To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government plans to take to strengthen controls on the export of arms. (186849)

[holding answer 18 February 2008]: On 6 February 2008 the Government published their initial response to a public consultation carried out as part of the 2007 review of export control legislation. The response can be viewed on BERR's website at:

http://www.berr.gov.uk/europeandtrade/strategic-export-control/legislation/export-control-act-20Q2/review/index.html

The initial response commits the Government to (1) extending export laws to control the brokering and trafficking, by UK persons anywhere in the world, of small arms, man portable air defence systems (MANPADs), and those cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians; (2) extending controls on the export and trading of torture equipment to include sting sticks; (3) starting ED negotiations to introduce a new EU-wide torture end use control, which would enable all EU states to make licensable—and therefore refuse—the export of any equipment believed to be for use in acts of torture; and (4) rationalising the licensing treatment of long range missiles and unmanned air vehicles.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what contribution his Department will make to the funding of programmes run by (a) Business Link and (b) the Manufacturing Advisory Service for the provision of advice on resources efficiency to businesses in 2008-09; (178615)

In 2008-09, BERR will provide the following levels of funding for Business Link and Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS):

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will bring forward proposals to require businesses above a certain size to put in place sustainability strategies and to submit them to his Department. (187905)

It is not Government’s role to inquire into the sustainability of individual firms. Business must ensure its own long term competitiveness in a low carbon economy and investors must satisfy themselves that they are investing in companies equipped to meet future environmental and social challenges.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many Ministerial residences were available to his Department's Ministers and those of its predecessors in each of the last 10 years. (183188)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 688W

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent meetings his Department has held with energy companies to discuss the premium paid by pre-payment customers for gas and electricity; and what progress has been made in encouraging energy suppliers to reduce this premium. (187226)

I last met representatives of the six the largest suppliers and Ofgem on 31 January, with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We both expressed strongly our growing concern about rising tariff differentials.

Gas and electricity suppliers have been considering their tariff structures and two companies have equalised their standard credit and prepayment prices for electricity, while one offers prepayment customers a lower price for both fuels than that paid by standard credit customers.

The Government will continue to work with Ofgem to ensure we do all we can to encourage customers to switch to the best payment method. There are considerable benefits to be had—customers changing supplier and payment type (eg credit to direct debit) should see an average saving of around £130, and may even make larger savings of up to £200.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 15 October 2007, Official Report, column 805W, when he will publish his Department's analysis of which of the major six energy companies offer a proportional programme of assistance. (184293)

[holding answer 4 February 2008]: We will publish our analysis in the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy 6th Annual Progress Report later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on progress towards the Government’s target of eradicating fuel poverty (a) in England by 2010 and (b) in the UK by 2016 to 2018. (184864)

We have been successful in reducing fuel poverty between 1996 and 2005 by 3 million vulnerable households across the UK.

However, as indicated in our most recent UK Fuel Poverty Strategy 5^th Annual Progress Report www.berr.gov.uk/energy/fuel-poverty/strategy/index.html energy prices since 2003 have had an impact on households in fuel poverty.

The Government remain committed to our fuel poverty targets, working together with those key stakeholders including the energy suppliers, voluntary groups, energy efficiency scheme managers and campaigning organisations to ensure that appropriate progress is made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the impact on the rural economy of the cost of petrol and diesel. (186301)

The Department has not specifically undertaken an assessment of the impact of the cost of petrol and diesel on the rural economy. However, prices in rural and remote areas, where distribution costs are higher and the degree of retail competition is lower, will typically be higher than the UK average.

