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3 Nov 2008 : Column 231W—continued
Young People: Custodial Treatment
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to ensure that expectation 19 of the HM Inspectorate of Prisons criteria for assessing the conditions for and treatment of children and young people in custody, on the arrival of children and young people at an institution no later than 7pm, is met in practice; and if he will make a statement. [231250]
Mr. Hanson: The policy of the National Offender Management Service and the Youth Justice Boards is that young people are escorted from court to their designated prison as soon as possible and before any closure time listed for the prison.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Applying the Proposed Strategic Siting Assessment Criteria
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons 22 July 2008 was chosen as the publication date for his Department’s consultation paper towards a nuclear national policy statement, Applying the Proposed Strategic Siting Assessment Criteria: A Study of the Potential Environmental and Sustainability Effects. [223896]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The consultation document “Towards a nuclear national policy statement, Applying the Proposed Strategic Siting Assessment Criteria: A Study of the Potential Environmental and Sustainability Effects” was published on 22 July 2008 because it was the first possible date for publication after the document had been completed. The House was notified of the publication via a written ministerial statement and in addition the Department for BERR issued a press release. The consultation has been extended from 12 to 16 weeks to take account of the fact it overlaps with the summer period and to provide consultees with the maximum opportunity to input their views. The Department for BERR also held three stakeholder engagement events in September to assist people in making an input into the consultation.
Consumer Focus: Finance
David Taylor: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the budget is for Consumer Focus in each of the next three financial years. [232695]
Mr. Thomas: Ministers have agreed a budget of £15 million for Consumer Focus in the financial year 2009-10 plus an additional £2.2 million for legacy bodies' property costs. In subsequent years, Consumer Focus's final budget allocation will be confirmed as part of the Department's annual business planning round.
Departmental Pensions
Jenny Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department and its agencies are members of the (a) Classic, (b) Classic Plus, (c) Nuvos and (d) Premium civil service pension schemes. [229540]
Mr. McFadden: The number and proportion of civil servants in civil service pension schemes in BERR and its agencies is:
| Number | Proportion (percentage) | |
Departmental Trade Unions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many civil servants in his Department were seconded to work for (a) trades unions and (b) the Trades Union Congress in each year since its inception. [229108]
Mr. McFadden: Since the inception of the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in 2007, there have been no civil servants seconded to work for the trade unions or Trades Union Congress.
Dorneywood
James Duddridge: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use his Department has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months. [222050]
Mr. Thomas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 20 October 2008, Official Report , column 90W.
Energy: Coatbridge
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many households in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency use a pre-payment meter; and if he will make a statement. [226004]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The lowest geographical level at which the Department holds the requested data for gas is national level, and for electricity separately for North and South Scotland. As of June 2008, there were around 177,000 households using a gas prepayment meter in Scotland, around 10 per cent. of all customer accounts.
For electricity, as of June 2008, there were around 107,000 households using a prepayment meter in north Scotland, around 17 per cent. of all customer accounts. For south Scotland, the corresponding figure was 328,000, or 18 per cent. of all households.
Enterprise Capital Funds
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps have been taken to encourage bids from the creative industries for Enterprise Capital Funds. [227172]
Ian Pearson: Creative industries are an important sector of the UK economy. Earlier this year Government made a public statement that they welcome applications to Enterprise Capital Funds from all sectors, including creative businesses, in the creative economy strategy ‘Creative Britain—New Talents for the New Economy’. Capital for Enterprise Limited—our arms length body responsible for the delivery of the Enterprise Capital Funds—announced the subsequent bidding round to a wide field of potential applicants. Capital for Enterprise Limited have offered to meet with all potential bidders to help explain the process and provide feedback. The Enterprise Capital Fund programme provides risk capital of up to £2 million for small high growth businesses from a range of sectors including the creative industries.
Fireworks Act 2003
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of regulations made under the Fireworks Act 2003; and if he will make a statement. [232675]
Mr. Thomas: The regulations made under the Fireworks Act 2003 will be reviewed during the course of implementation of the pyrotechnics directive, the work for which will commence shortly.
Fireworks: Accidents
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information his Department gathers on the number of accidents caused by fireworks operated by the public. [230769]
Mr. Thomas: BERR collects no statistics on home injuries, including those caused by fireworks.
