| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
11 Feb 2009 : Column 1990W—continued
Digital Broadcasting
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had on digital inclusion in Wales with the First Minister; and if he will make a statement. [255539]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The deputy Minister for digital inclusion, the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David) and I have discussed the issue on a number of occasions with the Welsh Assembly Government Minister with responsibility for digital inclusion, to ensure that the actions set out in the UK Government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan are informed by, and reinforce WAG initiatives.
I know that the Welsh Affairs Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into the issue, and I look forward to giving evidence to the Committee.
Olympic Games 2012
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on Wales’ contribution to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and if he will make a statement. [255559]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I regularly meet with the First Minister to discuss a range of issues that affect Wales, including the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Wales has already developed an international reputation as a nation capable of hosting, and winning, successful major sporting events, which has been reflected with the Australian Paralympic Committee’s commitment to be one of the first to confirm their intention of coming to Wales. Wales has already secured Olympic Football for the Millennium Stadium.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) expect to directly procure £6 billion worth of contracts. The Government and the Welsh Assembly Government have actively encouraged small and medium enterprises to register and compete for these contracts through the CompeteFor programme. So far, 1,000 Welsh businesses have registered on the website. I raised the issue of the business opportunities presented by the Games at the National Economic Summit in North Wales on 6 February.
Solicitor-General
Anglo Leasing
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Serious Fraud Office has spent to date on its investigation into Anglo Leasing. [256273]
The Solicitor-General: The Anglo Leasing investigation cost £48,975.16 between September 2007, when the investigation began, and January 2009 when the investigation was terminated.
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Emissions: Agriculture
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what policies his Department has in place to achieve carbon dioxide emissions reductions in the agricultural sector. [255169]
Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
The Government are currently developing a policy framework to reduce all greenhouse gases (GHG) including carbon dioxide from the agriculture, forestry and land management sectors.
This work will feed into the Government’s response to recommendations made in the Committee on Climate Change’s inaugural report.
Fuel Poverty
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) rural and (b) urban households which are in fuel poverty. [241472]
Joan Ruddock: A breakdown based on the rurality of the household, as defined by the National Statistics Definition, is available in the “Fuel Poverty Statistics: Detailed Tables 2006” available online at:
Table 35 holds the following information for England only:
| Percentage households in group | Number household s in group (thousand) | |||||
| Rurality | Not fuel poor | Fuel poor | Not fuel poor | Fuel poor | Total number of households (thousand) | Percentage total fuel poor in group |
Fuel Poverty: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his estimate is of the number of individuals in fuel poverty in Peterborough constituency; and if he will make a statement. [244138]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 16 December 2008]: Fuel poverty is defined at a household level and as such a figure relating to individuals is not available. The most recently available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2003, and shows that in Peterborough, there were around 4,100 fuel poor households.
Housing: Insulation
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what assistance his Department provides to people who are living in hard-to-heat houses to enable them to insulate their homes; [249386]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to encourage people living in hard-to-heat houses to improve their energy efficiency; [249387]
(3) what steps his Department is taking to provide energy efficiency tools suitable for hard-to-heat homes. [249388]
Joan Ruddock: The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) is the Government's principal policy on insulating homes in Great Britain. Under CERT the major energy suppliers have an obligation to promote household carbon saving measures such as insulation. The most important measures for hard-to-treat homes are solid wall insulation and central heating. Suppliers installed around 80,000 heating measures and around 40,000 solid wall measures under the previous obligation period to March 2008, mostly in partnership with social landlords. We recognise that the high up-front cost of solid wall insulation makes it difficult for suppliers to justify this investment. Under CERT we have therefore introduced specific incentives to help improve the financial viability of these measures, with a particular focus on solid-walled homes which are not on the gas grid.
We also continue to assess innovative products, including solid wall insulation, for inclusion in the Warm Front scheme—the Government's main fuel poverty programme in England (fuel poverty is a devolved matter). There will be a focus on improving the energy efficiency of hard-to-treat properties in the forthcoming Community Energy Saving Programme, the proposals for which will be consulted on shortly.
