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16 July 2009 : Column 600W—continued
Low Carbon Loans
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much new funding for low-carbon loans announced in Budget 2009 will be provided through the Carbon Trust in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) subsequent years. [285097]
Mr. Kidney: Budget 2009 announced £100 million for loans to help small and medium sized businesses install energy saving measure. Of this, up to £83.9 million is available in England through the Carbon Trust. This comprises up to £67.1 million in 2009-10 and up to £16.8 million in 2010-11. This funding operates for two financial years only. The trust's existing loan scheme will continue to provide funding for loans in future years.
Budget 2009 also provided £65 million for loans to install energy efficiency measures in public sector organisations. Of this, up to £54.5 million is available in England in 2009-10 through Salix Finance, a subsidiary of the Carbon Trust.
For both schemes the remainder of the funds announced goes to the devolved Administrations.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letter of 10 June 2009 from the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on his constituent Mr. Thomson. [287385]
Joan Ruddock: My noble Friend the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change responded to the right hon. Member on 13 July, 2009.
Miners: Compensation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many personal addresses of former mineworkers his Department and its predecessors have supplied to the Legal Complaints Service to assist them in reclaiming fees wrongly charged by solicitors and claims handlers. [286882]
Mr. Kidney: The Department provided 3,651 living claimant addresses from the Rother Valley constituency to the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) in July 2007, following which each individual claimant was written to and invited to attend an information session headed by my right hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Mr. Barron).
There have been no further requests to date.
Nuclear Power Stations: Construction
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the first of the new nuclear power stations to be producing energy for the National Grid. [287010]
Mr. Kidney: Government remain committed to enabling new nuclear build as soon as possible. The indicative timeline we published in January 2009, set out that we expect the first new nuclear power station to become operational in 2018, or sooner if possible.
Nuclear Power Stations: Security
Mr. Dai Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many reports of
breaches of exclusion zones around nuclear facilities by airborne craft have been filed by operators of civil nuclear installations in each year since 2003; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such report. [281297]
Paul Clark: I have been asked to reply.
Since 2003, the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) aviation regulation enforcement department have investigated 12 reports of alleged breaches of the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying)(Nuclear Installations) Regulations 2002. These reports are summarised in the following table:
Nuclear Power: Job Creation
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will discuss with the energy industry the employment opportunities for British workers arising from any programme to build new nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement. [287065]
Mr. Kidney: There are already 44,000 workers employed in the civil nuclear industry in the UK. New nuclear build in the UK has the potential to require thousands of workers and Government are working to ensure that the contribution of UK workers to nuclear new build projects is maximised. The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and Low Carbon Industrial Strategy published yesterday (15 July) explains this in more detail.
We are already taking action to make sure that Britain will have the skills base to make the most of these opportunities. Specifically we are improving science provision in schools, have charged the Sector Skills Council with taking forward a training strategy, and have helped set up the National Skills Academy for Nuclear to improve the supply of specialist skills at all levels. In addition, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is conducting a review of productivity and skills in the engineering construction sector which will establish whether there is anything more Government or industry can do to ensure British firms and workers are fully equipped to fill vital jobs in nuclear new build and other large scale engineering construction.
DECC Ministers have regular discussions with the energy industry about skills development issues relating to new nuclear build. In addition the Office for Nuclear Development (OND) in DECC has fostered links with all of the various skills bodies, other Government Departments, academia and industry involved in the nuclear sector to ensure that all are working towards the same goals of ensuring enough skilled people to build a new generation of nuclear power stations.
There is close working between DECC and BIS on these issues.
Nuclear Trust: Finance
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assets are held by the Nuclear Trust; and what his most recent estimate is of their monetary value. [285091]
Mr. Kidney: The Nuclear Trust owns the Nuclear Liabilities Fund which is responsible for meeting the decommissioning cost of British Energy's existing nuclear power stations, together with defuelling costs and certain British Energy uncontracted liabilities. Some 90 per cent. of the fund's assets are invested in deposits in public sector accounts but there is also a portfolio of equities and property. The most recent estimate of the value of the fund's assets, as at 31 March 2009, is £8.276 million.
Public Expenditure
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the (a) £100 million in capital funding brought forward to 2009-10 and (b) £50 million of capital spending brought forward from 2010-11 to 2008-09 on the number of homes in which energy efficient and heating measures will be installed under the Warm Front programme; and how much of the funding has been spent in each month since it was announced. [286649]
Mr. Kidney: On 11 September 2008, the Government announced an increase to Warm Front funding of £74 million (2008-09: £50 million and 2009-10: £24 million). Funding for the scheme increased further on 24 November 2008 through the pre-Budget report process with an additional £50 million for years 2008-09 and 2009-10. As part of the pre-Budget report, Warm Front spend was re-profiled to bring forward £50 million from 2010-11 to 2009-10.
The following table details a breakdown of the monthly spend for this additional funding and the number of households assisted.
| Spend (£000) | Number of h ouseholds assisted | |
|
Pre-Budget Report 2009-10 (£50 million) + £50 million brought forward from 2010-11 | ||
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