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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 13 January 1997
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Ministerial Leave
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many days leave he has taken in the Easter, Whitsun and summer adjournments; and how many days leave he took during the time in which Parliament was prorogued this year; [9802]
- (2) how many days of leave he plans to take during the Christmas adjournment. [9803]
The Attorney-General: I refer to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Consultants
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Attorney-General what estimates he has made of the amount spent on external consultants by his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years. [10174]
The Attorney-General: I am not responsible for any such bodies.
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the actions his Department has taken on each of the recommendations contained in the Cabinet Office report on the Government's use of external consultants. [10175]
The Attorney-General: The departments and agencies for which I am responsible are not large users of external consultants. A number of recommendations in the report related to other named Departments. Of those of general application, some were already established working practices in my departments and agencies. Measures taken to implement the remaining recommendations include the introduction of a new internal guidance manual by the Crown Prosecution Service, and arrangements under which departments submit to me plans showing the expected use of external consultants and obtain my approval for proposals involving expenditure of more than £50,000.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Public Appointments
Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes have been made to the appointment procedures for non-departmental public bodies within her Department since July 1995; and if she will make a statement. [10152]
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: New procedures have been implemented based on the "Guidance on Appointments to Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies and NHS Bodies" issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in April 1996.
Dr. Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if the appointments of (a) the chairman of the Independent Television Commission, (b) the chairman and deputy chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Commission and (c) the chairman of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission were made on the advice of an independent appointment committee. [10276]
Mrs. Bottomley: The appointment of the chairman of the Independent Television Commission was made following an executive search exercise and consideration by an advisory panel with independent membership. The appointments of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Broadcasting Standards Commission pre-dated the introduction of the advisory panels that were set up as a result of Lord Nolan's report.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission will cease to exist as a separate body on 31 March 1997. In order to ensure continuity, only candidates who were already members of the commission were considered for appointment as its chairman when the previous chairman resigned in September. The decision was made without recourse to an advisory panel.
Listed Buildings
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she expects to announce the outcome of her Department's review of listed buildings in Buxton. [9843]
Mr. Sproat: The draft review for Buxton is currently being considered by my Department with the aim of issuing the revised list in early February.
Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many buildings have been listed in each category in Sheffield for each of the last three years. [10329]
Mr. Sproat: The figures are as follows: in 1994, five buildings--all in grade II; in 1995, 376 buildings--all in grade II. In addition, three buildings were upgraded from grade II to II*. In 1996, three buildings--all grade II. Following a re-survey, a revised list for Sheffield was issued in December 1995; this accounts for the high number of new listings during that year.
Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what criteria are used by English Heritage to determine which buildings should be listed. [10328]
Mr. Sproat: Before recommending a building for listing to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, English Heritage must be satisfied that it is of special architectural or historic interest. The criteria against which buildings are assessed for listing are set out in paragraphs 6.10 to 6.16 of "planning policy guidance note 15: "Planning and the Historic Environment", published jointly by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for National Heritage in September 1994.
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Ministerial Leave
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many days of leave she plans to take during the Christmas adjournment; [9821]
- (2) how many days leave she has taken in the Easter, Whitsun and summer adjournments; and how many days leave she took during the time in which Parliament was prorogued this year. [9820]
Mr. Sproat: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given toady by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Legislation
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many items of legislation relating to her Department have been repealed since January 1994; how
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many statutory instruments were introduced during the same period; and how many of the latter were (a) deregulatory and (b) fee orders. [9365]
Mr. Sproat [holding answer 17 December 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates) on 17 December 1996, Official Report, column 492.
Museums and Galleries
Sir Timothy Sainsbury: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what revenue has been raised from admission charges to museums and galleries sponsored by her Department for each institution, broken down to show (a) revenue from (i) general admission charges, (ii) charges for entry to temporary exhibitions and (b) the proportion of total museum revenue accruing from (a) in the last year for which figures are available. [8939]
Mr. Sproat: For 1995-96, the information is as follows:
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| Revenue from general admission charges (£000) | Revenue from temporary exhibition charges (£000) | Revenue generated from admissions charges as a percentage of total revenue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Museum | -- | 102 | 0 |
| Imperial War Museum | 3,049 | 243 | 15 |
| National Gallery | -- | 398 | 1 |
| National Maritime Museum | 1,439 | -- | 10 |
| National Museum of Science and Industry | 3,215 | 390 | 12 |
| National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside | 302 | 120 | 2 |
| National Portrait Gallery | -- | 189 | 2 |
| Natural History Museum | 3,297 | -- | 8 |
| Royal Armouries | 52 | -- | 1 |
| Tate Gallery | 203 | 1,711 | 4 |
| Victoria and Albert Museum | (1)259 | 364 | 2 |
| Wallace Collection | -- | -- | -- |
| Geffrye Museum | -- | -- | -- |
| Horniman Museum | -- | -- | -- |
| Museum of London | 289 | -- | 2 |
| Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester | 422 | -- | 10 |
| Sir John Soane's Museum | -- | -- | -- |
(1) In addition, voluntary entrance donations amounted to £996,000.
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Television Licences
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she plans to introduce regulations amending the television licence concessionary scheme. [10644]
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she plans to bring forward new consolidated television licensing regulations. [10664]
Mr. Sproat: As I indicated on 3 December 1996, in my reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin), Official Report, column 588, the Government intend that new, consolidated television licence fee regulations will come into force from 1 April 1997. In accordance with the Government's undertaking during the passage of the Broadcasting Act 1996, these regulations will include an amendment to address the anomalous situation where the residents of a sheltered housing scheme, which meets all the other qualifying criteria, fail to qualify for concessionary television licences because a small number of units within the scheme were purchased under the right-to-buy provisions before the accommodation was designated as sheltered
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housing. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce this month details of the changes to be effected in the regulations, which will also bring into force the new licence fees announced on 18 December last year. The regulations themselves will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible thereafter.
Sir Michael Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she expects the regulations to take account of the changes in the use of television in recent years, referred to in the answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr. Hargreaves) on 18 July, Official Report, column 601, to be introduced. [9212]
Mr. Sproat [holding answer 16 December 1996]: As I indicated on 3 December in my reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) Official Report, column 588, the Government intend that new, consolidated television licence fee regulations will come into force from 1 April 1997. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to announce this month details of the changes to be effected in the regulations and the level of the licence fee also coming into force from 1 April. The regulations themselves will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible thereafter.
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