Expenditure 2010-11 utilities, staff and official entertainment | ||||
£ | ||||
Residence | Utilities | Household staff | Ents Expenditure | |
1 Sep 2014 : Column 91W
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Armed Forces: Injuries
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many compensation pay outs of what value have been issued by his Department on the grounds of personnel sustaining injuries through training in each year since 2010; [206065]
(2) what the value of payouts has been in each year since 2010 to forces personnel and veterans on the grounds of physical injuries. [206070]
Anna Soubry: Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are not recorded in a manner that enables us to identify those for injuries received specifically in the course of training without incurring disproportionate cost.
Armed Forces: Pensions
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been brought forward under the (a) Armed Forces Pension Scheme and (b) War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010. [206074]
Anna Soubry: There were no claims brought forward under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in each year since 2010. The number of outstanding claims under the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010 is:
Number | |
In line with Defence statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been submitted to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in each year since 2010. [206080]
Anna Soubry: The number of members whose pensions became payable in each year under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme since 2010 are:
Number | |
In line with Defence statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average length of time taken to process settlements for the Armed Forces Pension Scheme has been in each year since 2010. [206083]
Anna Soubry: The key performance indicator for the Armed Forces Pensions Scheme is to make 99.3% of all service pension payments (including new awards) by the due date. This has been achieved in each year since 2010.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when designing the application process for the armed forces pension, what weight his Department gave to the ease of use of the system. [207036]
Anna Soubry: The Armed Forces Pension Scheme is an occupational pension scheme whereby the recipient has entitlement based on their reckonable service in HM Forces. Every effort is made to make the Armed Forces Pension Scheme application form (Pen1) as simple as possible while ensuring that all salient points are included, particularly for legal reasons.
There is an online version of the application form which pre-fills several boxes using data taken directly from the Service person’s record. Current statistics on its use against paper applications are below which demonstrates its success.
January-June 2014 | |||
Electronic | Hard Copy | Total | |
1 Sep 2014 : Column 93W
Billing
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years. [205969]
Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been able to distinguish between duplicate payments and other types of overpayment made to suppliers from financial year 2013-14. In that year, the total value of duplicate payments identified was £4.1 million, 100% of which has been recovered. Over the first quarter of 2014-15, we have identified duplicate payments to the value of £0.5 million of which 60% has so far been recovered. Prior to 2013-14 we were unable to distinguish duplicate supplier payments from other types of overpayments. However all overpayments have been recovered since 2010.
The MOD processes over 4 million invoices a year totalling some £26 billion. We review our bill payment processes and controls periodically to ensure that we achieve the required high standards of performance and governance and seek to recover overpayments made to suppliers as quickly as possible.
Buildings
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement. [206685]
Anna Soubry: The Department continues to make good progress on rationalising the defence estate. In financial year 2013-14 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) generated £123 million of receipts from sales of estate that was surplus to Defence requirements.
The MOD's target is to generate gross receipts of £1.9 billion through the disposal of property assets by financial year 2022-23.
Compensation
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value is of compensation payouts issued by his Department on the grounds of (a) structural damage to private property and (b) loss of livestock in each year since 2010; and what the highest such payment in each case has been. [206066]
Anna Soubry: The amounts paid in the UK and abroad in regard to the two categories in question, including legal costs, were as follows:
£ | ||
Structural/Property damage | Amount paid | Highest payment |
1 Sep 2014 : Column 94W
£ | ||
Loss of Livestock | Amount paid | Highest payment |
These amounts do not include payments made by the Area Claims Office in Afghanistan, which are not recorded in a manner that can distinguish without incurring disproportionate cost between those claims relating to structural damage to private property and those relating to loss of livestock. The overall payments for damage to property, including legal costs, made over the periods in question in Afghanistan were as follows:
£ | ||
Amount paid | Highest payment | |
Correspondence
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [206144]
Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) estimates a cost of 18.9p for each Ministerial reply based on stationery costs.
In 2013, MOD Ministers responded to 4,853 letters from hon. Members and Peers, the cost of which would have been just under £920.
As replies to parliamentarians are delivered by hand to Parliament, there is no cost incurred for postage.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a statement. [206476]
Anna Soubry: The handling of correspondence is given the highest priority by the Ministry of Defence and we aim to respond to all correspondence within 20 working days.
