Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they removed the £1 billion funding of carbon capture and storage, as announced to the London Stock Exchange on 25 November 2015; and how they plan to ensure the advance of that technology in the future.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government believes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to play an important role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK.
The Department’s Annual Report & Accounts for 2015-16 will be published in June 2016 and will review the work of the Department, including the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage in 2015-16. The Budget for the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage for 2015-16 is £41.3 million.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the effect of the reduction of the budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the veterinary service and research on animal disease.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Budgets for 2016/17 to 2020/21 have not yet been finalised. Defra’s internal business planning process is still underway, and it would not, therefore, be appropriate at this time to comment on how particular policy areas may be affected.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the effect of the reduction of the budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on staffing, and scientific expenditure and activity, at Kew Gardens.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Budgets for 2016/17 to 2020/21 have not yet been finalised. Defra’s internal business planning process is still underway, and it would not, therefore, be appropriate at this time to comment on how particular policy areas may be affected.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the effect of the reduction of the budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on activity and staffing in relation to air quality.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Budgets for 2016/17 to 2020/21 have not yet been finalised. Defra’s internal business planning process is still underway, and it would not, therefore, be appropriate at this time to comment on how particular policy areas may be affected.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are undertaking, both nationally and internationally, to reverse the global decline in the bee population.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government is committed to supporting pollinators, including bees, through the National Pollinator Strategy for England. This is an exciting 10 year plan, with comprehensive action to protect pollinators on farmland and across towns, cities and the countryside.
In November 2015 Defra published an implementation plan highlighting significant progress in the first year of the strategy, delivered through collaboration between government and non-government partners. This includes £900 million Defra has made available for the new Countryside Stewardship scheme, launched in July 2015. For the first time ever this contains dedicated management options for pollinators as part of the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package.
We have been working to raise public awareness and engagement, holding the first Pollinator Awareness Week in July 2015. This promotes our Bees’ Needs Call to Action, setting out simple actions that any individual or business can take to provide food and shelter for pollinators.
Internationally, Defra hosted two successful events on pollinators at the Milan Expo in July 2015, and following this is working with academics to explore opportunities to build on the innovative work the UK is doing for bees. The UK is also an active member of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), with UK experts contributing to the IPBES assessment of the state of knowledge on pollinators, the reasons for their decline and the policy options to protect them. The final report of this assessment will be considered and approved by Governments at the 4th IPBES Plenary Meeting in February 2016.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent reported comments from Sir Keith Burnett of the Council of Science and Technology, and Jennifer Baxter of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, whether they expect 60 per cent of the £24 billion estimated expenditure, and 60 per cent of jobs, on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project to go to British firms or workers.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Work to enable the British supply chain to compete for contracts means that we expect more than 60% of the project’s construction value will go to UK companies.
The construction and operation of Hinkley Point C will create 25,000 employment opportunities with a peak workforce of 5,600 people and thousands more in the supply chain. At least 5,000 people from Somerset are expected to work directly on the project.
The project aims to create 1,000 apprenticeships alongside £14 million of EDF Energy investment in education and training. When operating, 900 jobs and £40 million a year is expected to be delivered to the local economy for 60 years, through wages and supply contracts.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, prior to the Electoral Commission embarking on a boundary review, they plan to publish a report setting out, constituency by constituency, (1) the number of people on the Electoral Roll for the 2010 General Election; (2) the number of people on the Electoral Roll for the 2015 General Election; and (3) the number of over eighteen year-olds of United Kingdom, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth nationality in the 2011 Census.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
Electoral Statistics are published annually by the Office for National Statistics and can be found at www.ons.gov.uk.
The Electoral Commission publishes data on the registers used for the UK Parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2015, which is available online.
The published ONS data based on the 2011 Census does not provide a constituency breakdown by age or nationality.
Boundary reviews are conducted by each of the four independent UK Boundary Commissions, in line with the rules set out in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, and the next boundary review is due to be completed by October 2018.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much public funding has been spent on Open Water, and why it has been wound up and the Open Water programme taken over by Ofwat and Market Operating Services Limited.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Open Water is the programme responsible for the design and delivery of the new retail market. It has not been wound up. It includes the work of Defra, Ofwat, and Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL), which is a private company owned by market participants. MOSL’s precursor, Open Water Markets Limited, is being wound-up, following the transition of the majority of its functions to MOSL.
For further information please see Ofwat’s information notice IN 15/08 (Opening a new retail market for non-household customers – roles, responsibilities and governance for the Open Water programme after May 2015). This is available on Ofwat’s website.
The Open Water programme is funded by contributions from water and sewerage companies. In June 2015, Open Water published an update on the programme budget (Revised budget for implementing the new water and wastewater retail services market in England – the Open Water programme), which is available on Ofwat’s website.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the definition of brownfield sites where planning permission will be automatic, as set out in <i>Fixing the Foundations</i> published on 9 July.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Legislation to grant permission in principle for residential development on suitable brownfield sites will be introduced in due course, which will define which brownfield sites are suitable and will set out the detail of how permission in principle will be granted. Permission in principle will only be granted where the site is suitable for housing which will provide certainty to developers but will also ensure sites which may not be suitable continue to use the planning application process. We recognise the need to maintain important protections, for instance land with high environmental value.
Asked by: Lord Whitty (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what factors were taken into account in setting the criteria for granting retail licences in the deregulated water retail market following the coming into force of the Water Act 2014.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Entrants to the new retail market will be required to hold one of the new Water Supply and Sewerage licences (WSSL). There are existing retail licences under the current regime, and the licence conditions and applications process for that regime are being built on to develop the new regime. Further information is available on Ofwat's website.
In June 2015, Ofwat consulted on the form of the new WSSL licences, and the proposed process for issuing them ('Licensing and policy issues in relation to the opening of the non-household retail market - a consultation'). The applications process for these licences will open from April 2016. Further information, and a copy of the consultation, is available on Ofwat's website.