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16 July 2009 : Column 590W—continued
| Royal Air Force | ||
| As at 6 July 2009 | Required strength | Actual strength |
| Defence Helicopter Flying School | ||
| As at 6 July 2009 | Required strength | Actual strength |
Required and actual strengths will both vary with time due to many factors including operational requirements, the introduction of newly trained crew on completion of training courses at set times during the year, the number of trained personnel assigned to non-flying duties (as part of the necessary broader career development), injuries, and service leavers.
In addition, the RAF is going through a high level of change with aircrafts drawing down, going through structure change, forming new squadrons or bringing new aircraft into service. Therefore, crew figures are fluctuating on a daily basis.
The helicopter fleet is managed to ensure that our operational and other commitments are met, including an 84 per cent. increase in flying hours in Afghanistan between November 2006 and April 2009.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) required and (b) actual number of pilots in the armed forces is for the Sea King HAR3/3A helicopters. [284780]
Bill Rammell: The required and actual number of pilots in the armed forces for the Sea King HAR3/3A helicopters is given in the following table:
| Aircraft type: Sea King HAR3/3A | |
| Number | |
A difference between the 'required' and 'actual' number of pilots is to be expected. The variation is due to a number of factors such as promotion, assignment to other aircraft or ground posts, medical downgrading and leaving the service.
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the merits of deploying single propeller-driven aircraft in theatre for ground attack and surveillance. [286440]
Bill Rammell: Commanders on the ground already have access to a broad range of surveillance and ground attack capabilities and, while we keep our requirements under constant review, there are currently no plans to deploy manned, single propeller-driven aircraft for ground attack or surveillance. We have though deployed the unmanned single propeller aircraft, UK Reaper and Hermes 450, in surveillance roles, with UK Reaper also providing a ground attack capability.
Energy and Climate Change
Board of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how the performance of the Board of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority in meeting its first priority to consumers is measured. [286256]
Mr. Kidney: The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (the authority) and its executive arm, Ofgem, have a primary duty to protect the interests of existing and future consumers.
The authority is an independent economic regulator and is accountable to Parliament rather than to the Government. The Government nonetheless works closely with the authority and Ofgem in order to assess the operation of the market and outcomes for consumers, while respecting the regulator's independence.
Carbon Sequestration
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the statement on 23 April 2009, Official Report, columns 382-84, on coal carbon capture and storage, whether any recent changes have been made to his Department's policy for the phased scaling of carbon capture and storage demonstration plants. [283180]
Mr. Kidney: The detailed terms of the competition are not yet finalised. The overarching objectives of the CCS demonstration competition remain as stated in the Project Information Memorandum. A copy can be found at
Carbon Sequestration: Scotland
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with Scottish energy companies on carbon capture and storage at power stations in Scotland. [285957]
Mr. Kidney
Energy companies are key stakeholders of the Department of Energy and Climate Change and have an active interest in almost every aspect of the
Department's work. The Department has regular and wide-ranging discussions with organisations and power companies about carbon capture and storage, including those with power stations based in Scotland.
Coal Investment Aid
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much Coal Investment Aid has been paid out in each parliamentary constituency. [285090]
Mr. Kidney: A total of £52.8 million of Coal Investment Aid was paid to 12 mines during 2003-04 to 2008-09. Payments by constituency were as follows:
| Constituency | Mine | Operator | CIA paid (£) |
| (1) Mine closed or mothballed before total awarded was drawn down in full. (2) Mine closed owing to exhaustion of viable reserves in 2008. (3) Mine sold to present operator after CIA drawn down in full under UKC. | |||
Committee on Climate Change
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what remuneration his Department provides for the (a) Chair and (b) Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change; what the contracted hours of work of the Chairman are; and if he will make a statement. [284494]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 6 July 2009]: The chair of the Committee on Climate Change involves an average time commitment of approximately four days per month with a payment of £1,000 a day.
The chief executive's current salary is £85,000 plus a bonus of between 10-20 per cent. of salary subject to performance targets being exceeded.
Departmental Accountancy
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to publish his Department's resource accounts for 2008-09. [287336]
Joan Ruddock: DECC expects to publish the 2008-09 resource accounts on 20 July 2009.
Departmental Data Protection
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what databases which will be managed by his Department or its agency and which will contain personal information are (a) under construction and (b) expected to become operational in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [286501]
Joan Ruddock: No such databases are under construction or expected to become operational within the next five years.
Departmental Databases
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information databases his Department (a) maintain and (b) uses which contain personal information. [284397]
Joan Ruddock: The Department holds a large number of databases ranging in size. These include corporate databases, access databases held by units within the Department and a large number of spreadsheets of data of which certainly the larger and more sophisticated could be described as fulfilling a database function. The vast majority of these databases and systems can be expected to a greater or lesser extent to contain personal data. It is not possible due to disproportionate costs to identify those databases which do not contain personal data.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what categories of personal information about members of the public are contained on each relevant database managed by his Department and its agencies; on what date each category of information began to be collected; and if he will make a statement. [285985]
Joan Ruddock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has registered all the purposes for which it processes personal data in form of a notification which is held by the Information Commissioner's Office, and is publicly available on the Data Protection Registry. The notification contains categories of data subject for each registered purpose; recipients to whom DECC intends to disclose the data and name or a description of any countries or territories outside the European economic area to which DECC transfers or intends to transfer the data.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what categories of personal information on members of the public will be held on each database expected to become operational in the next five years and which will be managed by his Department; what estimate he has made of the likely number of individuals' details each such database will hold when fully operational; and if he will make a statement. [286138]
Joan Ruddock: DECC has no such databases under construction or expected to become operational within the next five years.
Departmental Press
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what (a) newspapers and (b) periodicals are delivered to the private office of each Minister in his Department; and at what cost in the latest period for which figures are available. [279417]
Joan Ruddock: The private office group within the Department receives copies of The Financial Times , Observer, Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, The Sun, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Economist, Spectator and New Statesman. The costs of the newspapers are met by the communications group as part of a central contract.
EC Law
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of statutory obligations provided for by legislation on matters for which his Department is responsible which were introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the latest period for which figures are available. [281866]
Mr. Kidney: It is very difficult to provide precise figures for the proportion of UK legislation that stems from the European Union.
The administrative burdens measurement exercise carried out by the Government in 2006 put the proportion of administrative burdens stemming from the EU at approximately one-third of the total administrative burden.
The important issue is not the origins of legislation, which could of course be a devolved Administration or a local authority, as well as the Government or the EU, but the quality of the regulation. All regulations, irrespective of their origins, should comply with the principles of better regulation. Regulations should be risk based, proportionate and well designed, so as to achieve their objectives while also keeping costs to a minimum. The Government continue to work with European partners to ensure that EU regulations meet these standards.
Energy
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage the development of products and services designed to meet the energy needs of older people. [284644]
Mr. Kidney: The Department has negotiated a voluntary agreement with energy companies under which they will contribute £125 million this year and £150 million in 2010-11 to measures designed to address the energy needs of vulnerable consumers including the elderly.
Energy companies must meet at least 40 per cent. of their carbon emissions reduction target obligations in a priority group of low-income consumers who are in receipt of benefits or are aged 70 and over. The DECC funded warm front scheme offers energy efficiency measures to householders, including those over 60, in receipt of qualifying benefits. In addition, the Department is developing its approach to the roll-out of smart metering, which will take into account its impact on the elderly.
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