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14 Oct 2008 : Column 1048W—continued
Sewers
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the transfer of all private sewers and lateral drains that drain to the public sewer to the ownership and responsibility of water and sewerage companies; and if he will make a statement. [225316]
Jane Kennedy: The Government announced in February 2007 its decision to transfer private sewers and lateral drains draining to the public sewerage system into water company ownership. We subsequently published a public consultation in July 2007 on implementation options for the proposed transfer. The consultation also posed questions on the scope of assets to be included in the transfer and ways in which the creation of new private sewers can be prevented.
A summary of responses was published in March 2008 and we are currently preparing proposals for implementation with the help of a steering group of key stakeholders. The work of the steering group will inform the decision on the timing of transfer and the drafting of regulations to implement the transfer. We expect to be in a position to make an announcement on implementation later this year. A detailed breakdown of consultation responses is available on DEFRA's web pages.
Tobacco: Agriculture
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which EU countries grow tobacco; and how much EU subsidy tobacco producers in each such country received in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [226231]
Jane Kennedy: Tobacco is grown primarily in Italy and Greece. Smaller quantities are also grown in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Belgium and Austria. Overall, production is in decline.
A CAP production aid is payable to EU tobacco producers until its agreed abolition in 2010. Total expenditure on this aid in 2007 was €335.5 million. We do not have a breakdown of expenditure by member state.
Warm Front Scheme
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the costs of asbestos removal are factored in to grants under the Warm Front Scheme. [222007]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
Asbestos removal is only undertaken when its presence directly impedes the installation of heating and/or insulation measures. The removal of asbestos to enable the installation of insulation measures is judged on a case by case basis, where the cost to remove the asbestos and the improvement of energy efficiency are considered. The costs incurred in undertaking asbestos removal are met using Warm Front funding, but are not assigned to any individual householder’s grant monies.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are in place to assess the satisfaction of householders with the completion of works under the Warm Front Scheme. [222009]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
Eaga and DEFRA have procedures that both directly and indirectly assess the quality of work and associated customer satisfaction in the Warm Front Scheme.
A works completion certificate must be signed by customers for each measure provided through the Warm Front Scheme. This certificate is a declaration that work is complete and fitted to the satisfaction of the customer. Without a valid signed certificate Eaga will not pay for work invoiced. In addition to this, 100 per cent. of heating works and 5 per cent. of insulation works undertaken through the scheme are independently inspected to ensure they meet the high levels of quality installation expected of the scheme. Installers are required to perform any remedial work identified at inspection within 28 days of notification. Remedial actions resulting in inspection failure have the same timeline imposed and will be re-inspected once action is taken.
Where a customer may not wish to discuss their concerns directly or face to face, Eaga also provides quality assurance through several other media including e-mail, letter, the availability of customer service staff and related installer management back office support.
Twice a year Eaga also commissions independent measurement of Warm Front customer satisfaction at each of the six stages of service delivery, commencing with initial contact through to the provision of aftercare.
Finally, Eaga carries out several focus groups each year both with Warm Front customers and service delivery staff. Information gleaned is acted on appropriately as part of its commitment to continuous improvement.
DEFRA itself gauges customer satisfaction through customer opinion polls undertaken by National Energy Action, and also by means of twice yearly audits of the scheme by White Young Green and periodic audits by the National Audit Office.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps his Department takes to ensure that grant limits for householders under the Warm Front Scheme are set in line with cost of works charged by contractors in their local market; [222021]
(2) what steps his Department takes to ensure that prices quoted for work under the Warm Front Scheme reflect those charged locally by contractors outside the scheme. [222022]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
Although the Warm Front Scheme household grant limit is set centrally and is applicable across England, the scheme does provide a higher grant of £4,000 for oil central heating for properties off the gas network in view of the additional cost of these installations, in comparison to £2,700 for all other systems.
The prices charged for Warm Front have been set regionally to reflect the local installer market. Installers in each region provided independent quotations for each installation type, and the most economically
advantageous quotes (in most instances the lowest) were selected. The prices of these selected tenders were averaged and set as the installer rate for that region.
These processes were overseen by independent quality assessors, employed by DEFRA, to ensure the prices charged by the scheme are fair and reflect the market rate. These quality assessors have since undertaken reviews of Warm Front pricing to ensure Warm Front charges continue to offer value for money. These reviews are available on the DEFRA website.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Warm Front budget was in each of the last five years. [223898]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 30 June 2008, Official Report, column 548.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department takes to monitor the end use of boilers identified as in need of replacement through the Warm Front scheme. [223966]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
Eaga plc, the Warm Front Scheme Manager, regularly audits every installer on a number of operational fronts. As part of the environmental audit Eaga checks a proportion of the heating jobs to ensure that all of the necessary paperwork is present. Where a boiler is replaced the installer is responsible for the safe disposal of the old boiler. For this a registered waste disposal company removes the boiler, this may be the installer or their registered subcontractor, to a registered waste disposal site and a waste disposal note is obtained from the site operators.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department takes to prevent fraudulent use of fuel-switching grants offered by the Warm Front scheme. [223967]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
The Warm Front Scheme does not offer Fuel Switching grants.
