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Houses in Multiple Occupation

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which business organisations advertise the availability of residential vacancies in hotels, hostels and houses in multiple occupation in tourist areas to attract unemployment benefit claimants; what is the nature of such organisations; and if she will make a statement. [5391]

Mr. Sproat: I share the widespread concern that the rapid expansion of hostels in a number of popular resort areas is causing very serious problems. My Department has made no assessment of advertising by hostel landlords, although we are indeed aware of this practice. The Government recently announced some measures designed to tackle poor standards in houses in multiple occupation including hostels. These include a new duty of care on HMO landlords and new simplified registration schemes which may be brought in by any local authority. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment intends to bring forward legislation as soon as possible.

Internet

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what web site her Department maintains on the Internet; what information is provided there; how often it is updated; what is the address; and if she or her Department answers questions and supplies additional information through the Internet. [7571]

Mr. Sproat: The Department of National Heritage is in the process of establishing a pilot site on the world wide web which will provide information about the work of the Department and the range of activities which it and its sponsored bodies cover. At present, DNH press releases are available on the world wide web from the Central Office of Information on http://www.coi.gov.uk/coi/depts/GHE/GHE.html. The DNH web site will be updated to reflect developments and changes in the work of the Department. The range of information provided on the site will be reviewed in the course of the current pilot. The address of the Department of National Heritage world wide web site will be made available in due course and it will be accessible from the CCTA's open government server.

Ministerial Travel and Accommodation Costs

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is her estimate of the total cost for herself and other departmental Ministers for each year

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since 1991-92, including the current year of (a) overseas travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers and their advisers, (b) car and chauffeuring costs of Ministers, (c) ministerial security costs and (d) domestic travel and accommodation expenses of Ministers. [6392]

Mr. Sproat: While all the information requested is not available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, the available information is as follows:

	1993-94	1994-95	(12)1995-96
	£	£	£
Overseas travel and subsistence	14,967	46,092	15,361
Government car services	192,693	190,165	120,675
UK travel and subsistence	10,648	24,868	14,882

(12) To date.

There are no comparable figures for earlier years as the Department's payment system was not in place until 1993, following the establishment of the Department of National Heritage in 1992.

Statue of Miner, Kent

Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will take steps to ensure that the statue of the miner outside Richborough power station, Kent, remains in place as a monument to the county's links with the coal industry; and if she will make a statement. [7240]

Mr. Sproat: If the hon. Member sends details of the statue, including photographs and a location plan, to me and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, we will ask advisers at English Heritage to assess whether it merits protection as a structure of special architectural or historic interest.

Departmental Running Costs

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is her estimate of the cost of running her departmental office, and that of her predecessor, for each year since 1990-91 including the current year, broken down into (a) telephone bills, (b) total staff costs, (c) press and communications, (d) entertainment, (e) alcoholic drinks, (f) non-alcoholic drinks, (g) stationery, (h) office refurbishment and (i) other. [6391]

Mr. Sproat: While the information requested is not available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, the following information is available:

	1993-94	1994-95	(13)1995-96
	£	£	£
Total staff cost	401,738	338,572	257,196
Hospitality/entertainment	3,700	564	1,905
Government car service/taxi services	133,183	92,213	46,710
Other costs	15,833	1,273	--
Total	554,454	432,622	305,811

(13) To date.

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 64

There are no comparable figures for earlier years as the Department's payment system was not in place until 1993, following the establishment of the Department of National Heritage in 1992.

National Millennium Commission

Mr. Thomason: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if she will make a statement on the estimated outturn costs of clearing up the industrial waste at each of the sites proposed for the national millennium exhibition; [4816]

(2) if she will make a statement on the suitability for development of the various sites proposed for the national millennium exhibition; and to what extent site clearing operations, including the removal of contaminated ground, will jeopardise the building schedules. [4817]

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I shall write to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the Millennium Commission and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of the House.

Scratchcards

Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many Camelot outlets to date have lost their franchise to sell lottery instant scratchcards on the grounds that they had been selling them to children under 16 years of age. [5238]

Mr. Sproat: This is an operational matter for Camelot Group plc. I have therefore asked the Director General of the National Lottery, who is responsible for regulating the operation of the Lottery, to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.

Small and Medium Enterprises

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress her Department has made regarding establishing a contact point with responsibility for liaison with relevant business support organisations and taking forward small and medium enterprise-related public procurement initiatives. [6718]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 19 December 1995]: My Department and its two agencies have decided that because of their relatively small expenditure on goods and services it would not be worth while to have a separate contact point for small and medium enterprises.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what work her Department has done to develop best practice in the publication of departmental procurement guidance material relevant to the needs of small and medium enterprises. [6619]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 19 December 1995]: My Department maintains an entry in the Government publication, "Tendering for Government Contracts" which advises small and medium enterprises on procurement procedures and lists procurement contact points. A copy of this publication is available in the House Library.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what advice has been given to procurement staff

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on the implications of purchasing from small and medium enterprises. [6621]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 19 December 1995]: The following guidance has been issued to the procurement staff in my Department and its agencies:

"Size may be relevant to the selection of tenderers, but only insofar as it is necessary to assess whether or not the task is within their capability. Once that assessment has been made, relative size is likely to be less significant than skills, efficiency, experience, and reliability--characteristics relevant to value for money and just as likely to be found in small firms as in large and particularly relevant in the procurement of services".

Goods and Services

Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much her Department paid to the private sector for goods and services in 1994-95. [6505]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 19 December 1995]: While the information requested is not available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, my Department paid a total of £10 million for goods and services in 1994-95.

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