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Warcop to Appleby Line
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out the arrangements agreed between Sustrans and the Eden Valley Railway Company as a condition of the sale of the Warcop to Appleby line. [76184]
Dr. Reid:
The transfer to Sustrans of the Warcop to Appleby line was subject, as part of the Agreement with the British Railways Board, to an undertaking by Sustrans that it would reach an agreement with Eden Council and the Eden Valley Railway Trust for retention of the track and site sharing.
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Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list all the bids made to purchase the Warcop to Appleby railway line. [76185]
Dr. Reid:
No. Bids received by the British Railways Board for its land are commercially confidential.
Mr. Stringer:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about the external financing limit for the British Waterways Board. [77106]
Mr. Meale:
The 1998-99 External Financing Limit for the British Waterways Board will be increased by £350,000 from £53,272,000 to £53,622,000. This will enable them to carry out additional major repairs to the canal network and other urgent maintenance. It will be funded by an increase in grant-in-aid to the Board arising from savings elsewhere on Class VI, Vote 3 and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
New Deal (South Down)
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many people have registered for the New Deal at each social security office in South Down since its introduction; and of these how many were unemployed and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or income support; [75227]
- (2) how many people who registered for the New Deal at each social security office in South Down have obtained full-time employment. [75228]
Mr. Ingram: Responsibility for the matter has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Ian Walters. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
| Jobcentre | Number of New Deal registrations | Number obtaining employment at 7 March 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Ballynahinch | 138 | 30 |
| Downpatrick | 304 | 61 |
| Kilkeel | 111 | 25 |
| Newcastle | 195 | 39 |
| Total | 748 | 155 |
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The majority of those who have registered remain within the Gateway stage of New Deal. The number of people moving into employment will of course rise as New Deal participants leave Gateway.
All clients who registered for the New Deals for Young People aged 18-24 and for those aged over 25 were unemployed and in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance at the time of registration. Those registering for the New Deal for Lone Parents were unemployed and in receipt of Income Support.
I hope this reply is helpful.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Entry Charges
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proposals he has to assist those galleries which do not currently charge for admission. [74501]
Mr. Alan Howarth: The grant-in-aid allocations announced by my right hon. Friend on 14 December 1998, Official Report, columns 589-90, were designed to enable the non-charging national museums and galleries to continue to offer free admission.
The Government do not in general provide revenue funding for other non-charging museums, but other current initiatives should help--notably the Designated Museums Challenge Fund, which will make £15 million available over the next 3 years to the 50 non-national museums in England with collections of pre-eminent importance, and the challenge fund of £0.5 million in each of the next two years which is intended to promote education and IT initiatives in registered museums.
In addition, registered museums are encouraged to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund's £7 million Museums and Galleries Access Fund, which is intended to assist with access initiatives throughout the sector.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the funds allocated by his Department to remove charges for entry to museums and galleries is planned to be made available to those institutions which do not currently charge. [74500]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
The extra funding for the non-charging museums represents 44 per cent. in 1999-2000, and 30 per cent. in 2000-01, of the total amount made available to promote access at the national museums and galleries. Decisions about the funding of free access in 2001-02 have not yet been taken.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 1 March 1999, Official Report, column 535, what is the size of the annual premium paid to insure the Millennium Dome. [74731]
Janet Anderson:
The New Millennium Experience Company's (NMEC) insurance arrangements reflect the Company's best commercial judgment about the scope and nature of the project's risks and exposures, as well as meeting all relevant legal obligations. The arrangements do not involve payment of annual premiums but do involve a spread of premium payments across the life of the project taking into account the changing nature of type
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of cover needed as the project progresses. The detailed terms of the Company's insurance policy are commercially confidential; release of the details could adversely affect the Company's business relationship with its insurers, and future negotiations about the terms of the insurance.
Mr. Stringer:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the ambient temperature in the Millennium Dome between the zones in January 2000. [75678]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 10 March 1999]: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has undertaken detailed computational fluid dynamic studies of likely temperatures throughout the Dome, throughout the year of operation. There is an on-going review of these studies to identify any potential impact on the forecast comfortable temperatures of any detailed design changes within the Dome environment.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of business sponsorship for the New Millennium Experience Company represents cash payments towards the construction costs. [75761]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: The sponsorship income component of the cash budget (£758 million) for the Millennium Experience project, agreed by the Government and the Millennium Commission in June 1997, is not linked specifically to individual expenditure components such as construction costs. No two sponsorship deals are exactly the same; some focus on individual zones within the Dome; others focus on particular strands of the Millennium Experience's National Programme; others combine the two. It is for the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), in consultation with the Millennium Commission, to decide how, in its best commercial judgment to apply sponsorship support to meet the costs.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what proposals he has evaluated for ferry services from (a) Instones Wharf, (b) Woolwich Arsenal and (c) Gallions Reach to the Millennium Dome; what discussions he has had with ferry operators; and if he will make a statement; [73532]
(3) what proposals he has evaluated for the provision of piers at (a) Albert Lock and (b) Barking to serve ferry operators taking passengers to the Dome. [73533]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 1 March 1999]: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is constructing a new pier at the Dome site which is due for completion in July this year. The NMEC issued a tender document inviting bids for river services which identified routes from central London, from historic Greenwich and
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from points to the east of the Greenwich Peninsula. However, no bids were received for services from points to the east of Greenwich; only bids for the central London and historic Greenwich routes were received. Licences for those routes have now been awarded.
As part of its initial park and ride strategy NMEC did consider a pier option at Barking. However, no bids were received for river services from this area and the NMEC concluded that a new, temporary car park facility at Barking was not required to meet its park and ride objectives. NMEC is planning a park and ride, temporary car park at Woolwich which will be linked to the Dome by shuttle bus as the most efficient, flexible and economic means of accessing the Dome.
(2) what estimate he has made of the potential numbers of people who could be transported by water to the Millennium Dome from points to the east of the Greenwich Peninsula; [73534]
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