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Road Arches

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications were made under Article 73 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 for permission to erect arches over roadways between 16 June and 11 July 1999; if he will list those applications (a) granted and (b) refused; of those granted, what level of public liability insurance against claims in respect of injury was required in each case; how many arches were erected where no application was made; and how many prosecutions were brought for breach of Article 73 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 during 1999. [115277]

Mr. George Howarth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Roads Service under its Chief Executive Mr. C. James. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from C. James to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated 21 March 2000:



    Between 16 June 1999 and 11 July 1999, the Department's Roads Service received 4 applications under Article 73 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 for consent to erect arches over roads. In each case, consent was given and the applicant was required to have public liability insurance of £5M. These applications were in respect of arches over the following roads:


    Market Square, Lisburn, County Antrim;


    North Street, Upper Ballinderry, Lisburn, County Antrim;


    Bridge Street, Edenderry, Portadown, County Armagh; and


    Garvaghy Road, Portadown, County Armagh.


    At least a further 100 arches were erected over public roads where no applications for consent under Article 73 had been made. No prosecutions were brought for breaches of Article 73 during 1999.


    I hope this information is helpful.

21 Mar 2000 : Column: 497W

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC Film Projects

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which BBC film projects have been awarded National Lottery funding; to what value in each case; and on what conditions. [114350]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 13 March 2000]: There have been no National Lottery awards to the BBC for film production. However, the BBC has co-financed with The Arts Councils of England and Wales, and with other financiers, the films on the following list which shows the amount of National Lottery money received.

Standard conditions for film production awards are published in the guidelines for applicants, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. Conditions specific to a particular project are a commercial matter and regarded as confidential for that reason.

ProjectAward amount (£)Distributing body
Features
Ratcatcher615,000Arts Council of England
The Darkest Light708,000Arts Council of England
The Last Yellow550,000Arts Council of England
A Room for Romeo Brass850,000Arts Council of England
Among Giants665,000Arts Council of England
Divorcing Jack800,000Arts Council of England
Hideous Kinky1,070,000Arts Council of England
Love is the Devil364,551Arts Council of England
Speak Like a Child433,896Arts Council of England
The Governess907,075Arts Council of England
Frantz Fanon84,000Arts Council of England
Love and Death on Long Island750,000Arts Council of England
Metroland865,000Arts Council of England
My Son the Fanatic750,000Arts Council of England
Peggy Su!500,000Arts Council of England
Photographing Fairies890,000Arts Council of England
Sixth Happiness469,727Arts Council of England
The Revengers Comedies950,000Arts Council of England
Wilde1,500,000Arts Council of England
Pandaemonium655,094Arts Council of England
Five Seconds to Spare1,009,500Arts Council of England
One of the Hollywood Ten450,000Arts Council of Wales
Y Mabinogi207,137Arts Council of Wales
Shorts
The Night Frontier18,635Arts Council of England
The Albatross29,000Arts Council of England
The Queen's Monastery35,000Arts Council of England

Tourism (North Yorkshire)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to promote tourism in North Yorkshire. [114945]

Janet Anderson: The Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) will receive £367,000 for tourism projects in the region in 2000-01 from the English Tourism Council--an increase of 26 per cent. on the current year. These projects include development of the Yorkshire brand and sub-regional brands and developing training that is customised to meet customer needs, which will help promote tourism throughout Yorkshire. North Yorkshire, in common with all parts of England, also benefits from the promotion work of the British Tourist Authority (BTA), which

21 Mar 2000 : Column: 498W

promotes Britain as a visitor destination in overseas markets. The BTA is receiving £36 million from my Department this year.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy estimates that local authority expenditure on tourism promotion in North Yorkshire in 1997-98 was £1.775 million. In addition, tourism in Yorkshire has also benefited, both directly and indirectly, from the National Lottery, (649 projects in the country have received awards totalling £44,710,497 according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's National Lottery Awards Database which uses information supplied by the distributing bodies.

Millennium Dome

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to alter the ticketing arrangements for the Millennium Dome; and what effect the changes will have on the (a) 12 million visitor target and (b) anticipated income stream. [114542]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 14 March 2000]: From 1 April, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is introducing extended opening times. Visitors can enjoy the Dome from 09.00 to 20.00 on Sundays to Thursdays, and from 09.00 to 23.00 on Fridays, Saturdays, Bank Holidays and during school holidays and the peak summer periods--providing a maximum potential visit time of 14 hours.

The Government are extremely encouraged by the continuing upward trend in visitor numbers to the Dome. Ten million paying visitors will enable the Company to deliver a break even operating budget. However NMEC's target remains at 12 million.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people from North Yorkshire have bought tickets to visit the Millennium Dome in January and February 2000. [111406]

Janet Anderson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on 17 March 2000, Official Report, column 368W. NMEC are unable to provide a regional break down of ticket sales.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who owns the copyright associated with each of the exhibits in the Millennium Dome. [109727]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 11 February 2000]: The contractual terms of each exhibit vary reflecting the different nature and type of exhibit--both in terms of structure and content. Similarly arrangements regarding copyright and intellectual property rights vary. As is normal practice, these contracts contain confidentiality clauses applicable to both parties. NMEC considers that publication of details, including ownership of copyright, from individual contracts runs the risk of adversely impacting on its relationships with its designers and, therefore, on its ability to operate in an effective and commercial manner.

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the payments overdue to zone designers at the Millennium Dome at 7 February. [109959]

21 Mar 2000 : Column: 499W

Janet Anderson [holding answer 14 February 2000]: The policy of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is to pay suppliers within the terms of the contractual arrangements agreed, which is usually 30 days from the day of the invoice, subject to resolution of any queries on the invoice within the 20 day period. As at 7 February, a total of £1.8 million of invoices registered in NMEC's Finance Department remained the subject of on-going discussion with zone designers outside the 30 day period; a total of £2.1 million overdue on the 30 day basis at 7 February--and following resolution of queries where they arose--was released for payment on 14 February.

Athletics

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Sport England concerning the availability of £60 million to fund world-class athletics facilities. [115734]

Mr. Chris Smith: We have established the principle with Sport England that, subject to the details being worked out a viable application coming forward, the £20 million coming back from the Football Association and up to £40 million which will not now be required for the conversion of Wembley may be available to fund world-class athletics facilities.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which sites are still under consideration as possible venues for the 2005 world athletics championships. [115735]

Mr. Chris Smith: Sport England and UK athletics are currently considering four London locations--Crystal Palace, Hillingdon, Lee Valley (Hackney Wick/Pickett's Lock) and Twickenham.

Mr. Faber: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2000, Official Report, column 155W, concerning a national athletic stadium, if his Department has discussed with Manchester City Council its proposal for a 18,000 to 20,000 seat permanent athletics stadium to be built on the UKSI site adjacent to the City of Manchester Stadium. [115755]

Kate Hoey: As explained in the written reply of 14 March 2000, Official Report, column 155W, officials from my Department and Sport England have discussed proposals for holding the 2005 World Athletics Championships in Manchester with the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council. These discussions included a presentation by Manchester on 21 January at Sport England's offices to officials from UK Athletics, Sport England and DCMS. One of the options discussed during that meeting was the possibility of a permanent national athletics facility on the UKSI site adjacent to the City of Manchester Stadium. However, as my reply of 14 March explained, the decision by UK Athletics to submit a London bid for the 2005 World Athletics Championship and the British Olympic Association confirming that it will only consider a London based Olympic bid has effectively ruled out Manchester as a venue for staging these major events.

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