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20 Oct 2009 : Column 1431W—continued
Lord Truscott
Greg Clark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting held between officials in his Department and Lord Truscott since the latter ceased to be a Government Minister. [256917]
Mr. McFadden: During the passage of the Energy Bill, officials from the Energy Bill Management Team in BERR met with a range of Peers and other interested stakeholders to answer questions and clarify the policy in the Bill. This included one meeting on 22 July with Lord Truscott. There are no minutes but I have placed information concerning the meeting in the Library, including correspondence between Lord Truscott's researcher and officials from the Department seeking clarification on some of the discussion points at the meeting.
Low Carbon Industrial Strategy
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons copies of the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy were not placed in the Vote Office after publication on 15 July 2009. [288596]
Mr. McFadden: Around 30 copies of the Department's report "The UK Low Carbon Industrial Strategy" were placed in the Vote Office on the morning of its publication. Unfortunately, demand for the report exceeded the number of copies available and there was a delay in obtaining additional copies for the Vote Office. I am sorry that some hon. Members were inconvenienced by being unable to get a copy from the Vote Office. The report was placed in the Library on the morning of its publication, however, and it was also available on the Department's internet site, as indicated in the written ministerial statement.
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts: Finance
Mr. Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) income and (b) expenditure of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts was in each of the last three financial years. [293009]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 14 October 2009]: The income and expenditure for the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) in the last three financial years was as follows:
| £000 | ||
| Income | Expenditure | |
This information can be found in NESTA's annual report and accounts for each year, which are available in the Library.
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts: Party Conferences
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts sought approval from his Department to attend the party political conferences in 2009. [292946]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 14 October 2009]: In accordance with Cabinet Office Guidance, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) sought and obtained permission from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, its sponsor department.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what costs were incurred by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts in attending the (a) Liberal Democrat, (b) Labour, (c) Conservative and (d) Scottish National Party conference in 2009. [292947]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 14 October 2009]: NESTA incurred the following expenditure from attending party conferences in 2009:
| £ | |
Post Offices
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Post Office Ltd on the future of the Network Change programme; and if he will make a statement. [293883]
Mr. McFadden: I am in regular contact with Post Office Ltd on a range of issues relating to the network.
The Network Change programme is now completed with the exception of three branches which will be replaced by Outreach services during the autumn. 93.3 per cent. of the total UK population remain within one mile of their nearest post office outlet.
Post Office Ltd is on course to achieve the expected cost-savings as a result of the programme, as part of an overall plan to reduce its costs by £270 million per annum, by 2010-11.
The level of customer business migrating from post offices which have closed under the programme to the remaining branches in the network is above target at 88 per cent.
Public Bodies: Finance
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the return profit from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts' portfolio of investments was in each year since 1998. [292123]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 12 October 2009]: The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) received the following returns from investing its endowment:
| £ million | |
These figures are exclusive of bank interest received and are lower than the figures quoted in NESTA's annual reports and accounts for each year, which are available in the House of Commons Library.
Royal Mail: Industrial Disputes
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the merits of the proposal by the Communication Workers Union that the dispute with the Royal Mail be resolved with third party mediation; and if he will make a statement. [293540]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 16 October 2009]: I have been in close contact with the unions and management and have made it clear that strikes are not the way to resolve differences or safeguard the future of our postal service.
It is of course for the disputing parties to consider and agree to third party mediation.
Students: Nationality
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students on university courses were (a) UK nationals, (b) Republic of Ireland nationals and (c) foreign nationals other than from the Republic of Ireland in the 2008-09 academic year. [293659]
Mr. Lammy: Figures on total enrolments in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) for 2008/09 will not be available until January 2010. The information in the table below relates to the latest available year, 2007/08.
| Total enrolments in higher education courses at UK HEIs by domicile( 1) , 2007/08 | |
| Domicile | Number |
| (1) 'Domicile' refers to a student's home domicile prior to enrolling on their course. Note: Figures are rounded to nearest five. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) | |
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Reduction Commitment
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the projected emissions savings of 1.2 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2020 under the Carbon Reduction Commitment in the achievement of the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32 per cent. on 1990 levels by 2020. [294070]
Joan Ruddock: Initial modelling indicated that at least 0.9MtC (3.2MtCO2e) pa. of cost-effective savings are available through the CRC alone, while synergies with other measures such as the Energy Performance Buildings Directive and decarbonisation of the electricity supply within this sector can contribute to additional savings up to 1.2MtC (4.4MtCO2e). However the final savings from the CRC will be determined by the emissions cap. DECC and the Committee on Climate Change are undertaking further analysis to determine the appropriate level of the cap, taking into account our carbon budget targets.
We intend to announce the potential savings available in 2011 and the actual cap in 2012.
Carbon Reduction Commitment: Local Government
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the base year is for carbon dioxide emissions for local authorities under the Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme. [293372]
Joan Ruddock: All participants' position in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme league table will primarily be determined by their average annual emissions over the preceding five years of the scheme, or since the start of the scheme, whichever is the shorter period.
Climate Change
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on how many occasions Ministers from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland's devolved Administrations have been included in the UK delegation to UN framework convention on climate change conferences since 1999. [293424]
Joan Ruddock: Ministers from the devolved Administrations have never been included on the UK delegation to the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC.
The Scottish Executive has been represented by either one or two officials on the UK delegation every year since 1999, but where Ministers from the devolved Administrations have attended, this has always been on other delegations. For example, in 2007 a Scottish Minister participated as a member of the Climate Group delegation.
Committee on Climate Change
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons the Committee on Climate Change's first annual report to Parliament was not available in the Vote Office to hon. Members on its day of publication or the following day; and what steps he has taken to ensure that future such reports are available to hon. Members on publication. [293936]
Joan Ruddock: The delay in making the Committee on Climate Change's (CCC) first annual report available in the Vote Office was the result of the CCC not being fully aware of the requirements. The annual report was laid in both Houses on 12 October as required, but the CCC did not make copies available to both Houses through the Vote and Printed Paper Offices. When alerted to the need to do this, the CCC did send copies to both Houses on 14 October.
The CCC regrets this oversight and has advised the Department that they have put in place steps to avoid it being repeated.
Electricity
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage the Distribution Network Operators to meet climate change targets. [293870]
Joan Ruddock: Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) will play an important role in a range of measures DECC is taking to meet climate change targets. DECC is working with Ofgem to review the regulatory framework governing networks and ensure DNOs support our targets, including through the current price control review. DECC is also working with Ofgem to encourage more innovation in the grid through the low carbon network fund and through direct engagement with DNOs on smart grids.
Energy: Conservation
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what targets his Department has for the reduction of end-user energy consumption. [293868]
Joan Ruddock: Across the whole economy reducing end-use energy consumption through increased efficiency is a crucial part of our strategy to meet emissions reduction targets.
In the short-term we have targets to increase the energy efficiency of housing by at least 20 per cent. from a 2000 baseline and to cut annual residential carbon emissions by 3.5MtC (12.8MtCO2) by 2010 from a 1990 baseline. We are on track to meet both of these targets.
In the longer term, the recently published UK Low Carbon Transition Plan sets out our ambitious plans for increasing efficiency and reducing emissions to meet our emissions targets under the framework of carbon budgets. We expect policies driving energy efficiency and the provision of low carbon energy, will reduce emissions from homes by 29 per cent. and from workplaces by 12 per cent. by 2022.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to reduce end-user energy consumption. [293869]
Joan Ruddock: The Heat and Energy Saving Strategy (HESS) consultation published in February and consolidated by the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan published in July, set out the steps we are taking to reduce energy consumption and emissions in the UK. These include:
building on existing commitment to make all new homes and non-domestic buildings zero carbon by 2016 and 2019 respectively
our aim for smart meters to be rolled-out to all domestic customers by the end of 2020
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