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9 Nov 2009 : Column 152W—continued
Renewable Energy: Developing Countries
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on technology transfers to developing nations to enable them to harness renewable energy and combat climate change. [297914]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 5 November 2009]: The Government are pushing for an ambitious, effective and fair agreement at the 15(th) Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Copenhagen; the agreement will drive the development of climate technologies and their deployment in developing countries. My ministerial colleagues and I have had many discussions with counterparts in other countries' Governments over recent months on the issue of technology and climate change. These have been through multilateral fora such as the Major Economies Forum and the Danish-hosted Greenland Dialogue, as well as bilaterally. In October, Lord Hunt attended the "Delhi High Level Conference on Climate Change: Technology Deployment and Transfer" hosted by the Indian Government.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he plans to have before the United Nations Climate Change Conference with his international counterparts on technology transfers to developing nations to enable them to harness renewable energy and combat climate change. [297916]
Joan Ruddock
[holding answer 5 November 2009]: The Government are pushing for an ambitious, effective and fair agreement in Copenhagen that will drive the development of climate technologies and their deployment in developing countries. Ministers from the Department of Energy and Climate Change have had many discussions
with their international counterparts on the issue of technology and climate change and will continue to do so in the run-up to the 15(th) Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Copenhagen.
Warm Front Scheme
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2009, Official Report, column 1152W, on the Warm Front Scheme, what proportion of households received second surveys in each month since July 2009. [297131]
Mr. Kidney [holding answer 2 November 2009]: The following table indicates the proportion of second surveys carried out as percentage of the total surveys in each month since July 2009. This proportion is considerably higher than the overall proportion referred to in my previous answer because the increases in the Warm Front grant maxima, announced in April 2009, have meant that more households have been able to return to the scheme for additional measures.
| Month | Proportion (percentage) |
Warm Front Scheme: Mobile Homes
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what products are being trialled for inclusion in the Warm Front scheme for the heating and insulation of park home properties; where such trials are taking place; and what criteria are being used to assess their suitability for inclusion in the scheme. [296858]
Mr. Kidney: Warm Front will be undertaking a piloting exercise of insulation technologies for park home properties. Technologies will be assessed against a variety of criteria, including cost of installation, energy savings and customer satisfaction. Details of the pilot, including the specific technology types and target areas, are currently being finalised.
Wind Power
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the effects on local communities of the siting of wind turbines near them. [297968]
Mr. Kidney: The Department has not made any recent assessment on the effects on local communities of the siting of wind farms near them.
However, DECC carries out an annual survey on renewable energy awareness and attitudes. The results of the 2009 annual survey were published on 5 November 2009. It revealed that 62 per cent. of the general public would be happy to live within five kilometres (three miles) of a wind power development. Those who reported being influenced by living near to a renewable energy development were more likely to agree with this statement
compared with those who did not (79 per cent. compared to 58 per cent.), as had been found in previous years of the same survey.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of progress on installation of wind powered generation to contribute to his 2020 targets. [298378]
Mr. Kidney: We currently have 4 gigawatts (GW) of operational wind power. Electricity generation from offshore wind increased by 67 per cent. from 2007 to 2008 alone. We also achieved a 29 per cent. increase in electricity generation from onshore wind over the same period.
The UK does not have any targets for wind power generation in 2020. However, under the lead scenario in the recently published Renewable Energy Strategy, more than 30 per cent. of our electricity could be generated from renewables by 2020. Much of this would be from onshore and offshore wind.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the declared net capacity is of onshore windfarms in the UK; and what percentage of his wind targets for 2020 that figure represents. [298379]
Mr. Kidney: The total declared net capacity of wind power in 2008 was 1,432 megawatts (MW). Onshore wind's share of this was 1,188 MW(1). The UK does not have any targets for wind power generation in 2020. However, under the lead scenario in the recently published Renewable Energy Strategy, more than 30 per cent. of our electricity could be generated from renewables by 2020. Much of this would be from onshore and offshore wind.
