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7 July 2008 : Column 1322W—continued
Departmental Standards
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2008, Official Report, columns 18-20W, on departmental standards, what the scope was of the Gateway Review undertaken in 2007-08 on his Department's project (a) HECToR, (b) Sellafield PBO Competition and (c) Magnox South Competition. [215490]
Mr. Thomas: OGC (Office of Government Commerce) Gateway Reviews are conducted using a methodology developed by OGC. There are five Gateway Reviews (1-5) during the lifecycle of a project, three before contract award and two looking at service implementation and confirmation of the operational benefits. Programmes are subject to a Gate 0 Review. Gateway reports are conducted on a confidential basis for the programme or project's senior responsible owner (SRO).
The 2007-08 HECToR Gateway Review was conducted at Gate 4—“Readiness for Service”. Gateway 4 checks that the organisation is ready to make the transition to implementation and that ownership and governance are in place for operation. As a result of the machinery of government changes in 2007-08, the HECToR project now no longer comes under the remit of BERR. Instead it is overseen by DIUS. The 2007-08 Reviews of the Sellafield PBO Competition and Magnox South
Competition projects were conducted at Gateway 2— “Delivery Strategy”. Gateway 2 provides assurance that the acquisition and delivery strategy are appropriate for the desired business change and that implementation plans are in place.
Departmental Wastes
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department has taken to reduce the volume of waste produced by it and sent to landfill in each of the last two years. [215911]
Mr. Thomas: Waste produced from this Department’s HQ Estate that is not recycled is recovered at an ‘energy from waste’ facility. The resulting fly and bottom ash forms the bulk of waste material going to landfill. The following shows total waste/recycled waste/waste to landfill over the last two years, in tonnes:
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the average cost to his Department was of employing a press and media officer in 2007-08. [215186]
Mr. Thomas: The average cost in 2007-08 of employing an information officer in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was £3,344 a month (£40,128 a year) including allowances, national insurance and superannuation. The average cost of employing a senior information officer was £4,049 a month inclusive (£48,588 a year); and the average cost of employing a chief press officer was £5,655 a month, inclusive (£67,860 a year).
Electricity Generation: Floods
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the resilience of electricity substations to flooding. [211426]
Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Minister initiated a review into the resilience of electricity substations to flooding following the floods of summer 2007. The review was carried out under the framework of the energy emergencies executive, a joint BERR/Ofgem/industry body, and led by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) with support from BERR, Ofgem, electricity network owners and the Environment Agency. The first phase of this work, completed in March 2008, established a framework for the assessment of flood risk, societal impact of a loss of electricity supplies during a flood incident and options for protecting electricity substations from flooding.
The review has now commenced work on the second phase, which includes application of the framework on a site by site basis to all the major electricity substations identified as being located in a flood plain. This work is due to be completed by the end of December 2008.
Energy: Scotland
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the energy requirement in Scotland was on (a) 13 March 2008 and (b) 27 March 2008. [209400]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 6 June 2008]: The information is as follows:
On 13 March 2008, gas demand in Scotland was 310 GWh and electricity demand 101 GWh.
On 27 March 2008, gas demand in Scotland was 297 GWh and electricity demand 101 GWh.
Source:
National Grid.
The Government do not collect data on petrol or other primary fuel consumption on a daily basis.
Enterprise Investment Scheme
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to extend the Enterprise Investment Scheme to allow all relatives to be eligible for tax relief on the purchase of new shares in smaller high-risk companies. [216503]
Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
At the 2008 Budget, the Government announced a consultation on the Enterprise Investment Scheme. This invited suggestions for changes to the Scheme across the board, including the rules that deny income tax relief on their investments to certain relatives of individuals who run companies.
The consultation closed on 20 June and we are now considering the responses. We will report back in the autumn.
Exports: Military Aircraft
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what support the Government is providing towards obtaining orders for the Hawk advanced jet trainer from (a) Singapore, (b) India, (c) Norway and (d) Japan. [214205]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation works in support of UK based companies to help them succeed in the international market place. BAE Systems’ Hawk is the world’s most successful jet trainer and is in service in 18 countries. UKTI DSO has lent full support to campaigns to market Hawk to Singapore and to secure additional orders from India. Potential prospects in other markets are kept under review and support provided as required.
Foreign Investment in UK
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2008, Official Report, columns 1247-48W, on foreign investment in the UK, what percentage the figure given represents of all takeovers which occurred in the relevant timescale. [215796]
Mr. Thomas: Since 2003, UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) involvement in acquisitions by foreign owned companies equates to 8.6 per cent. of the total of such investments recorded by UKTI.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2008, Official Report, column 1247W, on foreign investment in the UK, if he will place in the Library the data referred to in the answer. [216069]
Mr. Thomas: I have arranged for a list of all quotable UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) involved successes in 2006-07 to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Each year a number of companies request that their investment details are not made public. The listing provided therefore only includes those investments where companies have agreed that their details can be made public or where their investment details are already in the public domain.
