To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value is of each contract his Department has with Entec UK environmental consultants. (280356)

DECC has two contracts with Entec:

(a) Appraisal of Sustainability of five energy National Planning Statements (a requirement of the Planning Act 2008) and

(b) Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Framework for the Development of Clean Coal (a requirement of Directive 2001/42/EC—the ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment’ directive).

The value of both of these contracts is considered commercially sensitive.