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2 Mar 2009 : Column 1328W—continued
The proportion of UK greenhouse gas emissions from (a) travel (b) domestic use (residential) (c) agriculture UK for each of the last three years are shown in the following table. Emission reporting in the UK can be broken down into individual gases, and also by ‘source’ and on an ‘end user’ basis. For ‘end user’ the emissions are reallocated from the production and distribution of energy to the users of that energy. The main difference between source and end user emissions comes from the treatment of emissions from combustion of fossil fuels, the largest source of carbon dioxide in most countries. To derive emissions by end user, emissions from power stations and other fuel processing industries have been re-allocated to end users on an approximate basis according to their use of the fuel. Emissions by end user are subject to more uncertainty than emissions by source and should only be used to give a broad indication of emissions by sector.
Table 1 following shows greenhouse gas emissions by source category 2005-07.
| Table 1: Greenhouse gas emissions by source (2005-07) for national communication categories of travel, residential and agriculture (2007 final figures, February 2009) | ||||||
| Proportions (percentage) | Million tonnes CO 2 equivalent | |||||
| Category | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
Please also see table 2 following to see the latest available greenhouse gas emission figures using end user categories. The latest data available for end user are up to 2006.
| Table 2: Greenhouse gas emissions by end user (2004-06) for national communication categories of travel, residential and agriculture (2007 provisional figures, March 2008) | ||||||
| Proportions (percentage) | Million tonnes CO 2 equivalent | |||||
| Category | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
Please also note that the differences in the totals in greenhouse gas emissions between each year is due to revisions in data. These are the official National Statistics.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire dated 2 December 2008 on cancer patients’ fuel bills. [255349]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 9 February 2009]: I replied to the hon. Member on 23 February and apologise for the delay, which was due to departmental reorganisation.
Nuclear Power: Consultants
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009, Official Report, columns 1431-2W, on nuclear power: consultants, what the total monetary value is of the contracts with each of the consultants engaged in connection with the generic design assessment. [255964]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has engaged a range of external bodies and individuals to assist it with various technical aspects, process assurance and organisation of generic design assessment. The value, in connection with the Generic Design Assessment, of existing contracts is as follows:
| GDA cost (£) | |
| Contractors: (listed in columns 1431W) | |
Not included are Technical Support Contractors (TSC) for GDA that are still pending. In line with the GDA Delivery plan, TSC costs will increase significantly in
the next two years. Requesting Parties are aware of potential costs and receive annual estimates that are also updated quarterly.
Values in table are contract values not annual costs.
Power Stations: EC Law
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) whether his Department has plans to apply for a derogation from the EU large combustion plant directive; [256157]
(2) what discussions he has had with (a) EU institutions and (b) energy companies on applications for derogations from the EU large combustion plant directive. [256158]
Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
The large combustion plants directive (2001/20/EC) contains no derogations for which the United Kingdom has to apply and therefore no discussions with EU institutions have been necessary. It is open to the competent authority (the Environment Agency in England and Wales) to apply such derogations as are mentioned in the directive as it sees fit in the light of discussion with the plant operator concerned.
Public Sector: Computers
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) thin computing and (b) environmentally-friendly computing practices in the public sector. [250068]
Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
DEFRA carefully considered the promotion of ‘thin’ clients, which are centrally managed computers with most of the function of the system located in a central server room. However, evidence to date has shown that the increased electricity consumption of these server rooms (e.g. through the air conditioning needed to cool the room) renders this technology less attractive than previously thought from an energy efficiency perspective.
The Government’s “Greening ICT Strategy” published last year sets out a strategy for reducing the environmental impact of Government’s computer systems. One of their main aims is to make the energy consumption of our ICT systems carbon neutral by 2012. We also mandated a set of minimum environmental standards for commonly-purchased products, including ICT.
Solar Power
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has conducted into excitonic solar cells. [255157]
Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Technology Strategy Board, funded through the Department's Science and Research, and Innovation Budgets respectively, support a portfolio of research into excitonic solar cells.
The EPSRC's current portfolio on excitonic solar research totals £10 million and includes £1.1 million for the SUPERGEN Excitonic Solar Cells Consortium.
The Technology Strategy Board currently has two collaborative R&D projects in this area providing total grant support of £833,000.
Basic and applied research funded by both organisations in areas such as materials and plastic electronics is relevant, but not captured in these figures.
Warm Front Scheme
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made towards his Department’s target to provide free loft insulation for pensioners over 70 to date; and if he will make a statement. [257522]
Joan Ruddock: The Department do not have a target to provide free loft insulation to pensioners over 70. However, the Government do have an ambition to help all households meet their energy efficiency potential by 2020, where practical. As a key contribution, we have set the major energy suppliers ambitious household carbon saving targets, which they meet through promoting subsidised energy efficiency measures. 40 per cent. of their targets have to be met in a priority group of vulnerable households on qualifying benefits and aged 70 and over. Currently, all six obligated suppliers offer priority group households free loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, where none exists, subject to a survey of the property. Under the supplier obligation, around 1.5 million priority group households have received loft insulation since the scheme first began in April 2002.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Apprentices
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to his Department's press release of 7 January 2009, on additional apprentices, how many of the 35,000 additional apprenticeship places for 2009-10 are additional to those referred to in his Department's press release of 8 December 2008. [254504]
Mr. Simon: The volume of apprenticeships we planned for 2009-10 were set out in my Department’s grant letter of 18 November 2008 to the Learning and Skills Council.
All the 35,000 apprenticeship places announced on 7 January 2009 are additional to these planned volumes. Our press release of 8 December 2008 highlighted high street companies that are expanding their apprenticeship programmes and therefore helping us towards our ambitions for significant growth in the apprenticeship programme. Clearly, we will need to explore whether these companies and other employers, both large and small, across the public, private and third sectors can do more to help us provide extra places. Our national advertising campaign which started this week and the new National Apprenticeship Service will promote the value of apprenticeships to employers to ensure we deliver jobs and training for young people and adults. This will build further on the record number of apprenticeship starts and completions delivered last year; the best since 1997.
Since 1997 we have witnessed a renaissance in apprenticeships from a low point of 65,000 to a record 225,000 apprenticeship starts in 2007-08. Completion
rates are also at a record high with 64 per cent. successfully completing an apprenticeship—up from 37 per cent. in 2004-05.
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