Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 20 May 2009
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department's estate (a) in total and (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08. [276133]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm the actual carbon emissions for the DEFRA office estate and carbon emissions per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff, for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the following table.
| CO 2 emissions from DEFRA offices (kgCO 2 ) | Staff in post | CO 2 emissions per FTE | |
Departmental Water Consumption
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of water consumption on his Department's estate (a) in total and (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07. [276132]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual water consumption on the DEFRA office estate and water consumption per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are presented in the following table:
| Office water consumption (m3) | Office water consumption per FTE (m3) | |
Departmental Energy
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the energy use per full-time equivalent member of staff in his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [276134]
Huw Irranca-Davies:
Energy Efficiency data for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the following table. The increase in energy consumption per full-time equivalent member of staff is a result of improvements to DEFRA's space utilisation and a
reduction in staff numbers. DEFRA staff now occupy a smaller footprint on the office estate which has resulted in an increase in energy useCO2 emissions per FTE.
| Energy consumed by DEFRA estate (kWh) | Energy consumed per DEFRA FTE (kWh/FTE) | |
DEFRA has a programme in place to deliver operational carbon dioxide savings across its estate, with initiatives specifically targeted at improving energy efficiency:
DEFRA has installed 33 voltage regulation units on its estate. This technology significantly reduces energy consumption of a whole building by regulating the voltage level entering the building. Average electricity consumption has reduced by 12 per cent. per site as a result of installing this technology.
Other energy efficiency projects which have been implemented include upgrades to more efficient lighting, improvements to motor energy controls and gas boiler sequencing controls, all of which have delivered significant savings.
Thermal imaging surveys have been undertaken at a number of DEFRA properties. The results of the surveys will inform a programme of works to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings.
DEFRA is currently upgrading its electricity, gas and water meters to ‘Smart meters’ which will provide accurate and up to the minute consumption data. These data will be used to monitor and identify excessive consumption, providing a focus for strategic consumption reduction. The Carbon Trust estimate that savings of between 5 and 10 per cent. can be achieved through the identification of waste through Smart metering.
To further improve operational efficiency, DEFRA has recently revised its requirements for facilities management (FM) provision to incorporate a more sustainable approach to the FM service. The recent Sustainable Workplace Management contract awarded to Interserve, will further enhance DEFRA's capability to further embed sustainability in its operations.
DEFRA has adopted the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme and the entire DEFRA estate, including laboratories, was awarded Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme (EEAS) certification in June 2007.
Departmental Recycling
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the (a) volume and (b) percentage of waste from his Department which was recycled in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08. [276273]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual volume and percentage of waste recycled or recovered by DEFRA, during years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the table.
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
| (1 )Recycled—waste that is recycled, reused externally or composted. (2) Recovered—waste that is recycled, reused externally, composted or incinerated with energy recovery. | ||
It should be noted that DEFRA incinerates approximately 30 per cent. of its waste, from which significant quantity of heat and energy is recovered. Current Sustainable Development Commission reporting does not acknowledge energy recovery from waste incineration as recycling or waste recovery under current Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) guidelines.
Departmental Renewable Energy
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources used in his Department in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [276135]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual percentage of electricity derived from renewable sources, by DEFRA, during years 2006-07 and 2007-08 is presented in the following table.
| Percentage of electricity derived from renewable resources | |
Departmental Waste
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of waste from his Department (a) in total and (b) per full-time equivalent member of staff in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08. [276269]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I can confirm that the actual waste arisings for DEFRA and waste arisings per full-time equivalent member of DEFRA staff, for years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are presented in the following table.
| Total waste (tonnes) | Waste per FTE (tonnes) | |
It should be noted that the waste figure also includes waste generated in DEFRA's laboratories as well as its offices.
