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Millennium Experience (Sponsorship)
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will list the Millennium Experience zones for which final sponsorship arrangements remain outstanding; [106407]
- (2) if he will list the (a) zones and (b) corporate sponsors of the Millennium Experience for which agreed sponsorship moneys remain outstanding. [106207]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 27 January 2000]: The target for the New Millennium Experience Company was to raise £150 million of sponsorship value towards its overall income requirement of £758 million. While the company's approach to sponsorship focused on individual exhibit zones, other forms of sponsorship--for example Official Supplier status--were also pursued and achieved. Consequently, once the £150 million was delivered, the company could remain within its £758 million cash-limited budget and deliver the Millennium Experience as planned, even if some exhibit zones were without sponsorship support. Sponsorship support has been achieved for the Work, Learning, Talk, Journey, Body, Shared Ground, Self Portrait, Home Planet, Money
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and Mind zones. Sponsorship support has also been achieved for Our Town Stage and donations have been received for the Faith zone.
In addition, sponsorship has been achieved for Skyscape and the Greenwich Pavilion, which are integral parts of the Millennium Experience but outside the Dome. Exhibit zones without sponsorship support, but delivered within the cash-limited budget, are Play, Rest, Timekeepers, Living Island and the Millennium Show in the Central Arena.
Those sponsors who have signed contracts with NMEC have paid, and are paying, sponsorship moneys according to the terms of their contracts. The three contracts, outstanding as at 10 February and detailed in my answer to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) on 14 February 2000, Official Report, column 442W, are being taken forward urgently by NMEC and moneys due under their terms will be paid accordingly. The actual amounts are subject to confidentiality provisions applicable to both parties.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to widen the accountability of the BBC. [109993]
Janet Anderson:
The independent review panel on the future funding of the BBC made a number of recommendations on BBC transparency and accountability. We intend to announce our decisions on those recommendations shortly.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to ratify the amendment to the Protocol of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television to enable it to enter into force on 1 October 2000. [110081]
Janet Anderson:
The Protocol amending the European Convention on Transfrontier Television will enter into force on 1 October 2000, provided that no State Party to the Convention notifies the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of an objection to its entry into force. The United Kingdom has no plans to make such an objection.
Mr. Brooke:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will exempt from being classified as excessive council tax rises the consequences of complying with the proposals of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for passporting the increase in education standard spending assessments to education budgets. [110414]
Ms Armstrong:
The Secretary of State will not be deciding whether to determine any principles to identify excessive budgets until all local authorities have set their budgets for 2000-01.
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Mr. Brooke:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what his policy is on hypothecating standard spending assessments. [110413]
Ms Armstrong:
Standard Spending Assessments are a component of the calculation of Revenue Support Grant, which is unhypothecated.
Mr. Green:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what resources he has made available to local authorities to enable them to meet the targets set out in the Air Quality Strategy. [108335]
Mr. Meacher
[holding answer 3 February 2000]: Since 1997, the Government have provided additional resources each year via the local government finance settlement to enable authorities to carry out their air quality management duties. We have also provided supplementary credit approvals to the value of £12 million over the same period to allow for capital expenditure on air quality monitoring equipment. We have issued guidance and established helpdesks to help with any technical difficulties. Where road transport is the major source of local air pollution, we have encouraged authorities to use their local transport plans where appropriate to bid for additional resources to tackle the problem.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) of 19 January 2000, Official Report, column 450W, when the consultant's report on Eurostar services to the North was completed and submitted to Ministers; and when he plans to make a statement on the report. [109296]
Mr. Hill
[holding answer 9 February 2000]: The finalised report was completed and submitted to Ministers in January. An announcement of its publication will be made to the House shortly.
Mr. Breed:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what criteria he uses to assess whether potential members of regional development agency boards have expertise in rural matters. [109808]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
Candidates are assessed against a range of criteria, which includes demonstrating a detailed understanding of rural and environmental issues and/or a track record of success in the rural economy.
The specific knowledge and expertise sought has varied from region to region and has included experience and knowledge of agriculture and land use industries, experience of social and economic issues affecting rural areas, experience of small and medium businesses in the rural environment and knowledge of issues such as CAP reform. The relative importance of these elements has depended on the balance of skills and expertise available from other potential board members.
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Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those non-departmental public bodies responsible to his Department which hold their (a) board and (b) working meetings in public; if he will set out the reasons for the remaining meetings being held in private; and if he will arrange to place in the Library the minutes of, and papers presented at, open board meetings of NDPBs responsible to his Department. [105077]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
Of the executive NDPBs sponsored by DETR, only the eight Regional Development Agencies are statutorily required to hold an annual board meeting in public, following the publication of their annual reports. However, the following bodies do hold at least one annual open board meeting:
Many of DETR's executive NDPBs publish the minutes of board meetings and, in some cases, papers on the internet or make them available in paper form or do both. For this reason, and because of the volume of paper involved, I do not propose to ask bodies to place minutes of, and papers for, open board meetings in the Library.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the Government's objectives in the forthcoming negotiations on the Biosafety Protocol in Montreal; and if he will make a statement. [105574]
Mr. Meacher
[holding answer 19 January 2000]: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 9 February 2000, Official Report, columns 159-60W.
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his policy on the European Commission amendments to Directive 90/220 (Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Organisms). [108091]
Mr. Meacher:
The European Commission's amendments to Directive 90/220/EEC that have been incorporated in the Council's Common Position reflect the political agreement that was reached at the June 1999 Environment Council. The amendments include stricter provisions for environmental risk assessment and
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monitoring, the time limitation of consents, a tough new labelling regime and the identification and phasing out of antibiotic marker genes where they pose a risk to human health and the environment.
Docklands Light Railway;
Other NDPBs, including the Housing Corporation and the Traffic Director for London, hold meetings for stakeholders as and when necessary, and the Environment Agency's regional advisory committees hold their meetings in public. NDPB meetings are held in private for good reason: commercial confidentiality; personal confidentiality; legal matters; and operational reasons.
Countryside Agency;
English Nature;
English Partnerships;
Environment Agency;
Health & Safety Commission and Executive;
Housing Action Trusts (all five bodies);
Local Government Commission for England;
London Regional Passengers Committee; and
National Forest Company.
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