You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Lords Publications > Lords Hansard > Lords Hansard by Date > Daily Hansard
Previous Section Back to Table of Contents Lords Hansard Home Page


3 Mar 2009 : Column WA134

(d) department's internal costs: information not available (these costs are not included as part of our forecasting exercises); and (e) compensation which remains to be paid to the claimants: c£11 million (including CRU*).

Asked by Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The department's staffing, administrative and related costs cannot be broken down by scheme. However, the total of these costs for the coal health compensation schemes as at 31 January 2009 is £643.81 million. This includes the costs of the claims handling, medical testing, records management and external legal advice.

Civil Service: Pay

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

Lord Patel of Bradford: There are no elements of Civil Service pay which are inflation-proof. On civil servants' pensions, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to Parliamentary Questions HL918 and HL1108.

Civil Service: Severance Scheme

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

Lord Patel of Bradford: Payments may be made on the termination of the employment of civil servants in the circumstances outlined in the Civil Service Management Code. The Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972, sets out the corresponding tariffs to be applied. The rules of the scheme can be found on the Civil Service Pensions website at

3 Mar 2009 : Column WA135

www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk The compulsory terms are the most generous and are applied in cases of redundancy; the code sets out the other circumstances when departments may choose to use these terms. Departments are responsible for meeting the full costs of early departures (including additional pension costs) from their administration budgets.

The present terms have been in place since 1987 and are currently under review. The Superannuation Act 1972 requires the Government to consult with the Civil Service trades unions before introducing changes to the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

A copy of the rules of the scheme have been placed in the Library.

Climate Change

Questions

Asked by Baroness Northover

Lord Tunnicliffe: The Adaptation Fund was set up in 2007 under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. At its inception it was agreed that it would be funded by a 2 per cent levy on proceeds from the sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) issued under the protocol's clean development mechanism.

The UK Government are working with others on the Adaptation Fund board to establish sound operational procedures for the Adaptation Fund. These include processes to convert CERs into cash resources. The fund is due to commence operation in 2009.

Asked by Lord Leach of Fairford

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): While changes in solar output may have contributed to some of the observed warming during the early 20th century, there is scientific consensus that they cannot explain the recent strong rise in global average temperature.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) fund a significant amount of research at the Met Office Hadley Centre on the attribution of climate change, as part of the wider Integrated Climate Programme. Their research confirms that recent climate change cannot be attributed to solar variations. Also, there is no evidence that cosmic ray variations have played any role in causing recent warming, through their effect on cloud cover.

Both DECC and Defra specialists maintain strong links with the scientific community and follow developments relevant to climate change closely to ensure that policy is based on the best available science.



3 Mar 2009 : Column WA136

Climate Change: Greenhouse Gases

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Regulation 46(2)(a) does not prevent an authorised person from entering premises used wholly or mainly for residential purposes, provided the occupier agrees that he may enter. This may provide the authorised person with evidence that gives him reason to believe that an offence has been committed and a basis to issue a fixed penalty notice. An authorised person may also receive information from third parties that gives him reason to believe that an offence has been committed.

Extensive enforcement powers are available and heavy financial penalties on conviction apply to those responsible for commercial equipment using fluorinated gases. A less onerous and intrusive approach has been adopted for those responsible for domestic equipment because much of the equipment is hermetically sealed and contains small quantities of gas; most emissions are from commercial uses.

Defra: Staff

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): As part of delivering efficiency targets which were applied across Whitehall, Defra offered a small proportion of staff the option of taking voluntary early retirement and severance. Defra has a broad agenda, from dealing with recycling and waste to protecting the natural environment. Having the right number of people, with the right skills, as well as a continual flow of new thinking, is essential to deliver this challenging and diverse remit.



3 Mar 2009 : Column WA137

In offering the scheme, our aim was to reduce our overall headcount, but also to enable us to have the capacity to restock with new skills that we would need for the future.

Since the severance scheme closed, further staff have also left Defra as part of normal turnover. We have also needed to replace these staff and our recruitment has followed a careful analysis of the staff numbers and skills we need over the next two to three years. Even with the current recruitment, our overall staffing number will still be below our target numbers following VER/VES.

Energy: Cooking Oils

Questions

Asked by The Earl of Selborne

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): During the period for which this information is readily available (April 2008 to November 2008), a total of 309MWh of electricity was generated from waste vegetable or recycled cooking oil. Expressed as a percentage, this is equal to 0.0034 per cent of all renewable electricity and approximately 0.00017 per cent of total UK electricity generated during the same period.

Asked by The Earl of Selborne

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Electricity produced from used cooking oils is eligible for support under the renewables obligation. Since it is categorised as biomass, from 1 April 2009 the level of this support will be increased from one renewables obligation certificate (ROC) per MWh of electricity produced to 1.5 ROCs/MWh.

Energy: Peat Bogs

Question

Asked by Lord Greaves

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Defra recognises that peat bogs are essential stores of carbon. Defra's long term policy is to promote management of peat bogs which minimises further losses of carbon and allows peat bogs to act as a carbon sink.



3 Mar 2009 : Column WA138

A multi-agency project called the Partnership Project on Peat has been developed to protect our peat soils. It involves developing the current evidence base and determining future policy options. The project also provides a means for integrating activity to ensure that all policies protecting peat habitats deliver multiple benefits. As part of the partnership project, Defra will review progress to meet the 2010 target that 90 per cent of the market of growing medium is peat free (in 2007, 54 per cent of the market was peat free). Growing medium is any material used in a container to grow plants eg bark, compost, coconut fibre dust and grit.

Energy: Wind Turbines

Questions

Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): This department does not have the specific information requested on the cost in carbon emissions for the manufacture, installation and grid connection of small wind turbines.

Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: In theory, discounting spatial limitations, there is no technical limit to the number of wind turbines that can be connected to and input electricity onto the grid.

However, this is subject to a generator being compliant with system codes and standards, the necessary physical connections, any associated reinforcements being made to increase the capacity of the network and the overriding constraint that generation must equal demand to maintain system stability.

The operation of the GB transmission system is always subject to the overriding constraint that in order to ensure stability, generation must equal demand—generation from small wind turbines or any other generation cannot exceed this limitation.

The levels of available connection capacity on the existing grid network vary geographically.



3 Mar 2009 : Column WA139

Environment

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Government engage with Members of Parliament and the various political parties represented in both Houses of Parliament through normal parliamentary procedures. In the case of statutory targets to reduce UK emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 and 2050, these are set in law in the Climate Change Act, which completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent in November 2008, with overwhelming support in both Houses. Any order amending these targets would be subject to affirmative resolution procedure.

Equality: Race

Question

Asked by Lord Ouseley

The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): The Government Equalities Office (GEO) did not set specific targets for race equality outcomes in 2008-09. Government priorities, including those on race equality, are set out in the three-year cross-cutting public service agreement (PSA) announced In November 2007. PSA 15 (Equality) aims to address the disadvantage that individuals experience because of their race, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation and religion or belief and includes commitments to improve participation in public life, reduce workplace discrimination and tackle unfair treatment in the delivery of services for people from an ethnic minority.

House of Lords: Publications

Question

Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill

The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The mechanism by which the cover price of House of Lords publications is determined is set out within the contract for printing and publishing between the House and The Stationery Office (TSO). Prices are determined by TSO in consultation with the House of Lords and in accordance with the terms of the contract. Some publications have a set price and some have a price that is calculated in relation to the number of pages produced. All House of Lords publications are also available on the internet, free of charge.



3 Mar 2009 : Column WA140

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: London weighting is paid to Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Home Civil Servants who work in London or have a commitment to maintain a home in GB while working in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Civil Servants working in the NIO who commenced work in London prior to 1 January 2008 and who have a commitment to maintain a home in Northern Ireland also receive the allowance.

In 2004, London weighting was set at £3,875, £4,000 in 2005; £4,000 rising to £4,100 in 2006; £4,100 rising to £4,300 in 2007 and £4,300 rising to £4,400 in 2008. This is paid annually. One hundred and eighty staff were in receipt in 2004, 169 in 2005 and 2006, 163 in 2007 and 132 in 2008.

Northern Ireland: Equality

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: As set out in Schedule 8 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, although the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is responsible for making appointments to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, sponsorship of the commission is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Next Section Back to Table of Contents Lords Hansard Home Page