In addition to insulation, through CERT we also promote other energy efficiency measures, such as low energy lamps and high efficiency appliances. We also recognise the value of providing information and advice on energy use and the best steps to make a home more energy efficient. We already provide an on-line carbon calculator, and will shortly be consulting on new provisions to encourage the deployment of real-time energy displays and home energy efficiency advice under CERT.
Kingsnorth Climate Camp
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what dates staff transferred from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to his Department have since their transfer communicated with (a) E.ON and (b) Kent Police regarding the Kingsnorth Climate Camp. [240389]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Staff who dealt with the energy sector for the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) transferred to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) following its creation in October 2008. Since their transfer, there has been no communication between DECC staff and E.ON UK or the Kent police regarding the Kingsnorth Climate Camp.
Natural Gas: Falkland Islands
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assistance his Department plans to provide to the Falkland Islands government to extract oil and gas. [247428]
Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Gillian Merron), on 21 January 2009, Official Report, column 1526W.
Defence
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of shots fired by the armed forces in Helmand province in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007; and how many shots were fired in the latest period for which figures are available. [249208]
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rounds of ammunition have been discharged by British forces in Afghanistan in each rotation since 2006. [251707]
Mr. Hutton: Officials are collating and validating the data needed and this is taking longer than anticipated. I will write to the hon. Members when this work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Apprentices
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 21 May 2008, Official Report, column 308W, on apprentices, how many apprentices his Department employs. [252085]
Mr. Kevan Jones: For the last 2007-08 reporting period, the Department delivered 8,758 apprentice completions.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 21 May 2008, Official Report, column 308W, on apprentices, what progress his Department has made towards the Government’s commitment to employ over 1,000 apprentices in central Government Departments and agencies in 2008-09. [256254]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Government Skills is planning to prepare a central response based on the numbers participating in the National Apprenticeship Pathfinder in 2008-09. This will be in the form of a table showing participating Departments and numbers of apprentices on the programme.
Departmental Foreign Workers
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) EU foreign nationals and (b) non-EU foreign nationals are employed by his Department. [256212]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Data on the number of EU foreign nationals employed in the Department are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There are 46 non-EU foreign nationals currently employed under an alien’s certificate in compliance with the provision of the Aliens Employment Act 1955.
Departmental Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1557-8W, on redundancy, what estimate he has made of the annual payroll savings resulting from his Department's staff exit schemes in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09 excluding the cost of severance packages; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for 2009-10. [254475]
Mr. Kevan Jones: To provide this information in respect of all exit schemes run across the Department and its agencies would require a Department-wide trawl as information is not held centrally. This could be done only at disproportionate cost. Information on releases made through centrally-funded exit schemes is held centrally, however, and is shown in the following table. Information is shown at individuals' basic rate of pay at the time of departure.
| £ million | ||
| Early release cost per annum | Estimated salary cost avoided( 1) | |
| (1) Based on notional cost of salaries avoided for those who have been released. (2) Projected costs, covering two major schemes. (3) Projected costs, covering two major schemes. | ||
Departmental Training
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 5 November 2008, Official Report, column 483W, on departmental training, what personal training courses at public expense other Ministers in his Department have undertaken since 1 January 2008. [251323]
Mr. Hutton: Since 1 January 2008 a number of Ministers within the Department have undertaken pre-deployment training in preparation for visits to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Harmony Guidelines
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of personnel in each pinch point trade are exceeding their harmony guidelines for (a) tour intervals and (b) individual separated service in each service and trade type. [253717]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: As I stated in my answer on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1521W, information on tour intervals for pinch point trades is not routinely recorded. Data on separated service can not yet be provided for Army personnel until such time as a complete cycle has been recorded and subsequently validated (January 2010).
I am, however, able to provide information on the degree to which Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel, who are in pinch point trades, breach the Single Service Harmony Guidelines and this is shown in the following table. Current individual harmony guidelines are:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |