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21 Jan 2008 : Column 1618W—continued
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:
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:
a single point of contact for consumers across all markets (Consumer Direct) to obtain information and impartial advice;
the extension of new redress schemes to all energy complaints and the postal services sector to resolve complaints where service providers have been unable to do so;
the consolidation of sectoral consumer bodies to form one stronger body (new National Consumer Council) to represent the interests of consumers across all markets and to provide information and advice on the consumer perspective to business, to Government, and to the sectoral regulators.
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
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 |
| (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:
Band A consists of four pay ranges (1-4) and generally includes those posts providing a support role to management either in operational or administrative areas.
Band B consists of four pay ranges (5-8) and generally includes posts dealing with case work, desk officer functions, research and specialist subject work, policy support, junior management, some secretarial work and other executive type functions.
Band C consists of three pay ranges (9-11) and includes posts with more senior advisory and policy responsibilities or wider ranging managerial functions.
Non-civil service pay grades and bonus structure:
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:
| Former civil service grade | BERR Range |
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