Formula One
Adam Price:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what (a) briefing and (b) minutes the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry received from (i) 10 Downing Street and (ii) Ministerial colleagues in
relation to the business interests of Formula One and its associated companies in November 1997. [228816]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 21 October 2008]: Having conducted a search of records relating to automotive issues, BERR has not been able to locate any files on motorsport dating back to November 1997.
However, we are aware of one document released following a freedom of information request which has been published on the Department of Health website—a minute from DTI dated 18 November 1997 about the importance of Formula One to the UK.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/FreedomOfInformation/Freedom ofinformationpublicationschemefeedback/FOIreleases/DH_089217 (Document 39)
Fuel Poverty
Danny Alexander: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department spent tackling fuel poverty in each of the last 10 years; and how much it expects to spend in the next 12 months. [225196]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
Before the establishment of the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Government responsibility for funding fuel poverty programmes rested with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, not the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). However, between 2005-06 and 2007-08, BERR contributed £2 million to two demonstration programmes in north-east England and Yorkshire and Humberside to provide microgeneration and mains gas to deprived communities. In June 2008, BERR announced a further £3 million fuel poverty pilot within the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. BERR has also made available £150,000 to Citizens Advice to deliver the ‘Energy Best Deal' project, which will promote switching of supplier among vulnerable groups. These funding streams are moving to the new Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Nuclear Power Stations: Decommissioning
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he anticipates that decommissioning work at Trawsfynydd nuclear power station will be complete. [224507]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 6 October 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The NDA Strategy, published in March 2006, anticipates that the decommissioning and final site clearance of Trawsfynydd will be completed in 2096.
Post Offices: Closures
Mike Penning: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post offices and sub-post offices were closed in Hemel Hempstead constituency in the periods between (a) 1987 and 1996 and (b) 1997 and 2008. [231943]
Mr. McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply directly to the hon. Member.
Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Post Offices: Franchises
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform by what criteria the (a) franchise fee charged by Post Office Ltd to its franchisees and (b) annual fee charged by Post Office Ltd to locally funded post offices is set; and if he will make a statement. [232427]
Mr. McFadden: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have, therefore, asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL to reply directly to the hon. Member.
Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Power Stations: Plymouth
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Minster of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in establishing an energy park at Langage, Devon, pursuant to the licence granted to the former Department of Trade and Industry to build a power station on the site. [222416]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
Planning permission from the local planning authority for the first 10,000 sq m of office development has been granted. As the hon. Member is aware, the energy park development program is closely tied to that of the power station. The Department has been informed that the access road for the power station, which is required before construction of the energy park development can proceed, is still not complete and is now targeted for late summer 2009.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent steps the Government have taken to increase the use of sustainable energy. [224990]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have taken a range of steps to increase the use of renewable and low carbon energy in the UK. We have recently consulted on potential measures on how the UK could increase its use of renewable energy to meet its share of the 2020 EU renewable energy target; and published the Transmission Access Review, setting out measures to allow faster connection of renewable generation to the electricity grid and the timely delivery of new infrastructure necessary to meet that target.
We also plan to consult in the autumn on an energy savings and heat strategy which will focus on low-carbon solutions to decarbonise the UK's heat supply.
The UK needs a diverse mix of low-carbon energy sources to contribute to our energy and climate change goals and we have this year taken the decision to allow companies to build and operate new nuclear power stations. Facilitative actions being taken should enable companies to bring new nuclear power stations into operation from 2017-20.
We are taking a global lead on clean coal power generation by launching a competition to secure one of the world's first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects on a coal-fired power station; and we continue to support energy efficiency and low carbon technologies from R and D to deployment.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government plan to take to facilitate the development and use of sustainable energy. [224991]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The Government are fully committed to facilitating the development and use of sustainable and low carbon energy. The Government published a consultation document in June setting out a range of potential measures to deliver further increases in renewable energy to meet our ambitions for 2020 and beyond. In the light of consultation responses, we will set out our full renewable energy strategy in spring next year. We also plan to consult in the autumn on an energy savings and heat strategy which will focus on energy saving measures, particularly in the household sector, and low-carbon solutions to decarbonise the UK's heat supply.
The Government provide support for renewable electricity through the renewables obligation which is estimated to be worth around a billion pounds a year to the renewables sector by 2010; we will continue to support and promote energy efficiency and innovation in low carbon technologies from R and D to deployment.
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