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18 Mar 2008 : Column 982W—continued
British Coal: Assets
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform who owns the former British Coal’s assets, with particular reference to the land and buildings of the former Miners’ Welfare Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [193766]
Malcolm Wicks: Ownership of the land and buildings associated with miners’ welfare trusts transferred to the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO) on 27 February 1998.
Coal Fired Power Stations: Kingsnorth
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations he has received in respect of the proposed Kingsnorth coal fired power station (a) in favour of the proposal and (b) against the proposal. [189224]
Malcolm Wicks: A large number of representations have been received and they will all be taken into account in the Secretary of State's decision.
Mr. Marshall-Andrews:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the exchange of e-mail correspondence between his Department and the company E.on of 12 and 16 January, whether the consent conditions
relating to carbon capture and storage at the proposed coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent (a) have been or (b) are planned to be (i) removed or (ii) varied; and if he will make a statement. [194163]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 14 March 2008]: I cannot comment on the outcome of the Secretary of State’s decision on an active application. As you will be aware Medway council have not objected to the application subject to the inclusion of certain conditions in any planning permission the Secretary of State may deem to be granted. The Department is currently consulting on a set of draft planning conditions which would control the proposed development, mitigate its impacts and take into account the comments received from Medway council and others including for example, the Environment Agency and Natural England.
The Department is still considering what conditions might be applied to the section 36 consent itself should the Secretary of State decide to grant consent under that section of the Electricity Act 1989.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the full-time equivalent headcount in his Department is; what the forecast full-time equivalent headcount for his Department is for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [163980]
Mr. Thomas: The full-time equivalent headcount for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (excludes Office and Manpower Economics and UK Trade and Industry), as of October 2007, is 2,539. A forecast figure for future years is not available but it is expected that a 5 per cent. settlement will probably mean reductions but these will be kept to a minimum.
Departmental Telephone Services
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which of his Department's (a) agencies and (b) non-departmental public bodies operate telephone contact centres. [173134]
Mr. Thomas: The Department's central records do not contain the information to answer this question. Therefore, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform could answer this question only at disproportionate cost.
Exhibitions: Electronic Equipment
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will provide public funding to assist the holding of an electronic production exhibition in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [187841]
Malcolm Wicks:
A privately organised “National Electronics Week” exhibition is being held at Earls Court on 17-19 June 2008. This event is being supported by the Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network, which is funded by the Technology Strategy
Board, and by the UK Electronics Alliance, which was set up following a recommendation in the DTI-led Electronics Innovation and Growth Team Report.
Fireworks: Regulation
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the provisions of the Fireworks Act 2003; and whether he plans to introduce further restrictions on over-the-counter sale of fireworks. [179302]
Mr. Thomas [ h olding answer 15 January 2008]: I expect the Act and Fireworks Regulations 2004 to be covered within the review of Consumer Safety legislation next year.
I have no plans to introduce further restrictions on over-the-counter sales.
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) whether the Government plan to restrict further the sale of fireworks; and if he will make a statement; [180145]
(2) if the Government will (a) consider a public ban on fireworks within the category 3 noise limit and (b) take steps to further reduce the decibel limit of category 3. [180146]
Mr. Thomas: I expect the Firework Act and Regulations (2004) to be covered within the review of consumer safety legislation next year.
I have no further plans to put further restrictions on over-the-counter sales.
Foreign Companies: Internet
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what restrictions there are on the use of internet domain names to prevent overseas businesses from describing themselves as UK companies. [189986]
Malcolm Wicks: The responsibility for registration of .co.uk domain names rests with Nominet, a private, not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee. There are no restrictions which prevent overseas businesses from using a domain name ending in .co.uk, as Nominet offer an open system for registration for .co.uk domains. Some 92 per cent. of registrants have an address in the UK. The company seeks to ensure that contact details for registrants, which might be required in any dispute about the use of a .co.uk domain, are accurate, rather than trying to restrict their use to UK companies.