(1) Source:
DUKES 2009, table 7.1.1:
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Dams
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on whether the Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan is fully operational. [297885]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has completed the rehabilitation of the two existing Kajaki Dam hydroelectric turbines, restoring them to their full operational capacity. Their combined generation produces approximately 33 megawatts of electricity, which is enough electricity for about 200,000 people.
The rehabilitation of the second of these turbines was completed in October 2009, and will double the generation capacity available to Helmand and Kandahar Provinces. Additionally, in September 2009 the construction of a new substation and electricity grid was completed, improving the electrical distribution efficiency for Lashkar Gah city.
USAID is committed to installing a third unit at Kajaki which would increase the generation capacity to 51 megawatts, and to constructing a new transmission line from Kajaki to Kandahar when the security situation becomes permissive.
Afghanistan: Drugs
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government has spent on counter-narcotics work in Afghanistan in each year since 2001. [297945]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Before 2004, the UK did not have a dedicated counter-narcotics (CN) programme in Afghanistan; projects targeting the drugs trade were funded from other programmes.
In 2005, the Afghan drugs interdepartmental unit was created to manage the UK's increasing counter-narcotics effort. Since then, UK expenditure on the CN programme in Afghanistan has been as follows:
| £ million | |
| (1) Forecast figure. | |
The majority of this funding is drawn from the FCO's Strategic Programme Fund.
CN is a crucial component of our counter-insurgency effort. Our CN programme includes support for the interdiction and prosecution of major drug traffickers and the provision of alternative livelihoods for farmers, including support to Governor Mangal's Helmand Counter-Narcotics campaign. There have been some successes. In September, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) confirmed a 22 per cent. decrease in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2008-including a 33 per cent. reduction in Helmand. This builds on last year's success, when UNODC recorded a 19 per cent. fall in cultivation. Growing Afghan law enforcement capacity is increasingly having an impact on corruption and on the insurgency, with steady increases in the number of significant drug traffickers convicted and the amount of drugs seized.
Anti-Semitism: Eastern Europe
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received in 2009 on levels of anti-Semitism in (a) Ukraine, (b) Latvia and (c) Estonia; and if he will make a statement. [298224]
Chris Bryant: We are aware of a number of localised anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine, including desecration of cemeteries, synagogues, private properties and Holocaust memorials, which have been reported in the local media this year. We take a serious view of these dreadful incidents and continue to urge the Ukrainian authorities to tackle them in a determined way in accordance with Ukraine's international commitments. The British embassy in Kyiv remains in contact with local human rights organisations and senior representatives of Ukraine's Jewish community. The British ambassador met the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine in October 2009. We have not received reports of violent attacks on Jewish people, synagogues or property in Latvia or Estonia in 2009, but we keep a close eye on any anti-Semitic political developments.
British Council: Manpower
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2009, Official Report, column 253W, on the British Council: manpower, how many temporary staff are employed by the British Council; and if he will make a statement. [298416]
Chris Bryant: On 9 September 2009 the British Council had 199 temporary workers in the UK. However it is unable to provide this information for its overseas office without incurring disproportionate cost.
Chevening Scholarships Programme
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Chevening scholarships were awarded to individuals from (a) Bangladesh, (b) Nepal, (c) India, (d) China and (e) Pakistan in each of the last 10 years. [298770]
Chris Bryant: The number of Chevening scholars from each country over the last 10 years is set out in the following table:
| Chevening scholars | ||||||||||
| Number | ||||||||||
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Colombia: Political Prisoners
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received estimating the number of political prisoners held in Colombia. [297703]
Chris Bryant
[holding answer 5 November 2009]: There is a wide variety of reports from different sources
with diverging estimates of alleged political prisoners in Colombia. We wholly condemn any government that targets or imprisons individuals for their political orientation.
We are aware of allegations that Colombian individuals are being imprisoned or charged with offences, as a result of their political views or activities. We have pointed out to the Colombian authorities that those charged with crimes should have their legal rights fully respected, including to a fair trial. We regularly make representations to the Colombian Government on human rights.
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