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1 Feb 2010 : Column 70W—continued
Climate Change
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what historical data his Department uses in its climate change calculations. [311916]
Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change draws on historical data provided in the published literature and by scientific experts, some under contract, as required.
Departmental Consultants
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on strategic consultancy in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [311570]
Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate change has spent nothing on strategic consultancy in either 2008-09 or 2009-10.
Departmental Disclosure of Information
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sell information on a commercial basis to (a) companies or individuals in the private sector and (b) other organisations. [313223]
Joan Ruddock: The Coal Authority is a public sector data holder and provider accredited by the Information Fair Trader Scheme. It provides a statutory information-provision service on a cost-recovery basis and charges for commercial information-provision at market rates consistent with fair-trade rules. It supplies information to a range of customers including companies, private individuals and other organisations.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many layers of management reporting from the most senior to the most junior there are in his Department; how many officials are employed in each such layer; and how much was spent on salaries and associated employment costs of staff at each such layer in the latest year for which information is available. [312833]
Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created in October 2008 with staff from DEFRA and BERR. A single staffing structure was introduced from August 2009. This consists of seven layers below the senior civil service (administrative assistant, administrative officer, executive officer, higher executive officer, senior executive officer, Grade 7 and Grade 6) and four layers within the senior civil service (permanent secretary, director general, director and head of team). There are additionally a number of specialist grades among economists and statisticians-however, these have equivalents within the named layers.
The Department cannot provide information on staff numbers or salary costs by layer except at disproportionate cost.
Electricity
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what mechanisms are in place to encourage consumers to improve their power factor; and whether he has plans to bring forward proposals for further incentives; [312345]
(2) if he will make an assessment of the merits of increasing the level of charges levied on consumers for excess reactive power in respect of the likely effects of such an increase on consumers' power factors. [312346]
Mr. Kidney [holding answer 21 January 2010]: Business consumers of electricity with poor power factors require more network capacity. This increases the initial cost of connecting to an electricity network and gives such customers an incentive to install power factor correction equipment to reduce these costs-it is for customers however to judge whether the cost of this equipment is justified.
Reactive energy 'consumption' is highest in industrial premises with poor power factors. Under their licences, electricity distribution network operators (DNOs) must have a common set of cost reflective charging arrangements for lower voltages, including for reactive power, in place by 1 April 2010 (arrangements for the highest voltage levels will be put in place by 1 April 2011).
Under this common charging methodology, DNOs will be obliged to charge all eligible customers with a poor power factor. Any increase in the level of charges could be expected to improve consumers' power factors and therefore reduce reactive power consumption. However any increase in charges would need to be demonstrated to be cost reflective.
Energy: Prices
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to prevent the closure of social tariff schemes by energy suppliers. [313755]
Mr. Kidney: Help with energy bills, including social tariffs and rebates, are some of the support measures that suppliers provide through the voluntary agreement negotiated by Government in 2008. This support has provided real help to the lives of some of the most vulnerable.
This is why we announced we would place the voluntary agreement on a statutory footing, and increase the resources suppliers are required to make available, when the voluntary agreement ends in March 2011. Primary legislation to enable this is currently before Parliament as part of the Energy Bill, and subject to the successful passage of the Bill we will require suppliers to spend £300 million by 2013-14. This will mean additional help for more of the most vulnerable.
Fuel Poverty
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) Stroud constituency and (b) Gloucestershire which (i) were in fuel poverty in the latest period for which figures are available, (ii) have
come out of fuel poverty since 1997 and (iii) re-entered fuel poverty since 1997. [310978]
Mr. Kidney: In 2006, the most recent year for which sub-regional figures are available, there were around 4,200 fuel poor households in Stroud, and 24,000 fuel poor households living in Gloucestershire. Corresponding figures for 1996 are not available.
Fuel poverty estimates are derived from a survey, which provides a means of producing aggregate data on numbers of households in fuel poverty, but does not allow for details of individual households moving in to or out of fuel poverty to be monitored, as a different sample of households are surveyed each year.
In England as a whole, fuel poverty has reduced from 5.1 million households in 1996, to 2.8 million households in 2007.
Government Departments: Energy
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 134W, on government Departments: energy, which Departments have (a) applied for and (b) been awarded a grant through the (i) Low Carbon Technology Programme and (ii) Salix finance scheme; and how much funding has been awarded to each Government Department through each scheme. [312797]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 25 January 2010]: The information requested is as follows:
(i) The following central Government Departments and their agencies have applied for and been allocated funding from the Low Carbon Technology Programme for 2009-10. Every Department that applied for funding has received some level of funding. The amounts that they have been granted are listed:
Although this funding has been allocated to Departments for a range of projects, the actual spend amounts may be different, as the cost of work and capital items may be subject to change.
