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27 Oct 2008 : Column 735W—continued
Installers interested in working on the Warm Front Scheme are entered into a fair and transparent competitive
tender process. Fundamental to the process are an interrogation of installer policy, compliance with instructions, professional qualification and financial security. Policies interrogated include:
health and safety;
quality assurance;
customer care;
training;
environmental and waste reduction; and
qualification to professionally recognised standards such as Corgi, NICEIC, BBA, dependant on measure(s) bid for.
Given the vulnerable customer base the scheme serves, the bar is set extremely high in terms of safety, customer care and financial probity.
Eaga continually reviews its contractor base and is always willing to receive expressions of interest. The next round of tendering is due to begin on 3 November 2008.
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in how many and what proportion of cases the cost of Warm Front work recommended exceeded the available grant in (a) Leicester and (b) nationally and resulted in the householder being asked to pay an excess amount in the latest period for which figures are available. [228397]
Joan Ruddock: The following table illustrates the number of households qualifying for assistance through the Warm Front Scheme and the number of client contributions requested over the period 1 April 2008 and 31 August 2008 in (a) Leicester and (b) England.
| Area | Households qualifying for assistance | Households requested to contribute to costs | Percentage of contribution requests of all qualifying households |
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many former miners’ compensation claims cases are awaiting responses in Scotland, broken down by constituency. [226592]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 13 October 2008]: In Scotland, there are 1,037 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) claims that have not had a first time offer or denial and 953 COPD claims where offers have been made to which a response is awaited.
For vibration white finger (VWF), only 50 claims in the UK in total have not had a first time offer or denial and 216 VWF claims where offers have been made to which a response is awaited.
We are unable to break these figures down any further.
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average settlement has been for (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (b) vibration white finger claims submitted by the 10 solicitors’ firms which have submitted the greatest number of claims under the Coal Miners’ Compensation Scheme. [226639]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The average settlement for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and vibration white finger (VWF) by the 10 claimants’ representatives who have submitted the greatest number of claims is shown in the following tables as at 5 October 2008:
| COPD | |||
| Claimants’ representative | Total claims | Total claims settled by payment | Average damages paid on claims settled by payment (£) |
| VWF | |||
| Claimants representative | Total claims | Total claims settled by payment | Average damages paid on claims settled by payment (£) |
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was claimed under the Coal Miners’ Compensation Scheme by (a) former miners and (b) former miners’ families in Scotland in each of the last three years. [226763]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 14 October 2008]: The following table lists compensation paid to former miners and their families under the Coal Miners’ Compensation Schemes in Scotland in each of the last three years. For completeness we have also provided similar data on 2008 to date and the period prior to 2005.
| £ | |||
| Paid to miners | Paid to miners’ families | Total | |
Nuclear Power Stations
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the potential impact on the price of electricity of proposals by energy companies to build new nuclear power stations. [225497]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department published an analysis of the cost of nuclear power compared with alternative forms of generation as part of the 2006 Energy Review. The analysis is available at:
It showed that nuclear is the cheapest low carbon generation option and will help us to meet our carbon dioxide reduction targets at least cost.
The analysis did not cover the impact of new nuclear power stations on the price of electricity. This is determined by a variety of factors in the wholesale market, in
particular the marginal source of generation, which is usually a fossil fuel generator.
Nuclear Power: Safety
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral response to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) of 30 June 2008, Official Report, column 628W, what consideration the Government has given to risks other than those of safety in planning of nuclear expansion. [225875]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government committed to an extensive public consultation last year on the future of nuclear power. The consultation document ‘Future of Nuclear Power’ which we published in May last year and the Nuclear White Paper published in January set out in detail how the Government had carefully considered the issues in relation to nuclear energy.
In addition to the safety issue, these documents explain how we have considered matters related to: economics, security, health, non-proliferation, transport, waste and decommissioning, ethics, the environment, supply of nuclear fuel, supply chain and skills capacity and reprocessing.
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