14 Oct 2013 : Column 425W

14 Oct 2013 : Column 425W

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 14 October 2013

Prime Minister

Unemployment: Young People

Alison McGovern: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the terms of reference and scope of Sir Jeremy Heywood's inquiry into youth unemployment; and when he expects this inquiry to report. [170409]

The Prime Minister: The Cabinet Office is currently leading a comprehensive Government review of all policies, funding and provision for 16 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training. The objective is to identify opportunities to improve labour market outcomes for 16 to 24-year-olds who do not progress to university.

The review team will involve relevant Ministers from across Government and report their findings to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the autumn.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Prime Minister which Minister has lead responsibility for the regulation and operation of drones in civil airspace. [R] [169710]

The Prime Minister: The Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), has lead responsibility for these matters.

Wales

Carbon Emissions

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available. [169856]

Stephen Crabb: Nil. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) deals with the Carbon Offsetting Framework on behalf of the Wales Office. The Wales Office element of the MOJ's carbon credits for 2011-12 was 0.02% of £389.64.

Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with officials and Ministers in the Welsh Government in the last 12 months on the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011. [170435]

Mr David Jones: This measure was sponsored by an Assembly Member and as such I have corresponded with Ann Jones AM about this matter.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 426W

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170474]

Stephen Crabb: In the Wales Office, (a) 100% of disabled staff received an effective rating, and (b) 78% of all other staff received an effective rating and 22% received an ‘outstanding' rating.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170378]

Stephen Crabb: None.

Scotland

Carbon Emissions

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available. [169859]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: The Scotland Office had no spend on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in 2012-13.

Energy

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the largest six energy providers in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [169746]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: I intend to meet key energy providers and stakeholders in Scotland in the very near future.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170375]

Mr Alistair Carmichael: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join the Office do so on an assignment, secondment or loan arrangement from other Government bodies, but principally from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice. Both the Scottish Government and Ministry of Justice have operated voluntary early departure schemes. The number of staff leaving under these schemes in each year is:

14 Oct 2013 : Column 427W

No information is held by the Scotland Office on payments made to these staff in lieu of notice.

Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the Government's review of the fourth Carbon Budget to be completed. [170478]

Gregory Barker: Government will review progress towards the EU emissions goal in early 2014, and as appropriate, revise up our budget to align it with the actual EU trajectory.

Carbon Emissions: Fracking

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the carbon footprint produced by shale gas. [169959]

Gregory Barker: On 9 September 2013, Professor David J C MacKay FRS, and Dr Timothy J Stone CBE, published a report¹ titled “Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Shale Gas Extraction and Use”. The report, requested by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), presents available evidence on the potential greenhouse gas emissions from production of shale gas in the UK, and the compatibility of future production and use of shale gas in the UK with climate change targets.

¹ downloaded on 9 October 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/potential-greenhouse-gas-emissions-associated-with-shale-gas-production-and-use

Electricity: Prices

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the average cost to domestic electricity customers in (a) Greater Manchester, (b) Oxfordshire and (c) Surrey who consumed 3.300 kWh of electricity in each of the last three years. [170216]

Gregory Barker: The average cost to domestic electricity customers in the last three years is shown in the table. The county of Greater Manchester is within the North West Public Electricity Supply (PES) region. However, the counties of Oxfordshire and Surrey each have postcodes in various PES regions, and as such costs vary across the counties. Oxfordshire is covered by East Midlands, Midlands and Southern PES regions while Surrey is spread across London, South East and Southern PES regions.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 428W

These data are taken from Table 2.2.3 of DECC's publication Quarterly Energy Prices (QEP), assuming an annual electricity consumption of 3,300 kWh. Annual bill estimates for 2013 will be published in December's edition of QEP on 19 December 2013.

Energy

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the generating capacity in megawatt hours of (a) nuclear, (b) gas, (c) coal and (d) oil fuelled plant has been in each year since 2010-11. [170195]

Michael Fallon: Table 5.7 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics publishes the generating capacity of the UK power stations by fuel type. The figures for the last three years are summarised in the following table and relate to major power producers¹.

Energy Company Obligation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his latest estimate of the cost to consumers of the Energy Company Obligation is; and how that figure compares to his Department's original estimate. [170529]

Gregory Barker: In the impact assessment of June 2012 DECC published an estimated range of costs for ECO, with a central scenario of around £1.3 billion per annum on average. Although, as the IA explained, there are a large number of variables and uncertainties relating to this figure, we have seen no evidence to date that would lead us to change this estimate. For example,

14 Oct 2013 : Column 429W

over £250 million of ECO compliance has now been traded on the brokerage platform with prices in line with the £1.3 billion estimate. The ECO companies also report on their costs of delivery to Ofgem and initial indications are again broadly consistent with our original cost estimates.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme: Manufacturing Industries

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect of the Cross Sectoral Correction Factor on the competitiveness of UK manufacturing sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System. [169904]

Gregory Barker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 62W.

Insulation: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many homes in Wrexham constituency have received insulation under his Department's energy efficiency programmes in each of the last three years. [169797]

Gregory Barker: The Energy Savings Trust (EST) publishes reports on cavity wall insulation and professionally installed loft insulation delivered through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) as recorded in the Homes Energy Efficiency Database. The following table shows the number of installations of cavity wall and loft insulation under CERT in each of the last three years for the Wrexham constituency, as published by EST. The CERT year runs from 1 April to 31 March. The final year of CERT runs from 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2012.

In January 2013 the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes were launched to replace previous government schemes. In the first six months of 2013, 79 measures have been delivered under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) in the Wrexham constituency, and seven cashback vouchers have been paid.

Natural Gas: Pipelines

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been invested in extra pipeline capacity to bring gas from non-UK resources in each year since 2010-11. [170197]

Michael Fallon: The UK is well provided with pipeline capacity to bring gas from non-UK resources. The UK has import deliverability of c.100 bcm/y through pipelines from non-UK resources, and in addition the UK also

14 Oct 2013 : Column 430W

has significant LNG import capacity (c.53 bcm/y). To place this in context, total annual consumption of gas in 2012 was 78.3 bcm.

Gas pipeline developments and the supply of gas are commercial activities, and so the amount and source of investment is a matter for the companies concerned.

