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25 Nov 2008 : Column 1468W—continued
Fuels: Prices
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information he holds on the average pump price for (a) unleaded petrol and (b) diesel in each EU country on 1 October 2008. [228102]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department’s latest information on the prices of retail premium unleaded petrol and diesel for all EU countries is published on the BERR website. It is given in table 5.1.1 (reproduced as follows) through the following link:
The information is sourced from the European Commission, which publishes weekly updates on average petrol and diesel prices for all EU member states. These are available at:
Gas: Prices
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps the Government are taking to encourage suppliers of non-mains gas to reduce their retail prices. [234398]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The majority of domestic users of non-mains gas use Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The downstream oil industry, including the production and supply of LPG, operates within a global market comprising refiners, traders and suppliers.
The supply of LPG is subject to UK competition law under the Competition Act 1998, and the appropriate bodies act to regulate the sector. As a result of concerns about competition in the market for domestic bulk LPG, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made a market investigation reference to the Competition Commission (CC) in July 2004. In June 2006 the CC published a report which stated that difficulties in switching supplier have inhibited competition. The CC has arrived at a package of remedies which is intended to make it easier to switch supplier, and will provide greater transparency of pricing, providing information on which consumers will be able to take this decision. It is expected that the increased ability of consumers to switch supplier will increase competition in the market and put downward pressure on prices.
Geological Disposal Implementation Body
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he established the Geological Disposal Implementation Body; who has been appointed to this body; what criteria were used in making the appointments; what budget is available to support the Implementation Body's work; how often it is planned it should meet; and whether it is a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [236367]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Geological Disposal Implementation Board (GDBB) is a civil servant programme board set up to manage the Government and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)
arrangements for planning and delivery of a geological disposal facility as set out in the White Paper “Managing Radioactive Waste Safety: a Framework for Implementing Geological Disposal”. Its role will include the provision of advice to Ministers and the preparation and publication of Government decision documents.
Organisations represented on the Implementation Board will be the Department of Energy and Climate Change, HM Treasury, the Welsh Assembly Government and the NDA as the Government's delivery body.
Other Government Departments, regulatory bodies and other organisations can be invited to contribute to supporting work.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Power Stations
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the extent to which the power sector will need to be decarbonised by 2030 to attain an 80 per cent. greenhouse gas reduction target for the UK by 2050; and if he will make a statement. [234114]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Research into the UK's transition to a low carbon economy consistently emphasises the importance of increasing the energy efficiency of the UK economy and reducing the carbon intensity of the UK power sector. The research highlights uncertainties over the extent to which the UK power sector will need to be de-carbonised owing to imperfect knowledge about both the future rates of innovation and costs in particular technologies, and the power sector's inclusion in a future international cap and trade scheme.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have received a boiler replacement grant through the Warm Front scheme in (a) Bolton and (b) England. [235969]
Joan Ruddock: Between June 2000 and March 2008 the Warm Front scheme has replaced some 217,267 central heating boilers. 3,353 of these were replaced in Bolton local authority.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) England have received home insulation through the Warm Front Scheme since the establishment of the scheme. [237124]
Joan Ruddock: In the current contracted period, June 2005 to July 2008, the Warm Front Scheme has installed insulation in 263,307 households across England. 248 of these households were in the constituency of Hemel Hempstead.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have received a boiler replacement grant through the Warm Front Scheme in (a) Hemel Hempstead, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England since the scheme was established. [237125]
Joan Ruddock: In the current contracted period, June 2005 to March 2008, the Warm Front scheme has replaced 155,798 boilers in England. 1,183 of these were replaced in Hertfordshire and 92 in the constituency of Hemel Hempstead.