Defence Equipment
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions since 2010 product recall notices have been issued for equipment being used by the armed forces. [206183]
Mr Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
EU Law
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility. [206653]
1 Sep 2014 : Column 95W
Mr Brazier: The UK has never been fined for an infraction for matters within the Ministry of Defence's responsibility.
European Fighter Aircraft
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the E-Scan radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft (a) was originally expected to come into use and (b) is now expected to come into use. [206090]
Mr Dunne: The E-Scan Radar Development Programme for Typhoon is currently still within the Assessment Phase, prior to its main investment decision. Once this decision has been made an in-service date on UK aircraft will be determined.
Freedom of Information
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years. [204273]
Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence engages the Treasury Solicitor to provide legal advice and advise counsel in cases that have been appealed to the Information Tribunal under the Freedom of Information Act.
Departmental spend for this work is detailed in the following table:
Financial year | Total costs (£) | Number of appeals |
Figures for earlier years are not readily available. Figures provided are for the number of appeals for which MOD was billed in each financial year.
Guided Weapons
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the integration of the Storm Shadow missile on the Typhoon aircraft. [206989]
Mr Dunne: The NATO Eurofighter Tornado Management Agency has awarded a contract valued at approximately £120 million to Eurofighter GmbH for the integration of Storm Shadow onto Typhoon.
The full UK costs of the integration project are still being finalised but will be published in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report later in 2014.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the introduction of the (a) Heavy and (b) Light Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon Systems on AW159 Wildcat Helicopters; and if he will make a statement. [206994]
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Mr Dunne: The Heavy and Light Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon systems will be introduced to Wildcat maritime helicopters with a planned in-service date of 2020.
HMS Illustrious
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans the Government have to preserve HMS Illustrious when she is withdrawn from service in December 2014; and if he will make a statement; [206370]
(2) if the Government will investigate the tourism potential of preserving HMS Illustrious. [206371]
Mr Dunne: HMS Illustrious, the last of three Invincible class aircraft carriers, will retire from the Royal Navy on 1 August 2014. As I informed the House on 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 1WS, in recognition of the service given by these ships in protecting the UK over the last 30 years, it is our preference to see HMS Illustrious preserved intact as a lasting tribute to the service personnel who served on all three of the carriers.
In October 2013 the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Authority launched a competition to seek innovative reuse bids to retain HMS Illustrious in the UK, with part or all of it developed for heritage purposes, which could include tourism. The competition is ongoing and therefore no final decisions have been made on the ship's future.
Kenya
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his objectives are in negotiations with the Kenyan government on a memorandum of understanding for continued use of the Nanyuki training facility. [205893]
Mr Francois: The current memorandum of understanding concerning UK and Kenyan military co-operation includes UK use of training facilities in Kenya. This covers all activities until April 2015, when a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) is due to be signed. Constructive dialogue on the MOU continues, and we anticipate a successful outcome which will reflect the positions and requirements of the Kenyan and UK Governments, and permit continued military training in Kenya.
Lockheed Martin
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what hospitality the Chief of Defence Materiel has received from Lockheed Martin in each year since 2010; [206330]
(2) what meetings have been held between the Chief of Defence Materiel and representatives from Lockheed Martin in each year since 2010; and what was discussed at each. [206331]
Mr Dunne: Details of all meetings between the Chief of Defence Materiel (CDM) and external organisations are published online as part of the Government’s Transparency Agenda. Information covering the period from October 2010 until the end of December 2013 is available at the following link:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/senior-staff-meetings-with-external-organisations-ministry-of-defence
1 Sep 2014 : Column 97W
Details of hospitality received by CDM is also published under Transparency and this can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-staff-hospitality-received
Information covering the period from January 2014 to date will be published in due course.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials in his Department have held with representatives of Lockheed Martin in each year since 2010; and what was discussed at each such meeting; [206335]
(2) what events were hosted by Lockheed Martin which (a) Ministers in and (b) senior officials of his Department attended in an official capacity in each year since 2010; and what was discussed at each. [206332]
Mr Dunne:
Details of meetings that Ministers and Ministry of Defence (MOD) 4 Star senior officials hold with external organisations are published online as part of the Government’s Transparency Agenda. Selected 3
1 Sep 2014 : Column 98W
Star details are also published. Information covering the period from May 2010 until the end of December 2013 is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings
Information relating to meetings from January 2014 to date will be published in due course.