Natural Gas: Storage

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his plans are on increasing national gas-storage facilities. [170159]

Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the written statement made by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), on 4 September 2013, Official Report, columns 21-22WS:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130904/wmstext/130904m0001.htm

We have analysed interventions in the gas market to establish whether they might improve our gas security cost-effectively, and based on this we see no case for a further taxpayer-funded intervention in the gas market to increase storage. We have seen and continue to see new storage come forward from the market without our intervention. Two new storage facilities have recently been built, and two more are under construction. Once these facilities are complete, the capability of UK storage facilities to meet peak demand will have doubled since 2000.

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been invested in extra gas storage capacity in the UK in each year since 2010-11. [170196]

Michael Fallon: We have seen and continue to see new storage come forward from the market. Two new storage facilities have recently been built; Holford in Cheshire was completed February 2013 and Aldbrough in Yorkshire completed November 2012. Two more are under construction. Once these facilities are complete, the capability of UK storage facilities to meet peak demand will have doubled since 2000.

Gas storage developments are commercial activities. The amount and source of investment is a matter for the companies concerned.

Oil: Exploration

Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the Exchequer received in income from petroleum exploration and development licenses on land in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12. [170580]

Michael Fallon: Income received by the Exchequer from onshore (land) petroleum exploration and development licenses (PEDL) in the years specified is set out in the following table.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 431W

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff in his Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170367]

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was created in October 2008, to bring together energy and climate change mitigation policy.

DECC has never declared a redundancy situation in the Department and as such no staff have been made redundant during any of the stated financial years.

Renewable Energy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what estimate he has made of when offshore wind will reach grid parity; [169792]

(2) what estimate he has made of when solar PV will reach grid parity; [169793]

(3) what estimate he has made of when onshore wind will reach grid parity. [169794]

Gregory Barker: The Department has a strong focus on reducing the cost of renewable technologies.

Looking forward, DECC publishes levelised cost estimates of various generation technologies on the DECC website. The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total cost of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant’s lifetime (per megawatt-hour). The latest published figures are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decc-electricity-generation-costs-2013

As can be seen from the figures in this report, the levelised cost of onshore wind, offshore wind and solar PV are expected to fall over time. This is reflected in the proposed strike prices for such technologies in the draft EMR delivery plan, which shows costs falling for all technologies over the coming years.

It is hard to estimate with certainty when grid parity will occur because of, for example, uncertainty on future electricity prices and different costs of different size and types of projects.

Taking account of those uncertainties, we might expect some projects within these technologies to reach parity with wholesale electricity prices in the latter half of this decade or 2020s, depending on the electricity cost price scenario used and the speed of cost reductions. Please note that for low-carbon generation grid parity does not automatically mean investments will occur as projects remain exposed to the risk of low wholesale prices and investors are unlikely to invest on the expectation that prices remain high enough.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 432W

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cross-lifetime consumer end cost is for each mode of renewable energy to produce an average unit of electricity. [170009]

Gregory Barker: DECC has not estimated the cross-lifetime consumer end cost for each mode of renewable energy. However, DECC does publish levelised cost estimates of various generation technologies on the DECC website. The levelised cost of electricity generation for a particular technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant's lifetime (per megawatt-hour).

Levelised costs include pre-development costs, capex and infrastructure costs, operating costs, connection costs and where appropriate carbon and fuel costs. Levelised cost estimates for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is uncertainty around these estimates. The latest published figures are available:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decc-electricity-generation-costs-2013

It should be noted that levelised cost estimates are intended to represent the average cost of building a plant and do directly reflect the impacts on the bills of energy consumers.

In addition to levelised costs, DECC publishes estimates of the impacts of policies on energy prices and bills. The latest publication estimates that support for renewable electricity generation through the Renewables Obligation accounts for around 2% (or £30, in real 2012 prices) of the household dual fuel energy bill:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/172923/130326_Price_and_Bill_ Impacts_Report_Final

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policy of the draft decision of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee on the UK's National Renewable Energy Action Plan published in July 2013. [170544]

Michael Fallon: I am disappointed that the Committee has decided to make a finding of non-compliance with respect to Article 7 as it applies to the United Kingdom's NREAP. The United Kingdom is of course aware of its obligations under Article 7 and will seek to act in compliance with them where those obligations apply. The National Renewable Energy Action Plan was based on the Renewable Energy Strategy which was developed following consultation in 2008.

We note that the committee found in favour of the UK Government in relation to all the other aspects of the complaint—in particular, those relating to the planning decisions on the wind farm involved. There is no formal role for the NREAP in planning decisions. The policy documents in relation to DECC's energy infrastructure consenting decisions, notably the National Policy Statements, are unaffected by this decision and were in any event subject to public participation as required by

14 Oct 2013 : Column 433W

Article 7. Therefore, the Committee's draft findings are not expected to have an effect on DECC's planning decisions or policy.

Renewable Energy: Heating

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive for residential properties; and when he expects that grant to be available. [170243]

Gregory Barker: We published the details of the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive on 12 July; and these are available through our website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-heat-incentive-proposals-for-a-domestic-scheme

Subject to EU state aid and parliamentary approval, we intend to open the scheme for payments from spring 2014.

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of heat generated by heat pumps that can be considered as renewable according to existing regulations. [170484]

Gregory Barker: The EC directive on renewable energy defines the renewable energy from a heat pump as the total usable heat less the energy used to drive the heat pump. The Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) of a heat pump, a measure of its efficiency, is defined as the heat output divided by the energy input. This means that the corresponding renewable energy can be defined as the heat output times (1 - 1/SPF). The directive also sets a minimum SPF for heat pump outputs to be defined as renewable under the terms of the directive. For electrically driven heat pumps, this is currently 2.5; for heat driven ones, it is 1.15. When this is achieved the renewable component is at least 60% of the total heat output of an electrically driven heat pump, and 13% of a heat driven one. For electric heat pumps with an SPF of 3.0, the share is 67%. We estimate that most (electric) heat pumps operating in UK houses have SPFs in the range 2.5 to 3, and we are undertaking a major monitoring programme of installations under the renewable heat premium payment (RHPP) policy.

Wind Power

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many wind farm developers did not have the relevant licences to erect wind turbines over 10mw in the last year for which figures are available. [169808]

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) is not aware of any wind turbines having been erected without the developer having obtained all necessary licences which they are required to obtain.

In respect of licences to generate electricity granted under the Electricity Act 1989, a recent judgment (or Opinion) in the Scottish Courts ([2013] CSOH 158¹) concluded that Scottish Ministers did not have power to grant consent under section 36 of that Act (which is

14 Oct 2013 : Column 434W

necessary to construct generating stations of a certain size) to a person who made such application before holding such an electricity generation licence (or an exemption from the requirement to hold such a licence). We understand that Scottish Ministers intend to appeal the judgment.

