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27 Jan 2010 : Column 933W—continued
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons the Carbon Reduction Commitment User Guide on his Department's website has not been updated to reflect changes made since the publication of the Government's responses to the consultation on the draft order to implement the commitment in October 2009. [311635]
Joan Ruddock: The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme User Guide has been updated and was placed on our website on 19 January 2010. The guide has been amended to reflect both policy changes set out in the Government Response to the CRC consultation published on 7 October and the legal detail of the final draft order to implement the CRC which we also laid in Parliament on 19 January 2010.
Departmental Drinking Water
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on bottled drinking water since its establishment; and if he will make a statement. [313183]
Joan Ruddock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has spent nothing on bottled drinking water.
Departmental Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) empty and (b) occupied residential properties his Department owns; and what recent estimate he has made of the (i) potential annual rental and (ii) total book value of those (A) empty and (B) occupied residential properties. [313796]
Joan Ruddock: The Department does not own any properties.
Departmental Internet
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what guidance his Department provides to its employees on involvement in online social media in an official capacity. [311634]
Joan Ruddock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change provides the following guidance to its employees based on Cabinet Office guidelines. The guidance is available to all staff on the Department's intranet.
"The Civil Service Code still applies when communicating online, whether through a blog, a discussion forum, leaving comments on videos or photos, or using social media channels such as Twitter. If your contribution is based on knowledge you have because you work at DECC, carefully consider whether you would be compromised if your posting was picked up by a journalist.
The main principles are:
Be credible: Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.
Be consistent: Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation. Be cordial, honest and professional at all times.
Be responsive: When you gain insight, share it where appropriate.
Be integrated: Wherever possible, align online participation with other offline communications.
Be a civil servant: Remember that you are an ambassador for your organisation. Wherever possible, disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency.
You should:
Disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as a potential threat to personal security. Never give out personal details like home address and phone numbers.
Always remember that participation online results in your comments being permanently available and open to being republished in other media. Stay within the legal framework and be aware that libel, defamation, copyright and data protection laws apply. This means that you should not disclose information, make commitments or engage in activities on behalf of Government unless you are authorised to do so. This authority may already be delegated or may be explicitly granted depending on your organisation.
Also be aware that this may attract media interest in you as an individual, so proceed with care whether you are participating in an official or a personal capacity. If you have any doubts, take advice from your line manager."
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2010, Official Report, columns 1045-8W, on departmental internet, how many (a) unique visitors and (b) page impressions were received by each website listed in (i) each of the last three years and (ii) 2009-10 to date. [311919]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 19 January 2010]: The unique visitors and page impressions for the last three years and 2009-10 to date are provided in the following table where the data is available.
| Financial year | ||||
| Website | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10( 1) |
|
www.sedbuk.com (on a calendar year basis) | ||||
|
Unique visits (note 2008-09 figures available date from 8 February 2009 to 31 March 2009) | ||||
|
Page impressions (note 2008-09 figures available date from 8 February 2009 to 31 March 2009) | ||||
| (1 )To date. | ||||
Insulation: Houseboats
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assistance his Department provides to owners of residential craft in respect of insulation and heating efficiency where the craft is used as a main residence. [313014]
Joan Ruddock: The opportunities to reduce the carbon emissions and heating bills of residential craft homes are limited due to the inherent lack of scope for key energy efficiency measures, such as cavity wall and loft insulation. Moreover, under the carbon emissions reduction target (CERT), energy suppliers are only obliged to promote energy saving measures to residences connected directly to main energy networks.
However, owners of residential craft are able to take advantage of CERT subsidies if purchasing certain DIY materials and energy saving technologies. Items such as insulation panels and low energy light bulbs frequently receive heavy subsidies under CERT in national retail outlets and are available at discounted rates to all consumers.
Radioactive Waste: Waste Management
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the National Policy Statement on nuclear energy will include provisions on policy on disposal sites for nuclear waste. [311807]
Mr. Kidney: The policy on the disposal for higher activity radioactive wastes is set out in the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) White Paper (June 2008).
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