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Radicalism: Civil Servants

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants have been investigated for possible links to violent extremism in each year since 2001. [305347]

Mr. Hanson [holding answer 8 December 2009]: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Wickham Research Laboratories

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to announce who has been chosen to conduct the special investigation of animal testing at Wickham Laboratories; and when he expects this investigation to be completed. [305090]

Meg Hillier [holding answer 8 December 2009]: The review will be led by a superintending inspector from the Home Office Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate who will be assisted by two independent experts. I anticipate that the review will be completed early in 2010.

Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the latest estimate is of UK net carbon dioxide emissions in 2008 (a) with and (b) without the inclusion of carbon trading. [303526]

Joan Ruddock: Provisional estimates of 2008 emissions were published on 26 March 2009. These figures estimate that:

The equivalent figures for all greenhouse gases are as follows:

The most recent final figures are for estimates of 2007 emissions. These were published on 3 February 2009. Estimates for only carbon dioxide emissions are:


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It may be helpful to know emissions of all greenhouse gases. Again these are final 2007 figures:

Departmental Information Officers

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent press officers (a) are employed by and (b) work for his Department. [303597]

Joan Ruddock: There are nine full-time equivalent press officers who are employed and work for DECC. These include:

Departmental Internet

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year. [302415]

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008, and its official corporate website was launched on 23 February 2009:

The cost of developing and maintaining the Department of Energy and Climate Change's website in the 2008-09 financial year was: £58,874.00

The forecast costs of maintaining websites within the Secretary of State's responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year are: £883,726.

This includes the forecast costs for the Department's corporate site:

Act on CO2:

the Government's energy and climate change advice website to help people reduce their carbon footprint, ActOnCopenhagen:

HMG's official website for activities in the lead up to and during global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, December 2009, as well as the websites listed as follows:


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Departmental Recruitment

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online-only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet. [301549]

Joan Ruddock: In the past 12 months, the Department did not externally advertise any roles on an online-only basis.

Applicants without access to the internet can telephone to request a hard copy of an application pack.

Departmental Research

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the safety of (i) emissions from and (ii) ash by-products of energy from waste incinerators in the last 10 years. [303976]

Dan Norris: I have been asked to reply.

DEFRA is continually evaluating research relevant to energy from waste as our departmental priority is to secure a healthy environment in which we and future generations can prosper. In particular over the last ten years, we have commissioned and evaluated the following research:


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In May 2002 the Environment Agency produced its own report on solid residues from municipal incineration. It has not commissioned outside bodies to carry out research in this area. It evaluates reports that come to light in order to keep abreast of developments but does not maintain a list of these.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has commissioned no research in this area in the last ten years but recently reviewed the latest research on the health effects of modern municipal waste incinerators. It concludes that while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects completely, any potential damage from modern, well-run and regulated incinerators is likely to be so small that it would be undetectable. Moreover, it recommends that since any possible health effects of emissions are likely to be very small, studies of public health around modern, well managed municipal waste incinerators are not recommended. A statement can be found on the HPA's website.

Electricity: Pensions

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the Government Actuary's Department's recent report on the stewardship of electricity sector pension schemes; and what consideration he has given to bringing forward measures to enable Ofgem to regulate in this area. [302557]

Mr. Kidney: The Government Actuary's Department's report was commissioned by Ofgem as part of its review of compliance with its price control pension principles. The report fed in to Ofgem's fifth distribution price control review, the final decision on which was published on 7 December 2009:

We have no plans to bring forward measures to change Ofgem's role regarding pensions.

Energy: Housing

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what expenditure his Department expects to incur on the Pay as You Save pilots in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) subsequent years. [303512]

Joan Ruddock: The Home Energy PAYS pilots have a budget of £4 million in total: £2 million in 2009-10 and £2 million in 2010-11. The pilots end in April 2011 and therefore there is no budget in subsequent years. The administration costs of the pilot are being covered by our delivery partners, and they will cover these costs for the duration of the PAYS arrangements.

Energy: Prices

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what recent representations he has made to Ofgem on the fifth Distribution Price Control Review; and if he will make a statement; [302555]


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(2) with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what assessment he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on the level of economic growth; [302556]

(3) with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what assessment he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on the connection of new onshore renewables to the National Grid and the achievement of climate change targets; [302558]

(4) with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what assessment he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on (a) maintaining secure energy supplies and (b) the standard of customer service, particularly in rural areas; [302563]

(5) with reference to the fifth Distribution Price Control Review, what estimate he has made of the effect a settlement below that requested by the distribution network operators would have on the number of highly skilled jobs. [302564]

Mr. Kidney: Ministers and officials meet with Ofgem representatives and distribution network operators representatives regularly to discuss a wide range of issues, including the fifth Distribution Price Control Review (DPCR5).

As economic regulator of the electricity industry, it falls to Ofgem to administer the distribution price control regime. Ofgem published its final decision on DPCR5 on 7 December, after a period of consultation with DNOs and other interested parties.

The price control regime ensures DNOs can, through efficient operation, earn a fair return after capital and operating costs while limiting costs passed on to customers. DNOs can reject a price control, in which case it will be considered by the Competition Commission.

National Nuclear Policy Statement

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost has been of each regional hearing organised by his Department since publication of the National Nuclear Policy Statement on 9 November 2009 inviting residents to have their say on proposals to build a new nuclear power station in their area; how many departmental officials attended each meeting; how many incurred overnight stays in each case, and at what cost; and whether provision has been made to defray the costs of interested parties in travelling and staying overnight to enable attendance at such meetings. [304415]

Mr. Kidney: The Planning Act 2008 requires the Government to consult the public and stakeholders on the draft National Policy Statements (NPSs) before they can be designated. The consultation is ongoing and therefore we do not yet have detailed costs associated with each event. We estimate that, on average, each of the 10 events, including design, strategic planning, production, marketing, staffing and transport, will cost in the region of about £60,000. Between four and seven DECC staff attend each event over the course of each three-day exhibition (open from 8 am to 8 pm) and public meeting. Accommodation and subsistence costs are not finalised at this early stage in the consultation
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and we would expect that these will vary depending on the location. However, we would expect all these costs to be within civil service guidelines, with hotels costing around £60 per person per night for example.

The primary target audience of the Nuclear NPS events is the local community, therefore we would not expect members of the public to incur accommodation costs and only limited travel costs to attend the events. Venues were chosen to be as close to the proposed nuclear power station site. We took into account a number of principles which helped us in choosing the exhibition location . These included:

A wide range of venues were considered for each location. Suggested venues have been recommended by local authorities and energy companies (who have undertaken similar events in the past) and we have endeavoured to use as many of these recommendations as possible. The priority was finding the largest possible venues, nearest to the site.

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