---

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Millennium Dome

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish the correspondence between the Millennium Commission and his Department relating to the latest grant of additional funds to the Millennium Dome. [124386]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 5 June 2000]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 7 June in my capacity as Chairman of the Millennium Commission on this issue. Copies of the letter have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

23 Jun 2000 : Column: 323W

Television Licences

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the television licence (a) schemes and (b) fees that are available to retired people. [125984]

Mr. Chris Smith: Under the Accommodation for Residential Care concessionary licence scheme, pensioners and disabled people living in residential homes and in qualifying sheltered accommodation are entitled to a £5 television licence. In order to qualify for the concessionary scheme, sheltered accommodation must.

(a) form part of a group of at least four dwellings within a common and exclusive boundary (though up to 25 per cent. of units in a scheme can be properties purchased under the 'right to buy' legislation);

(b) be specially provided for occupation by disabled people or retired people aged 60 years or over.

(c) be provided or managed by a local authority, a housing association or a development corporation; and

(d) have a person (e.g. a warden) whose function is to care for the needs of the residents and who either lives on site or works there for at least 30 hours a week.

Approximately 650,000 people qualify for the £5 concessionary licence. From November this year, people aged 75 or over will be entitled to a free television licence. Approximately 3.5 million households will benefit from this concession.

Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who will be eligible for the concessionary free television licence. [127611]

Janet Anderson: Everyone aged 75 or over will be eligible for a free television licence from 1 November this year, but television licences cover households rather than individuals. Approximately 3.5 million households will benefit from the concession.

BBC (Advertisements)

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if it is his policy to prohibit the introduction of commercial advertisements on BBC1 and BBC2. [126301]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 20 June 2000]: Under the Charter and Agreement the BBC is unable to introduce commercial advertisements on any of its public services without my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's approval. We would not permit commercial advertisements on licence fee-funded services.

Television Arts

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps he is taking to encourage national training schemes for television and film scriptwriters; [127107]

(2) if he will make a statement on the future funding of the Television Arts Performance Showcase. [127108]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 21 June 2000]: I am aware of the work of the Television Arts Performance Showcase and the significant contribution to television and film by writers who have participated in the scheme. It is at present largely for the industry to

23 Jun 2000 : Column: 324W

determine which training schemes to support and we have asked the Audio-Visual Industries Training Group, which we established to consider how to meet broadcasting industry skills needs to include scriptwriting in its considerations. The Group is due to report towards the end of the year. The new Film Council has identified training for scriptwriters as a priority area for funds which will be available from the autumn to support training.

Dunkirk (Little Ships)

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning proposals to preserve for posterity a number of the little ships which took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940; and if he will make a statement. [127305]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 22 June 2000]: My Department has received a number of letters about the Dunkirk Little Ships Restoration Trust's application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for support of a project involving the restoration of four vessels and the acquisition of a fifth for use as a visitor centre. The application was rejected last October, but the HLF has since then been in discussion with the Trust to offer advice on how best to submit a further application. I understand that the Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum are prepared to offer professional support to the Trust with a view to ensuring a viable future for these historic vessels.

Battle of Britain Memorial

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning proposals to erect a Battle of Britain memorial on the Thames Embankment; and if he will make a statement. [127304]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 22 June 2000]: My Department has received correspondence about the proposal to erect a memorial on the Thames Embankment by the Battle of Britain Historical Society, though matters have yet to reach a stage where we are officially involved. Westminster City Council has identified a potential site for a monument but as yet no application for planning permission has been received from the Society. Large outdoor monuments to the Battle of Britain already exist in Folkestone and Croydon, and the Imperial War Museum last week opened a major permanent exhibition at Duxford which will educate and inform future generations and act as a continuing commemoration of The Few.

Interactive Voice Response Systems

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many agencies of his Department use interactive voice response systems when dealing with telephone inquiries from the general public. [127549]

Mr. Chris Smith: The only agency of my Department is the Royal Parks Agency, who do not use any interactive voice response systems for public telephone lines.

23 Jun 2000 : Column: 325W

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many departmental telephone lines used by the general public are responded to by interactive voice response systems. [127550]

Mr. Chris Smith: My Department does not use any interactive voice response systems for public telephone lines.

Written Questions

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many written parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000; and how many of them have not received substantive answers, with disproportionate cost cited as the reason. [127335]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 22 June 2000]: 1,044 written parliamentary questions were tabled to my Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000.

Seven questions were answered in which disproportionate cost was cited as the reason for not providing all the information requested.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Magistrates

Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the (a) ethnic background and (b) gender of (i) lay magistrates, (ii) stipendiary magistrates and (iii) recorders in (1) numerical and (2) percentage terms. [127144]

Jane Kennedy: The following tables set out the ethnic background and gender of (i) lay magistrates (ii) stipendiary magistrates and (iii) recorders. The trends are changing, however. For example, the table shows that 4.5 per cent. of lay magistrates are of ethnic minority origin. In 1997 and 1998, however, 6.5 per cent. of new appointments were of ethnic minority origin and in 1999 7.6 per cent. of new appointments were of ethnic minority origin.

The information on lay magistrates is held on a relatively new database. The information on ethnic origin was taken from a survey conducted in 1997 and, since then, from declarations made by new appointees. The information held in the database has not yet been validated. It is expected that this will take place in the autumn.

Post	Total	Of ethnic minority origin	Percentage
Lay magistrates	25,917	1,157	4.5
Stipendiary magistrates	96	2	2.1
Acting stipendiary magistrates	146	4	2.7
Recorders	1,352	35	2.6

Post	Total	Male	Female
Lay magistrates	25,917	13,218 (51.0%)	12,699 (49.0%)
Stipendiary magistrates	96	82 (85.4%)	14 (14.6%)
Acting stipendiary magistrates	146	121 (82.9%)	25 (17.1%)
Recorders	1,352	1,188 (87.9%)	164 (12.1%)

23 Jun 2000 : Column: 326W

Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many magistrates have been recommended for removal from sitting on the bench by a local advisory committee and how many have been removed in each of the last three years. [127146]

Jane Kennedy: No information is kept on the number of recommendations for removal received from Advisory Committees. In each of the last three years the numbers of magistrates removed from the bench were as follows:

Year	Number
1997	13
1998	11
1999	15

Dr. Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what information he collates on the number of magistrates referred to local advisory committees for failing to attain required competencies. [127145]

Jane Kennedy: Since the Magistrates New Training Initiative came into force in 1998 there have been no such referrals.

---