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NATIONAL HERITAGE

EDS Computer System

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what out-sourcing contracts her agencies have with the EDS software computer system; what is the current cost; when the contract ends; what are the penalties involved should she seek early termination of the contract; and if she will make a statement. [23742]

Mr. Sproat: The Department of National Heritage and its agencies have no out-sourcing contracts with the EDS software computer system.

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what savings to date have been made by her Department as a result of out-sourcing arrangements made with the EDS computer system; what assessment she has made of the equivalent costs for carrying out this work in-house; and if she will make a statement. [24238]

Mr. Sproat: The Department of National Heritage and its agencies have no out-sourcing contracts with the EDS software computer system.

Royal Palaces

Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans there are to reduce the entitlement of private secretaries and officials in the royal households to residential accommodation in the occupied royal palaces; over what time scale; and how much accommodation will be released and in which palaces. [22103]

Mr. Sproat: It is envisaged that 45 private secretaries and officials in the royal household will no longer be provided with residential accommodation when the present postholders leave or retire; 12 of these occupy the following properties, which are outside the security cordons and can therefore be let commercially or sold. The date when it is assumed that the present occupants will retire are also given:

Date	Flat/House	Property
1996	1 flat	Royal Mews, Hampton Court
2000	1 house	Royal Paddocks, Hampton Court
	1 house	Old Barracks, Kensington
2002	2 flats	Marlborough House Mews
	1 house	Chantry Close, Windsor
2003	1 flat	Marlborough House Mews
	1 flat	Old Barracks, Kensington
2006	1 flat	Marlborough House Mews
2011	1 flat	Old Barracks, Kensington
	1 house	Royal Paddocks, Hampton Court
2016	1 flat	Cumberland Lodge Mews, Windsor

The 33 properties within the security cordon will not be available for commercial letting or sale. Their future use will be determined when the present postholders leave or retire.

Television Licence Fees

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many of those fined for failure

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to pay television licence fees in Wales have been imprisoned over the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [23192]

Mr. Sproat: The number of people imprisoned by courts in Wales for non-payment of fines for television licence evasion in each of the last five calendar years, is as follows.

1991: 2
1992 21
1993: 51
1994: 49
1995: 61 (provisional figure).

Owing to changes in statistical analysis, earlier year figures may be understated.

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the total cost of prosecuting those fined for failure to pay television licences in (a) 1985, (b) 1990, (c) 1992, (d) 1994 and (e) 1995; and if he will make a statement. [23185]

Mr. Sproat: The information requested is not available.

National Armouries Collection

Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many staff (a) lost their employment and (b) started employment in the move of the national armouries collection to Leeds. [23541]

Mr. Sproat: As a result of the move of a large proportion of the Royal Armouries collection to the new museum in Leeds, two staff have been made redundant by the Royal Armouries and a further 12 staff who were offered continued employment in Leeds have declined it. At Leeds, the Royal Armouries has recruited six new permanent staff and its private sector partners have recruited 259 permanent staff. The private sector partners expect to recruit a further 50 seasonal staff this summer.

Concessionary Television Licences

Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the recent proposals and representations she has received concerning elderly sheltered accommodation which does not currently qualify under the television concessionary licence scheme. [23530]

Mr. Sproat: We receive regular representations about various aspects of the concessionary television licence scheme, both from Members of Parliament and from members of the public. However, no records are held in the form requested.

Tourism (Fire Regulations)

Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations she has had from the English tourist industry regarding the application of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (a) to hotels of all sizes and (b) to self-catering accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the reasons for all exceptions in these categories. [23578]

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Mr. Sproat: The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are primarily the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. I have had no representations about the application of the 1988 regulations to hotels. Hotels are subject to the Fire Precautions Act (Hotels and Boarding Houses) Order 1972, made under the Fire Precautions Act 1971.

The 1988 regulations apply to furniture supplied as part of self-catering accommodation let out in the course of a business for holiday or leisure purposes. I have had a number of representations from self-catering tourist accommodation providers, but none during the past 12 months. As a result of representations about the considerable cost of compliance, the Government made, in 1993, an amendment to the 1988 regulations giving self-catering accommodation providers until 31 December 1996 to replace furniture which does not meet the fire resistance requirements, provided that the furniture has already been supplied as part of accommodation previously let.

Sport (Administrative Structure)

Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what recent representations she has received about the administrative structure for sport; and if she will make a statement. [22255]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 1 April 1996]: We have received a number of representations, notably from the Sports Council, about its reorganisation into two new councils for England and for the United Kingdom.

Mental Patients (Television Licences)

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations she has received on the need to change the regulations concerning television licences for private properties housing mental patients who have been placed there by the local NHS mental health trusts; what plans she has to reconsider these regulations; and if she will make a statement. [23207]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 1 April 1996]: We are not aware of any representations on this subject, nor do we have any plans for changes to the television licensing regulations.

Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of a television licence fee a mental health patient has to pay if (a) a resident in accommodation eligible for a residential care television licence and (b) housed in a property which fulfils all the requirements necessary for a residential care television licence, but is not directly provided or run by a local authority or housing association. [23208]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 1 April 1996]: As from 1 April 1996, the cost of full fee television licences is £89.50 for colour and £30 for black and white. These full licence fees are payable by mentally disordered persons unless all the qualifying criteria for a £5 residential accommodation care licence are met. These criteria include detailed requirements about how the accommodation is provided or managed. This does not necessarily need to be by a local authority or housing association.

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Deregulation

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many appeals mechanisms, as laid out in section 6 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, he expects to establish by the end of 1996; how many staff each appeals system will employ; and what their estimated annual running costs will be. [23618]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 1 April 1996]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 1 April 1996 Official Report, column 18, by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to the oral answer of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the hon. Member for Colchester, North (Mr. Jenkin) on 26 February, Official Report, column 576, if she will list those statutory instruments and Acts of Parliament which have been gold plated in the past five years; and what steps she is taking to amend or repeal each piece of gold plating on existing legislation. [23635]

Mr. Sproat [holding answer 1 April 1996]: The Government's policy is not to add unnecessary burdens when implementing EC directives. Departments take every opportunity to review existing legislation in the light of this. Officials are currently working on revised guidance to enable Ministers to see where implementing legislation goes beyond the underlying EC directive.

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