| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12 Oct 2009 : Column 475W—continued
Environmental Transformation Fund
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 931W, on the Environmental Transformation Fund, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Contribution Arrangement. [289757]
Joan Ruddock:
This Contribution Arrangement is between the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, acting jointly through my department and the Department for International Development. We have placed a copy of the Contribution Arrangement in the Library.
It should be noted that as a non-legally binding agreement it is used as a flexible tool to facilitate the UK's contribution to Climate Investment Funds, and may be subject to amendments and revisions as necessary. We have submitted a cover note to this effect.
EU Law
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which (a) statutory instruments and (b) other regulations relating to matters for which his Department is responsible have been brought forward as a consequence of obligations arising from EU law since the establishment of his Department. [289860]
Joan Ruddock: DECC does not keep a central record of the information requested. However, the following orders and regulations made by DECC on or after October 2008 have been identified as implementing EU obligations:
The Transfrontier Shipment of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/3087).
Renewables Obligation Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/785).
The Gas and Electricity (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/1349).
Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2301).
Fuel Poverty
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department plans to spend on the reductions of fuel poverty in the next three years. [289927]
Mr. Kidney: The Department's fuel poverty budget for the current spending round (2008-11) was £400 million in 2008-09, £374 million in the current year and £200 million in 2010-11. The fuel poverty budget beyond 2010-11 will be subject to the normal Government spending review process.
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the effects of winter fuel payments on levels of fuel poverty. [289931]
Mr. Kidney: Winter Fuel Payments make an important contribution to tackling fuel poverty and are responsible for taking around 100,000 households out of fuel poverty in England in 2006 (and around 200,000 in the UK as a whole).
For the purposes of the Government's fuel poverty statistics, and consistency with other statistics. Winter Fuel Payments are classified as an addition to recipients' incomes. However, while it remains appropriate to consider Winter Fuel Payments in this way for statistical purposes, it is also useful to consider what effect they would have if used to meet energy bills directly.
Taking this approach, around 600,000 fewer households in England (and around 1.1 million fewer households in
the UK as a whole) are shown to need to spend more that 10 per cent. of their income in order to meet the remaining costs of heating their home adequately.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas have been classified as being in fuel poverty in each year since 1997. [290255]
Mr. Kidney: Figures for the number of households in fuel poverty in England are produced from analysis of the English House Condition Survey. Data at the rural/urban level are only available from 2003 onwards. The definitions of urban and rural populations were modified between 2004 and 2005 meaning there will be some discontinuity in the series shown in the following table:
| Number households in fuel poverty (000s) | ||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes in (a) North West Leicestershire constituency, (b) Leicestershire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England are living in fuel poverty. [292385]
Mr. Kidney: The most recently available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2003 and shows that in North West Leicestershire, there were around 2,300 fuel poor households. In the county of Leicestershire in the same period, there were around 15,100 fuel poor households.
More recent figures for the East Midlands and England are available. These show that in 2006, there were around 236,000 fuel poor households in the East Midlands and around 2.4 million fuel poor households living in England.
Green Jobs
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what definition of the term green jobs his Department uses; and what his most recent estimate is of the number of people employed in jobs which meet his Department's definition of green jobs. [289652]
Joan Ruddock: There is currently no single definition of what constitutes a green job.
The definition of green jobs used in the Government's UK Low Carbon Industrial Strategy is based on an analysis of the Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) sector (Innovas, March 2009, Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services: an industry analysis).
The definition includes jobs in the following industrial sectors and their supply chains: air, noise and marine pollution; renewable energy; and emerging low-carbon technologies.
Innovas estimated that in 2007-08 there were around 880,000 workers employed in the LCEGS sector in the UK.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Business
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what incentives the Government has provided for businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. [291533]
Joan Ruddock: Government have a range of measures in place to incentivise and assist businesses to reduce their emissions. These include:
Incentivising businesses to save energy through measures such as the Climate Change Levy, Climate Change Agreements and the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment;
Including high-carbon industries in the EU Emissions Trading System; and
Advice and support, in particular through the Government funded Carbon Trust, which provides a range of services to help businesses reduce their emissions. These include carbon surveys, interest free loans for small and medium enterprises, and a dedicated website and advice line.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent steps the Government has taken to assist businesses in Coventry to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. [291532]
Joan Ruddock: Government have a range of measures in place to incentivise and assist businesses to reduce their emissions. These include:
Incentivising businesses to save energy through measures such as the Climate Change Levy, Climate Change Agreements and the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment;
Including high-carbon industries in the EU Emissions Trading System; and
Providing advice and other support, including interest free loans, to help businesses cut their carbon emissions and reduce their resource use.
While there are no specific measures for businesses in Coventry, all these measures will incentivise businesses in Coventry as they will businesses across the country.
