| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Oct 2008 : Column 939W—continued
Energy Supply: Natural Gas
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many days’ supply of gas the UK has storage capacity for; and what proposals his Department has to increase this. [224730]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
National Grid has stated in its Winter Energy Outlook, published on 2 October 2008, that the UK has the
following assumed storage capacities and deliverability levels for 2008-09:
4.2 days (at full rate) of short range storage from LNG (liquefied natural gas) delivering 49 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d);
18.5 days (weighted average duration) of medium range storage delivering 49 mcm/d;
78.1 days (at full rate) of long range storage from the former Rough field in the North sea delivering 42 mcm/d.
Existing gas storage capacity is some 4.5 bcm (billion cubic metres). National Grid also indicated in their 10 year statement 2007, that a further 0.6 bcm is under construction and 5.4 bcm is proposed for the early years of the next decade. Reforming the onshore and offshore consents regimes through the Planning and Energy Bills respectively is intended to facilitate the development of new projects.
Fireworks: Safety
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with firework manufacturers on safety. [229375]
Mr. Thomas: I have not met representatives of the fireworks industry recently, but my officials are in regular contact with involved parties.
Havering
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many employees of his Department work in the London Borough of Havering. [229395]
Mr. McFadden: There are no BERR HQ staff working in the London borough of Havering.
National Grid: Standards
John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2008, Official Report, column 2128W, on the National Grid: standards, if he will (a) publish the National Grid’s full report and (b) provide an explanation of the third drop in system frequency of 27 May 2008. [224889]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
A full report into the loss of electricity supply is expected to be published before the end of 2008. National Grid is making good progress in establishing the cause of the incident and the consequential effects, and I expect the report to cover each stage of the frequency drop including the third stage.
Overseas Trade
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions have taken place between his Department and non-EU European countries to encourage trade between the UK and those countries. [229387]
Mr. Thomas: Bilateral contacts between BERR and non-EU European countries take place through various fora in support of the Department’s key objective of delivering free and fair markets, with greater competition, for businesses, consumers and employees.
In particular, UKTI officials in London and in posts have held discussions with a number of these countries to enhance bilateral trade relationships and address barriers to trade, and we have provided technical assistance to EU applicant countries to support their work on integration and alignment with the body of EU law. Since Russia and Turkey are considered “High Growth” markets under UKTI’s five year strategy, specific strategies exist to strengthen contact with the respective governments on trade access issues and to inform UK business of opportunities in these markets. For example, my noble Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is currently undertaking an official visit to Russia between 26 and 29 October.
BERR officials also participate in the relevant EU trade policy fora to encourage and support the development of rules to maintain competition, promote competitive business environments in the UK and EU and achieve closer integration of these countries into the wider European economy.
These include participation in the EU enlargement negotiations with Croatia and Turkey (and the precursor Stabilisation and Association Agreements with the Western Balkan Countries), discussions with European Free Trade Agreement members, and discussions with Russia and the Ukraine on the Free Trade Agreements and EU Neighbourhood Policy.
Post Offices: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when a decision on the future of the Conniburrow and Fishermead post office branches in Milton Keynes will be made. [230809]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 27 October 2008]: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Saudi Arabia
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent steps the Government has taken to promote business relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the British construction industry. [229437]
Mr. Thomas: The UK Government's trade promotion department, UK Trade and Investment is currently researching possible opportunities for UK construction companies in the Saudi market. The final report of this research will be made available to the UK construction sector once completed.
Small Firms' Loan Guarantee
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) how much money has been guaranteed by the Government under the Small Firms’ Loan Guarantee in each year since 2003; [225166]
(2) how many businesses have received assistance from the Small Firms’ Loan Guarantee in each year since 2003. [225168]
Mr. McFadden: The value and volume of lending under the Government's Small Firms Loan Guarantee for each financial year from 2003 is set out in the following table.
| Financial year | Value of lending (£) | Number of loans |
Street Trading
Mr. Chope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) if he will publish the interim report of the Street Trading and Pedlar Review commissioned by his Department from Durham University; [229745]
(2) when he expects the final report of the Street Trading and Pedlar Review commissioned by his Department from Durham University to be made available to hon. Members. [229746]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 23 October 2008]: BERR does not intend to publish the interim report of the Street Trading and Pedlary Review. The primary purpose of the interim report is to allow Government and the researchers to take stock of the project, consider any procedural issues and identify any gaps in the evidence before the final report is compiled. Policy decisions will not be made based on the interim report and it was always intended to be for BERR internal use only.