Grants: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what grants were made by his Department and its predecessor to the London borough of Bexley in each year since 1997; and for how much in each case. [214489]
Mr. Thomas: In April 2007 the Department paid the London borough of Bexley a resource (revenue) grant of £163,600 under Section 31 of the Local Government Finance Act 2003. This payment was in respect of the costs of treating and disposing of household hazardous waste electrical and electronic equipment during the period 1 June 2006 to 30 June 2007.
Grants were also paid between 2005-06 and 2007-08 in respect of project management and development of the retail enforcement pilot. The amounts were: £28,700 in 2005-06; £146,700 in 2006-07, and £72,900 in 2007-08.
The Department, under its current responsibilities following machinery of Government changes last year, has not made available any other direct funding to the London borough of Bexley since 1998. Financial records are retained for 10 years, therefore no data is available for the 1997-98 financial year.
This excludes any payments that may have been made direct to the London borough of Bexley by any of BERR’s sponsored agencies, non-departmental or other public bodies, specific data for which could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons former miners and their families in Scotland are entitled to claim damages under the miners compensation scheme from an earlier period than their counterparts in England and Wales. [209887]
Malcolm Wicks
[holding answer 9 June 2008]: The reason why former miners and their families in Scotland are entitled to claim damages under the coal health
compensation schemes earlier than England and Wales is because the Limitation Act 1980 does not apply in Scotland and therefore no limitation date was established. The date of guilty knowledge in England and Wales were set by the High Court.
In order to get the Scottish solicitors to sign up to a claims handling agreement, which in the most part would mirror the agreement in England and Wales, the Department reached a number of compromises with the Scottish solicitors. On the Department's part we agreed to pay bereavement awards to all widows who fulfilled the criteria set in England and Wales (under Scottish law they would not all have received this); and for their part the Scottish solicitors agreed to impose a limitation date of 1949 (rather than it being open-ended).
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether discussions took place in his Department over whether to activate the National Emergency Plan for Fuel during the recent strike by tanker drivers. [213461]
Malcolm Wicks: The National Emergency Plan for Fuel (NEP-F) identifies how the resources of the downstream oil industry and the Government can be utilised to manage any significant disruption to oil supplies in the UK market. It enables the Government to select and use one or more appropriate emergency response tools to manage any significant disruption. During the recent strike by tanker drivers working for Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, a joint response team was set up in my Department, demand calming measures were encouraged, and the memorandum of understanding with industry was activated to provide a jointly managed approach to maintaining the continuity of fuel supply. The need to use other emergency response tools within the NEP- F was kept under regular review.
Nuclear Power Stations: Dounreay
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost to the public purse has been of maintaining the Dounreay nuclear facility over the last 30 years; under what budget headings such expenditure has been incurred; and what financial provision has been made for decommissioning the nuclear facility over that period. [214011]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 30 June 2008]: Since 2000, the actual cost of maintaining Dounreay has been as follows:
| £ million | |
These numbers are gross costs and do not include any income generated by the site.
Prior to 2000 the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority did not record costs on a site basis and there are, therefore, no detailed figures on the historical cost of Dounreay.
The main budget headings which Dounreay has used since 2003 are those defined by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and the Liabilities Management Unit (LMU) prior to that:
New Construction Projects;
Decommissioning and Termination;
Waste and Nuclear Material Management;
Site Support;
Support Services (those services required, but not necessarily based on the site);
Stakeholder Support (such as communications).
Prior to 2003, the costs would have been separated on a similar basis, but with different titles. For example, Decommissioning and waste management were joined together. These definitions would have changed on a yearly basis.
Since the creation of the NDA, the financial provision for decommissioning the Dounreay site has been set out in the NDA's annual plans and annual report and accounts, available on their website at
Oil
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent estimate his Department has made of the (a) UK and (b) global demand and supply of oil; and if he will make a statement. [215545]
Malcolm Wicks: The provisional figures for 2007 published by BERR indicate that UK production of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) was 1.66 million barrels per day and UK demand for oil products was 1.68 million barrels per day.
The latest monthly oil market report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates 2007 world crude oil supply, including NGLs, at 85.5 million barrels per day and world oil demand at 86 million barrels per day.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent (a) cross-departmental and (b) international discussions his Department has had on the global production and supply of oil; and if he will make a statement. [215549]
Malcolm Wicks: BERR works very closely on a daily basis with other Government Departments including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, HM Treasury, Department for International Development and Department for Transport on issues relating to global oil markets.
BERR is very active in engaging our international partners on how to encourage further oil production and supply in the short and longer term. To this effect, I visited Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi last month to discuss these issues bilaterally. BERR has also had multilateral engagement on this issue through the Secretary of State’s attendance at the G8 Energy Minister’s meeting on 8 June and at the oil summit convened in Jeddah by Saudi Arabia on the 22 June.
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