Hartlepool Power Station
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate's investigation into the high-pressure backup cooling water pump event of 20 June 2008 at Hartlepool nuclear power station; and if he will make a statement. [289718]
Mr. Kidney:
The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate into this incident is complete. The incident is classified as level 1 under the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Nuclear Events Scale. This level is defined as "an anomaly beyond the authorised operating regime" and is one class above the lowest category of 0. The facility operator, British Energy, is legally obliged by its nuclear site licence to provide adequate arrangements for investigating incidents on the site and conducted an investigation into the June 2008 incident. In line with its established policy for such incidents, the Nuclear Directorate's investigation consisted of a review of British Energy's own investigation and concluded that this was satisfactory.
The key change made as a result of the investigation was that British Energy put in place improvements to its maintenance arrangements at Hartlepool nuclear power station.
Heating
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) if he will meet representatives of the heating controls industry to discuss the merits of establishing a joint Government-industry campaign to promote the energy efficiency benefits of heating controls; and if he will make a statement; [289899]
(2) what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to increase consumer awareness of the potential reduction in energy consumption of using domestic heating controls; and if he will make a statement. [289902]
Joan Ruddock: The Department has taken a number of actions to increase consumer awareness of the benefits of using domestic heating controls. Our Building Regulations require a minimum set of controls to be installed when a boiler is replaced. In addition, we have ensured heating controls are an eligible measure under the obligation on energy suppliers to help households save carbon and energy and over 2 million heating controls have been distributed since 2005 through this scheme. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) includes the proper installation and use of heating controls as part of its core package of free energy efficiency advice to consumers, which DECC grant funds. The EST is also monitoring some advanced controls, as part of an extension to an on-going boiler performance project. More recently, the Government have acted to include Home Energy Advice as a qualifying measure under the existing supplier obligation. The Home Energy Advice package will be delivered to householders face to face in their home and encompasses a specific set of energy using behaviours, including how heating controls can be used more effectively to achieve energy savings.
Given this significant level of activity we would question the need for a joint Government-industry campaign to promote the benefits of heating controls further.
Heysham 1 Power Station
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made on the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate's investigation into the interlock event at Heysham 1 nuclear power station on 25 June 2008; and if he will make a statement. [289719]
Mr. Kidney:
The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Directorate into this incident is complete. The incident is classified as level 1 under the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Nuclear Events Scale. This level is defined as "an anomaly beyond the authorised operating regime" and is one class above the lowest category of 0. The facility operator, British Energy, is legally obliged by its nuclear site licence to provide adequate arrangements for investigating incidents on the site and conducted an investigation into the June 2008 incident. In line with its established policy for such incidents, the Nuclear Directorate's
investigation consisted of a review of British Energy's own investigation and concluded that this was satisfactory. The key change made as a result of the investigation was that British Energy put in place improvements to its control of maintenance activities at Heysham 1 nuclear power station.
Job Creation
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in the low carbon and environmental goods and services industries to be created as a consequence of the fiscal stimulus announced in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report. [290274]
Joan Ruddock: The Government have not made a formal assessment of the number of new jobs created by specific measures announced in the pre-Budget report. However, independent research (Innovas, March 2009, "Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services: an industry analysis") estimated that the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector employs 880,000 people in the UK and is expected to grow to over one million by the middle of the next decade. The accelerated capital spending and additional resources announced in the pre-Budget report to support low carbon growth, and the £1.4 billion of additional targeted support for the low carbon sector announced in Budget 2009, will be key to driving investment and employment in these sectors.
Lighting
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many compact fluorescent light bulbs have been provided under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme in each of the last five years; [289600]
(2) how many compact fluorescent light bulbs have been issued without charge under (a) the Warm Front Scheme and (b) the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme in each of the last five years. [289636]
Joan Ruddock: The information is as follows:
(a) The number of compact fluorescent light bulbs issued under the Warm Front Scheme in each of the last five years is provided in the following table.
| Scheme year | Number of compact fluorescent light bulbs issued under the Warm Front Scheme |
The cost of providing two compact fluorescent light bulbs is currently £8.09, which is deducted from the available household grant.
(b) The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme commenced in April 2008. 152.6 million compact fluorescent light bulbs were issued in the period April 2008 to March 2009.
101.8 million compact fluorescent light bulbs were issued under the previous three-year scheme (April 2005 to March 2008).
39.7 million compact fluorescent light bulbs were issued under the first supplier obligation scheme (April 2002 to March 2005).
Under the three schemes a significant percentage of compact fluorescent light bulbs (approximately 75 per cent.) are understood to have been distributed by energy suppliers without charge.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions his Department estimates have been avoided as a result of the provision of compact fluorescent light bulbs under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme in each of the last five years. [289601]
Joan Ruddock: The estimated annual savings from the compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) installed and used since April 2005 and up to March 2009 are estimated as 5.9 TWh of electricity and annual savings of 1.95MtCO2. This is based on 254 million CFLs distributed and builds in the following assumptions:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |