Electricity Generation
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what proportion of electricity was generated by (a) coal, (b) oil and gas, (c) renewables and (d) nuclear sources, in each of the last five years, broken down by region. [165813]
Malcolm Wicks: This information is not compiled on a regional basis. This is because in some regions the information would relate to a small number of power stations and would thus disclose data given to this Department in confidence under the National Statistics Code of Practice. However, separate data for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England have been made available for 2004 and 2005. Corresponding 2006 data are due to be published in December 2007. The available data are as follows:
| Percentage | ||||
| Scotland | Wales | England and Northern Ireland( 1) | UK | |
| (1) Separate data for Northern Ireland cannot be given. (2) Other fuels include hydro pumped storage, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, and waste fuels from chemical processes. Source: Energy Trends, December 2006 | ||||
Energy: Plymouth
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in establishing an energy park at Langage, Plymouth. [165586]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 19 November 2007]: The Energy Park is a private sector development being taken forward by Carlton Power Limited. Full planning permission has been obtained for land to the east of the energy centre, which is owned by Centrica, where high quality office accommodation is proposed in several phases.
Carlton Power is now in discussion with the district council and with the south west of England regional development agency to establish how the development of the wider and strategic employment site can be taken forward.
Export Credit Guarantees: Iran
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 3 May 2007, Official Report, column 1816W, on Iran: export credits guarantee, how many requests for Export Credit Guarantees Department cover for exports to Iran were received in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement. [166110]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer of 18 June 2007, Official Report, column 1492W, on Iran: Export Credit Guarantees.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what has been the total level of UK export credit guarantee exposure with Iran in each of the last five financial years. [166142]
Malcolm Wicks: ECGD’s exposure (future liabilities) to Iran, relating to both export credit guarantees and insurance, at the end of each of the last five financial years is set out in the following table:
| Financial year | Future liabilities (£ million) |
As at the end of October 2007, future liabilities stood at £275.4 million. In addition, there are around £29 million of outstanding claims relating to transactions supported in the pre-revolution period.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the most recent UK export credit guarantees for trade with Iran were issued; and if he will make a statement. [166143]
Malcolm Wicks: The most recent issued cover (an insurance product) was on 27 September 2006.
Fisheries: Compensation
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects to (a) complete his review of the Icelandic Trawlermen's Compensation Scheme and (b) make outstanding compensation payments under the scheme. [167800]
Mr. McFadden: The Government are reviewing the eligibility criteria and scheme rules for consistency with the policy intention underlying the scheme and hope to reach a conclusion shortly. There are no outstanding payments under the scheme.
Fuel Poverty
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons his Department has not published the number of households in England in fuel poverty since 2004; and when he expects to publish that information. [167506]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government will publish shortly its annual progress report on fuel poverty covering 2005 which will include statistics of households in fuel poverty in England in 2005. The publication has been delayed to allow the Government to provide an update on the activities outlined in the Energy White Paper 2007.
Fuel: Prices
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the annual aggregate increase in fuel prices has been in each year since 2002. [165976]
Malcolm Wicks: The following table details the annual change in prices in each year since 2002, for gas and electricity to both domestic and industrial users. The last row shows the cumulative change in prices over the five years to 2006.
| Percentage | ||||
| Domestic | Industrial | |||
| Gas | Electricity | Gas | Electricity | |
| Note: Prices are in real terms. Domestic prices are sourced from the Retail Prices Index. Industrial price data from BERR includes the Climate Change Levy. | ||||
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