The Government recognise the importance of transport in rural areas and has provided grant funding to develop and enhance local rural bus and community services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what support his Department has provided to (a) the furniture manufacturing industry and (b) its supply chain in the last 10 years; which elements of such support have been provided on a regional basis; and what plans he has to fund future assistance to the (i) furniture manufacturing sector and (ii) its supply chain to support its global competitiveness. (182233)

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer to her earlier question on 11 December 2006, Official Report, column 805W, which detailed the financial support to the furniture sector since 1990. Since that time we have continued to provide funding towards UK First, the furniture industry forum, and will continue to do so until March 2008. UK Trade and Investment continues to help the furniture sector succeed overseas with support under the Tradeshow Access Programme and the sector forms a component of the strategy to market the UK's creative industries overseas. In the regions Advantage West Midlands has set up Furniture West Midlands to support the sector and Furniture Link, managed by Business Link London, is helping furniture companies to develop business opportunities. In addition the Government Businesslink service offers a range of support solutions to companies in all sectors. Support is also available through the Manufacturing Advisory Service and under the Technology Programme if the industry can address the technology priorities identified by the Technology Strategy Board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what agreement his Department has made with CMC insurers about the CMC/CMR co-morbidity report costs for service claims under the miners' compensation claim scheme. (188568)

No specific agreement has been made between the Department and the Coal Mining Contractors' (CMC) insurers with respect to the costs of CMC and Coal Mining Related co-morbidity reports for services claims under the Vibration White Finger scheme.

However, 50 per cent. of reasonable costs incurred by the CMC insurer for the co-morbidity medical will be reimbursed under the existing reimbursement agreements between the Department and the CMCs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has for the future of the low carbon buildings programme; and if he will make a statement. (187271)

From a total budget of £86 million made available through the low carbon buildings programme, we have committed approximately £26 million to 5,700 household, community group, public, private and charitable sector projects to date.

We are currently exploring options for raising awareness in the programme and encouraging uptake in grants, in consultation with stakeholders, including industry representatives.

Grants of up to £2,500 per property remain available to households, and grants of up to £1 million remain available to public sector organisations and charitable bodies through to 2009. Further details on the household stream are available at:

www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk

and detailed information regarding grants available to public sector organisations and charitable bodies are available at:

http://www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk/

Beyond LCBP, electricity technologies are supported by the renewables obligation (RO) and CERT will apply to microgeneration technologies from April 2008. More significant changes to the RO are planned for 2009 including differentiated levels of support to different technologies in order to encourage a larger contribution from emerging renewable technologies. This change will benefit microgenerators (i.e. generators under 50 kW), including all PV. We will also be looking at support for microgeneration as part of the renewable energy strategy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate his Department has made of the number of domestic microgeneration installations, broken down by type; and if he will make a statement. (187227)

An Energy Saving Trust report commissioned by the then DTI and completed in 2005 estimated that there were approximately 82,000 microgeneration installations in the United Kingdom by the end of 2004. We are currently commissioning further research to provide up to date estimates.

The following table sets out installations by technologies taken from the EST data plus installations under Government grant programmes from 1 April 2005 to the end of December 2006.

For installations under the low carbon buildings programme, which started in April 2006, please see the latest statistics on domestic installations at:

http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/info/stats/

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what targets he has set for installing heat producing microgeneration in settlements of fewer than 10,000 in homes classified as (a) hard to treat and (b) hard to reach. (187438)

We currently have no specific targets for installing microgeneration technologies in these areas.

BERR and the local regional development agencies have each provided £l million in co-funding to each of two demonstration programmes in North-East England and Yorkshire and Humberside, which consist of a number of projects to provide mains gas or renewables technologies to deprived communities. Each of these programmes has a target of helping 20 communities and installing measures in 2,000 homes in each RDA area.

We will also be examining the benefits of wider microgeneration targets in accordance with the requirements of the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what time limit the current split between beneficiaries and Government of future valuation surpluses from the Mineworkers Pension Scheme are subject to; and if he will meet trustees to discuss these arrangements. (187831)

[holding answer 21 February 2008]: The equal division between beneficiaries and Government of periodic surpluses in the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme is a fundamental element of the arrangements established in 1994 whereby the Government provides an insolvency guarantee to the scheme. These arrangements are not time limited. Although my officials are in regular dialogue with scheme representatives on a range of issues, I have no immediate plans to meet the trustees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether mobile telephone providers have a statutory obligation to inform their customers when they have reached the end of their mobile contract. (180378)

Mobile telephone operators are under no statutory obligation to inform their customers when the minimum term of a mobile contract has ended.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the timescale is for decommissioning nuclear sites; and what estimate he has made of the prospects for achieving targets set for decommissioning such sites. (187065)

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has responsibility for the decommissioning and cleaning up of the historic civil public nuclear sites, including the Magnox nuclear power stations. A life cycle description of each site for which the NDA is responsible, including key decommissioning milestones, is set out in the NDA strategy, which is available on the NDA website at:

www.nda.gov.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what financial contributions were made by (a) O2, (b) Vodafone, (c) 3, (d) Orange, (e) T-Mobile and (f) Virgin Mobile to Ofcom in the last year for which information is available. (187018)

The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive’s letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much the Government paid to (a) the Isle of Man and (b) Northern Ireland in relation to UK Continental Shelf receipts in each year since 2004. (187443)

The following table shows how much the Government have paid to (a) the Isle of Man and (b) Northern Ireland in respect of a share of UK Continental Shelf receipts since 2004:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make it his policy to require the use of carbon capture and storage technology as a condition for approval of the new Kingsnorth power station in Kent. (187032)

[holding answer 21 February 2008]: No decision on the application for consent to build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth has yet been taken.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what renewable energy projects have been built which are not connected to the national grid. (186995)

I am not aware of any large-scale renewable electricity projects that have been built but which are not connected to the national grid.

Microgeneration is used in off-grid applications, for example to power parking meters. There may also be domestic microgeneration projects which remain off-grid due to the property owners' choice. The Department does not hold statistics relating to these projects. As I understand it, larger distributed energy installations that use a private wire network for the distribution and supply of electricity tend to maintain a grid connection, for example to maintain supply in the event of a failure of their own generating plant. These installations could operate in what is known as “island-mode”, using their own generation in the event of a cut in grid supply, but we are not aware of any that choose to operate off grid at all times.

In addition, there are some renewable energy developments, such as renewable heat projects, that do not generate electricity and so do not require connection to the grid.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the design capacity of the Sellafield Mox Plant is; and how many tonnes of mixed oxide fuel were manufactured at the plant in each year since it was opened. (188164)

I am advised by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority that the original design capacity for the Sellafield Mox Plant, based on largely unproven technology, was 120tHM (tonnes heavy metal) per annum. From assessments during uranium commissioning in 2001, this was revised to 72tHM. Justification of the plant was approved in October 2001. Output as finished fuel assemblies has been as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he has received the report from Ofcom concluding its review of communications providers' additional charges; and if he will make a statement. (185745)

[holding answer 18 February 2008]: The independent regulator the Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced on 6 June 2007 that it would carry out a full review of communications providers' additional charges. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Ofcom expects to announce the conclusions of its review soon, and progress may be monitored on its website: www.ofcom.org.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government have taken to regulate utility bill price increases in the last three years. (182001)

Neither the Government nor Ofgem regulate overall prices in the energy supply markets, which are competitive markets. Ofgem does regulate charges in monopoly sectors of the energy markets, including transmission and distribution, and these charges form part of consumers' energy bills.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government have taken to encourage energy providers to minimise utility bill price rises. (182002)

The Government do not interfere in commercial pricing decisions in the energy supply markets, which are competitive markets.

However we are concerned about the impact of higher prices on vulnerable people and we continue to encourage energy suppliers to adopt social tariffs and to restrict price rises for the most vulnerable. In the Energy White Paper, we called for suppliers to increase their help to vulnerable customers. The level of help has now increased from £40 million to £56 million during winter 2007-08 with around 700,000 households benefiting. All these companies have committed to continuing their programmes of assistance for the next three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 699W, on wind power (licensing), what proportion of future offshore renewables applications he expects to be for wind farms generating over 100 MW of power. (187031)

[holding answer 21 February 2008]: The size of future offshore wind farms in development consent applications will depend on the outcome of the Strategic Environmental Assessment on offshore energy currently underway, future Crown Estate competitions for options for site leases and proposals put forward by wind farm developers.