Waterwise: Finance
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which sources Waterwise receives public funding. [225909]
Jane Kennedy: Not-for-profit NGO Waterwise receives no core funding from the Government. Its core funding is about £300,000 per annum, which is received from all water undertakers in the UK, both public and private. Its programme funding, which is an additional £350,000, is self-generated through income-raising activities. This includes an annual conference, the Waterwise Marque, partnerships with corporate and other NGOs, as well as research projects. DEFRA, the Communities and Local Government, the Greater London authority and the Environment Agency have all contributed funds for specific projects.
Treasury
Banks: Regulation
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the dates were of each meeting he and his predecessor held with the Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to discuss the adequacy of regulatory oversight of the financing models for British-based banks; and if he will (a) place in the Library and (b) post on his Department’s website copies of all correspondence between him and his predecessor and the FSA on banking oversight and reform since January 2006. [226134]
Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers meet the chairman and chief executive of the Financial Services Authority regularly to discuss a range of issues.
Bradford and Bingley
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from mutual organisations on the financial effect on them as a result of the Bradford and Bingley rescue; and if he will make a statement. [225973]
Ian Pearson: It is right that action to protect Bradford and Bingley depositors should over time be funded by members of the FSCS through the levy mechanism.
It is the FSA that sets out how different classes of member of the FSCS may be levied in different circumstances in its rules.
Civil Servants: Relocation
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Civil Service jobs have been relocated to the North East of England under the Lyons Review. [218620]
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many public service jobs have been re-allocated from the South East to the North East of England in the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [222078]
Yvette Cooper: By December 2007, 750 posts had been relocated to the North East as part of the relocation programme. Overall, 3,580 civil service posts have been created in the North East since 2003.
Debts
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of (a) household and (b) business indebtedness in (i) each Parliamentary constituency, (ii) each area covered by a regional development agency, (iii) Northern Ireland, (iv) Scotland and (v) Wales. [225952]
Angela Eagle: Data on household and business balance sheets are published by the Office for National Statistics on a quarterly and annual basis. However, this data is not available by parliamentary constituency or region.
Departmental Air Travel
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department has participated in the fund, broken down by (a) domestic, (b) short haul and (c) long haul flights. [222033]
Angela Eagle: In 2006-07 the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund were only broken down into long haul and short haul, but for 2007-08 a third category for domestic flights has been added for calculation purposes.
The mileage used for calculations for GCOF payments is as follows:
| Miles | |||
| Short haul | Long haul | Domestic | |
| (1) These are for HM Treasury, but included some flights taken by Debt Management Office. (2) These figures are for HM Treasury. | |||
Excise Duties: Fuel Oil
Colin Challen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has assessed of the likely effect of the rate of duty to be applied to waste-derived fuel oil from 1 November 2008 on (a) the volume of hazardous waste oil recovered and reprocessed, (b) the level of investment in the collection and reprocessing of hazardous waste oil, (c) the volume of secondary fuel product manufactured, (d) the volume of hazardous waste oil sent to landfill and (e) the volume of hazardous waste oil incinerated; [226128]
(2) if the Government will (a) delay the introduction of hydrocarbon oil duty until the Waste Oils Protocol project is complete and (b) exercise the discretion provided under the Energy Products Directive to observe differentiation in the application of hydrocarbon oil duty to reflect the product quality and environmental impact of different waste-derived fuel oils once the Waste Oils Protocol project is complete; [226130]
(3) what assessment he has made of whether the rate of duty to be applied to waste-derived fuel oil from 1 November 2008 is consistent with Government obligations under the Waste Framework Directive to encourage the recovery and reuse of waste; [226132]
(4) for what reasons the Government has decided not to exercise the discretion to date provided under the Energy Products Directive to observe differentiation in the application of hydrocarbon oil duty to reflect the product quality and environmental impact of different waste-derived fuel oils; [226133]
(5) what factors the Government took into account when deciding to apply a rate of duty of 9.29 pence per litre, rather than the 15 euros per 1,000 kilograms minimum required under the Energy Products Directive. [226818]
Angela Eagle: The UK is required to impose duty on waste oils reused as fuel as a result of the European Commission’s refusal to renew our derogation from the EU energy products directive. The imposition of duty should have no adverse affects on the volume of waste oil recovered, as correct disposal of hazardous waste is a legal requirement.
The imposition of duty at the rate to be applied is consistent with the relevant EU directives, which require member states to take measures to give preference to the regeneration of waste oil above combustion.
Ordnance Survey: Databases
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 26 June 2008, Official Report, column 465W, on Ordnance Survey: databases, how much the Ordnance Survey has spent advertising the products listed in the answer. [225631]
Mr. Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
In the year 2007-08, the last complete year for which information is available, Ordnance Survey spent a total of £25,500 on advertising the digital data products 1:10 000 scale raster, 1:50 000 scale colour raster, 1:250 000 scale colour raster, Land-Line Plus, OS MasterMap Topography Layer, OS MasterMap Address Layer, OS MasterMap Address Layer 2, ADDRESS-POINT, Boundary-Line and Code-Point with Polygons.
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