Decisions of the Scottish Courts are not binding in England and Wales and consenting authorities in England and Wales have not taken the approach that it is necessary to hold a generation licence (or an exemption) under the Act before applying for consent under section 36 of the Act.

¹ http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2013CSOH158.html

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average annual failure rate of wind turbines is. [170004]

Gregory Barker: The Department does not hold this information.

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average installation cost of a wind turbine is. [170008]

Gregory Barker: DECC has published levelised cost estimates of various generation technologies on the DECC website since 2010. The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant's lifetime (per megawatt- hour). Levelised costs include pre-development costs, capex and infrastructure costs, operating costs, connection costs and carbon and fuel costs. Installation costs, along with other costs, form part of the capital costs of a project.

Levelised costs do not include revenues or support payments. The estimates include costs for projects starting now and in the future. All documents relating to electricity generation costs are available on the DECC website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/energy-generation-cost-projections

Table 2 of this report shows central estimates of the levelised costs of various technologies for projects starting in 2013 using a 10% discount rate, broken down into components parts. These are copied here for onshore wind and offshore wind Rounds 2 and 3:

14 Oct 2013 : Column 435W

Levelised cost estimates for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates.

It is appropriate to consider a range of cost estimates as pipeline projects show a large range around these central values.

Table 3 of this report shows a range for the levelised costs of various technologies for projects starting in 20.13 using a 10% discount rate. Those representing high and low capital estimates for onshore wind and offshore wind Rounds 2 and 3 are copied here:

Wind Power: Noise

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the planning process takes account of potential effects on health of noise from wind farms; and if he will make a statement. [169776]

Gregory Barker: A number of independent peer-reviewed research studies commissioned by Government have looked at the impacts of noise from wind farms, and concluded that there is no evidence of health effects arising from infrasound or low frequency noise generated by wind turbines, for turbines built according to our guidelines.

Wind farms will only be developed where the impacts are, or can be made, acceptable. For onshore wind developments of 50 MW or less installed capacity (under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990), the National Planning Policy Framework sets out how noise impacts should be assessed in planning decision making. The National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1) and the National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure (EN-3) provides guidance on noise impacts for wind farm projects in England and Wales with generating capacities of more than 50 MW onshore and 100 MW offshore.

Wind Power: Northamptonshire

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding his Department will provide to the developer of the Spring Farm Ridge wind farm application in South Northamptonshire, if that developer is approved. [170587]

Michael Fallon: The level of support available for any wind farm is dependent on the mechanism through which it receives support.

Onshore wind generating stations above five megawatts in scale are eligible for support under the renewables obligation (RO), administered by Ofgem. Stations that

14 Oct 2013 : Column 436W

satisfy the eligibility requirements and accredit under the scheme between now and 31 March 2017 are eligible to receive 0.9 renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) for every megawatt-hour of eligible renewable electricity generated.

As an alternative to the RO, onshore wind generating stations will also be eligible for support under contracts for difference. A public consultation on proposed strike prices for a range of renewable technologies, including onshore wind, closed on 25 September. The responses are being analysed and we expect to confirm the final strike prices in December.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether contracts let in the Round 3 tranche of offshore wind energy contracts will be subject to the provisions of the EU (a) procurement and (b) utilities directives; and if he will make a statement. [169774]

Gregory Barker: The Department does not anticipate letting any contracts to procure the works, goods or services required to build and operate the Round 3 offshore wind farms. In due course, should the developers of the Round 3 offshore wind farms be in a position to let contracts, it will be up to those developers to seek their own legal advice to determine whether any contracts they let are bound by the provisions of the EU procurement or utilities directives.

Northern Ireland

Army

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will establish an independent panel to investigate the events in Ballymurphy in August 1971. [169852]

Mrs Villiers: I have received the proposal from the Ballymurphy families for an independent review panel into events surrounding deaths in the Ballymurphy area in August 1971. This proposal is currently being considered.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions she has had with the First and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland regarding the killings in Ballymurphy in August 1971. [169993]

Mrs Villiers: I hold regular meetings with the First and Deputy First Minister covering a range of issues, including addressing the past in Northern Ireland.

Ms Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how she plans to assess the implementation of independent panels to investigate specific cases from the past. [169994]

Mrs Villiers: Each case is assessed on its merits and consideration is given to a range of issues including other ongoing investigations.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 437W

Carbon Emissions

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spent on the Government Carbon Offsetting Framework in the latest year for which figures are available. [169861]

Mrs Villiers: For the year 2012-13, my Department spent £1,752 under the Government's Carbon Offsetting Framework.

Civil Disorder

Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the effects of public disorder in summer 2013 on the economy in Northern Ireland. [170543]

Mrs Villiers: I have condemned the public disorder in the summer in the strongest terms. We and the Executive do all we can to make clear to people outside that Northern Ireland is a confident, forward looking place that is great to live, work and do business in. The violence of a tiny and unrepresentative minority can undermine that work and damage prospects for the economy, and for community relations.

Performance Appraisal

Mrs Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of (a) disabled and

14 Oct 2013 : Column 438W

(b)

all other staff employed by her Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2012-13. [170463]

Mrs Villiers: For the reporting year 2012-13, 19% of staff employed by my Department were marked as ‘outstanding'; of these, 5.6% of staff have declared themselves as disabled. The remaining 71% were marked as ‘satisfactory' and of staff in this category, 3.7 % have declared themselves to be disabled.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to her Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice. [170356]

Mrs Villiers: My Department has two executive non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body—the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As these bodies are independent of Government, the hon. Member may wish to write to the commissions directly on these matters—contact details are set out in the following table:

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in her Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170374]

Mrs Villiers: No staff in my Department have been made redundant since 2010.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether she has had any discussions about the acquisition and deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in relation to the policing of (a) the recent G8 summit and (b) public order disturbances arising from parades. [R] [169708]

Mrs Villiers: I meet regularly with the Chief Constable to discuss a range of issues in relation to the security situation in Northern Ireland, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Policing in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and therefore a responsibility for the local Minister for Justice. This includes responsibility for the procurement and deployment of operational assets including unmanned aerial vehicles.

Attorney-General

Abortion: Prosecutions

Mr Amess: To ask the Attorney-General what factors were taken into account by the Crown Prosecution Service in declining to prosecute those suspected of being complicit in unlawful gender abortions in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [170116]

The Solicitor-General: The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has provided full written reasons that explain the decision making in the cases referred to. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

The DPP has reviewed those decisions personally and the Attorney-General is satisfied that these difficult decisions were taken properly and conscientiously.