(ii) Through the Salix Finance scheme, the following Government Departments have applied for a repayable grant in 2009/10, and have had their applications approved. The Home Office applied for funding but has since withdrawn its application as it has found funding from
its own budgets. The Ministry of Defence has applied for funding since the previous PQ was answered.
| £ | |
These funds have been committed to the Departments by Salix Finance, though final amounts spent may change.
Hinkley Point C Power Station
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's letter to the hon. Member for Bridgwater of 7 December 2009 on Hinkley C, whether the decision on whether proposed associated facilities can be given consent as associated development under the Planning Act 2008 will ultimately be a matter for the Infrastructure Planning Commission. [314043]
Mr. Kidney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's letter of 7 December 2009 provided general guidance on the nature of associated development and associated facilities, and did not represent specific guidance in relation to the potential application for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C.
Where a national policy statement has effect, the Planning Act 2008 provides that it is for the Infrastructure Planning Commission to decide whether development is "associated development" in accordance with s.115 of the Act and having regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State. This guidance is currently set out in the 'Guidance on associated development', issued in September 2009, which includes examples of associated facilities and development as set out in Annex A of the following link:
Where an NPS is not yet designated, the Infrastructure Planning Commission would consider the application for associated development and facilities as part of their consideration of the application before making a recommendation to the Secretary of State for a decision.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the prohibition on obtaining consent for dwellings referred to in his Department's letter to the hon. Member for Bridgwater of 7 December 2009 on Hinkley C extends to (a) a prohibition on consent for housing falling within Class C3 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 and (b) a prohibition on the granting of consent under the Planning Act 2009 for construction worker accommodation. [314081]
Mr. Kidney:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's letter of 7 December 2009, provided general guidance on the nature of associated development and associated facilities, and did not represent specific guidance
in relation to the potential application for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C.
Under the Planning Act 2008, a development consent order for nationally significant infrastructure can cover "associated development". For these purposes, "associated development" excludes the construction or extension of one or more dwellings. Where the decision maker is the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), the IPC has to take its decision in accordance with section 115 of the Planning Act 2008 and have regard to the "Guidance on associated development", issued by the Secretary of State in September 2009.
Where an NPS is not yet designated, the Infrastructure Planning Commission would consider the application for associated development and facilities as part of their consideration of the application before making a recommendation to the Secretary of State for a decision.
Industrial Diseases: Compensation
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been paid in compensation to coalminers and their families in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency from each of his Department's two major personal injury compensation schemes since May 2005. [314419]
Mr. Kidney: The amount of compensation paid to coalminers and their families in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency under Coal Health Compensation schemes for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and vibration white finger (VWF) since May 2005 is shown in the following table.
| £ million | ||
| COPD | VWF | |
Micro-Combined Heat and Power
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he and his officials have had meetings with colleagues at the Treasury on the introduction of a feed-in tariff for micro-combined heat and power since December 2009; and if he will make a statement. [310988]
Mr. Kidney: The DECC ministerial team, DECC officials and I, regularly discuss the development of policies, including the proposed feed-in tariffs policy, with colleagues from other Departments including HM Treasury.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many meetings he and his officials have had with their Treasury counterparts since December 2009 on the introduction of a feed-in tariff for micro-combined heat and power; and if he will make a statement. [314534]
Mr. Kidney: The ministerial team and officials from DECC regularly discuss the development of policies, including the proposed feed-in tariffs policy, with colleagues from other Departments including HM Treasury.
Microgeneration
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which working groups and committees have been advising his Department on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. [312472]
Joan Ruddock [holding answer 21 January 2010]: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is overseen by the MCS Steering Group and has 10 technical working groups which develop standards and advise the MCS Steering Group on technical matters in relation to microgeneration products and installations.
Members of the MCS Steering Group represent stakeholders that have a relevant interest in the microgeneration industry. They include representatives of all the key trade associations in the microgeneration industry, consumer groups, UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service), MCS Certification Bodies, SummitSkills, The Energy Saving Trust, The Carbon Trust, manufacturers, devolved Administrations and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The technical working groups report to the MCS Steering Group. They are made up of experts on standards, and other technical experts in each relevant field. Each technical working group has its own chair.
The 10 MCS technical working groups are:
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