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26 Jan 2010 : Column WA307

Written Answers

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Armed Forces: Official Residences

Questions

Asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

The Minister for International Defence and Security (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): This information is not held centrally.

A comprehensive repair and maintenance service is provided to all occupants of service family accommodation including official service residences. Response repair requests range from emergencies such as loss of heating or burst water pipes, through to routine tasks remedying the everyday wear and tear associated with domestic occupation.

To determine the particulars of the unplanned maintenance undertaken on these properties would involve a manual search of records. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

Baroness Taylor of Bolton:

Property Grant-in-Aid

£108,408.00

Annington Homes Ltd

£152,604.00

Private Landlords

£114,162.00

Total

£375,174.00

Armed Forces: Senior Staff

Question

Asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

The Minister for International Defence and Security (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): For the year ended 31 March 2008. The following appointments occupied official service residences:

1st Sea Lord;



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2nd Sea Lord;

Commander in Chief Fleet;

Deputy Commander in Chief Fleet;

General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland Chief of the General Staff;

Adjutant General;

Commander in Chief Land;

Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Commander in Chief Air;

Chief of the Air Staff;

Deputy Commander in Chief Personnel (RAF) Chief of the Defence Staff;

Vice Chief of the Defence Staff;

Deputy Supreme Allied Command Europe (NATO);

Deputy Supreme Allied Command Atlantic (NATO);

United Kingdom Military Representative (NATO);

Joint Force Command Headquarters; and

Deputy Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.

A single staff car will be made available to those officers whose appointment requires them to retain a vehicle for official use. The appointments which have been allocated a vehicle for that purpose is not held centrally. Following the recent publication of the expenses of our senior civilian staff we have decided to extend that policy to cover the senior military officers of 3 star status and above. When this information is published, in the spring of 2010, the costs associated with an official car will be included.

Criteria relating to expenditure on official entertainment are contained within Joint Service Publication 462. A copy is available in the Library of the House and at the following link at http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/DCD1C7CF-6965-4ED4-AFFB-81B0ABF9605E/0/JSP_462_Issue_5_final.pdf. In short, expenditure on official entertainment must be modest. Due consideration must be given, at all times, to whether that official entertainment is necessary, appropriate, cost-effective and an admissible charge against the defence budget. Prior to a function, authorisation must be obtained from a budget manager.

Chagos Islands

Questions

Asked by Lord Ramsbotham

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): No decision on whether to establish a marine protected area in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) has yet been taken. However, if a decision is taken to move to a "no-take" fishery, then an additional cost to the public purse of around £1 million per annum will be incurred in order to maintain a BIOT patrol vessel. The annual cost of running the vessel is about £1.7 million (including

26 Jan 2010 : Column WA309

fuel costs). This is at present offset by a fishing licence income varying between £700,000 and £1 million per year. Costs not offset by income are met by a subsidy from the overseas territories programme fund.

Asked by Lord Luce

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: A decision on whether to establish a marine protected area (MPA) in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) has not yet been taken. A decision will be taken following the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) public consultation which is at present under way and which will run until 12 February 2010. The Foreign Secretary launched the FCO public consultation into the proposed MPA in the BIOT on 10 November 2009. The consultation will run until 12 February 2010. A decision on whether to create an MPA will not be taken until the consultation has concluded.

Asked by Baroness Whitaker

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: Any decision to establish a marine protected area would be taken in the context of the Government's current policy on the territory following the decision of the House of Lords in R (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2008] UKHL 61 that the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004 and the British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004 are lawful.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office public consultation launched on 10 November 2009 and any decision that may follow for the establishment of a marine protected area are, of course, without prejudice to the outcome of the current, pending proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. This means that should circumstances change, all the options for a marine protected area may need to be reconsidered.

Asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: A decision on whether to establish a marine protected area in the British Indian Ocean Territory has not yet been taken. A decision will be taken following the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) public consultation which is at present under way and which will run until 12 February 2010. The FCO public consultation was launched on 10 November 2009 and any decision that

26 Jan 2010 : Column WA310

may follow for the establishment of a marine protected area is, without prejudice to the outcome of the current, pending proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights.

Climate Change

Questions

Asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): We will continue to work closely with different UN agencies and through the UK's permanent mission to the UN to co-ordinate our UN engagement and progress UK objectives on climate change.

Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) parties report on the steps they are taking to implement the convention domestically and internationally through national communications. The UK submitted its fifth national communication to the UNFCCC secretariat in June 2009. This is publicly available on the UNFCCC website.

Asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We will continue to work closely through the UK's representation in UN agencies to co-ordinate our UN engagement and progress UK objectives on climate change. Many UN agencies are considering the implications of climate change, and it is important they articulate their comparative advantages and ensure they are working coherently with one another, in line with the broader UN reform principles.

The Department for International Development currently spends £20 million through the UN to help poor countries adapt to climate change. The UK Government, through DfID, will work to ensure that the operational work of the specialised UN agencies, funds and programmes takes account of climate change.

These actions will be reported to Parliament through department annual reports.

Energy: Power Stations

Questions

Asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke



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The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): We have no plans to keep open those power stations affected by the large combustion plant directive; the market is responding to the need to replace these closures with 20GW of investment under construction or with planning consent.

Asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The UK Renewable Energy Strategy document set out scenarios for deployment of renewable electricity needed to meet the UK's share of the EU renewable energy target. The central scenario presented in the strategy suggested that the UK might need around 29 per cent electricity demand to be produced from large-scale renewable sources by 2020. The strategy and accompanying analysis is published at http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/res/res.aspx.

The analysis of the impact of increased renewables on the electricity generating market was undertaken by Redpoint/Trilemma (2009). The modelling does not estimate the number of additional plant, but estimates that total generating capacity will increase from 81GW in 2008 to 100GW in 2020 (GB figures), with fossil fuel capacity estimated at around 58GW in both 2008 and 2020. This reflects around 15GW fossil fuel new build over that period, offset by a similar level of plant retirements.

Energy: Wind Generation

Questions

Asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The contribution of wind electricity during the recent cold spell depends on what time period the cold spell is defined as. Looking at daily generation data during the period 1 January to 15 January, operationally metered wind contributed between 0.2 per cent and 2.2 per cent of total operationally metered generation over this period, with an average of around 1 per cent.

These data are made available by National Grid and only refer to wind power which is operationally metered, i.e. around half of the UK onshore wind farms and none of the offshore wind farms. Data from DECC providing a more complete coverage of wind farms are available on a two to three month lagged basis.



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Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Peak transmission system demand fell between 5 and 6 pm every day during the recent cold spell (defined in this PQ as 1 to 15 January 2010). The generation by wind power during this hour is given in table 1, along with the load factor.

These data are made available by National Grid and only refer to wind which is operationally metered, i.e. around half of the onshore wind farms and none of the offshore wind farms.

Table 1: Electricity supplied by wind during peak demand
DateMWh produced between 5 and 6 pmPercentage of electricity supplied relative to theoretical maximum supply

1 January

375

24

2

479

31

3

152

10

4

326

21

5

657

42

6

246

16

7

72

5

8

150

10

9

134

9

10

957

61

11

790

50

12

1128

72

13

491

31

14

292

19

15 January

999

64

Energy: Wind Turbines


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