Previous Section Index Home Page


CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Waste Minimisation

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will list the amount, and proportion, of paper recycled by his Department in each of the last five years; [11531]

Mr. Tom Clarke: My Department recycled approximately 32 tonnes of paper last year, but no records are available for previous years. Arrangements are now being made to record the proportion of all waste paper which is recycled.

As part of a green housekeeping strategy, my Department is committed to adopting the best environment practices wherever possible and practicable, including reducing the amount of waste produced and maximising that which is recycled. Initiatives already implemented include guidance to staff on paper-saving practices such as using electronic mail, double-side copying, and reusing envelopes, the installation of green bins to collect paper or cardboard for recycling and schemes introduced for the recycling of cans, plastic cups, and printer toner cartridges.

A waste audit was recently undertaken and we will use the results of the audit to help us set a target for minimising waste by the end of August.

Newstead Abbey

Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received about the possible undermining of Newstead abbey; what steps he is taking; and if he will make a statement. [11903]

Mr. Banks: Representations have been received from the Byron Society, the Newstead Abbey Byron Society, the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire and four individuals. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is very concerned by reports that the mining will have adverse effects on the structure of these nationally important buildings and is considering what can be done to mitigate the likely impact on these structures or prevent damage from occurring.

31 Jul 1997 : Column: 509

Museums and Galleries Commission

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement in respect of the grant in aid his Department proposes to give to the Museums and Galleries Commission until 2000. [11700]

Mr. Fisher: The Museums and Galleries Commission's grant in aid for the financial year 1997-98 is £8,904,000. The indicative figures for the next two years are:



Firm allocations for 1998-99 will be announced in the autumn.

Office Refurbishment

Mr. Terry Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has for the refurbishment of ministerial offices in his Department; and what is the estimated cost of the works and date of completion. [11875]

Mr. Tom Clarke: My Department is creating a new office for the additional Minister announced following the election. This involves work to one other Minister's office and moving some private offices. In total, five offices will be redecorated. As this work is being tendered, the estimated cost is commercially sensitive at present.

Sports Broadcasting

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will introduce a development levy on television contracts with sporting clubs and ruling bodies to assist funding for youth development of sport.[11949]

Mr. Banks: Although I am not persuaded that a statutory levy is justified, the Government do want to see sports bodies re-investing a good proportion of television money into youth development of their sports. The sports' own code of conduct on the sale of television rights itself accepts this point.

Tourism (Dramatic Arts)

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the contribution of British dramatic arts to the promotion of inbound tourism in (a) London and (b) the United Kingdom. [11702]

Mr. Tom Clarke: In 1995, 49 per cent. of visitors said that our theatres and performing arts were an important part of their decision to come to Britain. In 1996, 35 per cent. of overseas visitors to London said that London's culture and arts had greatly encouraged them to visit and a further 41 per cent. said that culture and arts had influenced their decision to come. The British Tourist Authority fully recognises the importance of arts and culture in attracting overseas visitors, and these play an integral role in its overseas marketing campaigns.

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the impact of rises in ticket prices to dramatic arts venues in London on the United Kingdom tourism industry. [11703]

31 Jul 1997 : Column: 510

Mr. Clarke: The latest available information from the society of London Theatres, from 1991, showed that up to one third of seats in London's theatres were filled by overseas visitors and many other by domestic tourists. I understand that the society will be updating this information later this year. The English tourist board announced last week that tourist spending in England rose by 7 per cent. to a record level of £10.7 billion in 1996. The British Tourist Authority estimates that earnings from overseas tourism in 1996 increased by 5 per cent. to £12.69 billion. All the evidence therefore suggests that London continues to attract record numbers of visitors.

Museums and Galleries (Lottery Funding)

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures are being taken to ensure an equitable distribution of lottery funds to museums and galleries across the United Kingdom. [11701]

Mr. Banks: The national lottery distributing bodies have already announced awards worth over £465 million to museums and galleries throughout the country, notably through the Heritage Lottery Fund's major museum, library and archive projects programme which aims to achieve a good regional spread of major projects across the United Kingdom.

The White Paper "The People's Lottery", Cm3709, published on 21 July, makes clear the Government's objective that there should be more confidence that lottery money generally is allocated fairly and equitably in the light of need across all regions and parts of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to extend the use of heritage lottery funding in respect of museums and galleries projects. [11699]

Mr. Banks: The National Heritage Act 1997 will extend the powers of the trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and enable them to support a wider range of projects and applicants. The powers will open up new opportunities for the Heritage Lottery Fund to assist museum and gallery projects. The Heritage Lottery Fund is currently consulting on the use of the wider powers. We are considering implementation of the Act as part of our wider review of lottery distribution.

Millennium Commission Grants

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will list by local authority area in (a) Wales and (b) England the (i) number and (ii) value of Millennium Commission grants made in each year to date. [7221]

Mr. Chris Smith: This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I shall write to my hon. Friend in my capacity as chairman of the commission and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of the House.

Lottery Awards

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list, for each category of national lottery good causes, how much money has been

31 Jul 1997 : Column: 511

awarded to individuals or organisations in the Chorley parliamentary constituency in each year since the lottery was established. [11219]

Mr. Banks: To date, over £3.7 billion has been awarded to 27,387 projects throughout the UK. Of these, 19 awards worth £534,962 have been made to projects in Chorley. Annual breakdowns are set out in the following table.

Distributing bodyTotal amount £Number of awards
1995
Arts Council of England--0
Heritage Lottery Fund--0
Millennium Commission--0
National Lottery Charities Board53,3283
Sports Council43,5231
Total for 199596,8514
1996
Arts Council of England--0
Heritage Lottery Fund97,1302
Millennium Commission--0
National Lottery Charities Board324,31310
Sports Council9,1181
Total for 1996430,56113
1997
Arts Council of England7,5502
Heritage Lottery Fund--0
Millennium Commission--0
National Lottery Charities Board--0
Sport Council--0
Total for 19977,5502
Grand total534,96219

31 Jul 1997 : Column: 512

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list, for each category of national lottery good causes, how much money has been (a) given and (b) awarded in the Government regions of (i) London, (ii) the north-west, (iii) Merseyside and (iv) the south-east, in each of the years since the lottery was established. [11220]

Mr. Banks: To date, over £3.7 billion has been awarded to 27,387 projects throughout the UK. An annual breakdown of the awards in London, the north-west, Merseyside and the south-east is set out in the following table. Figures for the amounts already drawn down by region are not held centrally.

31 Jul 1997 : Column: 511

Region
London(17)Merseyside North-west South-east
Distributing bodyAmount £AwardsAmount £AwardsAmount £AwardsAmount £Awards
1995
Arts Council126,468,346813,225,848107,318,9244112,526,98345
Charities Board28,804,7753286,504,45110513,403,17222113,412,786240
Sports Council4,840,007344,108,99799,293,5466125,168,932121
Heritage Lottery Fund23,785,8822090,00014,600,61971,304,64212
Millennium Commission(18)52,200,00021,668,500112,431,702270,891,5005
1995 total236,099,01046515,597,79612647,047,963332123,304,843423
1996
Arts Council163,399,6061732,050,2431569,810,9768440,639,87384
Charities Board52,367,04355911,229,82014127,542,09436125,752,757410
Sports Council31,921,074713,409,9031415,159,62411332,160,530212
Heritage Lottery Fund125,134,428594,010,000414,158,0653615,293,20439
Millennium Commission52,943,7185--019,065,54934,296,8506
1996 total425,765,86986720,699,966174145,736,308597118,143,214751
1997
Arts Council35,794,1838932,857,8834022,961,54715910,564,722583
Charities Board5,994,94236--0197,35931,509,19012
Sports Council46,073,489456,309,089653,787,6007436,365,440122
Heritage Lottery Fund60,629,091689,706,100951,888,9584626,842,75862
Millennium Commission--028,721,19522,700,0001329,8001
1997 total148,491,7051,04247,594,26757131,535,46428375,611,910780
Grand total810,356,5812,37483,892,029357324,319,7351,212317,059,9671,954

(17) Awards to bodies based in London include many to institutions that are of national importance and are of benefit to the country as a whole. Awards to these organisations account for 60 per cent. (approximately £485 million) of the total so far awarded to London.

(18) Figures for Millennium Commission awards cover capital projects only and so exclude the Millennium Awards scheme.


31 Jul 1997 : Column: 513


Next Section Index Home Page