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5 May 2009 : Column 52W—continued
| Low carbon buildings programme phase 2 | |||
| £ | |||
| Ribble Valley constituency | Lancashire | England | |
Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of grant applications received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme from the London borough of Bexley have been successful in each year since the scheme began; and how much has been paid in such grants in each year. [270924]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The number of grant applications received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme from the London borough of Bexley which have been successful in each year since the scheme began; and how much has been paid in such grants in each year are as shown in the following table:
| Number of grants offered | Grant amount (£) | Number of grants paid | Payment amount (£) | |
The Energy Saving Trust only hold data by local authority area for domestic grants and so non-domestic grants are not included in the data.
However under Phase 2 of the scheme there has been one application from the London borough of Bexley which has also been successful in obtaining a grant of £64,000.
Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many grant applications have been received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in respect of (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) other public buildings in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each year since the scheme began. [271262]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The number of grant applications that have been received by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in respect of (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) other public buildings in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each year since the scheme began are tabled as follows:
| Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 1 | ||||
| Communities | ||||
| Hertfordshire | Hemel Hempstead | |||
| 2006-07 | Number of applications | Grant offered (£) | Number of applications | Grant offered (£) |
| Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 | |||
| £ | |||
| Hemel Hempstead | Hertfordshire | ||
Nuclear Power: Finance
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what cost recovery will be applied to operators of nuclear plants in respect of the proportion of the public investment in new transmission links relating to distribution of nuclear generated electricity arising from the programme for uplifting national infrastructure set out at paragraph 3.31 of the Government document New Industry, New Jobs, published on 20 April 2009. [271758]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The costs for providing grid infrastructure for all forms of electricity generation, including nuclear are recovered from generators via National Grid’s charging methodology at:
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the subsidy to support low carbon energy industries under the fund announced in the New Industry, New Jobs programme on 20 April 2009 is available to support nuclear energy projects. [271759]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: On 22 April, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £750 million Strategic Investment Fund to support advanced industrial projects of strategic importance. £250 million of this fund will be earmarked for low carbon investments. Decisions on how his will be spent will be made in the coming weeks.
Government acknowledge the role of nuclear power in the global move to a low carbon economy. Government anticipate helping to ensure business in the UK is able to make the most of the opportunities available in low carbon industries, including the global civil nuclear industry, by supporting strategic investments, including by using allocations from the fund where appropriate. This forms part of the Government’s Low Carbon Industrial Strategy.
Parliamentary Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to answer question 246697, tabled by the right hon. Member for Wokingham on 12 January 2009, on attendance at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan. [269343]
Joan Ruddock: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave today to his question 246697.
Renewable Energy
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of homes he estimates will be supplied with electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. [271085]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK renewable energy strategy consultation document set out scenarios for deployment of renewable energy needed to meet the UK’s share of the EU renewable energy target. The central scenario presented in the consultation document:
suggested that the UK might need to produce around 32 per cent. electricity demand by 2020.
Total energy demand for the domestic sector in 2020 (around 30 million homes) was estimated at the time of the consultation to be around 105 to 110TWh, around 28.5 per cent. electricity demand.
In reality households will receive their electricity from a mixture of fuel types and not all renewable electricity generated will be supplied to domestic households. These figures will be updated in the renewable energy strategy.
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of homes are supplied by electricity from renewable energy sources. [271086]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In 2007, the UK generated 19,664 GWh of electricity from renewable sources, sufficient for around 4.2 million homes, based on the average household electricity consumption of 4,670 KWh (just over 16 per cent. of UK homes).
In reality households will receive their electricity from a mixture of fuel types and not all renewable electricity generated will be supplied to domestic households.
Warm Front Scheme
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many times his Department's officials have discussed complaints made by the hon. Member for Bassetlaw about Warm Front with Eaga (a) by telephone, (b) by electronic and written correspondence and (c) in meetings. [265989]
Joan Ruddock: The Department has not discussed such complaints with Eaga by means of written or electronic correspondence and does not record phone calls made to Eaga. Such complaints, however, have been discussed on two occasions in meetings between officials and Eaga and as my hon. Friend is aware he and I met to discuss these issues on April 30.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2009, Official Report, column 933W, on the Warm Front scheme, when he expects his Department’s review of the eligibility criteria for the Warm Front scheme to be concluded. [266664]
Joan Ruddock: A number of changes to the Warm Front scheme were announced on 23 April, including increases to the maximum grants—from £2,700 to £3,500 for those properties on the gas grid, and from £4,000 to £6,000 for harder to treat properties off the gas grid.
A review of fuel poverty policies is currently under way with initial findings expected in early summer. The review is examining whether we can make existing fuel poverty policies more effective, including exploring whether we can identify and target assistance at the most vulnerable households more effectively.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Departmental Responsibilities
John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what contribution his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit has made to the development of Government policy on energy in the last 12 months; [272074]
(2) what the (a) remit and (b) budget of his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit is for 2009-10; [272075]
(3) what arrangements are in place to ensure the effective co-ordination of activities between his Department's Energy and Climate Change Unit and the Department for Energy and Climate Change; [272076]
Mr. McFadden: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is responsible for energy and climate change policy. The Energy and Climate Change Unit in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was set up in autumn 2008 following the formation of the new DECC. BERR has a remit to work within Whitehall as the ‘voice for business’ on all policy areas where business might have an interest. The Unit therefore works closely with DECC and other Whitehall Departments to ensure that business views are fully taken into account in the development of energy and climate change policies. The Unit represents BERR interests on cross-departmental groups, led by DECC, tasked with delivering the Government's energy and climate change objectives. The Climate Change Projects Office is also located within the Unit and promotes UK private sector involvement and opportunities in the international carbon market.
The 2009-10 administration costs budget for the Unit is being finalised at present. Programme requirements will be met from the Department's business sponsorship budget.
Home Information Packs
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009, Official Report, column 952W, on home information packs, how many notifications the Office of Fair Trading has received of penalty charge notices being issued in relation to home information pack duties; and in respect of which local authority areas. [270187]
Mr. Thomas: In general terms, and subject to transitional arrangements, under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 estate agents have been required to commission a Home Information Pack (HIP) prior to marketing a property.
A local authority can serve a penalty charge notice (PCN) on the estate agent if they fail to comply with these duties. The local authority is required to advise the OFT of any PCN it issues. However it is not required to notify the OFT of every infringement it detects or other types of enforcement action it has taken such as advice, verbal or written warnings etc.
The OFT was notified of one PCN that had been issued, but this was subsequently withdrawn by the issuing authority.
The OFT is aware that other enforcement action has been taken by local authorities in relation to duties under the HIPs regime but that did not result in PCNs being issued. This information will be held by individual services and has not been formally reported to the OFT.
Post Offices: Bank Services
Kate Hoey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what the percentage split of profits arising from the joint venture between Post Office Ltd and the Bank of Ireland is. [273086]
(2) what cash profit Post Office Ltd has made as a result of the joint venture with the Bank of Ireland. [273087]
Mr. McFadden: These are operational and commercial matters for Post Office Ltd.
I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of Post Office Ltd., to reply direct to my hon. Friend. Copies of the letters will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
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