On the facts of the cases referred to, the Crown Prosecution Service concluded that it would not be possible to prove that either doctor authorised an abortion on gender-specific grounds alone.

Mr Amess: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of suspected sex-selection abortions in the United Kingdom have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for investigation and possible prosecution in each year since 2010; what the outcome was in each case where proceedings are complete; and if he will make a statement. [170119]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 439W

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not conduct criminal investigations. That is a matter for the police.

The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of cases referred to it for a charging decision where an offence or offences of sex selective abortions are alleged. To provide this information would require a manual search of files incurring disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Prosecutions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Attorney-General with reference to the answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, columns 317-18W, on drugs: prosecutions, if he will provide the latest available data on the number of offences charged for supply and possession in the last complete financial year. [169782]

The Solicitor-General: The data provided in reference to the Attorney-General’s answer of 14 March 2013, Official Report, columns 317-18W, contained tables detailing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) figures by police force area from the financial year 2007-08. These tables have been updated to August 2013 and I am placing them in the Library of the House of Commons.

Supply and possession of drugs offences are prosecuted under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The records held by the CPS identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. The tables therefore show the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged for supply and possession offences for the last five complete financial years. Offences for possession with intent to supply have been separated out for clarity. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

Offences against Children: Prosecutions

Ann Coffey: To ask the Attorney-General how many finalised defendant prosecutions were prosecuted under charges relating to sexual offences involving a victim under 18 years of age (a) for the last three years for which data are available and (b) since January 2013. [170444]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of completed prosecutions for the number of defendants, whose principal offence was categorised as sexual offences. The CPS also identifies, by way of a monitoring flag, all defendant cases involving a victim under 18 years of age. The following table sets out the number of such prosecutions in each of the last three complete calendar years and from 1 January 2013 to 10 October:

This definition includes crimes perpetrated by both adults and those under 18 years of age.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 440W

Prosecutions

Mr Amess: To ask the Attorney-General under what circumstances he intervenes in decisions made by the Crown Prosecution Service; if he will list the occasions when this has happened in each year since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [170117]

The Solicitor-General: The responsibilities of the Law Officers in respect of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are outlined in the “Protocol between the Attorney General and the Prosecuting Departments” which is published online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protocol-between-the-attorney-general-and-prosecuting-departments

The number of occasions where the Law Officers may have intervened, for example, by asking about particular decisions made by the CPS is not recorded centrally and such information could not be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Attorney-General how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to the Law Officers’ Departments in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice. [170343]

The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers’ Departments are not responsible for any non-departmental public bodies.

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many Serious Fraud Office (SFO) decisions to investigate were signed off by (a) Richard Alderman, (b) Phillippa Williamson and (c) other senior members of SFO staff during Mr Alderman’s tenure as director of the SFO; and what records were kept of such decisions. [167919]

The Attorney-General [holding answer 6 September 2013]: During Richard Alderman’s tenure, between 21 April 2008 and 20 April 2012, 58 cases were accepted for criminal investigation. These decisions were normally recorded on case acceptance notification forms.

The records show that seven of the 58 cases were accepted for investigation by Richard Alderman, 39 by Phillippa Williamson, and 12 by the Tactical Tasking and Coordination Group. This group reported to the director through the then Executive Board.

On 30 September at Southwark Crown court, HHJ Loraine-Smith ruled in favour of the Serious Fraud Office’s position that Richard Alderman was empowered to delegate the decision to accept cases.

Communities and Local Government

Betting Shops

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to local authorities on the use of powers to act against the proliferation of betting shops in a local area. [169936]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 441W

Brandon Lewis: Local planning authorities can issue an article 4 direction, in consultation with the local community, which removes permitted development rights and ensures that where there is a change of use a planning application is required. Guidance can be found on the Planning Portal, for example, the London borough of Barking and Dagenham has been consulting on an article 4 direction and associated supplementary planning guidance to address the proliferation of betting shops in the local area.

Charities

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to ensure that his Department does not give grants to charities whose principal officers or employees engage in criminal activity at protests. [169668]

Stephen Williams: In line with previous Administrations, the Department does not provide grants for organisations that are involved in criminal activity. Organisations that exist for political purposes would not meet the criteria for charitable status and we would be unable to award them grants under the Charities Act 2006. If the hon. Member is aware that any Government funding has been misused, or any other assistance given, for the purposes of inappropriate political campaigning, we would welcome the hon. Member drawing it to our attention.

Empty Property

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on council tax rates for empty properties and empowering local authorities to pursue compulsory purchase on long-term empty properties. [169742]

Brandon Lewis: The Government have a comprehensive empty homes strategy, as outlined in the answer of 11 December 2012, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA219. Since 1 April 2013 billing authorities can set the council tax levels on unoccupied and unfurnished properties between zero and 100%. If a property remains unoccupied and unfurnished for two years or more a billing authority can charge an empty homes premium of up to 50% extra council tax.

Local authorities have powers to purchase empty properties to bring them back into use. In order for a compulsory purchase order to be confirmed a local authority should have a scheme for the property, have been unable to bring it back into use in any other way, and be able to demonstrate that there are no financial or planning impediments to prevent its scheme going ahead. I would add that this Government have reformed Empty Dwelling Management Orders to ensure a more sensible balance between civil liberties, private property rights and state intervention.

Fire Services

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Fire Brigades Union regarding firefighters' retirement age; [169881]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 442W

(2) when he will reopen negotiations with the Fire Brigades Union on firefighters’ retirement age. [169882]

Brandon Lewis: I have met regularly with the Fire Brigades Union to discuss reforms to the firefighters' pension schemes in England, most recently on 7 October 2013. I am happy to continue discussions and would be prepared to involve ACAS to facilitate talks with employers on fitness and capability issues.

The Fire Brigades Union's trade dispute letter explains that the union would not be pursuing industrial action over the normal pension age of 60, which is in line with other uniformed services. Firefighters who joined the Fire and Rescue Service after 6 April 2006 already have a normal pension age of 60 and that pension age already applies to one in three firefighters.

Funerals: Low Incomes

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many grants have been issued for paupers' funerals in each of the last five years. [170084]

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the number of awards made for public health funerals; these are arranged by individual local authorities. Benefit claimants who are in receipt of an appropriate qualifying benefit may apply for a Social Fund Funeral Payment or a Budgeting Loan to help with the cost of the funeral of a relative or close friend. We do not hold information about how many of these awards may have been used towards the cost of a public health funeral. Table 1 gives the total number of funeral payment awards made in the last five years.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers he has to ensure that local planning authorities' estimates of the need for additional pitches for Gypsies and Travellers in their area are based upon accurate estimates of this need; and what steps he is empowered to take if such estimates are found to be inaccurate. [169743]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 443W

Brandon Lewis: Our planning policy for Traveller sites makes clear that as part of the local plan-making process, councils should objectively assess their own Traveller site needs and then identify a suitable five-year supply of sites to meet their need, as far as is consistent with national planning policy as a whole.

The local plan is subject to a public examination in front of an independent inspector. This will include testing the number of Traveller pitches in the plan and checking that the council's proposals are supported by a robust evidence base. Following the examination, the inspector reports either that the plan is sound and can be adopted or that the plan is unsound and should be withdrawn.

Mr Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the sharing of transit site facilities for Travellers by local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [169945]

Brandon Lewis: Our planning policy for Traveller sites returns to local councils, in consultation with their local community, the freedom and responsibility to assess their Traveller site needs including the need for transit sites. It asks councils to then work in consultation to identify a suitable five-year supply of sites to meet their objectively assessed need.

Local authorities have a duty to co-operate on planning issues that cross administrative boundaries. Our policy makes clear that local authorities should work together to prepare and maintain an up-to-date understanding of the likely permanent and transit accommodation needs for their areas. They should also consider the production of joint development plans to provide more flexibility in identifying sites, particularly if a local planning authority has special or strict planning constraints across its area.

Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) homes and (b) businesses in (i) Ribble Valley constituency, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) the UK have access to high speed broadband. [170561]

Mr Vaizey: Ofcom's Infrastructure Report update in 2012 stated that superfast broadband availability was 55.2% in the Lancashire county council area, compared with 65% for the UK as a whole at that time. Ofcom is likely to update its local estimates for counties and unitary authorities in the near future and when next reported these figures are likely to be higher than those reported in 2012. Figures are not available for the Ribble Valley constituency.

The Government allocated £10.83 million to support roll-out of broadband in Lancashire. The project is in delivery and is aiming to complete by 2015.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to increase the rate at which broadband is being rolled out to rural areas. [170114]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 444W

Mr Vaizey: 42 local broadband projects have signed contracts and are in implementation. 100,000 premises have had superfast broadband made available as a result of BDUK intervention. BDUK will continue to support local projects throughout the programme's lifecycle and October 2013 will see the acceleration of the roll out to more than 10,000 premises each week. By the spring of 2014 it is anticipated that 25,000 premises per week will be gaining access to superfast broadband and by the summer of 2014 that will rise up to 40,000 per week. Over the lifetime of the programme we estimate that over 4 million homes and businesses across the UK will have gained access to superfast broadband.

In addition, the Government are removing a swathe of red tape to avoid potential delays to the roll out of infrastructure. Measures are in place to relax the planning restrictions for new cabinets, poles and overhead lines, and mobile infrastructure, to speed up and reduce costs to communications providers rolling out broadband. The Government are leading discussions with key players to improve the co-ordination of street works and achieve value for money in relation to power supplies to cabinets as part of the rural broadband programme. The wayleave regime governing the installation of equipment on private land is also to be reformed which should help speeding up the installation of communications infrastructure in rural areas.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will consider flying the flags of the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies on a more regular basis; [170791]

(2) if she will consider flying the flags of the Commonwealth of Nations on a more regular basis. [170792]

Mrs Grant: The flags of the Commonwealth nations are flown on the ceremonial route on occasions including Trooping the Colour and associated events, London state visits and Commonwealth Day. There are currently no plans to fly them more regularly though we will be considering when they can be flown as part of the celebration of next year's Commonwealth games.

Historic Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the maintenance of historical properties in the UK is currently funded by revenue from Heritage Maintenance Funds. [169385]

Mr Vaizey: DCMS does not hold information on what proportion of the maintenance carried out to the UK's historic properties is funded by revenue from the approximately 135 Heritage Maintenance Funds in existence.

Musicians Union

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for what reason she has recently declined an invitation to meet representatives of the Musicians Union and Equity. [170781]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 445W

Mr Vaizey: The Secretary of State was unable to meet representatives of the Musicians’ Union and Equity due to diary pressures. I have regular meetings with the Musicians Union.

Newspaper Press: Retail Trade

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the progress of retailers in implementing guidelines on the display of newspapers and magazines featuring age sensitive content following the Bailey review; and if she will make a statement. [170236]

Mr Vaizey: In May 2013, the Government published the ‘Letting children be children: progress report’. The report set out progress on each of Reg Bailey's recommendations, including that the publishing and retail industry work to “ensure that magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers are not in easy sight of children”. The progress report is available on the gov.uk website.

Ofcom

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the employment contract for the chief executive of Ofcom is due to be renewed. [169997]

Mr Vaizey: The terms of employment for the chief executive of Ofcom are a matter for Ofcom, the independent regulator.

Piers

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds her Department makes available to refurbish privately-owned seafront piers. [170423]

Mr Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not directly provide funding to refurbish privately owned piers. However, funding may be available from the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage depending on a pier meeting their criteria for funding.

HLF has previously funded a number of piers in public or charitable ownership. Recent changes to its criteria mean that from 2013 it now also accepts applications from private individuals for physical work to heritage assets under their Our Heritage programme, which provides grants of more than £10,000 and up to £100,000 for projects related to national, regional or local heritage in the UK. This includes piers.

English Heritage provides grant aid to designated assets in England, normally at grade I and II*, prioritising heritage at risk.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to her Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice. [170346]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 446W

Mrs Grant: We do not hold central records for the non-departmental public bodies.

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in her Department were made redundant in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many such staff received payments in lieu of notice. [170364]

Mrs Grant: The following table shows the number of employees who took voluntary redundancy in the Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13, and the number of such staff who received payments in lieu of notice.

World Heritage Sites: South West

Mr Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department has made on plans for Tavistock to become the key eastern visitor centre for the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. [169729]

Mr Vaizey: It is a matter for the Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Site management to determine where visitor centres should be located.

Deputy Prime Minister

Devolution: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent representations he has received from the Welsh Government regarding a constitutional convention. [169880]

Greg Clark: The Deputy Prime Minister has not received any recent representations on the topic of a constitutional convention from the Welsh Government.

Electoral Register

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for how long a Commonwealth citizen must be present in the UK before they can be included in the electoral register. [169917]

Greg Clark: There is no specific length of time a qualifying Commonwealth citizen must be present in the UK before they can register to vote. However, in order for an electoral registration officer to add a qualifying Commonwealth citizen to the electoral register, they must be satisfied that he or she is resident in that constituency.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 447W

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what checks of immigration status are carried out before a person is included in the electoral register; and who undertakes such checks. [169918]

Greg Clark: The annual canvass form and the provisions for rolling registration capture a person's nationality. The electoral registration officer (ERO) uses this information to determine a person's eligibility to register. Electoral registration officers have the power to require further information if they have any doubts about the eligibility of any applicant.

In future when applying to register to vote under individual electoral registration, application forms will clearly set out the eligibility requirements and applicants will still have to declare their nationality. Additionally, it will be possible for the ERO to request further evidence regarding immigration status to determine whether an individual is eligible to register.

Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) whether his Department provides services to people resident in Wales or usually resident in Wales; [166102]

(2) whether his Office has a current Welsh language scheme; when that scheme was adopted; and whether it has been reviewed since May 2011. [166084]

Mr Hurd: The Deputy Prime Ministers Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office manages the gov.uk website, through which UK citizens can access Government information and digital services. The site links to all Welsh-language Government transactions via:

https://www.gov.uk/cymraeg

and has Welsh-language content for a number of commonly-used services, such as information on car tax and bank holidays. The site gives Government Departments the ability to publish Welsh-language content in line with the requirements of their individual Welsh language schemes.

The Cabinet Office does not yet have a Welsh language scheme.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Subsidies

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the administrative burden placed on UK farmers applying for the single farm payment compared to those in other EU member states; and if he will bring forward proposals to reduce that burden. [170507]

George Eustice: No such assessment has been made. Common agricultural policy (CAP) reform will from 2015 replace the existing single payment scheme with a new framework of direct payments. We are investing now in a much more efficient, customer friendly, online system ready to support implementation from 2015. The new CAP delivery system will be simpler and accessible to farmers by eliminating unnecessary complexities and by avoiding gold-plating.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 448W

Air Pollution

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reason he proposes to remove the legal duty on local authorities to monitor local air quality and designate air quality management areas. [169942]

George Eustice: The Government have consulted on options to improve the delivery of local air quality management responsibilities that local authorities have under the Environment Act 1995. This included proposals to streamline reporting for local air quality and to improve reporting on measures to improve air quality.

Local authorities do not have a legal duty to monitor local air quality. The consultation on local air quality management sought views on the implications of the Government's proposals for local air quality monitoring that does take place and also on whether or not local authorities should continue to have a duty to declare air quality management areas, where objectives set out in the Air Quality England Regulations 2000 are not met. The Government are considering the responses to their consultation and expect to publish a summary of those responses by the end of 2013. This will be followed by a further consultation on revised regulations and guidance in 2014.

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his answer of 18 July 2013, Official Report, column 859W, on biofuels, how many microgrammes of small particulates (PM2.5) per cubic metre of air he expects emissions from biomass combustion to add to the atmosphere in the UK in 2020 (a) net of fuels displaced by biomass and (b) not net of fuels displaced by biomass. [170509]

Dan Rogerson: The impacts on air quality arising from the use of biomass in 2020 have been assessed for the main combustion sources ie electricity generation, domestic and non-domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI) schemes and domestic heating outside of the RHI.

(a) The net impact on air quality of these biomass sources has been recently modelled as adding 0.327 ug/m3 to UK population weighted mean annual average concentrations of small particulates (PM2.5).

(b) The air quality impact of biomass use has not been assessed separately from other fuel sources, therefore it is not possible to estimate the gross change to PM2.5 concentrations in 2020.

Birds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with farming bodies to protect the yellowhammer in the UK; and what incentives exist for habitat improvement. [170741]

George Eustice: I am not aware of any discussions the Secretary of State has had with farming bodies to discuss the protection of the yellowhammer.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 449W

Incentives for farmers and other land managers to conserve and enhance important farmland bird habitats are provided through Environmental Stewardship.

Following a recent review, new payments were introduced from 1 January 2013 specifically to provide food over the winter months (the ‘hungry gap') for grain eating birds such as the yellowhammer: these payments include supplementary feeding and allowing silage fields to go to seed during the autumn to provide a food source over the winter.

We are also looking at what further enhancements can be made to current scheme options for the successor to Environmental Stewardship for delivery in the next Rural Development Programme.

Conservation of biodiversity is a devolved matter so action in other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved Administrations.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to calculate the loss to farmers as a consequence of outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis. [170228]

George Eustice: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer provided by the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath) on 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 67W.

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence is used by his Department to calculate compensation for animals destroyed as a result of a positive test for bovine tuberculosis; and where that evidence is published. [170229]

George Eustice: Compensation in England is in nearly all cases determined using table values, which reflect the average sales price of bovine animals in 51 different categories. Compensation rates, in each of the 51 categories, are re-calculated each month using large amounts of open market sales data. The categories are based on cattle age, gender, type (dairy or beef) and status (pedigree or non-pedigree).

Compensation table valuations by month can be found on the DEFRA website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/controls/compensation/cattle/

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which badger cull licences have been issued in the last year; and what geographical area each such licence covered. [170583]

George Eustice: Three badger cull licences have been issued in the last year by Natural England. Two licences cover the area of west Somerset, the first for six weeks and the second for three, the other licence covers west Gloucestershire.

Natural England issues a range of licences for purposes other than controlling bovine TB. Further information can be found on Natural England's website:

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/species/badgers.aspx

14 Oct 2013 : Column 450W

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any badger cull licences have been issued covering areas outside Somerset and Gloucestershire. [170586]

George Eustice: No badger cull licences have been issued by Natural England covering areas outside of west Somerset and west Gloucestershire. Dorset was a reserve pilot area, but no licence was issued.

Natural England issues a range of licences for purposes other than controlling bovine TB. Further information can be found on Natural England's website:

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/species/badgers.aspx

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many badgers have been culled in the (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Somerset pilot zones since the commencement of shooting; [170026]

(2) what the average number of badgers killed per day since the commencement of shooting in the (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Somerset pilot zones has been. [170027]

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 9 October 2013, Official Report, columns 23-24WS. Detailed operational information will not be published during the pilots. Details of the two badger cull pilots, including the number of badgers culled in each of the pilot areas, will be published in due course following their completion.

Buildings

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of office relocations made by staff of (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies (i) within the original building and (ii) to other buildings in each year since 2009-10; what the cost of (A) removals and (B) refurbishments related to such moves has been; and on how many occasions offices refurbished by his Department in that period have been used by his Department's staff for less than four years before a further move. [169462]

George Eustice: This question could be answered only at disproportionate cost due to the range and complexity of the information requested.

Within the cost threshold I can confirm that, since 2009-10, nine offices refurbished by core DEFRA and its non-departmental public bodies have been used by core DEFRA and its non-departmental public bodies' staff for less than four year before a further move. In all cases, the further moves reflected opportunities to make efficiency savings, for example in relation to lease breaks, which outweighed costs.

Butterflies

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to improve butterfly habitats in the UK. [170739]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 451W

George Eustice: England's biodiversity strategy, Biodiversity 2020, takes an integrated, large-scale approach to biodiversity conservation, exemplified by our Nature Improvement Areas initiative. This approach is designed to meet the habitat needs of many species including butterflies.

The strategy recognises that there will also be a need to take targeted action for the recovery of certain priority species, including certain butterfly species, whose conservation is not delivered through wider habitat-based measures. These species are catered for through Natural England's species recovery programme.

Incentives for farmers and other land managers to conserve and enhance important wildlife habitats, including those for butterflies, are provided under Environmental Stewardship.

Following a recent review, new payments were introduced from 1 January 2013 to improve habitats and food for pollinators including butterflies, which provide for the addition of wildflowers to buffer strips and field corners, and the provision of legume-rich and herb-rich swards.

For the future, we are currently considering the scope for further enhancements for pollinators as part of wider environmental delivery through the reformed common agricultural policy.

Conservation of biodiversity is a devolved matter so action in other parts of the UK is a matter for the devolved Administrations.

Fisheries: Western Sahara

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how he will ensure that a part of the money paid by the EU under the new protocol to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement will be for the benefit of the indigenous people of Western Sahara. [170501]

George Eustice: The new protocol to the fisheries agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco has not yet been agreed by the Council and the European Parliament. The Government are studying the proposed protocol carefully ahead of discussions expected in Council later this autumn.

The protocol, as initialled, requires Morocco to report on the geographical distribution of European funds for structural support and infrastructure, and to include the impact on jobs and investment.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what mechanism he will ensure that Saharawi will be employed on the EU vessels fishing under the new protocol to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement. [170502]

George Eustice: The new protocol to the fisheries agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco has not yet been agreed by the Council and the European Parliament. The Government are studying the proposed protocol carefully ahead of discussions expected in Council later this autumn.

The protocol, as initialled, contains no direct reference to the employment of Saharawi. However, it does include obligations for vessel owners to take on board a minimum number of Moroccan seamen.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 452W

Genetically Modified Organisms

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what research his Department has funded on the effectiveness of different approaches to tackling vitamin A deficiency in the Global South including GM, conventional plant breeding, vitamin supplements and diet diversification; [169831]

(2) what stage of development GM golden rice has reached in terms of (a) its risk assessment on health and the environment and (b) its efficacy in tackling vitamin A deficiency. [169833]

George Eustice: DEFRA has not commissioned any research in relation to tackling vitamin A deficiency. Up-to-date information on the development of GM golden rice is available on the website of the International Rice Research Initiative at:

http://irri.org/

Trials of golden rice have taken place in the Philippines to obtain data in support of an application for regulatory approval. If the authorities determine that golden rice is safe for human health and the environment, it is planned to undertake an independent evaluation of its efficacy in improving vitamin A status.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has conducted on the effect of the development of glyphosate-resistant weeds in (a) the UK, (b) the EU and (c) other countries and the effect of such developments on the costs of production. [169834]

George Eustice: DEFRA has not commissioned any research on the effect of glyphosate-resistant weeds.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has commissioned into the cost effectiveness of GM crops compared to conventionally bred varieties; and if he will provide the (a) conclusions and (b) cost of each such project. [169838]

Dan Rogerson: A DEFRA-funded review has been published of the farm-level economic impacts of GM crops, available at:

http://www.environmentalevidence.org/SR11002.html

The main conclusion from the study is that farmers growing GM crops experience higher costs but also higher profits than those producing the equivalent non-GM varieties. This research formed part of a wider project, the total cost of which was £55,000.

High Speed 2

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on limiting loss of ancient woodland from High Speed 2; [170144]

(2) how many of his Department's officials are working with the Department for Transport on limiting environmental damage during the construction of High Speed 2. [170145]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 453W

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has not held any specific discussions to date with the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), on limiting loss of ancient woodland from High Speed 2.

DEFRA's non-departmental public bodies, Natural England (NE) and the Environment Agency (EA), are providing environmental advice to HS2 Ltd at an early stage, in advance of any future parliamentary, planning, licensing and permitting phases. They will look at the impact of the route as they would any scheme of this nature. This will ensure that the development of HS2 is consistent with a robust approach to environmental compliance. NE and EA's engagement with HS2 Ltd is underpinned by formal service level agreements.

The varying range and terms of inputs required from DEFRA officials over the pre-legislative stages of HS2 to date mean it is not possible to determine a precise figure for numbers involved. Officials however work with their DFT colleagues to ensure that high standards of environmental compliance are integral parts of the HS2 project.

Parliament will have the opportunity to consider the final Environmental Statement (ES) when it is deposited alongside the Hybrid Bill. The final ES will include detailed information on the environmental impacts of the scheme and the company's proposed mitigation.

Landfill: EU Action

Mr McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the UK will meet the landfill reduction requirement set by the EU; and if he will make a statement. [170309]

Dan Rogerson: The latest provisional data indicate that the UK will meet its 2013 target under the EU landfill directive to divert waste from landfill. We also expect to meet the equivalent target for 2020.

Livestock: Transport

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many transporters have been involved with the export of livestock from the UK for further fattening or slaughter in the last 12 months. [169828]

George Eustice: 20 authorised transporters have been involved with the export of livestock from Great Britain for further fattening or slaughter in the last 12 months. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) is responsible for exports from Northern Ireland.

Pets: Sales

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the responsibilities of trading standards and a local authority's licensing department are with regards to the regulation of pet shops. [170723]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 454W

George Eustice: Trading standards officers are responsible for enforcing consumer-related legislation, including products on sale at pet shops. Under the Pet Animals Act 1951, local authorities (in most cases the Environmental Health Department) are responsible for issuing licences to pet shops. In deciding whether to grant a licence, local authorities need to be satisfied that the animals are being provided with their welfare needs.

Phytophthora Ramorum

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department is making in removing rhododendron bushes infected with Ramorum blight. [170720]

George Eustice: Current surveillance activity includes inspection or survey of wholesale and retail nurseries, ports, parks, gardens and the wider environment to identify and control new outbreaks. Extended surveys are also conducted around known Rhododendron ponticum outbreak sites and around positive larch sites to locate any Rhododendron ponticum. Eradication activity is based around landowners removing infected sporulating Rhododendron ponticum where identified by surveillance. Further Rhododendron ponticum clearance is being undertaken by landowners, via the Woodland Improvement Grant (WIG) schemes administered by the Forestry Commission, where it is in association with previous or ongoing infection and therefore considered a high risk of increasing inoculum levels.

Plants: Disease Control

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the biosecurity risks to the UK from tree and plant imports from outside the EU which are transhipped via another EU member state. [170763]

George Eustice: The Plant Health Directive (2000/29/EC) already prohibits the import of a number of tree and plant species into the EU in response to plant health risks that have been identified. Those species which can be imported must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate to confirm that they meet any relevant import requirements. Such requirements apply whether the trees and plants are imported directly into the UK, or elsewhere in the EU.

In addition, the Government are developing a new plant health risk register in response to the report of the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce, to enhance our existing process of identifying, assessing and responding to new and revised plant health threats. This will be published shortly.

Plastic Bags: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Environment Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the effectiveness of the plastic bag tax in reducing plastic bag usage in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [169287]

14 Oct 2013 : Column 455W

Dan Rogerson: Officials have been kept informed of the results of the carrier bag tax in Northern Ireland. We are determined to tackle the blight caused by carrier bags, and therefore have recently announced our plan to introduce a charge of 5p on single-use plastic carrier bags in autumn 2015 to decrease their distribution in England.

Productivity

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the Eurostat resource productivity scale. [169985]

George Eustice: No formal assessment of Eurostat's resource productivity scale has been made. However, it was considered alongside a number of other proposals as part of the UK response to a consultation by the European Commission on options for resource efficiency indicators in 2012. The UK response noted that the indicator has a number of recognised weaknesses regarding the coverage of materials and the treatment of imports. We are working with the Commission to help improve the methodology used.

The UK response to the consultation is available on the Commission website:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm

Public Footpaths: Coastal Areas

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what length of the English coastal path is currently available for public access; what proportion this represents of the eventual complete path; and when he expects the full length of the path to be publicly accessible. [170411]

George Eustice: An estimated 66% of the total English coast of 4,422 km has legally secured access. This includes existing long-distance paths such as the South West Coastal Path of 1,000 km. The right of coastal access has been introduced on a 32 km stretch of the English coast at Weymouth under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, representing 0.7% of the estimated total length of the English coast.

We have not set a timetable for completion of the English coastal path but are pressing ahead with delivering coastal access on a further 10 stretches of the English coast. We are applying the lessons that we have learnt to make sure it offers value for money.

Rural Areas: Public Transport

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that rural communities have adequate access to public transport. [170450]

George Eustice: DEFRA officials work closely with colleagues in the Department for Transport (DFT) to understand and monitor access concerns in rural areas and to rural proof the impacts of policies. For example, work is being carried out within DFT to set up a monitoring and evaluation framework for assessing reforms

14 Oct 2013 : Column 456W

to the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG), and DFT is discussing the possible impacts of these changes to rural areas with DEFRA.

DEFRA and DFT have also convened a working group of operators, local authorities, and voluntary providers to encourage them to come up with practical solutions to fill gaps in rural transport provision. This is part of the Government's response to last year's Youth Select Committee report on transport and young people. This work is ongoing and interim findings are due next spring.

Sky Lanterns

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government are taking to prevent crimes against wildlife arising from the use of Chinese lanterns and fireworks. [170208]

George Eustice: The independent study published in May this year concluded that the impact of sky lanterns on animal health and welfare is low. This was considered insufficient to justify and support action to ban the use of sky lanterns.

Any future action Government may take will need to be proportionate to the problem and backed by reliable evidence.

The study suggests that voluntary actions and initiatives to raise public awareness are effective. We are now working with other Government Departments and stakeholders across the hospitality and retail sectors to raise awareness of the risks that sky lanterns pose and identify actions to mitigate those risks.

The issue of fireworks falls under the responsibility of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to provide a full response to the final report from the Tree and Plant Health Biosecurity Expert Taskforce. [170719]

George Eustice: The Government will provide a full response to the final report from the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce later this year.

Trees: Disease Control

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition of tree his Department uses in relation to biosecurity. [170718]

George Eustice: In relation to biosecurity, the definition of a tree is cast as wide as possible in order to avoid creating loopholes and gaps. The aim is to identify, assess and respond to threats to trees whatever their size and setting—forests, amenity sites (eg parks and gardens), street trees, orchards, private gardens, trees along motorways and rail lines and in trade networks, including nurseries.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 457W

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what purpose, at what location and on how many occasions his Department has used drones in each of the last five years. [R] [169713]

George Eustice: Core DEFRA has not used any unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) over the last five years.

Waste Disposal

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many waste facilities regulated by the Environment Agency are in breach of their environmental permit conditions; and how many such waste facilities are currently subject to enforcement proceedings under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. [170333]

Dan Rogerson: From January to September 2013, 8,708 breaches of environmental permit conditions were identified by the Environment Agency at 3,049 waste management sites. Of these breaches, 582 were recorded as significant.

Over the same period 79 formal enforcement proceedings were initiated under the 2010 regulations.

Multiple permit breaches can be addressed by a single enforcement action. The Environment Agency may take other steps to bring a site into compliance, for example sending a warning letter, before resorting to formal enforcement proceedings.

Wind Power

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list by value the 10 largest recipients of grant to landowners for allowing the siting of wind turbines. [170005]

Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The Department does not pay grants to landowners for allowing the siting of wind turbines.

Mr Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list by value the 10 largest recipients of grant to wind turbine manufacturers. [170006]

Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The following grants were paid to wind turbine manufacturers between 2009 and 2012. This included funding directly delivered by DECC through the Environmental Transformation Fund, and delivered jointly with BIS through the Low Carbon Investment Fund.

14 Oct 2013 : Column 458W