For the Crown Estate’s Round 1 competition in 2001 for demonstration-scale offshore wind farm projects, it was a requirement for proposals to be under 100MW in scale. Under the Round 2 competition in 2003, for commercial-scale projects, only one lease option was granted for a proposal under 100MW. My Department expects that while some proposals may be for offshore wind farms under 100MW, it is likely that the majority of future offshore wind farm proposals will be over 100MW.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been drawn down by each local education authority from New Opportunities for PE and Sport funding; and how many projects have received funding. (187491)

[holding answer 21 February 2008]: I have been asked to reply.

In England, £495.16 million of the £581.25 million of funding available for the New Opportunities for PE and Sport (NOPES) has been allocated direct to Local authorities. This has helped them to support 1,365 capital projects, developing or refurbishing over 2,300 sports facilities. The following table shows NOPES allocations by local authority; draw-down by local authorities against those allocations; and the numbers of projects and sports facilities supported.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much gap funding was provided for stock transfers in each year since 1997; how such funding has been financed; and if she will make a statement. (164916)

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him today to PQ 162805.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued to Gloucestershire County Council on the account to be taken of the flooding of summer 2007 in the setting of its council tax precept for 2008-09. (188187)

While Government have not provided guidance to local authorities on how they should set their council tax precept we have made it clear that we expect the national average increase in council tax to be substantially below 5 per cent.

In July 2007 Communities and Local Government wrote to the chief executives of flood affected authorities to remind them of powers around council tax discounts and business rate relief that would enable them to provide financial relief to affected taxpayers.

In addition to any statutory council tax discounts that may apply to those forced out of their homes by flooding, local authorities have discretionary powers, under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, to grant discounts of up to 100 per cent. to householders who have been affected.

Local authorities can also consider whether non-domestic properties hit by flooding should be liable for empty property rates and/or whether to exercise their discretionary powers under section 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to grant hardship rate relief in respect of occupied or empty properties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to designate the Welsh Assembly Government as a statutory consultee on national policy statements impacting on Wales. (188170)

As we made clear in the white paper “Planning for a Sustainable Future (Cm 7120)” published in May 2007, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland ministers will be statutory consultees in the development of relevant national policy statements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department expects to announce which eco-town bids have been shortlisted. (187343)

We are carrying out an initial sift of eco-towns proposals across Government and its agencies. This will give a preliminary indication of the sustainability and infrastructure potential of these schemes in relation to the criteria set out in the eco-towns prospectus, including their approach to transport and the environment. We are also contacting local authorities and regional bodies, in areas where schemes look to have the potential to go forward to a shortlist for consultation. We hope to publish this shortlist in early March 2008 for consultation with the public, wider stakeholders and local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she has received any bids for new eco-towns in Essex in the last six months. (187828)

[holding answer 22 February 2008]: We have received more than 50 expressions of interest from both the public and private sector for eco-town schemes. At this stage, I am not able to disclose the details of bids, in view of the Department’s process and the interests of bidders, but we will be publishing a shortlist in the near future for full consultation with the public, wider stakeholders and local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which countries are on the white list of approved nations allowed to operate an internet gambling service in the UK. (187481)

[holding answer 21 February 2008]: I have been asked to reply.

Tasmania and the States of Alderney and the Isle of Man are the only three jurisdictions or countries that have been added to the ‘whitelist’ which allows gambling operators licensed in these jurisdictions to advertise remote gambling in the UK as if they were an EEA state.

Any operator that wishes to operate an internet gambling site from Great Britain (ie has remote gambling equipment located in Great Britain) would require an operating licence from the Gambling Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 778W, on the Health and Safety Executive, if she will place in the Library copies of the correspondence between the Health and Safety Executive and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister relating to the water heaters of the type involved in the fatalities in 2002 and 2007. (178622)

Copies of correspondence between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2003 and between the HSE and Communities and Local Government in 2006-07 have today been placed in the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how much has been spent on home information packs from the public purse; how much has been spent on associated (a) legal fees and (b) external advisers; and how much is budgeted to be spent in the remainder of this financial year; (176231)

An update was given to the hon. Member on 7 February 2008, Official Report, column 1313W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals for a system by which the proposed Homes and Communities Agency will engage with hon. Members representing constituencies in the Thames Gateway area; and if she will make a statement. (184626)

The Government's response to the Public Accounts Committee report into the Thames Gateway outlined that the views of hon. Members representing constituencies in the Thames Gateway are being sought by the Department as to how this communication and dialogue can be improved and strengthened. The Department intends to meet with the Thames Gateway Parliamentary Group to discuss how the programme can most effectively engage hon. Members. We plan to continue to use this and other avenues to ensure that the Homes and Communities Agency builds on this work when it takes over responsibility for the Thames Gateway.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what gap funding payments by her Department to registered social landlords to support large scale voluntary transfers were made in respect of each local authority area in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07; and how much is estimated to be paid in respect of each such area in 2007-08. (162805)

£182 million has been made available over the period of the 2004 Spending Review, up to 2007-08, for gap funding payments to registered social landlords taking negatively valued housing stock from local authorities under large scale voluntary transfer arrangements. These grant payment arrangements enable sufficient private finance to be levered in to enable full Decent Homes investment programmes to be undertaken by RSLs after transfer. We have currently entered into 28 gap funding arrangements with RSLs. Payments to those RSLs under these arrangements are made from the Department's Capital DEL budget.

Details of the gap funding grant payments to date and current 2007-08 forecasts by local authority area are in the following table. The table does not include possible grant payments in the current year in respect of gap funding arrangements with RSLs that have yet to be finalised.

We estimate that about £2 billion of private finance is likely to be levered in to support Decent Homes investment programmes by RSLs taking housing stock, where gap funding arrangements are in place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 691-2W, on housing: planning, what record was taken of the views of hon. Members at the briefing held by Government Office North West in December 2001; whether a record of those views was passed to Ministers; what steps have been taken to ensure that the views of hon. Members were accurately recorded; and if she will place a copy of the record in the Library. (186000)

[holding answer 18 February 2008]: The briefing held by Government Office North West in December 2007 was an informal briefing to provide hon. Members with an overview of Housing Growth Point Expressions of Interest, which had been submitted in the North West, and as such no formal record of the meeting was taken. The Government Office North West did note the key issues raised by hon. Members and wrote to all relevant local authority chief executives outlining these. This letter also invited them to engage with, and consult, hon. Members, if they had not already done so. Any specific issues which hon. Members raised relating to individual local authorities were included in letters to relevant chief executives by Government Office North West.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she, other Ministers in her Department, and her officials have had with representatives of (a) the Welsh Assembly Government and (b) the Sustainability Committee of the Welsh Assembly on the creation of a new Infrastructure Planning Commission and minimisation of the number of non-departmental public bodies. (188168)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of Sate and I have both had discussions about the creation of a new Infrastructure Planning Commission with the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Assembly Government. I have not had discussions with representatives of the Sustainability Committee of the Welsh Assembly but I have received a copy of their report on the Planning Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of jobs which will be created in the Thames Gateway area which will be taken by people already resident in the area; and if she will make a statement. (184623)

The Thames Gateway Delivery Plan, launched by the Prime Minister in November 2007, announced that we now expect to see 225, 000 new jobs created in the Thames Gateway area by 2016, significantly more than previous estimates.

The Government are dedicated to ensuring that existing residents of the Gateway share in the economic benefits of the area's regeneration and are equipped with the skills required to secure the new, high- value jobs being created. The Thames Gateway delivery plan announced a pan- gateway skills plan developed by the Learning and Skills Council to invest £1.6 billion in teaching and learning, and £850 million in new building for further education. The delivery plan also reiterated our commitment to a Thames Gateway guarantee of assured progression, ensuring that every level three course on offer in the Gateway leads directly to entry to a suitable level four course for learners who want to progress further.

This new employment will therefore benefit both existing and new residents as the Gateway becomes an increasingly attractive place to live. However the precise balance will inevitably depend upon the investment decisions of private sector investors in the Gateway over the next few years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government has taken on (a) eviction practices and (b) temporary homelessness in multi-occupancy housing areas with large migrant worker populations. (187316)

People living in Houses in Multiple Occupation have the same rights and protection as other tenants in the private rented sector. They cannot be asked to move out without adequate notice and cannot usually be evicted without a court order. We have, however, commissioned an independent policy review of the private rented sector, to improve our understanding of the sector and how it is operating, which is due to report in October. Eviction practices is an issue that may well be considered in the context of this review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government have taken in relation to car usage and parking provision in multi-occupancy housing areas with large migrant worker populations. (187317)

Local authorities have powers to implement permanent or temporary traffic management or parking controls, and are best placed to do so.

The Government's Planning Policy Statement 3 "Housing", issued in November 2006, states that local planning authorities should, with stakeholders and communities, develop residential parking policies for their areas, taking account of expected levels of car ownership, the importance of promoting good design and the need to use land efficiently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the use of section 106 monies at Royal Ordnance, Lancashire. (188565)

The making and implementation of planning obligations (also known as ‘Section 106 Agreements’), under the terms of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, are matters for local planning authorities and those with an interest in a piece of land. The Secretary of State would not normally be involved, and in the case referred to she has had no dealings with any of the planning obligations which are in place, and which are recorded, and required to be made available for inspection by the public on the local authority’s planning register. She will therefore not be making a statement about the developer contributions agreed in the planning obligations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of (a) the likely impact of allowing for the off-site provision of renewable energy sources in planning decisions on the renewable energy industry and (b) the ability of off-site provision to contribute to the Government's targets for building zero-carbon houses; and if she will make a statement. (167072)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 588W, which explains how our new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on climate change sets out how local plans should help secure much greater use of local renewable and low-carbon energy in new development. The final PPS is supported by an impact assessment (available on the Department's website).

‘Building a Greener Future’ policy statement (available on the Department's website) set out the definition of zero carbon new homes. It recognises that there may be certain circumstances or particular sites where it may be difficult for developers to achieve zero carbon without considering off-site solutions. As new evidence emerges about costs and practicalities, and as technologies develop, we will develop the definition of zero carbon for the purposes of building regulations, after full consultation and within a sensible time frame that will allow the industry to adjust before the planned changes in 2016.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of how much onsite renewable energy capacity will be delivered in England as a result of the 2016 Zero Carbon Homes initiative in (a) 2010, (b) 2013 and (c) 2016, as referred to in the answer of 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 681W, on renewable energy. (167185)

The regulatory impact assessment published alongside ‘Building a Greener Future’ policy statement in July 2007 (both available on the Department's website) indicates that the requirement to meet the zero carbon standard in new homes from 2016 will result in an additional amount of energy being sourced from renewable sources compared to a scenario without the policy. It also suggests that this additional amount of renewables as a result of the policy could be equivalent to around 1 per cent. of the total UK electricity demand by 2020. The modelling did not disaggregate capacity from on-site renewables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will introduce legislation requiring all properties to display a number or name. (187005)

Communities and Local Government has no plans to introduce legislation of this nature.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to announce her decision whether to return to the basic rent restructuring formula with caps and limits or extend rent restructuring to reduce the steepness in the trajectory guideline and actual rent rises. (164190)

Communities and Local Government consulted on the mechanism for the setting of guideline rents in the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) subsidy regime in August. The options consulted on were guideline rents predicated on a rent convergence date of 2011-12, or extending the convergence date to lower annual guideline rent increases. A decision on the preferred option (extending the convergence date to 2016-17, solely for the purpose of calculating guideline rents in the HRA subsidy system for 2008-09) was included in the HRA subsidy determination for 2008-09 which was issued in draft for consultation on 23 November 2007 and in final form on 15 January 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the criteria were for deciding on the membership of the Government's Zero Carbon Homes Taskforce; and if she will appoint representatives of providers of affordable housing to the taskforce. (175007)

We welcome the contribution which providers of affordable housing can make towards our zero carbon homes programme.

