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Energy: Electricity Distribution
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will consider new policies to secure more than seven electricity distribution network operators in the 14 United Kingdom regions, excluding Northern Ireland.[HL4494]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): No. Although there are seven different groups which own the 14 separate distribution network operators (DNOs), these DNOs are regulated separately and are incorporated companies holding individual licences. This provides the industry regulator, Ofgem, with comparative performance information for use in setting price controls.
Energy: Microgeneration
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of the low uptake to date, they will examine new measures to promote an increase in the uptake by electricity consumers of output from microgenerators.[HL4491]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The department published a microgeneration strategy in March 2006. It contains actions to tackle some of the barriers preventing development of a sustainable market for microgeneration technologies and progress is underway on implementing all of these actions.
the £86 million low carbon buildings programme, aiming to demonstrate the use of microgeneration technologies, and to introduce economies of scale10 July 2007 : Column WA210
The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 will give the powers to the Secretary of State from August 2007 to require energy suppliers to acquire electricity from microgeneration units. As announced in the Energy White Paper, all six major energy suppliers have now committed to publishing easily accessible export tariffs.
Microgenerators of electricity are also eligible for renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) for every MW of renewable electricity generated. The microgeneration strategy outlines steps to make ROCs more accessible to microgenerators. Since April 2007, small generators can appoint an agent to act on their behalf for all the processes involved under the RO. The Government have also removed the need to have sale and buyback agreements to claim ROCs for electricity which they consume themselves.
Microgeneration Strategy: Power from the people may be downloaded from the DTI's website at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/microgeneration/strategy/page27594.html
EU: Committee Correspondence
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 27 June (HL4316), how many replies to correspondence from the chairman of the Select Committee on the European Union have been sent more than four weeks after receipt of that correspondence; and, in each case, what was that correspondence, when it was dated; and how long the replies took from the receipt of the chairman's correspondence. [HL4562]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Government take their scrutiny obligations seriously and officials in every department who are responsible for co-ordinating their department's dealings with the European Union Select Committee have been reminded of the importance of providing prompt replies to correspondence from the chairman of that committee and for liaising closely with the committee's staff if it is necessary for a reply to be delayed.
10 July 2007 : Column WA211
Gulf War Illnesses
Lord Craig of Radley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War have successfully appealed to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal against a Service Personnel and Veterans Agency finding not to accept Gulf War syndrome as the right label for a situation where symptoms or signs have been accepted as a matter of fact as causally related to service in the Gulf theatre of operations but cannot be explained by some established pathology. [HL4538]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): To date one person has successfully appealed to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal.
House of Lords: Meeting Rooms
Lord Harrison asked the Chairman of Committees:
What discussions have taken place to reduce the number of changes in the allocation of meeting rooms made at short notice. [HL4725]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): Meetings rooms are allocated on the Lords estate on a first come first served basis subject to the premise that meetings of Select Committees of the House have priority over all other bookings. There will be times when it is necessary for a meeting of a Select Committee to be held at short notice and a meeting booked in the name of a Member moved to another venue in order to accommodate this. In this situation, the attendants do their utmost to provide the earliest possible notice and to provide the Member with an equivalent facility.
Lord Harrison asked the Chairman of Committees:
What discussions have taken place with a view to establishing a centralised system for the booking of meeting rooms, in particular for all-party group meetings, across the parliamentary estate. [HL4726]
The Chairman of Committees: The meeting facilities which support the two Houses are discrete to each House and have different booking and priority criteria. There is a centralised booking system in place within the House of Lords.
Mobile Phone Charges
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Truscott on 19 June (WA 43) on mobile phone charges, whether Article 95 of the treaty gives powers to authorities of the European Union to fix or control prices outside the mobile telecommunications sector. [HL4552]
10 July 2007 : Column WA212
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The EC regulation on mobile roaming, while introducing average wholesale price caps that must be met by operators when they procure roaming capacity from one another, does not introduce absolute caps or fix prices in the retail market. Instead it introduces a tariff that has to be offered to all roaming customers (the Euro tariff) with maximum rates for incoming and outgoing calls made.
The use of Article 95 as the legal base for this regulation is unlikely to set an unhelpful precedent which would allow the EU to fix prices. This is because of what the measure is actually trying to achieve and the distinct nature of the international mobile roaming market.
The Government will continue carefully to consider on a case by case basis the suitability of Article 95 as a legal base for other EC proposals.
Nappies
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What scientific assessment they have made of the amount of energy required to extract energy from disposable nappies.[HL4509]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): There have been no such scientific assessments undertaken specific to this area.
Olympic Games 2012: Allotments
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, notwithstanding their claim that any covenant is unenforceable, they will answer the question as asked in HL4115.[HL4512]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The registered titles of all land on the Olympic site were reviewed by the London Development Agency (LDA) as part of the compulsory purchase order process. Despite this, and further research with the Land Registry, the LDA has not been able to find any details for the alleged covenant.
Olympic Games 2012: Cultural Olympiad
Lord Rowe-Beddoe asked Her Majesty's Government:
Regarding the cultural Olympiad leading up to and during 2012, what plans are being made to maximise the tourism potential, both domestic and inbound, in areas outside of London. [HL4594]
10 July 2007 : Column WA213
Lord Davies of Oldham: Through the Culture and Creativity Advisory Forum, we are working with partners to consider how to maximise the cultural benefits of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to a range of sectors across the UK. VisitBritain, the regional development agencies and other stakeholders are represented on the forum to help to ensure that the tourism industry maximises the opportunities that the cultural Olympiad offers.
In addition, we are setting up a network of regional creative programmers in the eight English regions outside London, whose role will be to facilitate and co-ordinate each region's participation in the cultural Olympiad in the run-up to the 2012 Games. They will work with the nations and regions co-ordinators for London 2012, seeking compatibility between regional cultural plans and the wider regional strategies for 2012, so that cultural events complement local tourism initiatives and events strategies.
DCMS and its tourism partners will shortly publish a strategy aimed at enabling the tourism sector to make the most of the 2012 opportunity. One of the principles of this will be that the benefits of the Games are felt as widely as possible throughout the UK.
Post Offices: Villages
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many rural post offices are part of (a) the village shop; or (b) some other village enterprise. [HL4540]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The Government do not hold this information.
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the current exercise in identifying post offices for closure will take account of those branches where the post office is part of the only village shop. [HL4541]
Lord Drayson: This is an operational matter for POL, which will consider the impact of local economies when drawing up area plans for network change.
Roads: Lay-bys
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether drivers of heavy goods vehicles are permitted to transfer parts of their loads from one vehicle to another in a lay-by; and, if not, which organisation is responsible for enforcing legislation preventing this. [HL4565]
10 July 2007 : Column WA214
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Drivers of all goods vehicles are permitted to transfer loads from one vehicle to another in a lay-by provided that they do not obstruct the highway. It is for the relevant highway authority to determine whether lay-bys (which are part of the public highway) should have waiting and loading restrictions. Such restrictions require a traffic regulation order and may apply different times and different types of vehicle but not the type of unloading.
Schools: Pupil Referral Units
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why pupil referral units are excluded from (a) secondary (key stage 4) school performance tables, and (b) local authority averages; and why they do not complete the pupil level annual school census. [HL4592]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Lord Adonis): Pupil referral units are not published in the achievement and attainment tables or local authority averages because they are not required to follow the national curriculum.
When the pupil level annual school census was developed the priority was to ensure that it successfully captured information on pupils attending maintained mainstream schools. The department has recently expanded the scope of the census and is currently piloting a pupil-level data collection from pupil referral units before they are included in the annual census.
Sharia Law
Baroness Cox asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 9 May (WA 276), what action they will take to ensure that women living in communities in the United Kingdom that have accepted Sharia law will, in practice, have recourse to the United Kingdom courts. [HL4606]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Every person living in the United Kingdom, man or woman, of any religion or none, is entitled to have access to the courts on any matter that is justifiable.
The availability of the courts to resolve civil and family disputes in England and Wales is widely advertised, through the providers of community and advice services (for example, citizens advice bureaux and women's organisations), through the legal professions and the police service, and in material distributed by the Legal Services Commission (in a number of languages) and by Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS). So, too, is the availability of the police service and of support for the victims of crime. Information can also be found on the HMCS website (www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk).
Such material makes it clear that our courts are available to every citizen and visitor, regardless of the community in which she or he may live.
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