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Departmental Secondees
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff were seconded from the private sector to his Department in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the companies from which staff have been seconded. [109292]
Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 9 February 2000]: In my Department, secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative, which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more of our people out.
The staff seconded from the private sector to my Department are as follows:
(a) One secondment for the period May 1997 to April 1998 from Trench Farrow and Partners, who left in December 1998. One specialist from the music sector was employed on a short term contract during this period and this arrangement continues.
(b) There were no new secondments during the period May 1998 to April 1999. One specialist from the music sector was employed on a short term contract during this period and this arrangement continues.
(c) There have been no new secondments from the private sector since May 1999 but two specialists from the tourism and sports sectors have been employed on short term contracts and these arrangements continue.
National Lottery Grants (Burton)
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for National Lottery grants have been received to date from organisations within the Burton constituency; and how many have been successful. [110741]
Kate Hoey: 188 applications for National Lottery grants have been received to date from organisations in the Burton constituency. Of these, 71 applications have been successful. The total number of applications and the number of successful awards exclude figures from the Millennium Commission which does not hold the information in the form requested.
Sports Action Zones
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has for funding local community sports areas to serve housing estates (a) within Sports Action Zones and (b) outside designated Sports Action Zones. [111113]
Kate Hoey
[holding answer 22 February 2000]: Sport England will allocate at least two-thirds of the planned budget of the Lottery Sports Fund of £200 million per year over the next 10 years to the Community Projects Fund supporting community sports provision for all. As a priority, it will ensure that at leat 50 per cent. of this money is invested in projects which will benefit communities in areas of deprivation such as Sport Action Zones.
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Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if his Department is the lead department in respect of the forthcoming paper on broadcasting and telecommunications issues. [111497]
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Janet Anderson
[holding answer 22 February 2000]: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Trade and Industry are assuming joint and equal responsibility for the preparation of the White Paper on the reform of broadcasting and communications legislation.
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Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from ethnic minorities have been recruited to each of the services for which his Department has set recruitment targets since the targets were established; how many personnel from ethnic minorities have left, prior to normal retirement age, each of these services in the same period; and if he will make a statement. [111319]
Mr. Straw:
I published on 28 July 1999 targets for the employment of ethnic minority staff in the Home Office and its service areas, that is the police, fire, prison and the probation services. The purpose of these race equality employment targets is to help ensure that these organisations are representative of the communities they serve, and thereby better able to serve them.
In the targets publication a commitment was given to report on progress annually. It is expect that the first report will be published in October this year. This is the date by which up to date information on progress within the financial year 1999-2000 on the targets from all the services will be available; such information is not readily available at the moment.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost of issuing a media release from his Department in 1999. [110275]
Mr. Straw
[holding answer 16 February 2000]: Some 450 press releases were issued in 1999. The primary cost of issuing press releases relates to their electronic distribution which is carried out through the Central Office of Information, and postage. Electronic news distribution charges amounted to £21,095 and postage approximately £12,000 for the financial year 1999-2000. No central record of other costs which might be involved (eg faxing, e-mail) is available. The variation in the distribution and length of press releases and in their
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preparation, combined with the fact that many include accompanying documents, makes the calculation of a robust average charge an exercise which would be disproportionately costly.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's advertising budget for (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01. [110262]
Mr. Straw
[holding answer 16 February 2000]: The Home Office advertising budget for financial year 1999-2000 is £5.9 million.
The Home Office advertising budget for financial year 2000-01 has not yet been decided.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are employed specifically on port duties at each of the major ports in England and Wales. [110469]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Operational deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. Details of the number of police based at each port in England and Wales is not collated centrally.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the initiatives launched by his Department since May 1997 under which specific grants are allocated, indicating in each case and for each financial year the funding provided by central Government. [109318]
Mr. Straw
[holding answer 10 February 2000]: The information requested for the three financial years 1997-98 to 1999-2000 is provided in the following table. The figures for 1999-2000 are estimates. The figures do not take account of any locally funded initiatives undertaken by individual prisons nor all those funded by Non-Departmental Public Bodies, as such details could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The table does not include specific grants to bodies where these were first initiated before May 1997.
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(19) The funding for 1999-2000 is estimated as final figures cannot be provided until the end of the current financial year
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