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12 Mar 2010 : Column 517W—continued
Departmental Official Visits
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the destination was of each official visit by (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) officials in his Department, its agencies, HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office Agency in each of the last three years. [321174]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry [holding answer 8 March 2010]: Ministers and officials of the Treasury, its agencies, HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office Agency undertake official visits throughout the UK and wider. A central record of the destination of such visits is not kept centrally, and compiling the information could not be achieved within the disproportionate costs threshold.
Landfill Tax
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the revenue raised from landfill tax in 2009. [322024]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Estimates of landfill tax revenues are set out in Table B10 of the 2009 pre-Budget report.
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the questionnaire which his Department is sending to chief executives of non-departmental public bodies asking for a breakdown of the functions and spending of the body concerned. [320721]
Mr. Byrne: No questionnaire has been issued to the chief executives of NDPBs.
VAT: Veterinary Services
Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on value added tax liability for (a) veterinarians' bills and (b) animal medication; and if he will make a statement. [321901]
Mr. Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of such representations.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Exports: Yorkshire and the Humber
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) the City of York exported goods or services to (i) other EU countries and (ii) non-EU countries in the last 12 months. [321726]
Ian Lucas: HM Revenue and Customs publishes a regional breakdown for trade in goods. UK Regional Trade Statistics were published on 11 March 2010. The provisional numbers of unique exporters of goods in Yorkshire and the Humber during the year 2009 for EU and non EU countries were 1,583 and 4,994 respectively.
The UK Trade Statistics are provided at regional level so we are unable to confirm the number of companies for the City of York.
Literacy
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the functional literacy rate of school leavers was in each year since 1997. [304544]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
The Department does not currently report figures for functional literacy at age 16. We are piloting functional English qualifications at entry level, level 1 and level 2 to be available from 2010 which will provide young people and adults with the essential knowledge, skills and understanding that will enable them to operate confidently, effectively and independently in life and at work. The Government currently have a National Indicator to increase the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including GCSEs in English and mathematics in maintained schools. Figures showing the percentage of pupils in maintained schools meeting this target in each year since 1997 is given in the following table:
| Percentage | |
| Note: Figures from 2005 relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Figures prior to this relate to 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August). Figures relate to pupils in maintained schools. | |
Since 2005 the Department has also collected data on pupils achieving English and mathematics skills at Level 1. This shows the proportion of pupils achieving Level
1 English and mathematics, literacy and numeracy-even though some may not have achieved the equivalent GCSEs:
| Percentage | |
| Note: Figures from 2005 relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Figures prior to this relate to 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August). Figures relate to pupils in maintained schools. | |
Venture Capital: Wales
Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Barnett consequentials for Wales of the (a) UK High Technology Fund, (b) Regional Venture Capital Funds, (c) Community Development Venture (Bridges) Funds, (d) Early Growth Funds, (e) Enterprise Capital Funds, (f) Aspire Fund and (g) Capital for Enterprise Fund were in each year for which figures are available. [321954]
Kevin Brennan: The UK High Technology Fund, Enterprise Capital Funds, Aspire Fund and Capital for Enterprise Funds are UK funds. The Regional Venture Capital Funds, Early Growth Funds and Community Development Venture (Bridges) Funds were funds available to the English regions only. They were established during 2000-01 and are no longer open to make new investments. The details of the Barnett Consequentials agreed at that time have been archived and are not immediately available. My right Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination will write to the hon. Member in the near future. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Energy and Climate Change
Biofuels
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the use of imported biomass from areas at risk of (a) degradation of natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitats, (b) indirect land use change and (c) net biodiversity loss. [321487]
Mr. Kidney [holding answer 10 March 2010]: The Government are determined to ensure that biomass, whether imported or produced in the UK: delivers real and substantive carbon dioxide savings; uses land responsibly avoiding damaging land use change; and does not undermine global food supplies or inflate prices.
We already require suppliers of transport biofuels, and electricity generators over 50 kilowatts, to report on the available information on the origins of the biomass they use and whether the biomass complied with an environmental standards scheme.
We will implement the sustainability criteria set out in the Renewable Energy Directive for transport biofuels and bioliquids for heat and electricity generation. We
are currently considering the European Commission's recommendations on sustainability requirements for the use of solid and gaseous biomass sources for heat and electricity. DECC will make an announcement later this month, setting out what actions the Government can now take to introduce sustainability standards for biomass in the UK.
The European Commission is due to report by 31 December 2010 on the impact of indirect land-use change on greenhouse gas emissions and ways to minimise that impact. We are pushing for an early resolution on this within the EU and we will continue to work hard for global sustainability standards.
Boilers: Government Assistance
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions officials from his Department have had with their HM Treasury counterparts on extending the boiler scrappage scheme; and if he will make a statement. [321855]
Joan Ruddock: Officials in DECC have had a wide range of discussions with officials in HM Treasury on a number of issues in the context of expenditure plans. HM Government will consider all proposals for expenditure as part of the budgetary cycle.
Departmental Advertising
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on television advertising in relation to each initiative in each month of 2009. [320335]
Joan Ruddock: The cost of ACT ON CO2 television advertising for each month in 2009 is outlined in the following table. Costs are media only, include fees and are exclusive of VAT.
| £ | |
Departmental Location
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years. [321431]
Joan Ruddock: The Department was formed on 3 October 2008. The Department has not spent any money on the relocation of staff from posts in Essex or Castle Point.
Food: Prices
Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on UK food prices of his Department's biomass strategy. [321463]
Mr. Kidney [holding answer 10 March 2010]: The Government are determined to ensure that biomass, whether imported or produced in the UK: delivers real and substantive carbon dioxide savings; uses land responsibly avoiding damaging land use change; and does not undermine global food supplies or inflate prices.
A study carried out by E4Tech to inform the UK's 2009 Renewable Energy Strategy, examined the availability of biomass supplies. The results indicate that there could be sufficient biomass resource potential in the UK for bio-energy to play a significant role in meeting the renewable energy target in 2020, and that imported biomass feedstocks could increasingly become a traded commodity. The study assumed that food demands are met first, and only considered the potential for UK energy crops from land currently not used for arable crops. The study also considered unexploited UK biomass reserves such as energy from waste and bringing back into production forest and woodland that has fallen out of good management practice. These sources of biomass do not compete with food crops and so do not impact on food prices.
Biomass used for the production of transport biofuels currently accounts for approximately 1 per cent. of global land use. The Government undertook an assessment of the causes and implications of the agricultural food price spike in 2007-08 (published on 5 January and available on DEFRA's website as part of the Food 2030 package). The report concluded that biofuels had not been a significant cause of recent food price spikes worldwide. For the longer term, we are supporting the development of "second generation" technology which could produce biofuels from non food sources such as algae, wood, straw and food waste, so reducing pressure on food crops and land.
We will continue to monitor the impact of our bio-energy targets on food prices.
Fuel Poverty: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what percentage of households in Birmingham were in fuel poverty in each year since 1997. [321574]
Mr. Kidney: The methodology used for the 2006 work differs from that previously used, so care should be taken in comparing the fuel poverty levels in one area between 2003 and 2006.
Natural Gas: Imports
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans the Government have for investment in gas import projects over the next 10 years. [322029]
Mr. Kidney: Investment is a commercial activity. Details of future commercial investment in gas import projects can be found in National Grid's latest Ten Year Statement (published in December 2009).
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the (a) gas import capacity of and (b) demand for gas in the UK (i) in 2010 and (ii) in each of the next five years. [322030]
Mr. Kidney: The latest estimates of gas import capacity and demand for gas in the UK for 2010 and each of the next five years can be found in the latest edition of the Energy Markets Outlook (published in December 2009). This can be found on the DECC website at:
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