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Media Allegations (Rebuttals)
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list (a) those units in his Department and (b) the number of departmental staff which are concerned with preparing rebuttals of allegations in the media; and what is (i) the total cost of their work, including salaries, and (ii) the number of rebuttals issued since May 1997. [71851]
Mr. Chris Smith: In common with other Departments, the work of press officers in my Department includes responding to any misinformed allegations concerning Government policy or activity which are published in the media. They are supported in this work by other officials as necessary.
Because this is a routine part of a Department's work and it is not separately recorded from other tasks, to provide the further information requested would involve disproportionate cost.
Feature Films
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the amount of (a) inward investment to and (b) total investment in the United Kingdom for feature film production in each of the last five years. [71153]
Janet Anderson: Information from industry sources shows the following levels of investment:
| £ million | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
| a) inward investment | 229.45 | 206.71 | 398.03 | 238.85 | 219.18 |
| b) total investment | 435.76 | 420.79 | 725.59 | 557.99 | 487.16 |
Countryside
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much land held by his Department he estimates would fall within the definition of open country as set out in the consultation document "Access to the Open Countryside" of February 1998. [71640]
Mr. Chris Smith:
My Department has no land which falls within the definition of open countryside.
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 54
Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what amount and what percentage of the total awarded by the National Lottery Charities Board has been allocated to organisations representing older people and pensioners in each year since the Lottery's establishment; and if he will list the recipients and the amounts received. [71406]
Mr. Banks:
To date the National Lottery Charities Board (NLCB) has made over 18,700 awards totalling over £1,004 billion. A number of these have been to organisations representing older people and pensioners. The following table is derived from NLCB's annual reports. Many other NLCB funded projects will also benefit older people even if they are not the main beneficiary group but these cannot be separately identified.
| Annual Report Year | Value of awards to groups representing older people (£) | NLCB total awards (£) | Awards to older people groups as percentage of total awarded (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 9,015,267 | 184,097,769 | 4.89 |
| 1996-97 | 11,678,280 | 319,236,293 | 3.66 |
| 1997-98 | 50,169,146 | 307,386,464 | 16.32 |
Details of Lottery awards are listed on the Department for Culture, Media and Sports website at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk.
Landmark Millennium Projects
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from the organisers of Landmark Millennium projects about the availability of private sponsorship; and if he will make a statement. [72020]
Mr. Chris Smith: This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I shall write to the hon. Member in my capacity as Chairman of the Commission, and place copies of my reply in the Library of the House.
Tourism (Farm Buildings)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants are available to enable the conversion of farm buildings for tourism in the Chorley constituency. [68476]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 1 February 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 18 January 1999, Official Report, columns 318-19.
The Redundant Building Grant Scheme, currently operated by the Rural Development Commission, can provide grants for the conversion or refurbishment of redundant buildings to bring them back into productive business use or to enhance their current business use. The European Regional Development Fund grants I referred to in my earlier answer are not available in the Chorley constituency itself.
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 55
Roofs (Latent Defect Insurance)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will meet representatives of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors to discuss the implications of the Latent Defect Insurance Scheme; [70380]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the Latent Defect Insurance Scheme being launched by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors; [70378]
(3) what plans he has to support the Latent Defect Insurance Scheme being launched by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors. [70379]
Mr. Raynsford: I was very interested to hear of the Latent Defect Insurance Scheme which has been prepared by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, and am pleased to offer support for a scheme which seeks to improve standards in the construction industry.
If there are specific issues where my Department may be able to assist, which the Federation wishes to discuss in relation to their scheme, I will be happy to consider a request for a meeting.
A3 (Hindhead)
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) which body is responsible for drawing up the proposal for the A3 improvements at Hindhead; and if he will publish the schedule for the necessary decisions and announcements relating to that proposal; [70809]
- (2) when he plans to visit Hindhead to examine the A3 and its effects on business and the environment. [70808]
Mr. Prescott: I have no plans currently to visit Hindhead. We already recognise that there is a serious congestion problem there and, in December of last year, announced our intention that an A3 Hindhead study would form part of a group of road based studies proposed to start within the next two years.
Constituency Visits
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which parliamentary constituencies he has visited in the past year to discuss road proposals. [70807]
Mr. Prescott: Paragraph 79 of the Ministerial Code makes it clear that Ministers should inform hon. Members in advance of planned visits to their constituencies. Ministers in the Department undertake visits to all parts of the country and discuss various subjects of local and national interest, but records of official visits are not held on a constituency basis. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
London Underground (Disabled Access)
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to improve access for disabled people to London Underground services. [70726]
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 56
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Government are committed to a fully accessible public transport system. However, full accessibility cannot happen overnight, especially on London Underground, where most of the stations are old and not designed with access for mobility impaired people in mind.
London Transport has been developing a scheme to improve access to a core of 68 Underground stations and plans shortly to consult the Disabled Peoples Transport Advisory Committee, London Boroughs and local disability groups about these plans.
The Jubilee line extension will be fully accessible and will mean that wheelchair users will be able to travel from mainline stations at Waterloo, Stratford and London Bridge stations to the Millennium Exhibition at North Greenwich.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many of those railway stations which have been (a) refurbished and (b) restructured in the last five years do not have access for the disabled. [70802]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
All new stations planned or in build will provide full unassisted wheelchair access. In addition, Railtrack are on course to meet the target, set in the Network Management Statement 1998, of providing unassisted wheelchair access at a further 119 stations this year.
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