The final report of the Street Trading and Pedlary Review is due to be submitted by Durham university later this autumn. Following this my ministerial colleagues and I will consider its findings. We hope to release the final report to hon. Members and the public early in the new year.
Supermarkets: Complaints
Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much the Office of Fair Trading has spent on investigating complaints under the supermarket code of practice in each year since the code’s inception. [229494]
Mr. Thomas: The OFT does not keep records or estimates of the costs of monitoring and enforcement of each individual remedy for which it is responsible.
Trade: Iceland
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value of UK (a) imports to and (b) exports from Iceland were on the latest date for which figures are available. [230137]
Mr. Thomas: The Office for National Statistics “UK Balance of Payments Pink Book” shows that in 2007 UK imports from Iceland of goods were worth £414 million and imports of services were worth £92 million, while exports of goods were worth £195 million and exports of services were worth £174 million.
According to the latest figures published by HM Revenue and Customs on an Overseas Trade Statistics basis, the UK's imports of goods from Iceland for the period January to August 2008 amounted to £291 million; UK's exports of goods to Iceland for the same period amounted to £134 million.
Wind Power
Mark Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many wind turbines there are in the UK. [225107]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
In terms of wind turbines under 100kW ('microgeneration'), we assessed in our Element Energy research that there were 1,100 micro-wind turbines installed in the UK at the end of 2007. The research document can be downloaded at:
The following table shows the number of wind turbines above 100kW generating in the UK at August 2008:
| Number | |
| Source: AEA Technology. | |
Mark Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what procedures are in place to ensure that generation from fossil fuel power stations is regulated to account for differentials in wind power generation. [225110]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
National Grid is responsible for procuring balancing services in order to balance demand and supply and to ensure the security and quality of electricity supply across the GB Transmission System.
National Grid has a licence obligation to control system frequency within specified limits. National Grid must therefore ensure that sufficient generation and/or demand is held in automatic readiness to manage all credible circumstances that might result in frequency variations.
Mark Williams:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information his Department holds on
whether (a) the output of fossil fuel power stations may be reduced for periods when wind power is available and (b) there are periods of duplication of production. [225111]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The information is as follows:
(a) National Grid is responsible for procuring balancing services in order to balance demand and supply and to ensure the security and quality of electricity supply across the GB Transmission System. National Grid may call plants on and off the system in order to maintain this balance.
(b) There can be no duplication of electrical generation as supply cannot be greater than demand.
Wind Power: Planning Permission
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what (a) planning applications to local authorities and (b) pre-application enquiries to the Ministry of Defence for onshore wind turbines were objected to by the Ministry of Defence or Defence Estates in each of the last three years; and what the reason was for the objection in each case. [184413]
Mr. Kevan Jones: I have been asked to reply.
In the past three years the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has objected to planning applications and raised concerns on onshore pre-planning consultations as follows:
| Number of planning applications for onshore wind turbines submitted to local planning authorities to which the MOD has objected | Number of onshore wind energy pre-planning consultations with which the MOD raised concerns | |
The planning applications to which the MOD objected, were 15 related to interference with air defence (AD) radar, 28 to interference with air traffic control (ATC) radar, two to interference with both AD and ATC radar, one to interference with NATS radar, and three due to an unacceptable restriction on low flying.
The success of the MOD's pre-planning consultation process is based largely on the fact that, until a planning application is submitted, our discussions with developers are strictly in confidence. To release the substance of our discussions before a planning application is submitted would inevitably deter prospective developers from using the pre-planning process or trusting MOD with details of their proposals. For that reason it is not possible to give the details of our objections on a case by case basis.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |