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16 Mar 2009 : Column 939Wcontinued
As the majority of fuel-poor households also have the lowest incomes, the Government has taken the approach that the most cost-effective, fair and efficient method of identifying vulnerable householders most likely to be at risk of fuel poverty is through the receipt of benefits (primarily means tested).
The Government recognise that not all cancer patients will necessarily be fuel poor or entitled to receive assistance aimed at those most vulnerable to fuel poverty. However, where those cancer patients are in receipt of benefitswhether income or pension relatedwith children under 16 or on disability living allowance, this will qualify them for additional heating and energy efficiency help under the Warm Front Scheme, for example.
Any household can qualify for subsidised energy saving measures from their energy supplier under the carbon emissions reduction target.
Older people are targeted as they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold weather during the winter months and of course the winter fuel payment helps older people with cancer to pay their fuel bills. This year the payment is £250 to over 60s and £400 to over 80s.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what data his Department collects on fuel poverty; how frequently such data are collected; and if he will make a statement. [263140]
Joan Ruddock: The Department publishes data on fuel poverty annually. The data used to calculate fuel poverty estimates for England come from the English House Condition Survey (EHCS), compiled by the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG), and energy price information, published by DECC. The EHCS collects data on features of each dwelling, including fuel sources and efficiency measures, which enable energy required to achieve the adequate standard of warmth to be derived.
The EHCS also collects information on householders, such as their income. Combining required energy consumption with prices and incomes, each dwelling covered in the survey is classified as either fuel poor or not, and the results aggregated to produce data for the whole of England. The EHCS additionally contains a range of other data that allow DECC to split fuel poverty by various other measures, for example, age of householders, type of dwelling, etc.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which power stations of over 50 MW capacity are connected to the national grid in each (a) Government Office region, (b) local authority area and (c) constituency. [257602]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Details of UK power stations together with their capacity and region are published under section 5.11 of the Digest of United Kingdom energy statistics (DUKES) available at:
A list of power stations of over 50 MW capacity, together with the Government office region, local authority area and constituency in which each are located, is annexed.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the Government will publish a national policy statement for gas storage. [255164]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are preparing a national policy statement on gas storage and gas supply infrastructure. There will be a suite of national policy statements covering the energy sector. The NPSs are important documents, and it is essential that they are fit for purpose and give the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) clear guidance on how to take decisions. The gas supply infrastructure NPS is one of the NPSs to be published in draft in the summer for public consultation and then designated in early 2010.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which existing nuclear power stations he expects to be generating electricity at the end of (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018 and (e) 2019. [257588]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: There are currently 10 nuclear power stations in operation across England, Scotland and Wales, providing around 16 per cent. of the electricity generated in the UK. In 10 years time, we expect three of these stations, with nearly 3.7 GW of capacity, still to be open.
Projected closure dates for the UKs nuclear power stations that are expected to be generating electricity between 2015-19 and beyond are as follows:
Station | Owner | Projected closure date |
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many he expects to be decommissioned in each of the next 10 years. [259496]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Current operational nuclear power stations owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and British Energy will be at various stages of decommissioning within the next 10 years, although none will have been completely decommissioned.
The current scheduled closure dates of operational nuclear power stations, at which point they enter their decommissioning phase, are as follows:
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority | |
Year | |
British Energy | |
Year | |
The following Magnox stations have already entered their decommissioning phase (with dates of generation in brackets).
Berkeley (1962 to 1989)
Bradwell (1962 to 2002)
Calder Hall (1956 to 2003)
Chapelcross (1959 to 2004)
Dungeness A (1965 to 2006)
Hinkley Point A (1965 to 2000)
Hunterston A (1964 to 1989)
Sizewell A (1966 to 2006)
Trawsfynydd (1965 to 1991).
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate of the cost of nuclear clean-up is. [263565]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The latest estimate of the lifetime cost of dealing with the nuclear legacy is set out in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's 2007-08 annual report and accounts. The total discounted estimate is £44.1 billion (comprising £40.7 billion for its core mission at 19 legacy sites; and a further £3.4 billion for the construction and lifetime costs of a deep geological disposal facility). These are the total lifetime cost based on a plan that takes a hundred years or more to complete.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the reasons are for the disbanding of the Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee. [264020]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee is one of several advisory committees that advise the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It reached the end of its latest term of office in October 2008. The HSE Board decided to defer any decisions on reconstituting the committee pending the outcome of various reviews. This included taking account of the recommendations of Dr. Tim Stone's review of nuclear regulatory arrangements, which were published in January 2009.
One of Dr. Stone's recommendations accepted by the Government was to restructure the HSE's Nuclear Directorate through legislation. The future make-up of any advisory body needs to follow decisions on these arrangements.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) planned and (b) unplanned power cuts there have been in (i) Stroud constituency, (ii) Gloucestershire and (iii) England in each of the last five years; what the average number of power cuts in each county in England was in each of those years; and if he will make a statement. [248137]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for power interruptions are collected for each distribution service area, not by constituency or county. Each household or meter point experiencing a power cut is counted as one interruption.
In the Central Networks West distribution area (which covers the counties of the West Midlands, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire) there have been in the region of 13.9 million unplanned interruptions in the last five years.
In the same area during the same five year period there were in the region of 760,000 planned interruptions.
It is not possible to provide accurate figures for England only, as one distribution service area overlaps England and Wales. However, in England and Wales there were in the region of 96 million unplanned interruptions in the last five years and 4.9 million planned interruptions.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) planned and (b) unplanned power cuts there have been in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years. [249057]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for power interruptions are collected for each distribution service area, not by town or county. Each household or meter point experiencing a power cut is counted as one interruption.
Hemel Hempstead and Hertfordshire are in EDF Energy Networks' EPN distribution service area. There have been in the region of 13 million unplanned interruptions and 580,000 planned interruptions in EDF Energy Networks' EPN area in the last five years.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many combined heat and power stations there are in the UK. [263097]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: At the end of 2007, the latest date for which information is available, there were 1,438 combined heat and power stations in the UK.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what percentage of renewable energy generated in the UK was generated in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [263054]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The most recently available data are for 2007. Of the 19,668 GWh of electricity generated from renewable sources, 49 per cent. was generated in England, 42 per cent. in Scotland, 7 per cent. in Wales and 2 per cent. in Northern Ireland.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount of energy from each type of renewable source was generated (a) in North Wales, including offshore and (b) in each English region, in each year for which figures are available. [263102]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information on electricity generated in North Wales and for each region of England is not available. This is because at regional level such information would disclose data for individual generating companies.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make it his policy to require a buffer zone of two kilometres between a wind turbine and the nearest inhabited dwelling for any new planning application; and if he will make a statement. [262143]
Mr. Iain Wright: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 May 2008, given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald), Official Report, column 1637W.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009, Official Report, columns 581-2W, on 10 Downing Street, if he will place in the Library a copy of the list of the retail prices for each item of merchandise. [258622]
Kevin Brennan: The merchandise products listed are unsubsidised and are available for staff to purchase on a not-for-profit basis. Current prices range from £0.40 for a card to £49.44 for the No. 10 door model.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2008, Official Report, column 835W, on Futurebuilders: Catz Club, on what date the decision was taken to write off the funding given to Catz Club. [249961]
Mr. Byrne: The decision to write off the funding given to Catz Club was recommended by the Futurebuilders England Ltd. Investment Committee on 5 February 2008 and confirmed by the Futurebuilders England Board on 19 March 2008.
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