Heating: EU Law
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that UK manufacturers of heating controls are not financially disadvantaged as a result of the implementation of the Energy-using Products Directive. [193914]
Malcolm Wicks: The European Commission is bringing forward a wide range of measures under this directive, including one for heating and hot water systems that includes consideration of how control systems can be used to improve the energy efficiency of those appliances. As a single market directive, any measures made under the EuP framework will apply to all member states, ensuring free movement of compliant goods across the Community. Officials have consulted a wide range of stakeholders in the sector throughout the process, including through a specific UK stakeholder event that DEFRA and my Department organised for the sector in February. Officials have engaged with interested stakeholders in developing our negotiating position to ensure that it best maintains the interests of the UK industry.
Heating: Sustainable Development
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government plans to take to maintain the competitiveness of UK manufacturers of heating controls in implementing the Energy Using Products Directive. [189463]
Malcolm Wicks: The European Commission is bringing forward a wide range of measures under this framework directive, including one for heating and hot water systems that includes consideration of how control systems can be used to improve the energy efficiency of those appliances. My officials and their colleagues in DEFRA are working closely together on the Commission’s proposal and have been consulting the UK industry and other stakeholders in order that we can develop a negotiating position that best maintains the competitiveness of the sector. As a single market directive, any measures finally adopted under the EuP framework will apply equally to all member states, ensuring the free movement of UK goods across the Community.
Industrial Training: Older Workers
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what (a) grants and (b) training schemes are available through his Department for people (i) over 55-years-old and (ii) in retirement to learn new job skills. [190012]
Mr. Thomas: The Department does not provide grants or training schemes for people over 55-years-old and in retirement.
Industry: Electronic Equipment
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of trends in the levels of production by the UK electronics industry between 1995 and 2007. [187840]
Malcolm Wicks: The following table contains the requested information up to 2006, the latest year for which these statistics are currently available.
| £ billion | ||
| Total turnover excluding VAT | Approximate gross value added (GVA) | |
These statistics are taken from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) 2007, using SIC codes 30, 32.1, 32.3, 33.2, 33.3 and 33.402. These are the most relevant SIC codes, but the disparate nature of the electronics sector means that they can only provide an approximation of turnover and GVA for the electronics sector.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Heating
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number of (a) pensioners and (b) non-pensioners using liquid petroleum gas or fuel heating oil to heat their home in each year since 1997; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of those people living in fuel poverty in each of those years. [194340]
Malcolm Wicks: The data requested is not available. In the fuel poverty detailed tables, available online at
figures are broken down by household composition of the primary benefit unit (which includes a split for households with primary benefit unit aged over or below 60) and separately by the presence of central heating by main fuel. The main fuel categories are gas, electricity, communal, solid fuel and oil (which includes fuel oil and liquid petroleum gas). These figures show both the number of households in each specified category and the number that are fuel poor. However, a split is not available by household composition of the primary benefit unit and the presence of central heating by main fuel. If this cross tabulation were to be computed, sample sizes would be too small for accurate results to be drawn.
Natural Gas
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many communities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants have been connected to mains gas using his Department's design and demonstration unit model. [184878]
Malcolm Wicks:
Twenty-one projects, which will provide mains to gas to 5,800 homes, have been delivered using the Design and Demonstration Unit model and with the direct involvement of the Unit. Further projects using the model are being delivered by Community Energy Solutions, a community interest company co-funded
by the local Regional Development Agencies and my Department to undertake demonstration programmes in North-East England and Yorkshire and Humberside. Of these further projects, eight projects connecting 1,500 households have been completed or are in train, and more will be undertaken over the coming year. The model can also be used by organisations with no connection to BERR.
Nirex: Finance
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the research budget was for Nirex in each year since it was established. [193569]
Malcolm Wicks: NIREX (Nuclear Industry Radioactive Waste Executive) was established in 1982 as an executive arm of the nuclear industry. It became a private company—UK Nirex Limited (Nirex)—in 1985. The following figures show the total expenditure by Nirex for the last 21 financial years. Separate figures for research are not available; nor are figures relating to the period before 1986. The figures are based on a combination of audited accounts and internal management figures.
| Financial year | Expenditure (£m) |
| Note: All figures have been rounded up. | |
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