| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
4 Jun 2009 : Column 629W—continued
Members: Correspondence
Steve Webb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reply to the letter of 19 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Northavon sent on behalf of Mr. I Hill of Wick on consumer protection. [269023]
Mr. Thomas: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding. I answered the hon. Member's correspondence on 3 June.
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when a reply will be sent to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 18 March 2009, transferred from the Treasury on 27 March, PO Ref: 1/69691/2009), about tax. [277102]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 1 June 2009]: I responded to the hon. Member on 14 May. I apologise for the delay which was caused by the current high volumes of correspondence.
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 17 March 2009 on problems with a business. [278094]
Mr. McFadden: I apologise to the right hon. Member for the delay in responding. The right hon. Member will receive a response shortly by the relevant Minister.
Energy and Climate Change
Tidal Impoundment
7. Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the viability of tidal impoundment schemes for electricity generation. [277924]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Severn Tidal Power feasibility study led by my Department is investigating the potential for tidal impoundment in the Severn Estuary. Work so far suggests that three barrage and two lagoon options are potentially commercially and technically viable.
Estuaries: Electricity Generation
8. Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which estuaries in Great Britain are being considered for possible electricity-generating barrages; and if he will make a statement. [277925]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Tidal power generation is under consideration by the Government in the Severn Estuary, and by private business consortia and community interest groups in a number of other estuaries including the Mersey, the Solway Firth and the Thames.
Policy Adaptation
9. Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss Government policy on adaptation to climate change. [277927]
Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and DECC officials meet regularly with colleagues in DEFRA to discuss a range of issues, including adapting to climate change.
It is essential that our Departments work closely together, so that our work on managing the impacts of climate change in the UK complements and reinforces our work to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Nuclear Waste Export
10. Mr. John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next plans to review the effectiveness of the law on the export of nuclear waste; and if he will make a statement. [277928]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Current legislation, some put in place as recently as December, effectively controls the export of nuclear waste.
Carbon Capture
11. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the current efficacy of carbon capture technologies in coal-fired power stations. [277932]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: There are a few small scale CCS pilots operating successfully around the world already. The real issue now is large commercial-scale demonstration and we announced in April plans to support up to four such demonstration projects in the UK.
Offshore Wind Farms
12. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next expects to meet representatives of renewable energy companies to discuss offshore wind farms. [277935]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: DECC Ministers and officials regularly meet renewable energy companies. For example, I am scheduled to speak at the British Wind Energy Association’s Offshore Wind conference on 24 June.
Coal-fired Power Stations
13. Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his timetable is for consultation on the framework for development of new coal-fired power stations; and if he will make a statement. [277937]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We plan to publish it soon.
Carbon Sequestration
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the establishment of plants to demonstrate carbon capture and storage technology; and if he will make a statement. [277930]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
In Budget 2009, the Government announced plans to accelerate the demonstration of carbon capture and storage. This included the
announcement of £90 million of public funding for FEED studies. The competition is now moving to the next stage of invitation to negotiate.
In addition, the Chancellor announced proposals to expand our demonstration effort through a financial mechanism to support up to four demonstration projects, including the competition.
Climate Change: USA
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met his US counterpart to discuss climate change. [277931]
Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has held a number of discussions with senior figures in the US administration, including the Climate Change Envoy and the Secretary of Energy during his recent visit to Washington and during subsequent discussions at the US-chaired Major Economies Forum and in the margins of other multilateral meetings.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) BlackBerry devices and (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since its creation. [274474]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department uses BlackBerrys and mobile phones provided by both the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The detailed process of reallocating resources from these Departments has not yet been completed and losses of these devices will be included in any BERR or DEFRA returns.
Energy: Meters
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects smart meters to have been installed in every home in North West Leicestershire constituency. [277933]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Last year the Government announced their intention to mandate smart metering for all households. This will be a major project involving the installation of about 47 million smart meters. There is a substantial programme of work to complete to prepare for the roll-out, but we have set an indicative timetable for a completion of the roll-out by the end of 2020.
Warm Front Scheme
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints he has received about the operation of the Warm Front scheme in 2009. [277934]
Joan Ruddock: The Department has only recorded the number of complaints it has received about Warm Front since the beginning of April this year. Up until the end of May, DECC has received 275 expressions of dissatisfaction with the scheme.
Wind Power
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward measures to promote community ownership of wind energy generation. [277926]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government currently support community energy projects through the Renewables Obligations and the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.
We have committed to feed-in tariffs for renewable energy generation, from April 2010.
Within the context of the Renewable Energy Strategy the Government are considering options for greater community involvement in the development of renewables projects.
Wind Power: Health Hazards
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effect of the operation of wind turbines on public health. [277936]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and his officials have had discussion with relevant Government Departments, including the Department of Health, on the content of the suite of energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) being introduced under the Planning Act 2008. This will include guidance on the effects of wind turbines.
The Government’s Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 22 on renewable energy sets out the Government’s policies for renewable energy, which planning authorities should have regard to when preparing local development documents and when taking planning decisions.
Home Department
Asylum
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of asylum cases were brought to a conclusion, including appeals, (a) within two months, (b) between two and six months, (c) between six and 12 months and (d) over 12 months in each of the last five years. [242777]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 16 December 2008]: Data on conclusion performance by year of application are only available from the introduction of end-to-end processing of new asylum applications in April 2006. Prior to that date, performance targets were based on the length of time it took to reach an initial decision on an asylum application, rather than the length of time it took to conclude a case.
The PSA Delivery Agreement 3, Indicator 2 refers to the reduction in the time to conclusion of asylum application. The measure is to ensure a target percentage of cases should be resolved within six months as per the following:
35 per cent. by end of April 2007;
40 per cent. by end of December 2007;
60 per cent. by end of December 2008;
75 per cent. by end of December 2009;
90 per cent. by end of December 2011.
The method of reporting against the target is based on the performance of the specific monthly cohort of cases reaching six months. Hence all reporting is done against a six months timeframe. A cohort is specified as those new applications received between 1st and 31st of each month.
The conclusion measurement requires applications to be granted asylum or some form of leave to remain in the UK, allowed at appeal or removed within 182 days (six months) to be counted as concluded.
Performance against the targets has been published in National Statistics as follows:
38 per cent. of new applications received in September 2006 were concluded in six months by the end of by April 2007;
46 per cent. of new applications received in June 2007 were concluded in six months by the end of December 2007;
62 per cent. of new applications received in June 2008 were concluded in six months by the end of December 2008.
Published information is not available in relation to conclusion of applications in timescales other than six months.
Borders: Personal Records
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training UK Border Agency staff will receive as part of the introduction of e-borders. [269240]
Jacqui Smith: e-Borders is being rolled out in a phased approach. In advance of each phase, a dedicated team will work closely with the business to identify staff affected and assess any required learning needs.
A detailed Learning Needs Assessment, Strategy and Plan for Phase 1 has been delivered and accepted and the same approach for Phase 2 is in development and will be delivered in time for roll out has been designed to support delivery. Training will be delivered either directly from the e-Borders team, or via the “Train the Trainer” format, using existing agency trainers in the business.
Training includes the skills and knowledge required to use the system and the necessary behavioural changes to support this. Data handling and security of personal data will be an integral part of the training.
Crime
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1278W, on crime: statistics, which classification each of these offences now belongs to. [262496]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is given in the table. Data under these new offence classifications will be presented for the first time in the annual crime statistics to be published in July 2009.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |