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26 Jan 2009 : Column 48W—continued
Lighting
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what date the (a) sale and (b) use of iridescent light bulbs will end; and if he will make a statement. [247677]
Jane Kennedy: Under an implementing measure agreed by EU member state experts in December 2008 under the eco-design for energy-using products directive, though yet to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and Council, all frosted incandescent bulbs and clear bulbs above 100W will be removed from the market by September 2009. A phase out of 75W lamps in September 2010 and 60W lamps in September 2011 will follow, and by September 2012 all other incandescent lamps will be removed from the market. In addition, by September 2016 the least efficient halogen lamps will be removed from the market.
There are no plans to regulate the use of incandescent lamps.
In advance of this measure, a voluntary initiative led by some UK retailers and energy suppliers to remove incandescent lamps from sale began in January 2008 with the phase out of 150W lamps. 75W and 100W lamps will be removed by January 2009, 60W lamps by January 2010 and all others by the end of 2011.
According to the Energy Saving Trust the use of energy efficient compact florescent lamps can save householders up to approximately £60 over the lifetime of each bulb.
New Technologies Demonstrator Programme
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme in diverting biodegradeable municipal waste from landfill; [249176]
(2) how many waste projects contract payments were (a) reduced and (b) delayed under the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme; [249177]
(3) how many waste projects under the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme had (a) cost overruns and (b) start-up dates later than those originally proposed; [249178]
(4) how many waste projects under the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme were completed in accordance with their original contract; [249179]
(5) how much his Department paid out under the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme (Waste Implementation Programme) in each year of the programme. [249180]
Jane Kennedy: The objective of the New Technologies Demonstrator programme (NTDP) is to provide impartial information and impart industry experience to waste stakeholders on new innovative technologies not yet established in England. The intention is to overcome the real and perceived risks and barriers of introducing such technologies in England. This is being achieved through the provision of impartial technical, environmental and economic information and performance data for the project facilities. This includes real experiences of planning and permitting, reaching financial closure and on wider issues such as informing policy development, for example the renewables obligation.
An assessment of the effectiveness of the programme can only truly be made once all the technical and commercial information has been derived from the facilities and through the successful deployment of similar technologies in England over the coming years. This will also be ultimately achieved through assessing the total volume of wastes diverted from landfill.
The programme runs until 31 March 2009 and following this date impartial technical papers will be produced on the performance of the facilities, which are being written under the guidance of the Technologies Advisory Committee.
DEFRA has a commercial contract with each project, and payments are made against the achievement of milestones related to agreed deliverables, not to specific dates.
Most of the facilities had start-up dates later than originally proposed, due to a variety of technical and commercial reasons.
DEFRA is only providing a contribution to the final costs of each project. We therefore do not hold information on the project's own cost overruns.
Of the total nine projects, two have withdrawn and one has completed in accordance with their contract with DEFRA. We do not envisage that all of the remaining six projects will complete their full contractual requirements by 31 March 2009 and as such there will be reduced payments made where this is the case.
| Amount paid out by DEFRA (£) | |
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had regarding the participation of Scarborough Power Ltd. in the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme. [249568]
Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment (Hilary Benn) has held no such discussions on this topic.
Recycling
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of (a) the effectiveness of recycling markets and (b) the impact of volatile commodity prices on the viability of the country's recycling strategies. [247904]
Jane Kennedy: The UK has tripled the amount of household waste it recycles in the last 10 years, and on the back of this there is a growing recycling and reprocessing industry in the UK, particularly for materials such as glass, newsprint and plastic bottles. Not all of the materials collected for recycling are re-processed into products in the UK: some are re-processed abroad, reflecting trends in the global economy. As with all commodities, the prices for recyclable materials rise and fall according to supply and demand. In the current economic downturn, demand for raw materials—including recyclable waste—has declined, leading to a fall in prices.
The Government are monitoring the situation closely, working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme, the Local Government Association, the Environment Agency, the waste management industry and others. According to the best available information, markets for recycled materials have stabilised, though at lower prices. Recycling continues to be an economically viable and environmentally beneficial part of the UK's waste strategy, and we are encouraging householders to continue to put out waste for recycling.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of (a) the cost of operating all recycling programmes in the country and (b) the value of material collected under all recycling programmes in the latest period for which figures are available. [247906]
Jane Kennedy:
No assessment has been made of the cost of operating recycling programmes in the UK. The
Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates that the total value of materials recycled from households in England in 2007 was around £310-330 million.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance his Department has made available to local authorities which have decided to develop biogas projects. [248207]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA provides assistance to some local authorities through private finance initiative (PFI) credits to assist with their waste management solutions, these projects may include a biogas element.
DEFRA also operates the New Technologies Demonstrator Programme to demonstrate innovative waste treatment technologies (including anaerobic digestion (AD)/Biogas) as possible alternatives to landfill. Under the renewables obligation AD plants, as an advanced conversion technology, will receive two renewables obligation certificates (ROC) per megawatt hour.
The Organics Capital Grant Programme provides financial assistance towards the capital costs of plant, equipment and infrastructure for food waste processing capacity, including anaerobic digesters.
The Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme supports the installation of biomass-fuelled heating and combined heat and power projects, including anaerobic digesters.
Waste Disposal
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many municipal collection vehicles collected from the kerbside (a) food waste, (b) recycled waste, (c) domestic waste and (d) garden waste in (i) 1998 and (ii) 2008. [247905]
Jane Kennedy: DEFRA does not hold the information requested.
Waste Disposal: Oil
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account he has taken of (a) the provisions of the Waste Incineration Directive and (b) the decision by Corus to cease accepting oil as a reductant in the provisions he has made for the safe (i) disposal and (ii) recycling of waste lubricating oil. [249323]
Jane Kennedy: The provisions of the waste incineration directive have applied to relevant facilities burning waste oil since December 2005. There has been no change in those provisions. We are aware that for commercial reasons Corus has ceased taking waste oil for use as a reductant in one of its steel plant. Other outlets for that waste oil exist including export to re-refining plant in other member states which can recycle the oil back into base lubricating oil. The Environment Agency is maintaining a close dialogue with the waste oil sector to ensure that waste oil can continue to be managed in an environmentally sound manner.
Culture, Media and Sport
Aerials: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations transmit from the Winter Hill transmitter. [248348]
Andy Burnham: The broadcasters which use the Winter Hill transmitter are:
BBC
ITV
Channel 4
Five
Digital 3 and 4
SDN (S4C Digital Networks)
Arqiva
Century 105
Rock FM
Smooth
Bauer
CE (Capital Emap)
Digital One
MXR.
In addition Orange, 3, Airwave and Vodaphone operate on or near the Winter Hill site.
Ofcom has published a list of businesses which are licensed to use the transmitter, e.g. BT, on its website at
<http://spectruminfo.ofcom.org.uk/spectrumInfo/licences? service=all&freqStart=&freqStop=&unit=GHz&ngrloc= sd660144&offset=0.5&submit=Submit+search&nw=&ne=&se= &sw=&googloc=&googoffset>=
<http://spectruminfo.ofcom.org.uk/spectrumInfo/licences? service=all&submit=Submit+search&unit=GHz&ngrloc= SD660144&offset=0&page=.
Arts
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the annual growth rate of the creative industries was in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [249677]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 20 January 2009]: The annual growth rate of the creative industries in the UK for each of the last three years for which figures are available was as follows:
| Percentage | |
| Source: DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates—based on Annual Business Inquiry data (ONS). | |
The drop in growth rate from 2005 to 2006 is the result of drops in GVA for the advertising, publishing and software sectors, which are among the largest of the creative industries.
However, these data are taken from sample surveys and are subject to sampling errors. Therefore too much emphasis should not be placed on fluctuations in the figures.
These rates do not include crafts and design, as figures are not available for these sectors.
Arts: Reviews
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's staff provided support for the Creative Britain Review. [248902]
Andy Burnham: At the time of Creative Britain's publication in February 2008 there were 3.3 full time employees working on it. A group of around 10 other officials in this Department also contributed to the research and drafting of the publication, while also working on other priorities.
Big Lottery Fund: Property
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) buildings and (b) land are leased by the Big Lottery Fund; and what estimate has been made of the value of these assets. [250257]
Barbara Follett: The Big Lottery Fund have advised that they do not own any buildings or land but they are legal tenants of properties which they sub-let, all of these leases are short-term operating leases, and therefore no value is assigned to them by the Big Lottery Fund.
Big Lottery Fund is the legal tenant of the following offices, which are sub-let to others:
1st, 2nd and 3rd Floors
1 Plough Place
London
EC4A 1DE.
Ground Floor (Part)
Apex House
3 Embassy Drive
Birmingham
B15 1TR.
3rd Floor
Dominion House
Guildford
GU1 4BN.
Elizabeth House
Chesterton
Cambridge
CB4 1YW.
6th Floor
Baron House
4 Neville Street
Newcastle
NE1 5NL.
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