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21 Dec 2010 : Column 1294W—continued
Rape: Victim Support Schemes
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department allocated for the provision for providing support in the NHS to victims of rape in each year since 2005; and what such funding he plans to provide in each year of the spending review period. [32041]
Anne Milton: Support for victims of rape and sexual violence are provided by a range of universal and specialist services, such as Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), some of which are commissioned by primary care trusts (PCTs). PCT recurrent revenue allocations are not broken down by policy or service area. Once allocated, it is for PCTs to commission the services they require to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of both local and national priorities.
In addition to PCT allocations, the Department has also funded voluntary and charitable organisations to deliver a range of projects that support victims of rape and sexual violence. This includes:
£1.6 million to support the improvement of SARC services nationally, and to improve partnership working;
£1.4 million to support the development of SARCs across the country through a dedicated Sexual Violence National Support Team;
a £503,000 contribution to a cross-Government sexual violence fund for the voluntary sector;
a development grant of £200,000 to support the development of a 'Women's Health and Equality Consortium' that brings together women's organisations working across a range of issues affecting organisations in the sector. The consortium includes Rape Crisis and FORWARD who will focus on the sustainability and support for the sexual violence sector; and
£439,530 to fund specialist services for victims of violence and abuse run by voluntary and charitable organisations through the Innovation, Excellence and Service Development (IESD) fund. Applications for the 2011-12 IESD fund are currently being assessed.
Rehabilitation
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (b) West Kent Primary Care Trust and (c) Medway Primary Care Trust have been in abstinence-based rehabilitative treatment in each year since 2005. [31105]
Anne Milton: Information is not available in the format requested.
The number of individuals receiving different forms of treatment from the Drug and Alcohol Action Team partnerships in Medway and in Kent, as recorded on
the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) database, is shown in the following table.
| Partnership | Intervention type | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| Notes: 1. In line with national statistics protocols, numbers for residential intervention in Medway have been suppressed because they are five or less. 2. NDTMS does not collect information separately for West Kent primary care trust (PCT), but activity is reported along with activity in Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT. Source: National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse | ||||||
Social Services: Carers Grant
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) the carers grant and (b) other revenue grants provided by his Department for adult social care will continue to be made between 2011 and 2015; and what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of each such grants 2010-11 levels in each such year. [32150]
Paul Burstow: The funding for all existing departmental revenue grants for adult social care have been maintained, and will rise in line with inflation over the spending review period. This includes the funding that is currently in the carers grant. We have also allocated an additional £1 billion by 2014-15, through local government, to support social care. In order to support local flexibility and to reduce administrative burdens, these funding streams will go to authorities through the general local government formula grant.
The value of the social care grant funding which is rolling into formula grant is as follows:
| £ million | |||||
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | |
| (1) Previously formed from: Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Learning Disability Development Fund, Mental Capacity Act and Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Service, Carers, Adult Social Care Workforce, LINKs. (2 )Previously formed from: Social Care Reform, Learning Disability Campus Closure Programme, Stroke Strategy. (3 )New. | |||||
In addition, the Department will be allocating the learning disabilities and health reform grant to local authorities. This is a new grant, reflecting the transfer of commissioning responsibility for specialist services for people with learning disabilities from primary care trusts to local authorities. This grant will be worth £1,325.58 million in 2011-12, and £1,356.99 million in 2012-13. Allocations for 2013-14 and 2014-15 will be determined in due course.
Tuberculosis
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the variation in the rate of tuberculosis between local authority areas. [31683]
Anne Milton: The Department and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence have published guidance to support the national health service in commissioning and providing effective services to prevent, diagnose and treat tuberculosis (TB).
The Department has funded TB Alert, the United Kingdom's national TB charity, to raise awareness of TB among the public and primary health care professionals to help improve TB detection and treatment completion.
The Department has also funded a "Find and Treat" outreach programme in London, to work alongside local TB services to detect and treat cases of TB among the homeless and other vulnerable groups.
Transport
Aircraft: Inspections
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) UK-registered and (b) foreign-registered aircraft were inspected by the Civil Aviation Authority in each of the last 12 months; what the country of registration was of each such foreign-registered aircraft; where each such inspection took place; and whether prior notice of inspection was given in each instance. [31935]
Mrs Villiers: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) inspections of UK registered aircraft form part of a pre-planned comprehensive monitoring programme that is applied to each UK owner/operator and therefore the CAA has no need to record this data centrally. The CAA carried out approximately 790 airworthiness inspections and 24 operational ramp inspections on UK registered aircraft during the last 12 months.
Other elements of the monitoring programme, such as flight inspections, may also include an element of aircraft inspection.
The CAA also inspects foreign registered aircraft on behalf of the Department for Transport as part of the European Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft programme. No prior notice of such inspections is given. The number of inspections conducted on foreign aircraft in each of the last 12 months is detailed in the following table:
| Month | Number of Inspections |
As of 16 December the CAA had inspected aircraft from 92 states or territories in 2010. The inspections took place at 36 aerodromes across the UK. Details of the states of registration of the aircraft inspected in 2010 and the aerodromes at which those inspections were conducted have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
British Cycling: Roads
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings his Department has had with British Cycling to discuss the future of cycle racing on the roads. [32216]
Norman Baker: Ministers and officials have met British Cycling a number of times since May 2009. The most recent meetings are as follows:
Officials in the Department's Road User Safety Division had a meeting with British Cycling on 26 May 2010, and are due to meet them again in early January 2011.
I had a meeting with British Cycling on 28 June 2010 and am due to meet them again in mid-January.
Officials in The Traffic Signs and Signals Branch had a meeting with British Cycling on 13 July 2010.
Ministers have also since May 2010 had useful meetings with other cycle groups to discuss this issue.
Buses: Antisocial Behaviour
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department has issued to bus operators on addressing antisocial behaviour on its services. [31377]
Norman Baker: In 2005 and 2006, the Department for Transport issued practical guidance to bus operators on reducing the risks of violence, antisocial behaviour and criminal damage on board, as well as a series of guidelines for operators on personal security. The documents are archived on the internet at the following addresses:
Earlier this year, the Department for Transport consulted on improving the bus journey experience through changes to the conduct regulations, which set out the duties of bus and coach drivers, inspectors and conductors, and passengers. A Government response to this consultation will be published in due course. The issue of driver training and conduct was discussed with bus operators at the July meeting of the Bus Partnership Forum, which I chair, and is on the agenda for the forum's meeting in January. The forum is made up of representatives of the bus industry, passenger transport executives, transport co-ordinating officers, passengers and disability groups.
Crossrail
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the extension by one year of the planned timetable for completion of the Crossrail scheme. [31028]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 16 December 2010]: The lengthening of the delivery programme for the central tunnel section of the Crossrail project has enabled substantial savings in the costs for the scheme.
Lengthening the construction programme does not increase the cost of the scheme to the Department for Transport.
Cycle Racing: Roads
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on reviewing and redrafting the Cycle Racing on the Highways Regulations 1960; and if he will make a statement. [32217]
Norman Baker: Officials are currently considering a redraft of the Cycle Racing on the Highways Regulations 1960, taking into account the views of British Cycling and other cycling interest groups. I am keen to make progress on this matter.
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what consideration was given to lifting the Dartford Crossing tolls on 11 November 2010 following the closure of the Queen Elizabeth II bridge; [26276]
(2) on how many occasions the Dartford Crossing tolls have been suspended owing to congestion since 6 May 2010. [26277]
Mike Penning: The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was closed on 11 November because high winds created a safety hazard to all vehicles travelling over the bridge.
The delays were caused, not by the collection of charges but by the non-availability of the infrastructure. The southbound contra-flow (through the East Tunnel) and the queuing through the tunnel northbound (due to delays at J30/J31) both constrained traffic flows.
Subsequent to events on 11 November, we have been made aware of the significant delays experienced by drivers using local roads in and around Thurrock. We will learn from this experience and will consider how in the future we receive earlier warning of congestion on local roads.
Since 6 May 2010, the Dartford Crossing charges have been suspended on one occasion. This was on 6 August following a lorry fire on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which necessitated its closure because of smoke, clearance of the vehicle and debris on the road.
Departmental NDPBs
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much expenditure each of his Department's non-departmental public bodies has incurred on redundancy costs since 1 May 2010. [30907]
Norman Baker [holding answer 16 December 2010]: Expenditure for redundancy costs for each of the Department's non-departmental public bodies reported since 1 May 2010, are:
| Redundancy costs since May 2010 (£) | |
There has been no expenditure incurred on redundancy costs for the British Transport Police Authority, Renewable Fuels Agency, Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory
Committee, Directly Operated Railways Ltd, Directly Operated Railways Ltd, Passenger Focus, Traffic Commissioners and Deputies.
Departmental Pay
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff employed by his Department were not paid at a rate equivalent to or above the London living wage in the latest period for which figures are available. [31225]
Norman Baker: All London based staff employed by the Department for Transport and its seven executive agencies are paid at a rate equivalent to or above the London living wage.
EU Law
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many EU directives are pending transposition into domestic legislation by his Department; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such transposition. [27503]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport has 38 directives that are pending transposition into domestic legislation.
A full assessment of the cost of each item of legislation will be carried out once a final decision is reached on the method of transposition and implementation. This information will be published in impact assessments for each directive.
First Capital Connect: Overcrowding
Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the level of overcrowding on First Capital Connect passenger rail services between Stevenage and Kings Cross; and if he will make a statement. [29640]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport does not hold detailed passenger count information for every station stop on individual services between Stevenage and King's Cross. The limited information that the Department holds for average critical loads on peak services arriving into and departing from King's Cross during spring 2010 indicates that trains on this line that stop at Stevenage have not been operating in excess of capacity. However, the information we have is not comprehensive, so it is possible that individual instances of over-crowding may be occurring.
The Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) publishes aggregate statistics on 'passengers in excess of capacity' in Table 2.4 in National Rail Trends (NRT), which can be found at:
These figures were last updated in July 2010 for the autumn 2009 period.
Motorcycles: Licensing
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will implement the Third European Driving Licence Directive to allow novice motorcycle licence holders to progress through each licensing category stage via a training rather than a testing route; and if he will make a statement. [30998]
Mike Penning: The issue is being considered as part of the review of the motorcycle test announced on 8 June 2010.
Network Rail: Passengers
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effects on passengers of the operation by train companies of different off-peak times; and if he will take steps to harmonise such times across the rail network. [31981]
Mrs Villiers: No assessment has been carried out by the Department for Transport on the effects on passengers of the operation by train companies of different off-peak times.
The franchise agreement allows individual train operators the flexibility to define what is 'off-peak' according to local conditions. We do not consider it appropriate to require all train operators to have the same off-peak periods because this could lead to many passengers being subject to restrictions at times when it was not necessary.
North East
Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which Ministers in his Department have visited the North East since their appointment. [31737]
Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport and I have each visited the North East since our appointment.
Railways: Antisocial Behaviour
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many arrests were made for antisocial behaviour on trains in each year since 2007. [31602]
Mrs Villiers: This information is not held by the Department for Transport, but by the British Transport Police who can be contacted at 25 Camden Road, London, NW1 9LN or by e-mail at:
parliament@btp.pnn.police.uk
Railways: Disability
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the accuracy of the information that train operating companies running services in London provide to Transport for London on the accessibility of their stations for disabled people. [27230]
Mrs Villiers: The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) provides comprehensive information on disabled access to stations via the National Rail Enquiries website.
However, in recognition of the importance of accurate information and assistance to disabled passengers, the Department for Transport has recently provided financial support to ATOC to carry out access audits of every station in Great Britain for use with the "Stations Made Easy" application, which launched in December 2009. Individual station operators are required to update this
where facilities are upgraded, or are temporarily not available. New audits can be carried out where major changes are made.
Railways: Electrification
Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce plans for the electrification of rail lines in South Wales. [32144]
Mrs Villiers: The Government will be in a position to make an announcement on further electrification of the Great Western Main Line once the review of the InterCity Express Programme is complete. It is expected that this will be in the new year.
Railways: Fares
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to issue guidance on the installation of Oyster card recharge points at rail stations outside Greater London. [30820]
Mrs Villiers: There are currently no plans to issue guidance on the installation of Oyster card top up points at rail stations outside Greater London. Passengers can purchase top ups on the internet and upload to their Oyster cards at station validators/gate lines. Within London, at all but a small number of stations, top-ups are available through passenger operated ticket vending machines (TVMs) or at local Transport for London Ticketstop Agents.
Railways: Finance
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date his Department received the Rail Value for Money Study interim submission by Sir Roy McNulty. [29969]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 13 December 2010]: The Department for Transport received a draft of the Rail Value for Money Study interim submission in September 2010. This is in line with the announcement made on 14 June 2010, when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that he had asked for an acceleration of the study, so that Sir Roy McNulty could present his early findings in time to inform the Government's decisions on public spending in the autumn. The document was published on 7 December 2010, to coincide with the Government's announcement on franchising and the future structure of the rail industry.
Railways: Industrial Disputes
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 14 March 2005, Official Report, column 4W, on train operating companies (compensation), when the last payment was made by Government to a train operating company for loss of revenue arising from a dispute with a trade union; and how much that payment was. [29126]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 7 December 2010]: The information requested is commercially confidential.
Railways: Kent
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to reinstate recently closed train services linking Kent to the City of London. [31866]
Mrs Villiers: Department for Transport officials are working with Southeastern to assess the level of service provision to Maidstone. Any possible service changes will need to be affordable and provide value for money. It is hoped that this work will conclude before the end of February 2011.
Railways: South East Region
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he made of the performance of (a) Southeastern and (b) the previous operator for Mid Kent services between London and Maidstone over equivalent periods in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [30733]
Mrs Villiers: Southeastern's operational performance is reviewed by Department for Transport officials on a four weekly basis. This review looks across Southeastern's operations as a network. The Department does not hold information regarding the individual routes which Southeastern operates.
Network Rail is responsible for performance data for the rail industry. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for such information:
Peter Henderson
Acting Chief Executive
Network Rail
Kings Place
90 York Way
London, N1 9AG.
Railways: Standards
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recent progress towards meeting targets to reduce rail delays caused by infrastructure work. [29269]
Mrs Villiers: Monitoring Network Rail's progress in reducing the delays caused by infrastructure work is the responsibility of the independent Office of Rail Regulation, which published its latest quarterly assessment of the company's performance on 1 December 2010.
Railways: Travel Information
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to ensure accurate travel information is provided to rail passengers; and whether this will require changes to the Train Service Information Database. [32054]
Mrs Villiers:
Rail Franchise agreements require train operators to provide accurate information to passengers. As part of its Network Licence, Network Rail must ensure that timetables are available to passengers 12
weeks in advance of the date of operation, including any planned disruption. Compliance with the licence obligations is monitored and enforced by the Office of Rail Regulation.
Currently, the industry is developing a new train running information system which will be driven by the signalling system, and which will provide much more accurate and detailed information for passengers waiting at stations. This will be introduced progressively over the next three years.
Railways: Wales
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the funding set out in his Department's Statement of Funds Available has been allocated to railways in Wales. [31611]
Mrs Villiers: As required by paragraph 1D(1)(b) of schedule 4 to the Railways Act 1993, the Department for Transport's Statement of Funds Available during the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 relates to railway activities in Great Britain as a whole. There is no separate allocation of the funds, by the Department, to Wales.
Rescue Services
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has undertaken on his plans for search and rescue services; and if he will make a statement. [32106]
Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made in the House on 16 December 2010, Official Report, columns 133-134WS, in which I announced the start of a consultation on the modernisation of the coastguard. During the consultation period the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will formally negotiate with the trade unions and will hold staff briefings and public meetings.
Search and Rescue Services
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Ministry of Defence on the privatisation of search and rescue services; and if he will make a statement; [29953]
(2) whether he has made an assessment of the effects on the UK's capacity to fulfil its search and rescue obligations of privatising search and rescue operations; and if he will make a statement. [29954]
Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 16 December, Official Report, column 134WS.
Thameslink Railway Line: Maidstone
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the operators of the Southeastern rail franchise on connecting Maidstone to the Thameslink network; and if he will make a statement. [32051]
Mrs Villiers: The Thameslink programme will not be completed until 2018, several years after the expiry of the existing Southeastern and First Capital Connect franchises. The pattern of train services that will run from 2018 has not yet been decided.
Department for Transport officials are working with Southeastern looking at train service provision to Maidstone and how they could introduce incremental performance improvements on the North Kent Line. This includes reviewing the possibilities created by the Thameslink infrastructure works due to be complete at London Blackfriars in 2012. Any service change would need to be affordable and provide value for money.
Travel: Maidstone
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure adequate transport links between Maidstone and the City of London. [32053]
Mrs Villiers: The required level of rail services between Maidstone and London are secured through the Service Level Commitment specified in the Southeastern franchise agreement. A service level commitment is the current means by which the Secretary of State specifies the level, frequency, maximum journey times and stopping patterns of the railway passenger services that the franchisee is to operate.
Southeastern, as the train operator, is responsible for the detailed planning of the timetable. I expect Southeastern to keep its timetable under review and propose amendments or changes as it deems necessary.
Twickenham Station
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2010, Official Report, column 73W, when his Department plans to complete negotiations with Stagecoach South West Trains for the delivery of additional passenger capacity at Twickenham station. [32090]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport expects to complete commercial negotiations with Stagecoach South West Trains during 2011 for the delivery of additional passenger capacity and longer trains on the route to London Waterloo by 2014.
Waterloo Station
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to determine the future of the Waterloo International terminal; and what the reason is for the time taken to make that determination. [29188]
Mrs Villiers: The Secretary of State recently announced, as part of the rail settlement that additional vehicles will be provided to alleviate overcrowding on the network.
The Department for Transport will now be engaging with various stakeholders to agree the best solution in terms of operational effectiveness and value for money for taxpayers.
The outcome of this work will help determine the long term plans for the Waterloo International terminal.
The Government wants to see the former Eurostar platforms at Waterloo International terminal are brought back into use for domestic passenger services.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce a decision on the future of Waterloo International terminal. [30577]
Mrs Villiers: I refer to the hon. Member to the written answer given today to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) [UIN 29188].
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing: Construction
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes were built between 2005-06 and 2008-09. [31531]
Andrew Stunell: Information on the number of additional new-build affordable homes in England for the period requested can be found from the following link:
The information covers the supply of homes for social rent, intermediate rent and low cost home ownership.
Not all affordable housing is provided through new-build completions as supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. In 2009-10, for example, 57,730 additional affordable homes were provided in England through new-building, acquisition and refurbishment.
These are gross figures. I would draw the hon. Member's attention to the answer given to Lord Beecham of 10 November 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA84, on the net decrease in affordable housing of 200,000 between 1997-98 and 2009-10.
Big Society
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish examples of best practice for Big Society initiatives; and if he will make a statement. [30323]
Andrew Stunell: We intend to publish case studies focusing on the work of the Big Society vanguards in due course. In addition, the Big Society awards, launched by the Prime Minister on 22 November, will recognise outstanding examples of the Big Society in action.
The plans set out in the Localism Bill will help build the Big Society by radically transforming the relationships between central government, local government, communities and individuals. Local people are best placed to judge which Big Society initiatives work in their area-and to promote them locally. Central Government has an important role to play in galvanising and supporting people to become involved in building the Big Society.
The Secretary of State has issued the second invitation to local authorities under the Sustainable Communities Act on Wednesday 15 December. He invited councils to consult their communities and try to reach agreement with them about how they would like to improve their area.
Building Regulations
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that the planned local standards framework for building codes will not result in a decline in building standards. [31621]
Andrew Stunell: The Minister for Housing and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), recently proposed the concept of a Local Standards Framework as a means to reduce complexity, duplication and overlap in local standard-setting. My Department is now scoping out this idea with partners in house building, local government and more widely, with the aim of determining by the spring whether this would be a helpful approach to pursue.
The aim is both to reduce regulatory costs on house builders and to support local authorities and neighbourhoods to make informed decisions about additional technically robust local standards they may want to set in their local plans, taking account of the impact on viability of new development in their areas.
The framework would be additional to the Building Regulations, which will remain in place and ensure minimum build standards. These were last updated on 1 October this year and my ministerial statement of 16 December 2010, Official Report, column 115WS, set out the programme of work the Department will lead in the new year to establish proposals for consultation in late 2011.
Climate Change: Finance
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his plans for the future of the Climate Change Grant. [30767]
Greg Clark: The provisional Local Government Settlement for 2011-12 and 2012-13 contains provision for local planning authorities to cover planning functions, including climate change-related planning activity.
Community Development: Referendums
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if the franchise for referendums on neighbourhood plans will provide for a ballot paper for every (a) voter and (b) household. [31130]
Greg Clark: Every person with a qualifying address in the referendum area and who is entitled to vote in local council elections will be entitled to vote on neighbourhood planning proposals. We do not intend to make provision for household ballot papers.
Community Relations: Finance
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his plans for the future of the Cohesion Grant. [30768]
Andrew Stunell:
Cohesion funding will end in March 2011. My Department is currently developing a new approach to promote integration and participation. This
will take account of the Prevent Review and will build on this Department's previous work on cohesion.
Work is underway to consider funding decisions following the comprehensive spending review settlement and announcements of any funding will be made in due course.
Departmental Domestic Visits
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many official visits he has made to (a) the North East, (b) the North West, (c) the East Midlands, (d) the West Midlands, (e) Yorkshire and the Humber, (f) the East of England, (g) the South East, (h) Greater London and (i) the South West since his appointment. [30694]
Robert Neill: Since his appointment in May 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), has made officials visits to: Boscombe, Bradford, Liverpool, Southampton and Windsor and Maidenhead. He will be undertaking a series of further visits from the new year as he is keen to visit a wide range of places across the country.
Departmental Official Cars
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many journeys were undertaken by Ministerial drivers engaged by his Department since 6 May 2010; and in respect of how many such journeys a Minister (a) travelled in the car for (i) the whole and (ii) part of the journey and (b) did not travel in the car. [30773]
Robert Neill: The specific details of individual journeys by car are not recorded.
Departmental Overtime
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on overtime for staff working in the private office of the Secretary of State in each of the last five years. [28571]
Robert Neill: Total overtime payments to staff in the Secretary of State's office for the years in question are as follows
| £000 | |
| (1) Part year to 30 November 2010 | |
Departmental Pay
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many civil servants in his Department receive annual salaries of over (a) £40,000, (b) £50,000, (c) £60,000, (d) £70,000, (e) £80,000, (f) £90,000, (g) £100,000, (h) £134,565, (i) £142,500 and (j) £200,000. [31675]
Robert Neill: The following table shows how many civil servants in the Department for Communities and Local Government receive higher salaries than the given amounts:
| Salary | Total h eadcount |
Please note that the numbers of civil servants in the second column are cumulative and so are included in the totals within the row below.
The new Government are committed to transparency and have published detailed information on staff salaries and posts on the departmental website.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the effect of the increase in the standard rate of value added tax on his Department's annual expenditure. [31188]
Robert Neill: We have not made an estimate at departmental level. When making plans and forecasting expenditure, individual budget managers apply the rate of VAT that they expect to be chargeable at the time of the expenditure.
Departmental Stationery
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham of 4 September 2006, Official Report, column 1646W, on ballpoint pens, how much the (a) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) Deputy Prime Minister's Office spent on branded (i) ballpoint pens and (ii) fountain pens; and how many items of each make were purchased. [29367]
Robert Neill: The then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent a total of £3,450 on 20,000 ballpoint pens with Office of the Deputy Prime Minister branding. The new administration is encouraging staff to use up these pens to help reduce the need to buy stationery.
I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles) on 25 October 2006, Official Report, column 1935W, and the answer given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), on 25 October 2006, Official Report, columns 1934-35W.
Details of the expenditure on pens by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are not held.
Fire Services: Finance
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding he plans to allocate to each fire service in each year of the spending review period. [30635]
Robert Neill: The provisional Local Government Finance settlements for 2011-12 and 2012-13 were announced by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), on 13 December 2010. Details, including those for fire and rescue authorities, are available at:
Housing Revenue Accounts
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2010, Official Report, column 260W, on local government finance, what the monetary value was of non-school reserves in the Housing Revenue Account in respect of each local authority in each year. [32064]
Robert Neill: Information on Housing Revenue Account balances appropriated to reserves is not collected centrally.
Immigrants: Newham
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to increase the frequency of enumeration of new migrants resident in the London borough of Newham. [31589]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what steps are being taken to maximise the enumeration rate of new migrants resident in the London borough of Newham. 31589
The 2011 Census is building on the valuable experience gained and lessons learned from the 2001 Census by placing greater emphasis on collaboration with local authorities and with many community organisations. ONS is working in partnership with local authorities in a number of ways to maximise the response to the 2011 Census. These include the development of address lists, identifying hard to count populations through local and community intelligence, and promoting the value of the census and the need for completion to all local residents. We have provided the opportunity for local authorities to comment on address lists of communal establishments in their area and Newham Borough Council has contributed fully to this process.
We have appointed two full-time area managers covering Newham who are working closely with the census liaison manager, and the assistant census liaison manager, appointed by the Newham Borough Council. The area managers are making contact with a number of local community organisations representing Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Kosovan, Portuguese, Indian (including Sinhalese and Tamil speakers), Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean, Black African, Latin American, and Filipino communities. We also have a number of part-time community advisors working with Black African, Black Caribbean, Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi communities in
the Newham area. Posters and leaflets about the census in a variety of languages are being displayed in a number of venues and plans are being made to set up a number of public events to aid those who will need help in completing their questionnaires for any reason.
ONS has put a formal framework in place through which all councils can help to determine local priorities and channels of engagement. Local partnership plans identify important local enumeration challenges and provide the opportunity for the ONS local team and local council officials to discuss and determine these local priorities. Councillors from Newham have also been engaged and are being encouraged to be champions of the census in their wards.
Area managers (and local councils if possible) are being asked to encourage those with additional language skills to apply for the field staff roles currently advertised. As part of the recruitment process candidates are asked to include on their application form any language skills they have. This information will be provided to field managers so that they are fully aware of the linguistic skills that they have within their team.
A high proportion of the 35,000 field staff has been allocated to areas where it has been hard to obtain responses, particularly inner city areas, areas of high migration and population change.
The amount of resource directed towards collecting outstanding questionnaires in London is four times greater than that employed in 2001.
I hope you will be reassured by the steps that ONS is taking to enumerate residents in Newham.
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what mechanism is in place to assist communities without local enterprise partnerships; [31630]
(2) which communities in England will not be covered by local enterprise partnerships; [31631]
(3) what assistance his Department plans to provide to communities that are not covered by a local enterprise partnership. [31632]
Robert Neill: We received 62 proposals for local enterprise partnerships. We have so far asked 27 local enterprise partnerships to proceed towards the establishment of their board. Together, these partnerships cover about 67% of England's population and over 60% of all businesses in England. A map identifying those areas currently and not currently covered by local enterprise partnerships has been placed in the Library of the House.
However, we are in discussion with those partnerships that were not asked to proceed with their proposal. We continue to work with them as they further develop their proposals and we will welcome revised proposals from such places as they become ready. A number of areas are planning to submit their proposals in the new year and we will ensure that the House is kept up to date as new local enterprise partnerships are confirmed.
Local Government Finance
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of each grant proposed to be included in the formula grant (a) was in 2010-11 and (b) will be in 2011-12. [30633]
Robert Neill: Details of grants proposed to be included in formula grant in 2011-12 are available on our website at:
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the future of each area grant not planned to be included in the formula grant. [30641]
Robert Neill: The Government have significantly simplified and streamlined grant funding, by rolling around £4.4 billion of grant rolled into formula grant by 2014-15 into the unhypothecated formula grant. We have reduced revenue grants for councils from over 90 to fewer than 10 and rolled 18 grants into formula grant. The remaining grants will not be ring-fenced in 2011-12, apart from simplified schools funding. Beyond that, decisions about the precise mechanism by which grants not included in formula grant will be paid will be announced in due course.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the proposed reduction to formula grant over the Spending Review period he expects to make in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15. [30763]
Robert Neill: Our plans for tackling the deficit were laid out in the Spending Review announcement of 20 October 2010. On 13 December 2010 we announced our plans for the provisional local government finance settlements for 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of revenue expenditure by each local authority in England was from (a) revenue support grant, (b) area based grant, (c) council tax and (d) fees and charges in 2009-10. [31806]
Robert Neill [holding answer 20 December 2010]: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table that gives, by each local authority in England, the percentage of total service expenditure financed from (a) revenue support grant, (b) area based grant, (c) council tax and (d) fees and charges in 2009-10.
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was provided in grant to local authorities, excluding that financed by business rates, in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 1980-81; and what the equivalent figures are for 2011-12. [32057]
Robert Neill: Total central Government revenue grants to local authorities excluding business rates are shown in the following table for the years 1981-82 to 2009-10. These data are as reported by local authorities to the Department for Communities and Local Government on the Revenue Outturn (RO) form. Data for 1980-81 are not available.
Proposals for the provisional Local Government Finance settlement for 2011-12, including Revenue Support Grant are available at:
Local Government Finance: Rotherham
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the difference in cash terms is between central Government grants allocated to the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham for 2010-11 and 2011-12. [32096]
Robert Neill [holding answer 20 December 2010]: Rotherham's central Government grant allocation for 2010-11 is £163.4 million. This figure includes formula grant (adjusted to allow a like-for-like comparison with 2011-12) of £139.4 million and specific grants of £24 million.
The council's estimated central Government grant allocation for 2011-12 is £146.9 million. This figure includes formula grant of £123.2 million and specific grants (including council tax freeze grant) of £23.75 million.
Rotherham's revenue spending power, as set out in the provisional local government finance settlement, will decrease by 5% in 2011-12.
For comparative purposes, central Government grant includes formula grant and specific revenue grants for which allocations are available in 2011-12.
Local Government: Referendums
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many referendums held by local authorities have approved an increase in council tax in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [31860]
Robert Neill: We are not aware of any such referendums being held by local authorities in England in the last five years. Council tax referendums have previously been held in Milton Keynes in 1999, Bristol in 2001 and Croydon in 2001 and 2002.
Non-domestic Rates
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultation he undertook with (a) Government Departments, (b) local authorities and (c) other organisations on proposed changes to local business rates. [31523]
Robert Neill: The Local Growth White Paper 'Local growth: realising every places potential' confirmed that the Local Government Resource Review, starting in January, will consider proposals to allow local authorities to retain locally-raised business rates. The White Paper sought comments on those proposals, and the Government are considering all the responses we have received.
Non-domestic Rates: Carlisle
John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid in business rates in Carlisle city council area in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [32149]
Robert Neill: Carlisle city council collected £33,976,897 in non-domestic rates in 2008-09 and £34,488,599 in 2009-10. These amounts are irrespective to the year to which the non-domestic rates relates i.e. it includes non-domestic rates in respect of the current year, previous years and pre-payments for future years.
These figures are taken from national non-domestic rates (NNDR3) returns completed annually by all billing authorities in England.
Non-domestic Rates: Retail Trade
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many retail units with a rateable value of less than (a) £5,000, (b) £10,000 and (c) £15,000 are unoccupied. [31516]
Robert Neill: This information is not held centrally.
Planning
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures are in place to guide communities in the development of neighbourhood plans. [31633]
Greg Clark: Local planning authorities will have a duty to provide advice and support to those bodies preparing neighbourhood planning proposals. In addition, we expect to fund a number of organisations to provide support directly to communities in developing neighbourhood plans.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what measures are in place to ensure fairness and equality when determining what groups of people constitute a neighbourhood; [31634]
(2) what definition of neighbourhoods his Department uses in the development of neighbourhood plans. [31635]
Greg Clark: In areas with established parish councils, the neighbourhood area for the purposes of neighbourhood planning will normally be based on existing parish boundaries, unless there are good reasons for departing from them. In areas without parishes, community groups can put themselves forward to be designated by the local planning authority as the neighbourhood forum for an area. The community group will propose what the neighbourhood area's boundaries should be, but it will be the local planning authorities who will designate neighbourhood areas ensuring coherence and fairness across their areas and that neighbourhood boundaries make sense in planning terms.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to announce the funding available under the Neighbourhood Planning Vanguard scheme. [32226]
Greg Clark: The Neighbourhood Planning Vanguards scheme was announced by means of a notice on the DCLG website on Thursday 9 December. That notice states that, under this scheme, a grant of up to £20,000 will be made available towards the cost of the plan and orders within each neighbourhood. The notice is available at:
Planning Aid: Finance
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has been allocated to Planning Aid in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [31858]
Greg Clark: The Department for Communities and Local Government has allocated the following funding to Planning Aid over the last five financial years, including the current year:
| Financial year | £ million |
Population: Statistics
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology his Department uses to ensure that population figures are accurately predicted in areas with a high level of mobility. [31584]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to you Parliamentary Questions asking what methodology is used to ensure that population figures are accurately predicted in areas with a high level of mobility (31584).
ONS produces subnational population projections using an internationally recognised demographic method. This method provides projections of the estimated population of a local authority district based on assumptions that recent patterns of births, deaths, and migration continue.
These projections are not forecasts. They do not attempt to predict the impact that future government policies, changing economic circumstances or other factors might have on demographic behaviour.
The extent to which the subnational population projections accurately reflect the future population of an area thus depends on:
the accuracy of the population estimate used as the base for the projection; and
the extent to which recent demographic patterns are repeated in the future.
Descriptions of the methodologies used in producing the population estimates and the subnational population projections are published at:
The Quality Reports, which assess the population estimates; the sub national population projections; and the international and within UK migration estimates which feed into these, are published on the ONS website at:
The Quality Report for the subnational projections notes that the (2008-based) projected figure for 2009 was within 1% of the population estimate for 327 of the 354 local authorities then current in England.
Methods used by the ONS to quality assure the population estimates and projections include:
scrutiny of input data to remove abnormal values where appropriate;
checks against other data sources and previous demographic patterns.
consultation with local authorities over migration assumptions used in the projections;
The subnational population projections are also constrained to the national population projections. The assumptions on which the latter are based are agreed in liaison with the devolved administrations following consultations with key users of projections in each UK country and advice from an expert academic advisory panel.
Since migration is the most difficult aspect of population change to measure accurately, it is likely that areas with a highly mobile population have a less accurate population projection than areas with a less mobile population. A detailed discussion of what is known about the reliability of population estimates is provided in section 4 of the Quality Measures for Population Estimates paper published at:
Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his plans for the Preventing Violent Extremism Grant. [30771]
Andrew Stunell: The Home Secretary announced to the House on 9 November 2010 a review of the Government's strategy for preventing violent extremism. That made clear that the new Prevent strategy, which will be led by Home Office, will be more clearly distinguished from work to tackle wider forms of extremism and to promote integration. Work on these last two areas is currently being developed by officials in my Department, working closely with other Government Departments. Announcements about Prevent funding will be made by the Home Office following the publication of the revised Prevent strategy.
Renewable Energy: Planning Permission
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing temporary fixed-term planning consents for renewable energy installations on historic listed buildings. [32207]
Robert Neill: The Government are keen to encourage take up of renewable energy technologies, wherever possible, but we also need to protect historic buildings. Current legislation does not specifically preclude the grant of temporary listed building consents. It is for the local planning authority to decide whether such a condition would be appropriate.
Safer Stronger Communities Fund
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce his plans for the future of the Stronger Safer Communities Fund. [30766]
Andrew Stunell: The Stronger Safer Communities Fund was paid to local authorities until March 2008 when it became part of the non ring-fenced Area Based Grant. There will be no further DCLG funding for this over the spending review period, with the exception of £3.9 million which has been allocated to complete existing funding commitments in 2011-12.
I note the previous administration declined to commit any funding for this scheme beyond 2010-11 in a parliamentary answer of 23 February 2010, Official Report, column 474W.
Social Rented Housing
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the criteria used by local housing authorities to determine priority applicants; and if he will make a statement. [31861]
Andrew Stunell: Local authorities in England are responsible for drafting and making available their own scheme for determining the priorities to be followed in allocating social housing. However, under s.167 of the Housing Act 1996 an allocation scheme must be framed to ensure that 'reasonable preference' (i.e. overall priority) for social housing is given to the following categories of people:
people who are homeless or owed certain duties under the homelessness legislation
people living in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing
people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including ground relating to a disability
people who need to a particular locality in the district to avoid hardship to themselves or others
Social Services: Warrington
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of revenue spending power allocated to Warrington borough council for 2011-12 he plans to allocate to NHS support for social care. [31722]
Robert Neill: The Government are providing £1 billion of additional funding by 2014-15, through the Health budget to break down the barriers between health and social care. Warrington primary care trust will transfer £2.242 million to Warrington borough council in 2011-12 to support social care and benefit health. The Government have set out how the NHS should use this funding to support social care in the 2011-12 Operating Framework, published on 15 December.
Third Sector: Finance
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the community and voluntary sector of reductions in the levels of Government funding. [31620]
Andrew Stunell: Spending decisions are, and will continue to be, a matter for local authorities. We have a rich diversity of voluntary organisations, charities, faith groups, cooperatives, social enterprises and local housing trusts-all of who already make a huge contribution to local life. The Big Society means using their potential and involving them even more in delivering what people want. We do not expect local authorities to respond by passing on disproportionate cuts to other service providers, especially the voluntary sector.
The Government are directing at least £470 million over the spending review period to support capacity building in the voluntary sector, including a £100 million Transition Fund as short-term support for voluntary sector organisations providing public services.
Voluntary Organisations
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with Nottinghamshire county council on (a) local authority funding for the voluntary sector in Ashfield constituency and (b) implementation of the Government's Big Society initiative. [31126]
Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to my speech to the SOLACE conference of 14 October 2010. A copy of the associated departmental press notice is available in the Library of the House. Ministers have had, and will have, a series of discussions with local councils on the Local Government Funding Settlement.
Improvements in commissioning processes, the community rights agenda and the development of alternative forms of finance will all help to ensure the long-term sustainability of the voluntary sector when it is most needed by individuals and local communities and in the delivery of the Big Society.
Weather
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on proposals for a national winter emergency plan; and if he will make a statement. [31668]
Robert Neill: I received a number of representations from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents but as these raised issues that were for the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), they were forwarded to his Department to respond.
More broadly, I would note on 6 December DCLG published new 'Guidance on community action during severe weather: The Big Society in action'. The guidance challenges misconceptions about health and safety laws getting in the way of action and volunteering and sets out how individuals can survive the ice and snow and help their neighbours to do the same. It also emphasises the importance of providing support to older people, by calling in regularly on elderly friends, neighbours and relatives to see if they need help staying warm or with getting provisions and by letting them know about AgeUK's well-being advice and provides the charity's helpline for those who may be concerned about older people. I have placed a copy in the Library.
Welsh Language
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when his Department last published a Welsh language scheme in accordance with the provisions of the Welsh Language Act 1993; and at which web addresses such schemes can be accessed in (a) Welsh and (b) English. [31161]
Robert Neill: The Department continues to operate the Welsh language publication scheme agreed under our predecessor department, the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) in July 2001.
The Welsh language scheme is currently available in Welsh and English on the Department's intranet.
Energy and Climate Change
Carbon Sequestration
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2010, Official Report, column 206W, on carbon sequestration, what the reason is for the additional time taken to award the contract for the first carbon capture and storage demonstration project given that there is only one applicant for the contract. [32249]
Charles Hendry: Although there is now only one bidder for the contract it remains important that we carry out full and detailed negotiations with Scottish Power in order to secure an affordable outcome and establish appropriate commercial terms for the Project to secure best value for money. Within these constraints we are aiming to accelerate the negotiations to allow us to finalise the contract as quickly as possible.
Coal Fired Power Stations: Construction
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what conditions on carbon emissions will be included in the emissions performance standard for new coal-fired power stations. [31880]
Charles Hendry: The Government, in the coalition agreement, committed to establish an Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) that will prevent new coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient carbon capture and storage (CCS).
On 16 December the Government launched a consultation on reform of the electricity market, which includes a number of proposals for the EPS. We are consulting on a mechanism to provide an effective regulatory backstop to control emissions from new coal-fired power stations, whilst supporting the demonstration of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The EPS will sit alongside a system of rewards and incentives for low carbon generation, the building blocks of which are considered in the Electricity Market Reform consultation and the related consultation on carbon price support. Links to these can be found on the DECC website at:
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the building of coal-fired power stations. [31881]
Charles Hendry:
Government policy is to prevent the construction and operation of new unabated coal-fired power stations, while supporting the demonstration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which is
critical in allowing fossil fuel power stations to operate in a carbon constrained world. The Government will not consent coal-fired powers stations that do not have CCS equipped to a proportion of their capacity, and is currently consulting on planning requirements for England and Wales to achieve this as part of the revised draft National Policy Statements. Planning in Scotland is a devolved matter for Scottish Ministers.
In addition, on 16 December the Government launched a consultation on reform of the electricity market in Great Britain. This contains detailed proposals on the establishment of an Emissions Performance Standard (EPS), which will act as a regulatory backstop to prevent the construction and operation of unabated coal-fired power stations, and sit alongside a system of rewards and incentives for low-carbon generation.
Departmental Procurement
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have taken to comply with the Guidance of the Office of Government Commerce on promoting skills through public procurement issued in 2009. [31322]
Gregory Barker: The Department and its non-departmental bodies have taken the following steps to fully comply with the Guidance of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) on promoting skills through public procurement.
All tenders issued follow OGC best practice guidance. The Department and its arms length bodies use pre-qualification documents and invitations to tender based on OGC documents. Procurement staff seek opportunities to promote skills training and apprenticeships in contracts wherever appropriate. Staff are provided with relevant training and development and have the opportunity to achieve full accreditation as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS).
Energy: Housing
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what forecast of the likely average level of household energy use his Department used in its calculation of the potential for household energy saving resulting from retrofitted energy efficiency measures paid for by loans through the Green Deal. [31622]
Gregory Barker: The current assumptions being used by DECC to calculate the potential for energy savings are published in the Green Deal Development Stage Impact Assessment alongside the Energy Bill.
The variation in household energy use by property type (e.g. solid wall or cavity wall) means that different levels of energy use are used in the calculation of potential energy savings from the retrofitting of different types of energy efficiency measures.
A typical household in 2020 is assumed to be a reasonably well-insulated three-bed semi-detached household (with cavity wall insulation, and some loft insulation), which heats its living areas to 22°C. This assumes that households will progressively take more
comfort and increase their heating requirements over time, in line with recent trends. Assuming the house is heated using an 85% efficient boiler in 2020 (78% in 2010) then the level of gas needed for heating and hot water would be 23,100kWh a year or 16,000kWh for heating only.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what forecast of the likely average level of household energy use his Department used in its calculation of the potential for energy savings for households in the social housing sector resulting from retrofitted energy efficiency measures paid for by loans through the Green Deal. [31623]
Gregory Barker: The current assumptions being used by DECC to calculate the potential for energy savings are published in the Green Deal Development Stage Impact Assessment alongside the Energy Bill.
The variation in household energy use by property type (e.g. solid wall or cavity wall) means that different levels of energy use are used in the calculation of potential energy savings from the retrofitting of different types of energy efficiency measures. The impact assessment did not make separate calculations for households in the social housing sector.
An average household in 2020 is projected to be a reasonably well-insulated three-bed semi-detached household (with cavity wall insulation, and some loft insulation), which heats its living areas to 22°C. This assumes that households will progressively take more comfort and increase their heating requirements over time, in line with recent trends. Assuming the house is heated using an 85% efficient boiler in 2020 (78% in 2010) then the level of gas needed for heating and hot water would be 23,100kWh a year or 16,000kWh for heating only.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department made of the likely annual energy cost savings per household in the social housing sector resulting from retrofitted energy efficiency measures paid for by loans through the Green Deal. [31624]
Gregory Barker: Details of the illustrative estimates of annual energy cost savings per household as a result of different energy efficiency measures can be found in the annexes of the Green Deal Development Stage Impact Assessment, published alongside the Energy Bill. Energy cost savings are calculated by combining assumed energy use savings with projected future energy prices, which can be found on the DECC website.
The Green Deal Development Stage Impact Assessment did not make separate calculations for households in the social housing sector.
It is worth noting that the impact assessment does not separate the benefits of the possible Green Deal finance regime from those of a potential future energy company obligation. Consequently it does not anticipate how the measures will be paid for.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department made of the likely annual energy cost savings per household as a result of retrofitted energy efficiency measures paid for by loans through the Green Deal. [31625]
Gregory Barker: Details of the current illustrative estimates of annual energy cost savings per household as a result of different energy efficiency measures can be found in the annexes of the Green Deal Impact Assessment, published alongside the Energy Bill. Energy cost savings are calculated by combining the assumed energy use savings with the estimated future energy prices, which can be found on the DECC website.
It is worth noting that the impact assessment does not separate the possible benefits of the Green Deal finance regime from those of the potential future energy company obligation. Consequently it does not anticipate how the measures will be paid for.
Energy: Meters
Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the smart metering go-live phase prior to the establishment of the central data and communications entity to begin. [29274]
Charles Hendry: The Government and Ofgem published a Smart Metering Prospectus for consultation in July.
This set out proposals for how smart metering will be delivered. We are reviewing the extensive responses to the consultation and undertaking further stakeholder engagement and analysis. This work includes the development of the timetable for the rollout of smart meters, including the phase prior to the establishment of the central data and communications function. A response to the consultation will be published in the new year.
Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the key priority areas for pilot smart meter trials to be identified; and by what means the (a) format, (b) scope and (c) success criteria of pilot schemes will be decided. [29275]
Charles Hendry: A range of practical trials which will provide information relevant to the roll-out of smart meters in Great Britain are already underway, as part of the Energy Demand Research Project and the Low Carbon Networks Fund, both of which are managed by Ofgem. Energy suppliers will carry out further trialling of smart metering systems for which specifications are currently being developed, in the run-up to large-scale roll-out.
Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects (a) the Smart Meter Design Group and (b) the Data and Communication Group to (i) complete their work and (ii) publish any findings on smart metering. [29276]
Charles Hendry: The Government and Ofgem published a "Smart Metering Prospectus" for consultation in July.
This set out proposals for how smart metering will be delivered. We are reviewing the extensive responses to the consultation and undertaking further stakeholder engagement and analysis. The work of the Smart Meter Design Group and the Data and Communication Group is informing this process and the outputs of their work are being published on Ofgem's website. A response to the consultation will be published in the new year.
Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department plans to publish final proposals arising from the consultation on the proposals contained in the Smart Metering Implementation Programme Prospectus. [29277]
Charles Hendry: The Government and Ofgem, published a "Smart Metering Prospectus" for consultation in July. This set out proposals for how smart metering will be delivered, including design requirements, central communications, data management and the approach to rollout. We are reviewing the extensive responses to the consultation, and undertaking further stakeholder engagement and analysis. A response to the consultation will be published in the new year.
Energy: Prices
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to increase the transparency of energy tariffs for households; and if he will make a statement. [32114]
Charles Hendry: The Energy Bill, introduced into the House of Lords on 8 December, includes proposals to require energy suppliers to inform consumers through their bills about the cheapest available tariff to give customers greater control over their energy costs. Full details of the Bill are available online at:
In addition, Ofgem announced a review of the retail energy market to decide if further changes are needed to ensure the market works in the interests of consumers and to increase transparency. Ofgem will report on this review in March of next year. This announcement is available online at:
Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with (a) energy and (b) water suppliers on (i) energy prices and (ii) levels of infrastructure funding; and if he will bring forward proposals to establish a mechanism to ensure increases in suppliers' operating profit are passed on to the consumer. [32349]
Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials meet with suppliers on a regular basis to discuss market issues. Meetings with the water suppliers are a matter for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs.
We have no current plans to bring forward such proposals. However, we agree it is important that consumers have the lowest possible energy bills, consistent with the need to invest to reduce carbon emissions from energy and ensure security of supply.
Ofgem, therefore, monitors the market closely and reports quarterly on retail prices. Their latest report shows significant increases in estimated supplier margins for the year ahead, largely due to recent price increases. We are disappointed on behalf of consumers by this development and welcome the announcement of Ofgem's
review of the retail market. Ofgem will report on this review in March of next year. This announcement is available online at:
Environment Protection: Job Creation
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the number of green jobs that will be created in York by 2015. [32178]
Gregory Barker: Government-commissioned research indicates that, in 2008-09, employment in the UK Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services sector was approximately 910,000, including those employed in the supply chain of these industries, and is projected to increase to over a million by middle of the decade. The research includes regional job estimates, including for Yorkshire and Humber. The research is available online at:
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