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16 Dec 2009 : Column 1333W—continued
Departmental Internet
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what redesigns of websites operated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) date of completion of each such redesign was. [306208]
Mr. Kidney: Ofgem's corporate website has not been redesigned since June 27, 2007. However, a range of new features have been added to increase accessibility and usability, to meet a number of new standards for websites operated by Government Departments applicable from 1 April 2009 and to reflect the recent restructuring of Ofgem. There has been no cost to the public purse as Ofgem recovers costs from license fee payers.
Departmental Travel
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on travel for Ministers undertaken by (a) car, (b) train, (c) air and (d) other means since its establishment. [303404]
Mr. Kidney: This information could only be provided at disproportional cost.
Departmental Working Hours
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of staff of his Department and its non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis. [301323]
Joan Ruddock: DECC operates a flexible working policy so that all staff are able to request to work flexibly including part-time and job-share if they wish, subject to business need and with the prior approval of their manager. The guidance for staff is available on the HR intranet.
Records are not held centrally of all the flexible working patterns of staff. DECC currently has 6 per cent. (59) staff working on a part-time basis.
DECC has four non-departmental public bodies, all staff are able to request to work flexibly but again records are not held centrally of all the flexible working patterns Coal Authority-9 per cent. (16) work part-time; Nuclear Decommissioning Authority-5.3 per cent (19) work part-time; Civil Nuclear Constabulary-16 per cent. (41) work part time, all staff work flexibly. Committee on Climate Change all staff (30) work full-time; three staff work flexibly.
Energy: Disconnections
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many (a) pre-payment meter and (b) billed energy customers have been disconnected by their supplier in each quarter in the last three years; [304493]
(2) how many energy customers were disconnected in error by their provider in each quarter of the last three years; [304494]
(3) how long on average energy customers disconnected by their provider were without a connection in each quarter of the last three years; [304495]
Mr. Kidney: Ofgem collect figures on the number of gas and electricity customers disconnected due to debt, and the average time until reconnection. Ofgem also publish the proportion of disconnections within each quarter that were reconnected within the same quarter, for each of the main six domestic energy providers. This information is available at:
Figures for the number of disconnections made in error and figures by payment method are not available.
I will be depositing tables showing the number of household disconnections due to debt, and the proportion of disconnections reconnected within the same quarter by the main six energy suppliers in the Libraries in the House.
Energy: Meters
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much on average a household in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK with a pre-payment meter paid for (i) electricity and (ii) gas in each of the last three years. [303645]
Mr. Kidney: The Department's latest estimates for the average annual domestic energy bills and provisional estimates for the year to 2009 and are published in Quarterly Energy Prices, published in September 2009. Figures are not available at constituency or local authority level.
For an average consumer using 18,000 kWh of gas per year and paying their bills by pre-payment meter, the average bill in the North East for gas was £593 in 2007, £623 in 2008 and £744 in 2009. The average bill in Great Britain for gas customers on pre-payments was £589 in 2007, £618 in 2008 and £744 in 2009. Figures are not available for the UK.
For an average consumer using 3,300 kWh of standard electricity per year and paying their bills by pre-payment meter, the average bill in the North East for standard electricity was £401 in 2007, £424 in 2008 and £465 in 2009. The average bill in the UK for standard electricity customers on pre-payment meters was £401 in 2007, £424 in 2008 and £465 in 2009.
Energy: National Policy Statements
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to section 3.3.12 of the Energy National Policy Statement, what proportion of the 20.5 gigawatt capacity (a) has recently been constructed, (b) is under construction and (c) has both planning consent and agreement to connect to the National Grid; and what proportion is renewable under the definition given in that section. [307771]
Mr. Kidney: Our most recent figure for forthcoming capacity is 21.6GW. This is based on the most recent data from the National Grid which have been updated since the drafting of the National Policy Statements. Of this 21.6GW, 8 per cent., has recently been constructed, 42 per cent. is under construction and 50 per cent. has planning consent and agreement to connect to the National Grid. The following table provides further details on the proportions of this 21.6GW which is renewables and have grid connection agreements. These figures are regularly revised following periodic updates and revisions issued by the National Grid.
