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Table 2: Number of company compulsory liquidations by length of time trading, in the London region, 1997-98 to 2006-07( 1, 2)
Trading length (years)
Financial year Less than equal to 5 6-10 11-20 More than 20 Total cases trading length available Total number of compulsory liquidations

1997-98

61

6

2

5

74

1,225

1998-99

120

11

6

4

141

1,370

1999-2000

158

26

6

9

199

1,047

2000-01

117

20

13

3

153

993

2001-02

147

17

10

3

177

866

2002-03

198

39

8

5

250

1,211

2003-04

173

21

13

7

214

823

2004-05

104

11

2

6

123

1,137

2005-06

72

19

8

3

102

1,364

2006-07

156

22

9

13

200

1,651

(1) Croydon Official Receiver’s office is classified under London region from 2004-05 onwards. It was previously classified under the Anglia region.
(2) From 2004-05 onwards, the figures also include public interest unit (PIU) and carousel.

Carbon Emissions: Utilities

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the changes in levels of carbon dioxide emissions which (a) has resulted since 2002 and (b) is expected to result by 2027 from the progressive switch to natural gas in electricity generation. [175702]

Malcolm Wicks: The share of gas in electricity generation has fallen since 2002 while the share of coal has increased. It is estimated that emissions in 2006 would have been approximately 2.5MtC lower if the shares of gas and coal had not changed from 2002. Data are not yet available for 2007.

If the 2002 shares of coal and gas within fossil fuel generation were to prevail in 2020, emissions would be around 10MtC higher than projected. There is much uncertainty in such calculations. No estimates have been made for 2027.

There are likely to be many other influences on future power station emissions, including the EU emissions trading scheme. The projected effects of the EU-ETS are set out in Annex I of the published projections, which are available at:

Certification Officer: Cost Effectiveness

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what requirements there are on the Certification Officer to make Gershon savings or annual efficiency savings. [179573]

Mr. McFadden [holding answer 17 January 2008]: The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is responsible for providing the Certification Officer with the finance and support services necessary for the performance of his statutory duties. The annual budget process involving the Certification Officer and ACAS addresses the need for efficiency savings.

Certification Officer: Standards

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Certification Officer in scrutinising union political funds. [179572]

Mr. McFadden [holding answer 17 January 2008]: The Certification Officer enjoys an excellent reputation for professionalism, expertise and impartiality. That reputation is based in part on the effective way he carries out his statutory functions in regard to political funds.

Certification Officer: Trade Unions

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the Certification Officer’s statutory responsibilities are in relation to trade unions; and what legislative provisions govern them. [180174]

Mr. McFadden: The certification officer has a large number of statutory responsibilities, which are provided by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. A description of these statutory responsibilities is given in the annual report of the certification officer, which is deposited each year in the House Library.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Carbon Emissions

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations in each year until 2020. [180475]

Malcolm Wicks: The most recent estimates of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations in the UK were made for the Energy White Paper 2007. For 2010, 2015 and 2020, they were projected to be 106.3, 69.2 and 57.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide respectively.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what amount of carbon dioxide emissions have come from coal-fired power stations in each of the last 10 years. [180477]

Malcolm Wicks: Carbon dioxide emissions for 2007 are not yet available; emissions from coal fired power stations for the last 10 years for which we have data are given in the following table:


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Million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted

1996

119.6

1997

102.0

1998

105.1

1999

87.8

2000

98.8

2001

110.3

2002

104.0

2003

114.3

2004

110.0

2005

114.1

2006(1)

125.9

(1) 2006 provisional BERR estimate based on energy consumption data. Source: 1996-2005 data National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI).

Consumers: Finance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the annual effect on costs for his Department resulting from the merger of Energy Watch, Post Watch and the National Consumer Council. [180384]

Mr. Thomas: The new National Consumer Council (NCC) will create a more effective and efficient system of consumer representation across markets. It is anticipated that any savings that result from the creation of the new NCC will accrue to industry (and ultimately consumers) and not to Government, as sectoral bodies are funded by the individual industries that, in turn, recover their costs from consumers.

Consumers: Protection

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in relation to which sectors the new National Consumer Council will pursue complaints from consumers. [180383]

Mr. Thomas: The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 provides for:

The legislation provides for the new NCC to have the power to assist vulnerable consumers in the gas, electricity and postal services sectors with their complaints.

Departmental Data Protection

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what audits his Department and its agencies carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years. [176476]

Mr. Thomas: The Department undertakes a formal programme of audits each year which can incorporate audit of personal data. The contents of these audits is dependent on the specific terms of reference for each review and a large number of audits have been carried out each year in the last 10 years across various areas of the Department. Since 1999 all IT provision to the
21 Jan 2008 : Column 1622W
Department has been provided under a PFI agreement. Auditing of the service providers IT equipment is the contractual responsibility of the service provider.

Departmental Pay

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what proportion of his Department's staff are employed within each salary band; what the title and role of each position within each salary band is; and for each salary band what the (a) bonus structure, (b) retirement provision, (c) expenses provision, (d) total expenses incurred in each of the last 10 years, (e) average age of employee, (f) number of (i) women and (ii) men and (g) ethnic composition is. [171407]

Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows:

Salary bands: BERR core staff in post (SIP) as at 1 November 2007
Band SIP Strength Percentage of BERR core

Senior civil service

164

6

Band C

963

37

Band B

920

35

Band A

374

14

Other (not aligned with pay range)(1)

216

8

Total

2,637

(1 )Includes staff in Business and Regulatory Reform who recently transferred from the Cabinet Office and whose grades are not yet aligned with the rest of the Department.

The title and range of each position varies according to the work of the individual staff member therefore it is not practical to give a complete breakdown. To summarise:

Bonus structure

Non-civil service pay grades and bonus structure:

Pay grades

Posts below senior civil service within the Department for Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform are structured in generalist ranges. These are allocated in line with the Department's grading guidance which specifies the level of tasks required under each range. The ranges are not directly equivalent to the former civil service system of grades but are broadly comparable, as follows:


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Former civil service grade BERR Range

Grade 6

11

Grade 7

10

SEO and equivalents

9

HEO and equivalents

8

7

EO and equivalents

6

5

AO and equivalents

4

3

AA and equivalents

2


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