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21 Jan 2008 : Column 1623W—continued
There are two bonus structures; performance awards and special bonuses.
Special bonuses recognise performance in particularly demanding tasks or situations. Staff in receipt of a special bonus may also receive a performance award. They are taxable, non-pensionable lump sum payments, which can be paid at any time of the year.
Performance awards are linked to the annual staff appraisal system. At the end of each appraisal year staff performance is assessed as highly successful, successful or improvement needed. Approximately 25 per cent. of staff receive a highly successful performance assessment and these get a performance award. These are paid as taxable, non-pensionable lump sum payments as part of annual pay awards. The following table shows the value of 2007 performance awards by range:
| Range | HS performance award (£) |
Senior civil service pay and bonus structure:
The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) provides independent advice to the Government on the remuneration of the senior civil service (SCS). The Cabinet Office submits the Government's evidence to the SSRB for the annual pay round. Once a decision is made on whether to accept the SSRB recommendation, the Cabinet Office issues documentation on the SCS performance management and pay framework. Individual Departments then make awards of increases to base pay and of non-consolidated bonuses within the framework.
The normal retirement age for members of PCSPS is age 60. The Department provides a variety of early retirement schemes, although availability for release under these schemes is limited, and an ill-health retirement scheme.
The Department reimburses staff who have incurred expenses as part of their work for the Department e.g. travel and subsistence and relocation expenses. The cost of preparing an answer for the total expenses incurred over the past 10 years by band would be disproportionate to the benefit to be derived.
| Age split by band | |||||
| Percentage group | |||||
| Band | 25years and under | 26-35 years | 36-45 years | 46-55 years | 56+ years |
| Gender split by band | |
| Band | Female percentage of band |
| Ethnic composition | ||
| Percentage of band SIP | ||
| Band | Black and minority ethnic staff | Unknown ethnicity |
Departmental Recycling
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what weight of paper his Department recycled in each of the last five years. [179444]
Mr. Thomas: The Department has recycled the following weights for paper and cardboard (they are not segregated):
| Kilograms | |
| (1) April-December | |
The historic figures (2003-06) are for DTI. It is not practical to separate out the 2007-08 recycling figures for BERR and DIUS since they are co-located. (DIUS has part occupied Kingsgate house for the past two months and was previously located in 1 Victoria street).
Direct Selling
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what measures are in place to regulate door-to-door tradesmen in order to ensure elderly people are protected from fraudulent cold calling. [179605]
Mr. Thomas: Current doorstep selling regulations provide rights to consumers who enter into agreements to buy goods or services in their homes or place of work when the trader’s visit was unsolicited. Those rights provide for a cooling off period of seven days, during which time the contract may be cancelled by the consumer, and a requirement that the trader provides the consumer with a written notice of the right to cancel the contract. We are planning, later this year, to introduce new Doorstep Selling Regulations to extend the cooling off period and cancellation rights to include solicited visits, and to require the trader to include the notice of the right to cancel the contract in the written contract.
Additional consumer protection will be provided by the EC Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) which will be implemented by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). Draft regulations will be laid before Parliament shortly and, if approved in debate, will come into force on 6 April. The CPRs will complement the Doorstep Selling Regulations by addressing high pressure sales and deceptive marketing techniques used by unscrupulous traders engaged in doorstep selling and cold calling.
Ecuador: Debt
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will provide a breakdown of Ecuador's debt to the Export Credits Guarantee Department rescheduled in the Paris Club. [180328]
Malcolm Wicks: As at 31 December 2007 the balance of the debt owed to ECGD and rescheduled under Paris Club arrangements consisted of £16,901,934 principal and £22,049,168 interest.
Electricity: Imports
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what percentage of the UK's electricity was supplied from sources outside the UK in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07. [180181]
Malcolm Wicks: Using data from the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2007, imports of electricity accounted for 2 per cent. of the electricity supplied in the United Kingdom in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what percentage of electricity supplied to Kent was from sources outside the UK in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07. [180182]
Malcolm Wicks: It is not possible to identify where the electricity supplied to any particular geographic area was generated before it entered the national transmission system.
Electronic Equipment: Recycling
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government has taken to encourage the recycling of electrical equipment. [179565]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 17 January 2008]: The waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill. It introduces producer responsibility for WEEE. Producers must finance the collection, treatment and recycling/recovery of waste electrical equipment. Distributors supplying electrical and electronic equipment to household end users must provide facilities for waste equipment to be returned free of charge.
The UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2006, implementing the WEEE directive, were laid before the House on 12 December 2006 and entered into force on 2 January 2007 with producer responsibility commencing from 1 July 2007.
The WEEE directive also requires member states to establish adequate collection facilities to enable consumers to discard their WEEE from other forms of waste free of charge. In the UK, local authority civic amenity sites have registered their sites as designed collection facilities (DCFs) where consumers can return their WEEE for free. Producers, through their Producer Compliance Schemes, are liable for the costs of collecting, treating and recycling household WEEE from a DCF. Consumers can locate details of their nearest recycling centre from http://recycle-more.co.uk/
The Department will undertake a campaign to raise consumer awareness later this year. Information on the WEEE regulations is also available from the BERR website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/weee/page30269.html
Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what research his Department has undertaken into awareness of the regulations on waste electrical and electronic equipment among (a) producers, (b) retailers and (c) households; and if he will publish the results of that research. [179557]
Malcolm Wicks: No research has been commissioned by the Department to date. The WEEE regulations place a number of obligations on both the producers and retailers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to provide information to householders as to how they should dispose of their WEEE to protect the environment.
The enforcement authorities will be undertaking activities to raise awareness within the producer and retail sectors to ensure that those affected by the
WEEE regulations are aware of their requirements. The Department will undertake a campaign to raise householders’ awareness later this year.
Energy Bill
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to bullet point two in paragraph 4, page 69, relating to the impact assessment for the Energy Bill, what are the European legislative requirements. [180064]
Malcolm Wicks: As part of the Strategic Siting Assessment Government intends to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive.
Energy: Meters
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) whether the Government’s forthcoming response to the metering and billing consultation will refer to the creation of a market for smart enabled meters; [180591]
(2) what submissions he has received on the potential inclusion of provision of smart meters in the recently published Energy Bill; and if he will make a statement; [180592]
(3) when the Government will publish its response to the recent consultation on metering and billing in relation to energy supplies. [180598]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government are assessing responses to their recent consultation on metering and billing, and will shortly publish their response, including their approach to the delivery of smart meters. My Department has received a communication about the omission of smart meters from the Energy Bill, to which we will respond in due course.
Energy: Prices
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he last met representatives of Ofgem to discuss energy prices. [180397]
Malcolm Wicks: Ministers have regular meetings with Ofgem to discuss all areas of their remit. The Secretary of State’s last meeting was with Sir John Mogg and Alistair Buchanan on 18 December 2007 where they discussed effective operation of the market.
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