Flooding Lessons Learned Review
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what date in June 2009 he expects his next six-monthly progress report on implementing the recommendations made in the Pitt report on flooding to have been published. [276240]
Huw Irranca-Davies: As we previously committed, I expect the Government's next progress report on the implementation of the Pitt recommendations to be published in June.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made in implementing Recommendation
90 of the Pitt Report on flooding; and what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on this matter. [276242]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's review set out what had been implemented before December 2008 and the further steps required to implement its recommendations in the future. This response committed the Government to report further on implementation every six months, beginning in June 2009. The Government are on target to do this in June.
In April we followed up on a letter we issued last December to all local authorities asking chief executives about progress they have made on the Pitt recommendations, whether they have experienced any blockages or difficulties, and what further the Government can do to assist them.
Marine Management Organisation
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what provision he has made to ensure business continuity during the transition period from the Marine and Fisheries Agency to the Marine Management Organisation; [275640]
(2) whether any financial incentives are being offered to staff in the London headquarters of the Marine and Fisheries Agency who are unable to relocate to Tyneside to stay in post during the organisation's transition period for reasons of business continuity rather than to seek early redeployment to another Civil Service post in London. [275641]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Robust action is being taken by the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) to ensure business continuity during the period of relocation of its headquarters to Tyneside and in preparing for the establishment of a new Marine Management Organisation. This includes plans for the timely recruitment of new staff to replace existing staff who will not be relocating. This recruitment will take into account the need for some periods of parallel running between the Tyneside and London offices for a number of teams to allow for training and knowledge transfer.
Recognising the need to retain key staff during the transition period in order to ensure the necessary knowledge transfer, the MFA has instigated a ‘Transition Allowance’. This will be payable to those MFA HQ staff identified as being in key roles and/or with specialist knowledge/skills who have opted not to relocate with their posts and who are prepared to delay their redeployment to another civil service post. It recognises the need to retain key people within the agency’s HQ for an extended period to ensure business continuity and help train new staff.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if he will ensure that all staff in the new Marine Management Organisation will be eligible to apply for the same posts staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency are eligible to apply for, with particular reference to posts advertised only within his Department; [275642]
(2) whether staff in the Marine Management Organisation will be eligible to apply for all posts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change. [275646]
Huw Irranca-Davies: There is an established scheme by which non-departmental public bodies, such as the new Marine Management Organisation (MMO), can be accredited to have access to civil service vacancies. My officials are applying for such accreditation on behalf of the MMO to become effective when the organisation is vested. Initial enquiries reveal that there is no reason why this should not be granted. This will enable MMO staff to apply, on merit, for civil service posts via the civil service ‘Jobs Online’ facility.
MMO staff will be able to apply for DEFRA vacancies that are advertised on the ‘Jobs Online’ site in the same way that MFA staff currently can. Similarly, staff in the MMO will be able to apply for posts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change advertised on ‘Jobs Online’ in the usual way.
The Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) which governs the transfer of civil servants between Departments, suggests that departments should provide an opportunity for staff to return to their original department if they wish. The MFA is currently exploring with DEFRA how this opportunity might be provided to MMO staff in the future.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when the first posts in the Marine and Fisheries Agency earmarked for transfer to the Marine Management Organisation will relocate from London to Tyneside; and when the remaining posts will relocate; [275643]
(2) when he expects to make an announcement of the specific location of the headquarters building for the Marine Management Organisation. [275685]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I hope to be able to announce the new headquarters building shortly.
The Marine and Fisheries Agency is developing a relocation and recruitment plan for the Tyneside headquarters office. Any relocation of existing staff from London to the new HQ site, or transfer of posts to be filled by newly recruited staff in Tyneside, will be progressed in line with this plan. Current thinking is that relocation and recruitment would take place between July and November 2009. This is a broad timeline and some individual relocations may need to happen either earlier or later in order to reflect, where appropriate, personal circumstances.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what provision has been made for (a) financial and (b) other assistance for staff in the coastal offices of the Marine and Fisheries Agency who are considering applying for vacancies in the new Tyneside headquarters of the Marine Management Organisation; [275644]
(2) whether his Department has offered financial assistance to headquarters staff in the Marine and Fisheries Agency to relocate from London to Tyneside. [275690]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |