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Family Credit (Fraud)

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the level of fraudulent claims for Family Credit in the last five years. [113296]

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Mr. Rooker: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

The number of cases of Family Credit fraud detected for the last three years

Year	Number of fraud cases detected
1996-97	3,366
1997-98	5,173
1998-99	10,860

Note:

We do not have statistically valid figures for the level of Family Credit fraud

Mortgages

Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish, for the last two calendar years (a) the reports furnished to his Department on the

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mortgage interest rates charged by the United Kingdom's top 20 lenders, (b) the dates upon which the average of these rates changed by one quarter of one per cent. or more and (c) the date and amount of any changes he made to his Department's own standard interest rate. [113364]

Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.

Information on changes in the interest rates charged by different lending institutions is published monthly in Financial Statistics (Table 7.1L) which is compiled by the Office for National Statistics and published by The Stationary Office. The standard interest rate that is applied to the assessment of mortgage interest to be paid with Income Support and income based Jobseekers Allowance, is based on the average of Building Society rates. The Office for National Statistics notifies the Department each month of any movement in these rates. If there is a change of one quarter of a percentage point, immediate action is taken to amend the legislation to reflect this change in the standard interest rate.

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Changes in standard interest rates 1998-2000

Date notification received from ONS confirming interest rate change	Date amending regulations laid before parliament	Date the regulations came into force	Interest rate Percentage
15 April 1998	1 May 1998	24 May 1998	8.34
9 November 1998	27 November 1998	20 December 1998	8.65
8 January 1999	28 January 1999	21 February 1999	8.24
8 April 1999	24 February 1999	21 March 1999	7.75
5 March 1999	25 March 1999	18 April 1999	7.39
9 April 1999	16 April 1999	9 May 1999	7.08
11 May 1999	26 May 1999	20 June 1999	6.66

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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Millennium Festival (Scotland)

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the Millennium Festival in Scotland. [111092]

Mr. Chris Smith: The Millennium Festival in Scotland has been made possible by the Lottery distributing bodies including the Millennium Commission and the New Millennium Experience Company. They have come together to make available a fund of up to £11 million for community groups, large and small, to apply for funding. The variety of events happening in Scotland throughout the Year 2000 is considerable, from the first ever Millennium Commonwealth Youth Games in Edinburgh to a programme entitled "The Rights of Passage" in Dumfries and Galloway celebrating the notable dates in our life. The Unst Millennium Festival will be held during July 2000 and a number of projects are also happening in the Western Isles, Aberdeenshire and in Argyll and Bute--quite literally throughout the whole of Scotland.

Smaller awards are still available (up to £5,000) through the Awards for All scheme called "Awards for All . . . celebrating the Scottish Millennium Festival" up until the end of April 2000 and small community groups are still applying for this money. The New Millennium Experience Company has also established a website www.millenniumscotland.co.uk as part of the UK Festival website (www.festival2000.co.uk) and in the Scottish section alone there are already over 400 events which will happen in the Year 2000--a testimony to the work of the distributors and the New Millennium Experience

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Company in ensuring that everyone in Scotland has an opportunity to benefit from the celebration of the Millennium.

New Millennium Experience Company

Mr. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the subsequent beneficiaries of the £32 million to be repaid by the New Millennium Experience Company to the Millennium Commission have been advised of these forthcoming benefits. [113026]

Mr. Chris Smith: This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I shall write to the right hon. Member in my capacity as Chairman of the Commission and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of the House.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library copies of correspondence between NMEC and the Millennium Commission relating to the approval of further moneys from the Commission to NMEC on 5 February. [112833]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 7 March 2000]: 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 Libraries of the House.

National Lottery

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to seek an efficient not-for-profit

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operator for the National Lottery as set out in his oral statement of 4 February 1998, Official Report, column 1052. [113171]

Mr. Chris Smith: We have indeed maintained the policy of seeking (and welcoming) any bids from efficient not-for-profit operators; but the selection of the next operator is of course a matter for the National Lottery Commission. The Government's objective is to maximise the returns to good causes and remove unnecessary profit margins. These aims will best be achieved through a robust competition. This has taken place and it is now up to the National Lottery Commission to evaluate the bids.

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English Heritage

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list those organisations that have received Grants from English Heritage together with the amounts or the purpose of the Grants, in the last five years. [113172]

Mr. Alan Howarth: A consolidated list of Grants by category offered by English Heritage over the last five years is in the table, including a budget figure for the financial year 1999-2000. A full list of repair grants offered by English Heritage to buildings and monuments of outstanding national importance is published annually by English Heritage, and is available on request.

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English Heritage Grant offers£ million

	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000(21)
Historic Buildings and Monuments	12.0	11.6	9.9	10.8	14.3
Churches	11.0	9.9	10.0	12.2	10.0
Cathedrals	4.3	3.0	2.0	2.6	3.0
Conservation Areas	13.5	12.4	9.3	7.3	6.3
Archaeology	5.7	5.4	5.4	4.7	4.8
Gardens grants (other)	0.4	0	0.1	0.2	0
Total	46.9	42.3	36.7	37.8	38.4

(21) Budget

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Museums and Galleries

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on progress in negotiations with museums and galleries on the provision of free entry for adults. [113441]

Mr. Alan Howarth: Funds have been made available to permit free access for the over 60s, from April 2000, to the currently charging national museums funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. We are continuing to assess the most effective ways of extending access in 2001. However, decisions will ultimately be taken by the Trustees.

Museum of the Moving Image

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the British Film Institute has identified a permanent site for the re-location of the Museum of the Moving Image. [113443]

Janet Anderson: The recently announced plans for the South Bank Centre include a potential new home for the Museum of the Moving Image. This will allow for an improved and expanded Museum, to provide an interesting and educational showcase for the BFI's collections.

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the British Film Institute's Museum of the Moving Image will re-open. [113439]

Janet Anderson: Work on the new BFI Film Centre, which will incorporate the museum of the Moving Image, is scheduled in Phase One of the South Bank master plan, completion of which will depend on the planning process. In the meantime, the BFI is planning a touring exhibition which will greatly increase access to the collection.

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Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with the British Film Institute on the provision of a new permanent location for the Museum of the Moving Image. [113442]

Janet Anderson: The decision to seek a new permanent location for the Museum was taken by the Board of the BFI, and my Department has been kept closely in touch. The BFI proposes that the Museum will be housed at a bigger and better location within the newly developed South Bank. In the meantime, the BFI is planning a UK wide touring exhibition which will greatly increase access to the collection.

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