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Drink-drive Limit
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the EU Council of Ministers to decide on a proposal to harmonise the drink-drive limit in the EU. [113527]
Mr. Hill: The Government expect the European Commission to publish its proposals in respect of blood alcohol limits for drivers shortly, as indicated in its road safety strategy "Tomorrow's Roads--Safer for Everyone", published on 1 March.
Hull Road Scheme
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for what reason the case for the road scheme in Hull is included in his Department's appraisal tables in the category of jobs and prosperity rather than that of safety and healthier communities; and if he will make a statement. [113522]
Mr. Hill: The main reasons we included the A1033 Hedon Road Improvement in our programme were to relieve congestion and delays on the main access route to the port of Hull and to assist regeneration. Hence the jobs and prosperity classification for the scheme in "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England. The New Approach to Appraisal" assessment shows that time savings are the scheme's main benefit, but it will also enhance road safety through improving junction layouts and create a safer environment for pedestrian and cyclists, including provision of a dedicated cycleway.
Rail Summit
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he next intends to hold a rail summit. [113518]
Mr. Hill: It is currently planned to hold the next Rail Summit in May this year.
Coal Fields (Regeneration)
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps are being taken to regenerate former coal field areas. [112179]
Ms Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 11 January 2000, Official Report, columns 112-13W.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Lottery
Mr. Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the (a) amount of money
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raised from the sale of lottery tickets, and (b) the amount of lottery money spent, in each constituency, ranked in descending order of lottery money spent. [113276]
Kate Hoey
[holding answer 6 March 2000]: I have placed in the Libraries of the House a table to show the amount of money raised from lottery ticket sales per UK constituency in descending order since the beginning of the lottery (correct to 13 November 1999), and a table to show the award amount to each UK constituency in descending order since the beginning of the lottery (correct to 3 March 2000). This information is taken from the National Lottery Awards database which uses information supplied by the lottery distributing bodies. The tables include lottery awards not attributed to the distributing bodies to a particular constituency. The constituency information relates to the address to which the lottery award was sent.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what will be the cost of administering the free television licence scheme in 2000-01; and how the cost is to be funded. [113130]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 6 March 2000]: Estimates of the cost of administering free television licences for people aged 75 or over have still to be finalised. The cost will be met from public funds, via a payment from the Department of Social Security to the BBC.
Mr. Ennis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of families in Barnsley East and Mexborough who will benefit from the introduction of free TV licences for households with a member aged 75 years or over. [112980]
Janet Anderson:
This information is not available. 1991 Census information is out of date and no household survey has a sample size sufficient to make reliable estimates of qualifying households at a constituency or local authority level.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his estimate of the (a) number and (b) percentage of households in (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) Wales (iii) Scotland and (iv) England that are evading payment of the television licence fee. [113024]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 3 March 2000]: The BBC, as Licensing Authority, estimates evasion principally on a UK-wide basis and estimates of evasion by country cannot be produced on the same basis or to the same level of accuracy. All estimates relate to licensable
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premises rather than households. As at 31 March 1999, the latest date for which figures are available, the estimated evasion figures were:
| (a) Estimated evasion (number of licensable premises) (8) | (b) Estimated evasion (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 148,000 | 24.2 |
| Wales | 93,000 | 7.7 |
| England | 957,000 | 4.9 |
(8) Estimates calculated by applying the estimated percentage evasion rate to the estimated number of licensable premises
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if a household exempt from having to pay for a television licence from November by virtue of including a pensioner aged 75 years or over will be required to hold a licence document. [113020]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 3 March 2000]: Yes. The provision of free television licences for people aged 75 or over will be a concession, not an exemption from the television licensing requirements. This will preserve the traditional structure of the television licensing system which is one of the safeguards of the BBC's independence.
UK Sport and UK Sports Institute
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning the future location of the headquarters of UK Sport and the UK Sports Institute. [112762]
Kate Hoey [holding answer 6 March 2000]: DCMS has received a number of representations from interested parties, including local Sheffield Members of Parliament, Phoenix Sports Ltd., University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the Institute of Directors (South Yorkshire Branch), about the UK Sports Institute headquarters. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I discussed the location of the UK Sports Institute's headquarters with my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Central (Mr. Caborn) and other representatives from Sheffield on 23 November.
My Department has not received any specific representations regarding the relocation of UK Sport.
British Library
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the British Library review. [113638]
Mr. Alan Howarth: I have today published the report on prior options, the first stage of the Review of the British Library.
The report examines the role and functions of the British Library, and how these functions contribute to the delivery of wider DCMS and Government objectives. It confirms that at the present time the library's status as a non-departmental public body is the best option for delivering its services and considers how the delivery of its services might be improved in the future.
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The publication of the prior options report marks the end of the first stage of the Review. The second stage will take forward the recommendations of the prior options stage and consider how the library's services and functions could be provided more efficiently and effectively in the future.
A copy of the prior options report has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is the cash value of each of the six short-listed bids to take over the Millennium Dome site. [111417]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 22 February 2000]: The six short-listed bids, announced on 17 January, were selected on their ability to deliver a world class, sustainable future use for the Dome at Greenwich. Detailed financial appraisals of the bids were not required for this stage of the competition. The six bidders are required to submit indicative financial offers, with further details of their proposals, by 31 March 2000.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what sum of additional interest payments and other expenses has been incurred on a result of the late payment of sponsorship money to the Millennium Dome; and what the cost to the Millennium Commission has been. [109969]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 14 February 2000]: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has not to date incurred interest as a result of delays in the payment of sponsorship money. There have therefore been no additional costs to the Millennium Commission.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 10 February 2000, Official Report, column 237W, on the Millennium Dome, for what reason he did not list the foods sold in relation to standards of food produced in the United Kingdom as opposed to standards required of catering and food outlets. [112314]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 28 February 2000]: All catering and food outlets in the Millennium Dome are subject to the same strict controls and checks that apply to all commercial catering and food outlets in the UK. This applies to all aspects of their operation including the food that they serve. In all instances there is a clear chain from food source, via suppliers, to the specific outlet at the Dome. All NMEC's suppliers endeavour to meet all current Health, Hygiene and Safety regulations.
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