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17 Nov 2008 : Column 110W—continued
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Arms Trade: Democratic Republic Of Congo
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what equipment on the military list has been sold or transferred to (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) Rwanda in each of the last three years. [235358]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 13 November 2008]: The Government publish detailed information on export licences issued, refused and revoked, by destination, including the overall value and a summary of the items covered by these licences, in its annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls.
The Government's Annual Reports, published since 1997, and quarterly reports, published since 2004, are available from the House of Commons Library and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at:
Broadband
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a universal service obligation for broadband provision; and if he will make a statement. [229370]
Ian Pearson: The European Commission is currently consulting member states as part of the European Union’s periodical review on the scope of universal service in electronic communications networks and services. The question of whether broadband should be included under a universal service obligation (USO) forms part of this process. The European Commission recently published a Communication in which they concluded that there was not a case currently for introducing a USO in respect of broadband but that this was an important issue that needs to be kept under review, and about which there needs to be a debate.
Broadband: Rural Areas
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on the provision of broadband in rural areas. [229371]
Ian Pearson: On 17 October the Government announced that “The Digital Britain Report” will develop a comprehensive strategy to further the UK’s digital economy and society. Part of this work on broadband development will involve examining options for maximising participation and levels of service across the UK.
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations his Department has received on provision of broadband in rural areas in the last 12 months. [229372]
Ian Pearson: In the last 12 months, this Department has received many representations in the form of inquiries and questions from the public and fellow Members of Parliament on broadband in rural areas. The focus of them has been on issues such as impact on businesses, rural economic activity caused by problems around broadband supply, lack of competition and speed of broadband.
Coal Fired Power Stations: Carbon Emissions
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will require all new coal plants to capture at least 90 per cent. of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 if they are to continue operating. [223985]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
The EU emissions trading scheme sits at the heart of our strategy for reducing emissions from the power sector. All power plants have to operate within the cap on emissions set by the EU ETS and we are actively supporting current proposals to tighten the cap year on
year to 2020 and beyond, setting us on a pathway to achieve our 2020 and longer term emission goals.
Although the separate processes involved in CCS—capture, transport and storage—have been proven on an individual basis over many years, the application of the full chain of CCS technology on a commercial-scale power station has not yet been demonstrated. Until the operation of the full chain of CCS in conjunction with a power station has been proven, it would not be prudent to require new coal plants to be fitted with CCS or to set a date by which this would be required. The urgency for demonstrating the foil chain of CCS is why the UK Government are supporting one of the world’s first commercial-scale demonstration projects.
Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the cost to UK industry of implementing the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive to date. [234838]
Ian Pearson: These data are not available. However, the estimated costs of implementing the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive were set out in the final regulatory impact assessment which was published when the WEEE regulations were laid before Parliament on 12 December 2006.
Energy: Companies
Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information the Government has on the level of profit of gas and electricity energy companies arising from activities in the UK in the last five years; and how much profit was made by such companies in each of those years. [223729]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
Information on the profits of energy companies operating in the UK can be obtained from the published financial statements of these companies.
In addition, a further source of information is the Value Added Scoreboard:
published annually by DIUS and BERR (and previously by DTI), lists operating profit for the largest UK-based energy firms, including UK subsidiaries of non-UK firms. This information is compiled from company accounts.
Exports: Israel
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will put in place procedures to record the export of products to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory separately from those relating to Israel. [229938]
Ian Pearson: We have no reason to believe that strategically controlled products have been exported to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory in contravention of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.
Financial Services: EU Action
Ann Winterton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions of EU Directive 2006/49/EC in relation to mark to market, with particular reference to annex VII. [235939]
Ian Pearson: On 15 October 2008 the European Commission adopted amendments to EFRS 39 and IFRS 7, with the unanimous support of member states. These amendments ensured that EU companies have the same flexibility as their American competitors to reclassify assets held-for-trading into the held-to-maturity category. The current financial crisis justifies the use of reclassification by companies. In these circumstances, financial institutions in the EU would no longer have to reflect market fluctuation in their financial statements for these kinds of assets. These changes will apply as from the third quarter of 2008.
Oil Companies
Harry Cohen:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what (a) statistics and (b) other information
his Department holds on the financial performance of oil and petroleum companies arising from activities in the UK in the last five years. [223998]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 17 September 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The Department conducts no surveys on petroleum companies’ financial performance which is not in the public domain.
Twice a year the Department conducts a survey of UK upstream operators which provides information on income and expenditure relating to the oil and gas fields they operate. It also collects information on their exploration expenditure. The information is collated and aggregated data are published at:
The published data for the last five years are in the following tables.
The Department also requires certain types of applications for the Secretary of State’s consent, e.g. for consent to petroleum field development plans, to be supported by evidence that the company or companies concerned has sufficient financial resources to meet the expenses and liabilities consequent on or related to that project.
| Income from and expenditure on UK continental shelf exploration, development and operating activities | ||||||||||
| £ million | ||||||||||
| Income | Expenses | |||||||||
| Oil sales | NGL sales | Gas sales | Other income( 1) | Total income | Operating costs | Of which: decommissioning costs | Other expenses( 2) | Total expenses | Gross operating surplus( 3) | |
| Capital expenditure | Prices | ||||||
| E&A( 4) (£ million) | Of which: Seismic (£ million) | Investment other than E&A (£ million) | Total (£ million) | Average oil price (£/tonne) | Average gas price (p/therm) | GDP deflator (2003=100) | |
| (1) Revenues from pipelines and terminals, and other revenues of operators and production licensees. (2) Other costs of operators and production licensees not attributable to oil or gas fields. (3) Gross operating surplus = total income less total expenses. (4) E&A costs include exploration and the cost of appraisal wells drilled prior to development approval. Note: The figures exclude change in stocks and book value of stocks. | |||||||
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