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27 Feb 2009 : Column 1134W—continued
Climate Change: International Cooperation
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what proposals his Department has put forward for an international financing mechanism to fund the UN Climate Change Adaptation Fund; what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer on these proposals; and if he will make a statement; [255731]
(2) what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the UK’s level of financial support for the UN Climate Change Adaptation Fund; and if he will make a statement. [255732]
Joan Ruddock: Discussions were held across Whitehall in preparation for the agreement by parties that 2 per cent. of the share of proceeds from the Certified Emissions Reductions issued for the Clean Development Mechanism will go towards the Adaptation Fund. This international financing mechanism is now in place. The UK Government are working with others on the Adaptation Fund Board to establish sound operational procedures for the Adaptation Fund to ensure that it will meet international fiduciary standards and be an effective mechanism for delivering increased finance where it is needed. The UK Government take the subject of adaptation finance extremely seriously and recognise that the process will be complex and will take time to get right.
The board’s approach to making the fund operational was approved by parties in Poznan, thus enabling it to start operations in 2009. The board is now working to put in place the mechanisms it set out in the approach submitted to parties in Poznan, and the UK continues to play a key role in assisting the board to find innovative ways to enable the fund to become operational this year. The UK was the board’s biggest financial supporter in 2008 (£500,000) and has set aside an additional £500,000 for 2009 to assist the board in its work to set up the necessary operational structures to enable direct access.
Discussions by parties in Poznan revealed weaknesses in the governance structure of the Adaptation Fund, which have restricted the authority and operational efficacy of the board. These will need to be addressed to
ensure that the fund will be able to make decisions on allocation of funding that are not affected by political considerations. This process has been particularly challenging as parties have requested access to funding without the assistance of intermediaries. The international community has thus far relied on these to provide sound fiduciary risk management for international assistance to developing countries. The UK has been playing a key role in the board to find ways to facilitate such direct access to funding.
The UK Government will be considering options for scaling up the movement of international financial assistance through the Adaptation Fund after consideration of the adequacy of the implementation structures the fund will have put in place this year, and in line with our wider objectives on the international financial architecture. It is clear that a blend of options will offer the best prospects of raising the level of funding required. Our vision is of a climate ‘compact’ between developed and developing countries whereby funds are disbursed at scale on the basis of national plans that integrate mitigation and adaptation needs alongside development priorities.
Departmental Buildings
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change by what date he expects his Department's Nuclear Directorate office in Cheltenham to be operational. [255971]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Directorates management team are currently working on the Cheltenham office being operational as soon as possible, subject to contract negotiations and furnishing to make ready for staff.
Departmental Correspondence
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the address of his Department's Nuclear Directorate is. [255970]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Directorate's address is:
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS.
Departmental Manpower
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff of his Department are based at its Nuclear Directorate’s offices in London; and how many are in each civil service pay band. [255972]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Directorate (ND) currently has seven members of staff located at ND’s London based office. The breakdown of staff in each civil service pay band is as follows:
| Civil service pay band | Number of staff | HSE equivalent grade |
In addition ND currently have a further two Health and Safety Executive members of staff on attachment to the directorate working in their London office as follows:
| Civil service pay band | Number of staff | HSE equivalent grade |
Energy: Conservation
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on the use of blinds and awnings as energy efficient products in domestic and commercial property; and whether officials of his Department have met representatives of the blind and awning industry. [256376]
Joan Ruddock: As far as it is possible to establish, DECC Ministers and officials have not met with or received representations from any representatives of this industry.
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has undertaken on the effect on energy efficiency of the use of blinds and awnings in domestic and commercial buildings. [256378]
Joan Ruddock: The Department has undertaken no specific research on the effect on energy efficiency of the use of blinds and awnings in domestic and commercial buildings. Nonetheless, the benefits of blinds and awnings are understood and included in our National Calculation Methodologies, by which building related energy efficiency measures are assessed.
Energy: Finance
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the availability of private finance initiative credits for energy infrastructure projects. [255170]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: DECC does not receive any PFI credits.
Treasury is the Department responsible for allocating PFI credits among Departments.
Environmental Transformation Fund
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change through which sub-funds of bilateral and multilateral organisations Environmental Transformation Fund disbursements will be channelled in the next two years. [256941]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 23 February 2009]: The UK (the Department for International Development (DFID) and my Department) has allocated the £800 million Environmental Transformation Fund to the World Bank-administered Climate Investment Funds. The Climate Investment Funds are divided into the Clean Technology Fund and the Strategic Climate Fund. Sub-programmes of the latter include: the Pilot programme for climate resilience, and two programmes under development: the Forest Investment programme and the Scaling-up Renewable Energy programme. The funds will be administered by the World Bank with individual programmes implemented through any one of the Multilateral Development Banks. Decisions are made by recipient countries on the basis of their country-led investment plans. We expect UN agencies to participate as delivery agents.
More information can be viewed at:
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with which other Government Departments his Department works in administering the Environmental Transformation Fund; what the arrangements are for doing so; and what (a) administrative, (b) accounting and (c) reporting structures are in place for this purpose. [256942]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 232 February 2009]: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The UK (the Department for International Development and my Department) has allocated the £800 million Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF) to the World Bank administered Climate Investment Funds (CIFs). The administration of the funds is overseen across Whitehall by the ETF board consisting of representatives of my Department, the Department for International Development, HM Treasury, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A cross-Whitehall team provides secretariat support to the board for UK administration of the funds.
(b) The funds will be administered by the World Bank with individual programmes implemented through any one of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). The World Bank is the administrator and trustee of the funds. It produces quarterly reports on financial progress and annual audited reports of accounts to the UK.
(c) As a minimum, each MDB will report annually to the Strategic Climate Fund Trust Fund Committee on the monitoring and evaluation it has conducted in accordance with their procedures. The governance framework can be viewed at:
The UK is in discussions with the Clean Technology Fund and Strategic Climate Fund Trust Fund Committees about the best reporting criteria framework for the funds. An independent evaluation of the operations of the Climate Investment Funds and the impact of their activities will be conducted. This will be carried out jointly with the MDBs after three years of operation.
Fuel Poverty
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next expects to release up-to-date figures on the number of people living in fuel poverty. [253731]
Joan Ruddock: The Government intends to publish updated figures on the number of people living in fuel poverty in its next annual progress report on the fuel poverty strategy to be published later in the year.
Members: Correspondence
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letters of 5 November and 9 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare sent on behalf of a constituent, Mr. Richard Cains. [252712]
Joan Ruddock: A letter from the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare was received on 9 December 2008 but not one dated 5 November 2008. My officials have been in contact with his office to request the original letter with the details of his constituent's concerns and I will then reply to the hon. Member.
Nuclear Power Stations: Inspections
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by Veredus on the pay and conditions of nuclear inspectors. [255983]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Veredus report was commissioned by the HSE to inform its consideration of the appropriate remuneration package to retain and recruit the nuclear inspectors it needs. As such it is very pertinent to the ongoing pay negotiations that the HSE is conducting at present as well as the negotiations that will take place in setting ND up as a statutory corporation under HSE auspices. Consequently, it is not considered appropriate to place a copy in the Library at this time.
Nuclear Power: Regulation
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish the full version of Dr Tim Stone’s recommendations to his Department on nuclear regulation following his nuclear regulatory review. [255969]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In January 2008, following the publication of the White Paper on Nuclear Power, the Government asked Dr. Tim Stone to conduct a review of nuclear regulation. On 27 January 2009 we published the Summary Recommendations and a Government Response.
The Summary Recommendations set out all of Dr. Stone’s recommendations. They were supported by private advice to Ministers, which was not intended for publication.
Warm Front Scheme
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the value of the administration fee paid to Eaga in regard to the Warm Front scheme was in each of the last 10 years. [242494]
Joan Ruddock: Eaga has been the main contractor for Warm Front across the country since 2005. Since that point, the administration fees paid have been:
| Administration cost (£) | Percentage t otal of budget | |
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many applications for Warm Front grants have been (a) made and (b) refused in the last 12 months. [253605]
Joan Ruddock: Over the last year Warm Front has received applications from 308,915 households that are entitled to a Warm Front grant. Warm Front does not record the number of ineligible households that approach the scheme seeking assistance.
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