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Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their forecast of the cost of producing power from (a) on-shore wind turbines, (b) photovoltaic plants, and (c) off-shore wind turbines. [HL1263]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The analysis underpinning renewable energy strategy, published in July 2009, used assumptions on the generating costs of different electricity generating technologies to 2020, full details of which are set out in Element (2009) and Redpoint/Trilemma (2009), which are available on the DECC website. The table below summarises these assumptions with respect to solar photovoltaic and wind generation in 2009.
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| Technology (source) | Year | Capital expenditure (£/kW) | Operating expenditure (£/kW/year) | Load factor | Technology life |
Current evidence suggests wind generation in the UK generally faces lower capital costs and higher operating costs than solar photovoltaic generation.
Projections of future electricity generation costs are subject to considerable uncertainty. They require underlying assumptions to be made regarding technological learning rates, deployment trajectories, available resource types, supply chain capacity and so on. Technological learning and economies of scale tend to exert downward pressure on costs through time, while supply chain constraints and declining availability of the best resource may tend to exert upward pressure on costs.
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of electricity was produced by wind turbines during the recent cold weather. [HL1440]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The department collects wind data on a monthly basis. These data are published two months in arrears so the latest data available are for October 2009. In October 2009 major power producer (MPP) wind farms supplied 489.4 GWh of electricity, which equates to 1.8 per cent of all electricity supplied from MPPs during October.
EU: Green Buildings
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the European Union Commission's declared aim of securing green renovation for 15 million buildings in the European Union member states. [HL1368]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Improving the energy efficiency of the existing building stock will be vital if the EU is to meet its energy and climate objectives. While action at the national level, such as that set out in the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, will be fundamental to delivery of these objectives, there is also a useful role for the EU in supporting member states' efforts. We therefore welcome indications that the European Commission intends to focus on action to accelerate the green refurbishment of buildings as a key element of the review it is currently undertaking of the existing European Energy Efficiency Action Plan. We look forward to considering detailed proposals from the Commission as to how it intends to take forward its objective in due course.
EU: High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will have their first bilateral formal meeting with the new European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland; and what subjects they will discuss. [HL1252]
Lord Brett: My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, my honourable friend the Minister for Europe and my noble friend Lady Kinnock have been in regular contact with the new high representative since she took office, most recently on 8 January 2010 and at the Foreign Affairs Council on 25 January 2010. They have discussed a range of current foreign policy issues.
EU: President
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will have their first bilateral formal meeting with the new President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy; and what subjects they will discuss. [HL1253]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): My right honourable friend the Prime Minister met the President of the European Council for a breakfast meeting in London on 19 January 2010. They discussed preparations for the 11 February special European Council, jobs and growth, and follow-up from the COP 15 Copenhagen climate conference.
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Europe
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries are included in their use of the word "Europe". [HL1260]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): There is no internationally agreed formal definition of the word "Europe".
Government Departments: Bonuses
Question
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty's Government for each of the past three years for which figures are available, how many people were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses in the Ministry of Justice and its agencies, by civil service band; how many people received each type of bonus, by civil service band; what the average payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus, by civil service band. [HL6]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): An element of the Ministry of Justice's (including the National Offender Management Service (NOMS)) overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives.
Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the Senior Civil Servants (SCS) is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
The table below details how many people were eligible for and received a non-consolidated variable pay award and the average and the maximum payment for a non-consolidated variable pay award, awarded under the Ministry of Justice and NOMS standard pay and performance management processes for the three most recent performance years for which the relevant payments have been published in the department's accounts.
- For staff below the SCS non-consolidated performance pay may be either end of year or in year. End-of-year payments are made for performance over the course of the performance year and in-year payments are made during the performance year which in the case of the information shown above align to the financial year in which the end-of-year non-consolidated performance payments were made.
- The information shown above for 2005-06 and 2006-07 performance years includes non-consolidated performance related payments made to staff in the former DCA and HM Prison Service (now part of the NOMS Agency) prior to the creation of Ministry of Justice in 2007. Information for those years does not include payments to the remaining staff working in the Home Office who joined the Ministry of Justice at the same time, details of which are included in the 2007-08 amounts.
- This information includes non-consolidated performance related payments made to those SCS members employed in the Ministry HQ, the National Offender Management Service, Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals Service. It excludes those employed by the National Archives, the Scotland Office and the Land Registry, as these cost are not met by the Ministry.
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Higher Education: Accreditation Bodies
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 15 December 2009 (WA 211), whether King's College of Management in Manchester remains accredited for the purpose of student visas; and how many students were granted visas to study there in each of the last three years. [HL1331]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Accreditation of colleges is the responsibility of independent organisations in the education sector which have been approved by the UK Border Agency and follow published requirements.
As at 19 January 2010 King's College of Management remains accredited.
In the past three years 325 applications for leave (initial and extensions) were granted for overseas students to study at the college:
| Year | Applications |
Homelessness: Rough Sleepers
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many rough sleepers there have been each night so far in 2010 sheltering in the arcades around the piazza of Westminster Cathedral. [HL1264]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The department does not collect data on the numbers of rough sleepers in any area smaller than a local authority area, such as the piazza of Westminster cathedral. Westminster City Council has more detailed information about the individual rough sleepers using the piazza area, but it does not collect information about numbers for each night. It may be able to provide an estimate based on the experience of local homeless services.
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