The 2016 Taskforce was established to identify the barriers to implementation of the zero carbon 2016 target, and to put in place measures to address them. Therefore the membership of the Taskforce consists of representatives of the principal industries and stakeholders that have a role to play in achieving this, for example housebuilders, energy companies and local authorities. There are no plans to extend the current membership of the Taskforce.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many supermarkets in England and Wales (a) applied for and (b) were granted (i) an extension of their alcohol sales licence and (ii) a 24-hour licence in (A) 2006 and (B) 2007. (187453)

This information is not held centrally.

However, DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing, published on 8 November 2007, shows that between April 2006 and March 2007 there were 917 supermarkets and stores with a 24-hour alcohol licence in force on 31 March 2007 in England and Wales (based on 83 per cent. of all licensing authorities).

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff have been employed on the portable antiquities scheme since it started. (187792)

The numbers of staff employed on the Portable Antiquities Scheme since it started are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on the number of visits made to Bassetlaw constituency by staff of Arts Council England over the last three years. (187779)

My Department does not hold this information. The Arts Council have informed me that they do not collect information about visits made by staff to individual constituencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's personal digital assistants were (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last five years; and what the value of those items was. (185277)

In the past five years the following have been lost or stolen:

My Department does not hold information regarding the value of the items.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) personal digital assistants and (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen since 2001. (184325)

Since 2001 staff in my Department have reported:

PDA's—15 lost and 7 stolen

Laptops—1 lost, 1 missing and 2 stolen.

My Department does not hold this information on mobile telephones.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's staff retired on the grounds of stress-related illness in each of the last three years. (187889)

The number of staff who retired on the grounds of stress related illness in each of the last three years is nil.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment for all employees and guidance is available for staff and managers on how to manage stress effectively.

As part of our attendance, health and well being programme for staff we have a range of policies in place to reduce work related stress. These include: stress management policy and sickness absence policy, which includes guidance on making reasonable adjustments. We also offer a full range of flexible work patterns to support work-life balance and have health awareness pages on our Intranet. We have appointed a DCMS Board member as the Health and Well-Being Champion. In addition staff have access to our Employee Assistance Programme (counselling service) and on-site gym with a programme of exercise and yoga available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of sickness pay to staff within his Department was in the most recent year for which figures are available. (187508)

From the 2006-07 financial year, the average cost of sick pay per staff member who has taken sick leave is £468.

As part of our attendance, health and well being programme for staff we have a range of policies in place these include: Sickness Absence policy, which includes guidance on making reasonable adjustments. We also offer a full range of flexible work patterns to support work-life balance and have health awareness pages on our intranet We have appointed a DCMS board member as the Health and Well-Being Champion. In addition, staff have access to our Employee Assistance Programme (counselling service).

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures are in place to encourage British film companies to collaborate with foreign film companies. (187358)

The UK Government currently have active bi-lateral film co-production agreements with Australia, Canada, France, Jamaica, New Zealand and South Africa. The aim of these co-production agreements is to encourage cultural and economic collaboration between film makers from signatory countries.

The UK has also ratified the European convention on cinematographic co-production, the Council of Europe fund established to promote co-operation among European states in the field of film production. 38 Council of Europe states have signed up to the convention, including all 27 European Union member states. The UK Government are also in the process of negotiating further film co-production agreements with a number of countries including India and Morocco, in order to secure increased inward investment for the UK and encourage communities and cultures in both participating countries to share and develop ideas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who were involved in work-based training in the tourism sector in the North East in each of the last five years. (184978)

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) North East has provided data for each of the last five years on the number of people “starting” and “completing” work-based learning in travel and tourism and in hospitality and catering. This includes apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships, where the learner gains a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), and also training in the workplace which results in an NVQ. The LSC has also provided data on the number of people “starting” and “completing” learning through “Train to Gain” since it was rolled out nationally in 2006.

People 1st are currently conducting an in-depth analysis of apprenticeships in the sector, which will include an identification of the job roles of apprenticeships, the content of learning and how to improve completion rates. This work will be outlined in an Apprenticeships Strategy in April 2008, and forms part of the industry-led National Skills Strategy for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, which my Department actively supports.

Government have recently committed to a new measurement for apprenticeships. Whereby we measure the number of starts and the number of successful completions. This replaces the historic “Average in Learning” which takes an average of the numbers on an apprenticeship at any point in a given year. Further details about these measurements can be found in the January 2008 report outlining the findings of the Government's Review of Apprenticeships:

www.dius.gov.uk/publications

“Train to Gain”—the national skills service for employers—will be vital for work-based learning in the tourism sector and will play a key role in transforming the nation's skills base. In November 2007, Government published a “Train to Gain Plan for Growth”, setting out our ambitions on better meeting employer needs. This includes tailoring the service to meet the skills needs of employers in each sector through a sector compact with Sector Skills Councils, including one with People 1st for the tourism sector. My Department is actively involved in supporting this work as part of the sector's National Skills Strategy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant-in-aid his Department provided for VisitBritain in each year since its establishment; and how much he expects his Department to provide to VisitBritain in each of the next three years expressed in 2007-08 prices. (186235)

[holding answer 18 February 2008]: VisitBritain's total allocation of grant in aid, from its establishment in March 2003 to the end of the next spending review period, was (and will be) as follows:

The figure for 2006-07 is part of the £350 million invested by the public sector in tourism support, across the UK (based on figures returned to DCMS). Of that £350 million, £101.1 million was central Government funding for VisitBritain and the regional development agencies. Central Government funding for tourism in 1997-98 was £44.7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many servicemen and women are serving in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan. (187931)

As at 18 February 2008, there were 4,100 service personnel in Iraq and 7,100 in Afghanistan.

The number of personnel in theatre will naturally fluctuate on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including leave (rest and recuperation), temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces and other factors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel were involved in disciplinary or criminal proceedings as a result of (a) firearms and (b) other military equipment being sold illegally in each of the last five years. (187367)

Available information is shown in the following tables. Because data are captured using different methods for each of the three services, the definition of the “Firearms” category is not wholly comparable across all three.

The figures provided are based upon individuals dealt with summarily or by courts-martial. Other military equipment has been considered to be any MOD asset.

Royal Navy

Information on the illegal selling of ‘Other Military Equipment’ is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Disciplinary offences by other ranks which were dealt with summarily are not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel are citizens of countries other than the UK, broken down by nationality. (184708)

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 18 February 2008, Official Report, columns 72-73W, to the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison).

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the joint service publications (a) JSP 567, (b) JSP 584, (c) JSP 70 and (d) JSP 712. (175455)

JSP 567 (Contractor Support to Operations (CSO): Policy Overview) is currently being considered for release and a version will be available shortly. I have placed copies of JSP 584 (New Financial Assistance Regulations for Reservists and their employers) and JSP 712 (Working with databases) in the Library of the House. JSP 712 provided guidance on working with databases for all the IT systems that were currently in use in 2001. With the advent of the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) in 2005, no further updates were made to existing IT systems or applications and the decision was made to mothball JSP 712.

JSP 70 is not recognised as a JSP document.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many vehicles were (a) owned and (b) purchased by (i) the Cabinet Office, (ii) No. 10 Downing street in each of the last 10 years; and how many were (A) owned and (B) purchased by the Office of the Minister for the Olympics since its establishment; (178919)

The Information requested is not separately identified in the Cabinet Office Resource Accounting System and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. In respect of vehicles provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 5 February 2008, Official Report, column 1008W.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions the National Security Committee has met since it was formed; and what the purpose was of each of those meetings. (188367)

The Ministerial Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development (NSID), and its sub-committees, exist to consider issues relating to national security, and the Government’s international, European and international development policies. Details of these Committees’ membership and terms of reference are available in the Library of the House or can be viewed at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/secretariats/committees/nsid.aspx

It is established practice that information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including the number of meetings held and topics discussed, is not disclosed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in which department or office the support staff of the National Security Committee is based; how many staff support the Committee; and from which budget they are funded. (188404)

Like all Cabinet Committees, the Ministerial Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development (NSID) and its sub-committees are supported by a small secretariat within the Cabinet Office. Departments across Government are involved in supporting the work of NSID and its sub-committees.