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes have been provided with heating under the Warm Front scheme in (a) England and (b) Bolsover constituency in the last two years. [238077]
Joan Ruddock: The following table illustrates the number of households receiving heating works in (a) England and (b) Bolsover through the Warm Front scheme in last two scheme years 2006-08.
| Scheme year | England | Bolsover |
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Hampshire
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people in (a) Southampton, (b) Test Valley Borough and (c) the ceremonial county of Hampshire received Warm Front grants in each of the last five years. [231306]
Joan Ruddock: The table below illustrates the number of households in (a) Southampton, (b) Test Valley Borough and (c) the ceremonial county of Hampshire who have been assisted by the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last five years.
| Warm Front Scheme | ||||||
| Number | ||||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09( 1) | |
|
(c) Ceremonial county of Hampshire (including Southampton and Portsmouth) | ||||||
| (1) To 28 October. | ||||||
Insulation: Housing
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many additional homes will receive increased insulation and pipe lagging as a result of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target package with the power utilities announced on 11 September. [226256]
Joan Ruddock: The Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC), which was succeeded by the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) in April 2008, has already helped five million households install insulation and make significant energy savings since 2002. CERT doubles the previous level of obligation on energy suppliers which, together with the 20 per cent. increase in target announced by the Prime Minister on 11 September, means a similar number of households will benefit from energy saving measures such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and tank insulation in the next three years.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what resources are available to help people aged over 70 years insulate their homes. [238037]
Joan Ruddock: Under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, energy suppliers are currently offering free loft and cavity wall insulation to pensioners over 70, subject to a survey of the property.
Low income private sector households with a person over 70 may also qualify for a grant to insulate their homes under the Warm Front scheme. Warm Front insulation measures include cavity wall, loft and draught proofing. Householders must be in receipt of a means tested or disability benefit to qualify.
For more information on assistance available, householders are encouraged to call the Government-funded Act on C02 helpline (0800 512 012).
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) when a Minister in his Department plans to reply to the letter to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 16 September 2008 on solar water heaters; [232219]
(2) when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 29 September 2008 to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on renewable energy projects. [232216]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer s 3 November 2008]: I replied to the hon. Member on 3 November. I apologise for the delay in responding.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he will respond to the letter to him of 3rd October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms M Bolton. [236974]
Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State replied to the hon. Member's letter on behalf of Ms M. Bolton on 20 November.
National Nuclear Laboratory
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made towards establishing a National Nuclear Laboratory. [234721]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform confirmed the establishment of the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) when he visited Sellafield on 23 July.
DECC is currently running a competition to appoint a management contractor who can put the business onto a sound commercial footing and realise the NNL's fuller potential by broadening the range of work and customers. The competition is making good progress and the new management contractor is expected to be in place by spring 2009.
Nuclear Power Stations
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the working lifetime of any new nuclear power station built in the UK. [237747]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The assumption for the working lifetime of any new nuclear power station built in the UK was contained in analysis published with the 2006 Energy Review. This is available at:
Plant lifetime was assumed to be 40 years.
The document “Consultation on Funded Decommissioning Programme Guidance for New Nuclear Power Stations” set out a Base Case which includes the assumption that the reactor design will be based on a single station operating for an assumed life of 40 years. The Government response to the consultation confirmed that this should remain the assumption for the Base Case. However it will be open to operators to suggest alternative station lifetimes. Both documents are available at:
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what arrangements he has made for the liabilities of existing British Energy reactor sites to be covered by EDF; whether EDF will continue to pay into the Nuclear Liabilities Fund to cover wastes and spent fuel created from ongoing operations at existing British Energy reactors; and whether EDF will be required to pay the same amount per tonne to Sellafields sites and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for spent fuel reprocessing or management and disposal as British Energy has paid under its agreement with the Government. [238716]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 24 November 2008]: The current arrangements for meeting the costs associated with waste and decommissioning of British Energy's existing nuclear power stations would not be affected by the proposed takeover of British Energy by EDF. British Energy, once owned by EDF, would continue to be responsible for any payments due to the Nuclear Liabilities Fund (NLF) as at present. All payments are made to the NLF, not to Sellafield or the NDA.
Oil: Prices
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2008, Official Report, column 256W, on oil: prices, what his Department’s current oil price assumptions are for (a) 2010, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020. [226668]
Mr. Mike O'Brien
[holding answer 13 October 2008]: DECC’s latest future fossil price assumptions were published
by BERR in May 2008, following a consultation published in January. In order to capture uncertainty around the outturn of future fossil fuel prices, the assumptions are presented in the form of four illustrative scenarios. Our price assumptions, and further details on the corresponding scenarios, are available through the following links:
The oil price assumptions for the years given are as follows:
| Price ($/bbl ) | |||
| Scenario | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 |
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