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19 Jan 2009 : Column 999W—continued


19 Jan 2009 : Column 1000W

Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Bankruptcy

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many individuals were declared bankrupt in each year between 2000 and 2007. [247597]

Mr. McFadden: Table 1 shows the number of bankruptcies in England and Wales between 2000 and 2007. This information is also available on the internet at:

Table 1: England and Wales

Number

2000

21,550

2001

23,477

2002

24,292

2003

28,021

2004

35,898

2005

47,291

2006

62,956

2007

64,480


Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what expert advisers have been commissioned by his Department and its agencies since 1997; on what topic each was commissioned; and whether the advisers so appointed made a declaration of political activity in each case. [246658]

Mr. McFadden: A list of expert advisers used by BERR since 1997 is not held centrally and any information on such advisers could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Since 2003, the Government have published, on an annual basis, the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each pay band. This is published in the form of a written ministerial statement by the Prime Minister before each summer recess.

I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies House to respond to the hon. Member directly.

Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 16 January 2009:

Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 16 January 2009:


19 Jan 2009 : Column 1001W

Departmental Public Expenditure

Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost to his Department of provision of office facilities to (a) special advisers and (b) press officers (i) was in the last 12 months and (ii) has been since 1997-98. [244724]

Mr. McFadden: BERR does not hold sufficiently detailed information to answer this question and to produce it would involve disproportionate cost.

Small Businesses: Billing

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his latest assessment is of the implementation of the Government’s commitment to pay suppliers within 10 days. [247881]

Mr. McFadden [holding answer 15 January 2009]: BERR is currently collecting data from other Government Departments and from its own delivery partners on performance in making payments to suppliers within 10 days of receiving a correctly rendered invoice. Although complete figures are not yet available, Government Departments and public bodies have embraced payment within 10 days and are working to implement this across their own organisation and to encourage suppliers to pass on these terms.

During November and December 2008, the first two months of recording the new target, BERR paid 93.1 per cent. and 96.9 per cent. of invoices within 10 working days respectively. Formal reporting by all Government Departments commenced at the start of January 2009 and will be reported to BERR on a quarterly basis.

Energy and Climate Change

Departmental Telephone Services

Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what use (a) his Department and (b) service providers under contract to his Department make of (i) 0844 and 0845 telephone numbers and (ii) revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public; for which services such numbers are used; what prefixes are used for revenue-sharing numbers; how much revenue has accrued from revenue-sharing numbers in each of the last five years; what consideration his Department has given to introducing 03-prefixed telephone numbers for calls to all such services; and if he will make a statement. [247340]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since its formation on 3 October 2008, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has made no use of 0844, 0845 or revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public. DECC already makes use of a 03-prefixed number, charged at the standard national rate, for general inquiries.
19 Jan 2009 : Column 1002W
The Department is not at present party to any contracts, as the Transfer of Function Order related to the creation of DECC has not yet come into force.

Electricity Generation

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much electricity was generated from each primary source in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [248438]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The most recent year for which figures are available is 2007. The following table shows generation from the main sources in 2007. Provisional figures for 2008 will not be available until the end of March 2009.

Electricity generated (GWh)

Gas

164,473

Coal

136,685

Oil

4,693

Other Thermal(1)

13,030

Primary electricity

73,402

Of which:

Nuclear

63,028

Hydro, wind, wave and solar PV

10,374

Other fuels(2)

3,859

Total

396,142

(1) Includes non-biodegradable wastes, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, and waste products from chemical processes.
(2) Hydro pumped storage.
Note:
Primary electricity is electricity obtained other than from fossil fuel sources e.g. nuclear, natural flow hydro and non-thermal renewables.
Source:
Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2008, Table 5.6, as revised at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/energystats/dukes5_6.xls

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what percentage of electricity generated in the UK was produced by (a) renewables, (b) coal, (c) gas and (d) nuclear energy in 2008. [248540]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Energy statistics for the calendar year 2008 will not be available until the end of March 2009. These will be provisional until the publication of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, 2009 at the end of July 2009. The latest available annual data are for 2007 and are as follows:

Percentage

Renewables

5.0

Coal

34.5

Gas

41.5

Nuclear

15.9

Other fuels(1)

3.1

Total

100.0

(1) Includes non-biodegradable wastes, oil, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, and pumped storage.
Source:
Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2008, Table 5.6 as revised at:
http://stats.berr.gov.uk/energystats/dukes5_6.xls

19 Jan 2009 : Column 1003W

Fuel Poverty

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of levels of fuel poverty in (a) Chorley, (b) Lancashire and (c) each county; and if he will make a statement. [245064]

Joan Ruddock: The most recently available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2003, and shows that in Chorley there were 2,600 fuel poor households and around 31,000 fuel poor households in Lancashire. Clearly, rising prices will have increased those figures significantly.

Fuel poverty estimates are available for all counties can be seen in the following table:


19 Jan 2009 : Column 1004W
County Fuel poor households Proportion of all households that are fuel poor (percentage)

Avon

24,800

6.0

Bedfordshire

13,100

5.8

Berkshire

16,800

5.3

Buckinghamshire

15,000

5.5

Cambridgeshire

17,300

6.0

Cheshire

25,100

6.2

Cleveland

15,000

6.7

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

14,400

6.7

Cumbria

14,300

6.8

Derbyshire

26,200

6.5

Devon

29,200

6.4

Dorset

17,500

5.9

Durham

16,700

6.7

East Sussex

19,200

5.8

Essex

39,100

5.8

Gloucestershire

14,600

6.1

Greater London

162,200

5.4

Greater Manchester

68,200

6.6

Hampshire

38,700

5.8

Hereford and Worcester

5,000

6.7

Hertfordshire

22,200

5.3

Humberside

24,700

6.8

Isle of Wight

3,800

6.7

Kent

39,200

6.1

Lancashire

39,300

6.7

Leicestershire

23,500

6.4

Lincolnshire

18,300

6.7

Merseyside

40,500

7.1

Norfolk

22,200

6.5

North Yorkshire

19,900

6.3

Northamptonshire

16,000

6.2

Northumberland

8,500

6.5

Nottinghamshire

28,000

6.5

Oxfordshire

13,300

5.5

Shropshire

11,900

6.6

Somerset

13,300

6.3

South Yorkshire

34,900

6.6

Staffordshire

27,800

6.4

Suffolk

18,000

6.4

Surrey

22,900

5.3

Tyne and Wear

30,300

6.5

Warwickshire

12,700

6.0

West Midlands

68,100

6.6

West Sussex

17,500

5.5

West Yorkshire

56,500

6.6

Wiltshire

15,000

6.0

Worcestershire

13,500

6.1


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