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Nolan Rules
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list each group that is responsible to his Department with significant and plural membership from outside the Civil Service, and to which the Nolan rules on non-departmental public bodies do not apply; and for each such group, if it (a) is a private company, (b) is a charity, (c) has no formal legal basis and (d) has some other legal basis, giving details. [131180]
Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 18 July 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, to my hon. Friends the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy) and the Member for Cannock Chase (Mr. Wright) on 27 July 2000, Official Report, column 799W, concerning the publication of a report on Government task forces, reviews and ad hoc advisory groups.
None of the DCMS-related reviews or bodies included in the report has any formal legal basis.
Advisory Bodies
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list all the (a) task forces, (b) action teams, (c) policy reviews and (d) other temporary advisory bodies with external members currently in existence within his Department; and on what date each body (i) was set up and (ii) is expected to terminate. [131458]
Mr. Chris Smith: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend and to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy) on 27 July 2000, Official Report, column 799W concerning the publication of a report on Government task forces, reviews and ad hoc advisory groups.
Sports Council Grants
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the grants made
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by the United Kingdom Sports Council since 1997 for the purpose of attracting major events to the UK; and if he will give the amounts of grant given, the major event and the governing body in each case. [131956]
Kate Hoey: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
Tax Redistribution (Football Clubs)
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will introduce a tax redistribution arrangement based on turnover for professional football clubs. [130127]
Kate Hoey [holding answer 20 July 2000]: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.
Football World Cup
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish the letter sent by the Minister for Sport to the Football Association about the cost of the World Cup bid. [132390]
Kate Hoey [holding answer 24 July 2000]: I wrote to the Chief Executive of the Football Association on 20 June 2000 to request details of his plans to publish accounts for the 2006 World Cup bid. He outlined the FA's plans in his reply to that letter. I have placed a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.
Football Regulator
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with (a) the Football Association, (b) the Premier League and (c) the Football League about the establishment of a regulator for football. [132388]
Kate Hoey [holding answer 24 July 2000]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had a number of meetings since December 1999 with the Football Association, the Premier League, the Football League, representatives of football supporters' organisations and others to discuss the Government's response to the final report of the Football Task Force, which includes proposals for a regulatory body for football.
I have met once with the football authorities and twice with representatives of football supporters' associations.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many unfilled vacancies for permanent staff his Department has; what percentage of staff positions in his Department are vacant; what the monthly cost would be to his Department of employing civil servants in these positions; how many and what percentage of staff his Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; how much his Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the last 12 months; and how much he expects to pay employment agencies to supply temporary staff in each of the next 12 months. [131438]
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Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 25 July 2000]: My Department currently has a total of 30 of unfilled permanent vacancies, this equates to 7.5 per cent. of total staff. These posts have been advertised around Whitehall and to date 10 successors have been identified to fill the posts. The table shows the numbers of vacant posts by grade and monthly costs.
| Grade | Posts vacant | Average monthly salary costs per member of staff |
|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 3,846 |
| B | 15 | 2,555 |
| C | 5 | 1,897 |
| D(U) | 6 | 1,565 |
| D | 2 | 1,264 |
Since July 1999 my Department has employed an average of 16 agency staff each month at administrative and secretarial level, this equates to 4 per cent. of total staff. The monthly costs are as follows:
| Date | £ |
|---|---|
| 1999: | |
| July | 67,573 |
| August | 56,171 |
| September | 43,712 |
| October | 51,143 |
| November | 34,128 |
| December | 30,514 |
| 2000: | |
| January | 31,486 |
| February | 27,059 |
| March | 35,479 |
| April | 29,980 |
| May | 28,744 |
| June | 23,774 |
The number of agency staff employed fluctuate according to demand. The hourly rate for agency staff costs are due to increase by an average of 72p per hour for 2001.
Press Officers
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press officers were employed in his Department in (a) May 1997, (b) January 1998, (c) January 1999 and (d) January 2000; and what the total expenditure on press officers by his Department was in each of the years concerned. [132763]
Mr. Chris Smith: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
Press Releases
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press releases were issued in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999 and (d) this year to date; and what the total cost of the production and issuing of these press releases was in each year. [132750]
Mr. Chris Smith: DCMS press releases are distributed directly from the DCMS Press Office and via the Central Office of Information (COI).
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Expenditure on distributing press releases includes postal, fax, packing, copying and stationery costs. Until the current financial year (2000-01) DCMS, in common with other Government Departments, also contributed an annual fixed charge (unrelated to the number of press releases issued) towards the upkeep of the Central Office of Information's electronic New Distribution System (NDS).
- In the calendar year 1997 the Department issued 349 press releases. Total expenditure on press release distribution was £37,540.13, including the Department's contribution towards NDS of £23,279.00.
- In the calendar year 1998 the Department issued 319 press releases. Total expenditure on press release distribution was £29,306.41, including the Department's contribution towards NDS of £16,074.29.
- In the calendar year 1999 the Department issued 315 press releases. Total expenditure on press release distribution was £31,851.92, including the Department's contribution towards NDS of £15,862.52.
- In the calendar year 2000 the Department has so far issued 195 press releases. Total expenditure on press release distribution so far is £15,103.21, including the Department's contribution towards NDS covering January to March 2000 of £3,965.63.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list for (i) museums and galleries, (ii) libraries, (iii) the arts, (iv) sport, (v) historic buildings, monuments, and sites, (vi) royal parks, (vii) tourism, (viii) broadcasting, and (ix) his whole Department, the budgets for (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c)1999-2000, stating for each year, by category, the funds budgeted for but not spent, and where those funds went. [132038]
Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 26 July 2000]: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the increase in his departmental expenditure on the arts and culture in the next three years arising from the comprehensive spending review will be on activities in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland. [133121]
Mr. Alan Howarth: The Spending Review 2000 settlement will enable the Department to provide the highest-ever levels of public support for sport and the arts, as well as a financial boost for the Department's other sectors. The key funding priorities will be nurturing talent, supporting excellence and creating opportunities for more people than ever before--especially children--to enjoy and participate in culture and sport. The arts and many other cultural activities are devolved topics and so the Department does not generally fund activities in those areas within the Devolved Administrations. Where money is allocated to UK-wide bodies, three-year funding agreements between the Department and each body will help ensure that the interests of all parts of the UK are taken into account in the use of resources.
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