Details of direct meetings between MOD 3 Star senior officials and Lockheed Martin (LM) since April 2010 are shown in the table. The list includes MOD 3 Star attendance at events hosted by LM, but does not include wider industry events, conferences or seminars at which LM may have been represented. It should be noted that this information is unlikely to be comprehensive as some details, particularly for earlier years, are no longer held. Information relating to senior officials below 3 Star level could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Representatives from LM also attend a number of senior level forums/working groups, including the Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF), DSF sub-groups covering Single Source Procurement Reform and exports, and Materiel Strategy industry briefings. These groups have all met regularly since 2011.
1 Sep 2014 : Column 99W
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DI50 dinner. Lockheed Martin was one of four sponsors for the dinner | ||
WCSP and Joint Asset Management Engineering Solution (JAMES) update | ||
1 Sep 2014 : Column 101W
1 Sep 2014 : Column 102W
Military Aircraft
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much will it cost his Department to keep Sentinel aircraft in service in each year until 2018 [206089]
Mr Dunne: The cost to keep Sentinel aircraft in service in each year until 2018 is shown in the table:
Financial Year | £ million |
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when it was decided that his Department would maintain the use of the Sentinel aircraft until 2018; and what the reasons were for this decision. [206091]
1 Sep 2014 : Column 103W
Mr Dunne: The decision to extend the Sentinel long-range airborne surveillance aircraft until 2018 was made in the Department’s most recent financial planning cycle. The decision was taken to preserve a capability to conduct wide area surveillance of operational environments in the short term, and to allow the longer-term requirement to be considered during the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the new contract to extend the life of the Sentinel aircraft until 2018 will be signed. [206329]
Mr Dunne: The Sentinel aircraft fleet is supported by a number of logistic support contracts, each of which has a different expiry date. Defence Equipment and Support is currently working to extend all contracts before their respective expiry dates.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of expanding the capabilities of the Sentinel R.1. [206985]
Mr Dunne: Enhancements to the Sentinel R1 aircraft are currently the subject of commercial negotiations. I am therefore withholding details of the potential costs, as the disclosure of this information would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communication (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Boeing Company regarding the lease of four P-8A aircraft. [206988]
Mr Dunne: I am withholding the information requested, as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the formulation or development of Government policy.
Procurement
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid in compensation as a result of contractual disputes with suppliers in each year since 2010. [206068]
Mr Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
RAF Northolt
Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what grounds he has concluded that the use of RAF Northolt for commercial flights does not constitute state aid; and if he will make a statement. [206188]
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Mr Dunne: The fees charged at RAF Northolt are in excess of the amount required by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to cover its costs in the provision of commercial services and are calculated to be at market rate. The MOD is therefore obtaining market value for the commercial services that it provides and so it does not constitute state aid.
Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) attendance by RAF Northolt personnel and (b) related marketing materials at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition on 20 to 22 May 2014; and if he will make a statement. [206197]
Mr Dunne: The cost to the public purse for attendance and related marketing material was around £5,500.
Road Accidents
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has paid in compensation to victims of road traffic accidents in each year since 2010. [206069]
Anna Soubry: Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) specifically by victims of road traffic accidents are not recorded in a manner that enables us to identify them without incurring disproportionate cost. The amounts paid as a result of claims brought by third parties against the MOD arising out of road traffic accidents, including legal costs, since 2010 were as follows:
Amount paid (£ million) | |
Service Personnel
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many service personnel of each rank there were in the Royal Air Force in each year since 2010; [206086]
(2) how many service personnel of each rank there were in the Army in each year since 2010; [206087]
(3) how many service personnel of each rank there were in the Royal Navy in each year since 2010. [206088]
Anna Soubry: The information requested is provided in the following tables:
UK Regular Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel, by rank as at 1 April each year | |||||
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
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UK Regular Army personnel, by rank as at 1 April each year | |||||
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
Service Personnel and Veterans Agency
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) compulsory and (b) voluntary redundancies have been issued to employees of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each year since 2010. [206075]
Anna Soubry: The total number of compulsory and voluntary redundancies that have been issued to employees of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency in each year since 2010 is set out in the table.
Number1 of redundancies from SPVA | |||
Compulsory | Voluntary | Total | |
1 In line with departmental policy * Represents 5 or fewer |
Social Networking
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Twitter accounts are run by his Department; how much his Department spends annually on (a) Twitter accounts and (b) all social media; and how many people in his Department are employed to work on social media. [206050]
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Anna Soubry: A Twitter account run by the Department is a Twitter account that has been registered either by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) or one of the single services (either corporate or sponsored accounts). The MOD currently runs 109 Twitter accounts.
Spending on Twitter accounts includes money paid to Twitter in financial year (FY) 2013-14. See table.
1 Sep 2014 : Column 108W
Spending on all social media includes money paid to other social media channels directly during FY 2013-14. The MOD spent £87,206 on Twitter in FY 2013-14 and £767,981.89 on all social media. See table.
£ | ||||||||
Department | YouTube | Flickr | Blogs | Other | Total | |||
1 Recruitment. 2 Covers two years. 3 @armyjobs 4 Army Jobs. 5 Careers. 6 Figures not split by channel. |
Submarines
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medical downgrades there have been in the Submarine Service since the removal of retention and recruitment pay, in each month for which figures are available. [207018]
Anna Soubry: Recruitment and retention payments for the Submarine Service have not been removed.
Tornado Aircraft
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the new common jamming pod for the Tornado aircraft; and when the requirement for that pod was first identified. [206987]
Mr Dunne: A requirement for a new common jamming pod was first identified in 2012. The total approved value of the project is £50.9 million.
Unmanned Air Vehicles
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the press release from the Prime Minister's Office of 14 July 2014, entitled PM announces £1.1 billion investment in capabilities for the armed forces, how much he plans to invest in unmanned future combat air systems. [206101]
Mr Dunne: The Ministry of Defence is investing over £100 million in future combat air systems as part of the £1.1 billion investment in capabilities for the armed forces.
Veterans UK
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints Veterans UK has received since its creation; and whether those complaints have been categorised. [207034]
Anna Soubry: Veterans UK was formed on 1 April 2014 as part of the merger of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency into Defence Business Services.
Veterans UK has received a total of 122 complaints since April 2014. These are broken down into 25 Armed Forces Pension Scheme, and 97 War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme complaints.
Veterans: Advisory Services
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to lay before the House a Statutory Instrument to reflect the establishment of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees; and if he will make statement. [205921]
Anna Soubry: It is our intention to change legislation to reflect the establishment of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees. The Armed Forces Bill 2015 represents the most likely opportunity to make the change through primary legislation.
War Pensions
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims have been submitted to the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010. [206081]
Anna Soubry: The total number of claims submitted under the War Pensions Scheme in each year since 2010 are:
Number | |
In line with Defence statistics rounding policy all figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
1 Sep 2014 : Column 109W
Energy and Climate Change
Buildings
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement. [206687]
Amber Rudd: The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently occupies four buildings in London and one in Aberdeen. DECC’s current occupation is in line with the Cabinet Office directives of fewer desks than staff (Full-Time Equivalent—FTE) and within 8-10m2 per FTE (by December 2015).
The lease in Aberdeen is due to expire in May 2016 and alternative accommodation will be sought with value for money as one of the key objectives.
London accommodation is being reviewed with a view to reducing the existing four buildings to two in 2015, and therefore reducing the overall cost of the estate. In order to achieve this, alterations will be required to the two remaining buildings. These changes will be in line with the Cabinet Office directives listed above as well as the Civil Service Reform Plan.
Energy: Consumption
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the energy savings opportunity scheme proposed in his consultation document of July 2013, what estimate he made at the time of publication of that document of the maximum potential value of savings to the UK economy arising from that scheme by 2020; and what his current estimate is of such savings. [206766]
Amber Rudd: At the time of publication of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) consultation document, the Government estimated that ESOS would have a net present value ranging from £900 million to £3 billion, with a central estimate of £1.9 billion, measured over the period 2015 to 2030. The Final Stage Impact Assessment, published alongside the Government’s Response to the ESOS Consultation, took account of new evidence which led to it revising down the estimated net present value, to between £600 million and £2.7 billion, with a central estimate of £1.6 billion. The reasons for this change are set out on pages 17-19 of the Final Stage Impact Assessment, which can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323116/ESOS_Impact_Assessment_FINAL.pdf
Energy: Meters
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of whether the accessibility online of energy usage and efficiency data means that in-home energy displays are no longer needed. [206721]
Amber Rudd: The Government recognise that online sources of energy usage information can be useful but does not believe that these can substitute for in-home displays in delivering the benefits of smart meters.
1 Sep 2014 : Column 110W
In home displays allow consumers and their family members to see immediately their current and historic energy use and its cost in near-real time and do not rely on consumers having internet access or smart phones. Current evidence shows higher energy savings from those with a smart meter and IHD compared to those with a smart meter only.
Energy suppliers are free to offer additional means for their customers to engage with their energy usage, which may be available online and offer different forms of analysis to the IHD. We expect that some consumers will want different information but believe that all should have the information provided by IHDs readily available.
We will continue to monitor the evidence in this area and emerging technical developments to ensure that our policy remains appropriate.
EU Law
Mr Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility. [206655]
Amber Rudd: The Government have not lost any EU infraction proceedings brought against the UK since 2010 relating to matters falling within the Department's responsibility.
Green Deal Scheme
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the Green Deal Scheme, whether the £450 million of financial support for domestic installation of energy efficiency measures announced in the Autumn Statement in December 2013 is in addition to (a) the £125 million allocated to the Green Deal Cashback Scheme announced in January 2013 and (b) the £200 million allocated to the Green Deal Programme in November 2011. [205957]
Amber Rudd: The funds announced in the autumn statement in December 2013 are additional to the others mentioned, and cover difficult financial periods.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the Green Deal Scheme, if he will make it his policy that no household receives more in money back under the Green Deal Home Improvements Fund than the cost of the installation of the energy efficiency measures. [205958]
Amber Rudd: The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund rules state that households are not able to receive more money back than the cost of the installation of the energy efficiency measures.
The full rules are set out in the Customer Terms and Conditions which are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/get-money-back-from-the-green-deal-home-improvement-fund
1 Sep 2014 : Column 111W
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 536W, on the Green Deal Scheme, how much of the £200 million announced in November 2011 has (a) been spent, (b) been allocated for expenditure and (c) not yet been allocated for expenditure. [205959]
Amber Rudd: Of the £200 million announced in November 2011, as of the end of March 2014, £142.98 million had been spent by DECC.
The figure given for spend in 2013-14 includes the recently launched Green Deal Communities programme —an £88 million fund to support 24 local authority consortia (covering c100 local authorities in total) to deliver Green Deal street by street. In addition, as part of the autumn statement, the Government announced that £450 million will be made available to support household energy efficiency incentives over the next three years.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 305W, on housing energy, what programmes, projects and policies were funded under the financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14. [205960]
Amber Rudd: Financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme has chiefly funded the following projects and policies:
Delivery of these schemes was, or is, funded by the obligated energy companies, not Government, and administration is undertaken by Ofgem. Ofgem is funded by DECC for the administration of CESP and ECO.
Delivery of the Energy Saving Advice Service-a telephone response service taking calls from the public and the industry, providing advice to people enquiring about information on the Green Deal or household energy efficiency measures. This service remains in operation.
Funding for the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body-the independent governance body for the Green Deal supply chain. This remains in operation.
DECC’s investment in The Green Deal Finance Company.
Core Cities—a project to enable bids from Local Authorities of the Core Cities to install energy-saving measures in their housing stock, mostly in 2012/13. This has been completed.
Green Deal Cashback—a scheme to provide grant funding to support households in the installation of energy-saving measures. The scheme opened in January 2013 and closed to new applicants on 30 June 2014.
Green Deal Communities—a scheme to provide funding for Local Authorities to implement energy-saving measures in their housing stock. Funding was available in 2013/14.
Supporting IT development and systems-the procurement, supervision and control of IT systems to enable Energy Performance Certificates, Green Deal Assessments and Green Deal financing to be delivered to applicants.
Funding the administration by Ofgem of:
Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP)-closed.
Energy Company Obligation (ECO)-open.
1 Sep 2014 : Column 112W
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 305W, on housing: energy, how much of the financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 was spent in each year. [205961]
Amber Rudd: As of the end of March 2014, £186.7 million had been spent by DECC; £9.3 million in 2011-12, £62.6 million in 2012-13 and £114.8 million in 2013-14. There was also a small amount of Green Deal policy development prior to April 2011.
In addition to implementing the core Green Deal framework, the figure given for total spend includes for instance that for the recently launched Green Deal Communities programme—an £88 million fund to support 24 local authority consortia (covering c100 local authorities in total) to deliver Green Deal on a street by street basis. It also comprises other schemes relating to wider energy efficiency work including the Energy Technologies List (ETL), Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), Home Energy Efficiency Database (HEED).
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the Green Deal Scheme, (1) how many households have received money from the Green Deal Home Improvements Fund to date; [205962]
(2) what the average amount paid has been to households under the Green Deal Home Improvements Fund to date. [205963]
Amber Rudd: As at 14 July 2014, 6,607 vouchers have been issued under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund with a maximum potential value of £36,484,100.
Data on numbers of vouchers issued is currently published weekly on the Gov.Uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-savings-advice-service-esas-calls-and-green-deal-webpage-views
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding from the Green Deal has (a) Tivium Limited, (b) Green Deal Marketing Services Limited, (c) Tivium Green Deal Installers Limited and (d) Nationwide Green Deal Installers Limited received; and whether the actions of the directors of each company are under investigation. [206961]
Amber Rudd: The Green Deal does not offer funding to companies participating in the scheme.
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that Green Deal companies employed by the Government are not making nuisance calls under the contract. [206980]
Amber Rudd: The Government do not employ Green Deal companies.
Housing: Energy
Caroline Flint:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 304W, on the green deal scheme, what estimate his Department has
1 Sep 2014 : Column 113W
made of the average cost of energy efficiency improvements for households that have received money back under the green deal home improvements fund. [206000]
Amber Rudd: As at 14 July 2014, 6,607 vouchers have been issued under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund with a maximum potential value of £36,484,100.
Data on numbers of vouchers issued is currently published weekly on the gov.uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-savings-advice-service-esas-calls-and-green-deal-webpage-views
Renewables Obligation
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the annual saving to the Levy Control Framework budget from closure of the Renewables Obligation to large-scale solar from April 2015; what that saving is as a proportion of that budget in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020; and if he will make a statement. [205849]
Amber Rudd: In its consultation issued on 13 May 2014, DECC has proposed closing the Renewables Obligation (RO) to new solar PV capacity above 5MW from 31 March 2015. We consider this to be necessary because large-scale solar PV is deploying more rapidly than expected. This poses a substantial risk to our ability to manage the levy control framework budget, and therefore our ability to minimise costs of renewables deployment for consumers.
The impact assessment published alongside the consultation set out the projected impact of proposed intervention on deployment and spend. Option 1 below assumes no action; option 2 is the proposed intervention:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv
Solar Power
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the additional solar PV expected to be deployed to 2020-21 as a result of the measures proposed in the latest feed-in tariff consultation. [205721]
Amber Rudd: We have used scenario-based analysis to illustrate a range of potential outcomes under each policy. For the changes to the FITs degression mechanism to support midscale building-mounted solar, the scenarios for deployment in 2020-21 are set out in Table 5 here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310432/2014-05-13_-_FITs_solar_consultation_IA_-_FOR_PUBLICATION.pdf
For increasing the maximum capacity ceiling to 10 MW for community projects, the range of deployment under the scenarios is set out in Table 3 here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310416/impact_assessment.pdf
Grahame M. Morris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of whether support levels for accredited solar PV plants will be maintained for the 20 year
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duration specified in the Renewables Obligation order; and what the Government’s policy is on
(a)
Renewables Obligation scheme and
(b)
solar PV. [205820]
Amber Rudd: The Government have no plans to change the 20-year duration of support under the renewables obligation (RO) for accredited solar PV stations. DECC has recently consulted on proposals to control the deployment of new solar PV capacity above 5 MW under the RO. A copy of the consultation document is available on DECC’s web page:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv
With regard to our policy on the RO scheme, DECC has laid draft regulations before Parliament which will bring about the closure of the RO to new capacity on 31 March 2017 as planned, subject to parliamentary approval. The Government have proposed closing the RO to new solar capacity above 5 MW two years earlier, from 31 March 2015. We consider this to be necessary because large-scale solar PV is deploying more rapidly than expected. This poses a substantial risk to our ability to manage the levy control framework budget, and therefore our ability to minimise costs of renewables deployment for consumers. The consultation closed on 7 July and consultation responses are being considered. We will publish a Government Response setting out our decision as soon as possible.
The UK has seen a remarkable transformation in solar PV deployment under the coalition Government: solar capacity stood at 3.5 GW at the end of the first quarter of 2014, increasing its share to 17% of all renewables capacity. The Government remain committed to solar PV, and the measures that we set out in our UK Solar PV Strategy will ensure that solar PV continues to be a vital part of the UK’s renewable energy mix for many years to come. A copy of the Strategy is available on DECC’s web page:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-solar-pv-strategy-part-1-roadmap-to-a-brighter-future