| Total forthcoming capacity (GW) | Of which renewables (GW) | Percentage renewables | |
| Source: National Grid | |||
Fuel Poverty: Pensioners
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners living in fuel poverty in (a) December 1997 and (b) each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [305700]
Mr. Kidney: Fuel poverty is not measured at individual person level. Detailed splits of fuel poverty on a consistent methodology basis are only available since 2003. The following table shows the number of fuel poor households in England, containing somebody over the age of 60, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
| Number of fuel poor households containing somebody over the age of 60 | |
| Thousand | |
Gas Fired Power Stations: Carbon Emissions
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the likely carbon dioxide emissions per unit electric output from a modern (a) combined cycle gas turbine, (b) open cycle gas turbine and (c) integrated gasification combined cycle power station. [303516]
Mr. Kidney: The rate at which power stations emit carbon dioxide are determined by individual plant efficiencies which vary considerably in actual operation. DECC uses a range of reference values which are kept under review. These are based on the estimated likely efficiency achieved in the actual generation market, including efficiency degradation following commissioning. Such estimates will differ from those available in the technical literature which do not always reflect actual performance.
The figures shown in the following table for technologies are representative values based on electricity supplied to the grid after allowing for own use and transmission and distribution losses. The values represent emissions of carbon dioxide in kilograms per kilowatt hour unit of electricity.
| Technology | kg CO 2 /kWh |
Geothermal Power
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has had discussions with the governments of Iceland and Germany on the laying of a cable between those countries for the transfer of geothermal power. [303880]
Mr. Kidney: There have been no such discussions, although my officials have had general discussions with representatives of the Icelandic power industry on the potential for geothermal energy in Iceland and the practicality of interconnection with the UK.
Hotels
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants in each year since its establishment. [305662]
Joan Ruddock: The information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Immobilisation of Vehicles
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department and its predecessors have paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on (a) privately-owned and (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [302746]
Joan Ruddock: We have no record of any such costs being paid by the Department.
Departmental policy is that the driver of the vehicle is responsible for following all advice, guidance and legislation in relation to road safety and is therefore also responsible for meeting the cost of any fines incurred (including parking fines), as a result of any driving offence. The Department will not meet those costs.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what hospitality Ministers in his Department and its predecessors with responsibility for the two miners' compensation schemes have received from Capita Group plc since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [302088]
Mr. Kidney: Capita became the claims handling contractor to the Coal Health Compensation schemes in 2004. No hospitality has been received by Ministers responsible for the Coal Health Compensation schemes from Capita.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letter of 22 October 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton on Mr A Gibson. [305112]
Joan Ruddock: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State replied to my right hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton on 11 December 2009. Such a delay is obviously unacceptable. My officials have investigated the reasons for the error.
Ofgem: Training
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) away days and (b) conferences that took place outside the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) buildings attended by civil servants in Ofgem there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each. [307454]
Mr. Kidney: Ofgem do not normally collate this information and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
However, during 2008-09, Ofgem held eleven team building events at a total cost of £14,930.31.
Tidal Power
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has funded on wave generated power in the last three years. [307257]
Mr. Kidney: Since 2005 the remit of the pan-government Research Advisory Group (RAG) has included wave and tidal technologies, with a budget of up to £2 million to concentrate on these emerging technologies. For details of the resultant work of RAG including guidance documents and reports, on a range of issues such as aerial bird surveys, navigation risk assessment and seascape assessment, see the following web link
Since 2007 the former DTI Technology programme, now transferred to the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), has supported five wave R and D projects. Further details on these projects can be found on the TSB website
The Carbon Trust has funded research into wave generated power through the Marine Energy Accelerator. Details on the Marine Energy Accelerator programme can be found at
In 2009 the Carbon Trust launched the Marine Renewables Proving Fund. This fund will provide up to £22 million of grant funding for the testing and demonstration of pre-commercial wave and tidal stream devices.
High quality basic science research that is relevant to, though not always specific to, wave generation is funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's 'Supergen Marine' consortium
The Department has undertaken the following research on wave generated power in the last three years:
The development of protocols for
"Assessment of the performance of wave energy conversion systems in open sea test facilities"
"Preliminary Wave energy device performance protocol".
Both protocols can be downloaded from the DECC website
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