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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Intergovernmental Conference

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy towards the minimum number of states required for enhanced co-operation, as proposed in the IGC. [139914]

Mr. Vaz: Talks continue on the number of member states required for enhanced co-operation in specific areas. We have made it clear that we will not accept the creation of an institutionalised inner core of member states, and that enhanced co-operation must be genuinely open to all who want to participate.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further harmonisation of social security will arise from Article 42 as referred to in the Progress report of the IGC. [139912]

Mr. Vaz: The Government have made it clear on numerous occasions that they will not accept a move to QMV for social security.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his position concerning the extension of fields covered by Article 137 as referred to in the Progress report of the IGC. [139910]

Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 30 October 2000, Official Report, column 238W.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the principle of enhanced co-operation through qualified majority

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voting has been proposed in place of that set out under the Treaty of Amsterdam; and if he will make a statement. [139963]

Mr. Vaz: Provisions for enhanced co-operation, authorised by QMV, were introduced at Amsterdam.

The Prime Minister set out the reasons for amending the current enhanced co-operation arrangements in his Warsaw speech on 6 October.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy on the establishment of a Committee on Employment and Social Protection. [139911]

Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Mr. Davies) on 20 November 2000, Official Report, columns 29-30W.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on his policy towards use of the veto at Nice; [139786]

(2) if he will make a statement on use of the veto when the United Kingdom Government are in a minority of one at the Council of Ministers. [139787]

Mr. Vaz: The Government believe in pursuing Britain's interests in Europe constructively. But where the use of the veto is essential in the national interest, we will not hesitate to use it.

Cayman Islands Government

Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Cayman Islands Government on the implementation of the HM Inspector of Prisons last report. [139992]

Mr. Battle: HM Inspector of Prisons last reported on Northward Prison on Grand Cayman in 1994. Of his 34 recommendations, 25 have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented. Progress has been hampered by prison riots which resulted in the serious damage of the prison in September 2000. The Under-Secretary, Baroness Scotland discussed prison issues with the Government of the Cayman Islands during her visit in August 2000 and was able to see for herself the extent of the destruction. She stressed the urgency of the rebuilding programme, while reconfirming the logistical and financial difficulties involved. The current Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, will visit the Cayman Islands to conduct a baseline inspection in March 2001.

Kazakhstan

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent meetings with the President of Kazakhstan. [140700]

Mr. Vaz: At their meeting in London on 17 November, the Foreign Secretary and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed UK investment in Kazakhstan and the need for more legal transparency for investors, the development of parliamentary links, and regional security

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problems. The Foreign Secretary also raised democratic reform and human rights issues. He urged President Nazarbayev to sign the UN Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Similar issues were discussed at the President's separate meetings with the Prime Minister and me.

EU Convention on Regional and

Minority Languages

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government will ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Regional and Minority Languages. [140798]

Mr. Vaz: Following signature of the Charter on 2 March 2000, parliamentary procedures are now complete and the UK is working to ratify the Charter as soon as possible. It is hoped that ratification will take place in the next few months.

Council of Europe

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the British representative is to the Venice Commission. [140799]

Mr. Vaz: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Savidge) on 11 April 2000, Official Report, column 113W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

"Viewing the World"

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of producing the report entitled "Viewing the World". [133869]

Mr. Foulkes: "Viewing the World" was carried out as part of the Government's commitment to raising awareness and understanding of development issues in the UK. We know that TV is the biggest source of information and beliefs about developing countries, and that levels of coverage have steadily fallen over recent years. Against this background, we set out to go beyond an approach based simply on measuring hours of coverage, and instead to work with the broadcasting industry to analyse the impact of different kinds of programming on viewers' attitudes, as well as the current influences within the industry. The work was carried out with close involvement from senior broadcasters, and has not only provoked debate within the industry but led to a range of follow-up activities. The cost of the research work plus printing and publication of the report was £202,000.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Millennium Dome

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the compensation payments paid in respect of (a) the original roof contract

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and (b) other aborted contracts relating to the Millennium Dome. [134825]

Janet Anderson: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has advised that the roof contract remains subject to legal proceedings. No payments have been made at this stage. Other aborted contracts were concerned with the original proposal for a self-contained drum structure at the centre of the Dome. This was replaced in November 1997 with the current central arena configuration. Costs associated with the drum structure totalled £990,000.

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Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many visitors to the Dome there were (a) paying full prices, (b) paying a reduced price and (c) entering free, in each week since 1 January. [134496]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 26 October 2000]: The information on a month-by-month basis is shown in the table. The information provided is a reasonable approximation only, but represents the most accurate data available at present. Weekly figures can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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2000	Total free(8)	Total discounted(9)	Total sponsors from discounted(10)	Full price tickets(11)	Total attendance(12)
January	10,164	50,669	14,685	305,586	366,420
February	73,115	56,868	9,169	439,555	569,538
March	103,372	60,209	4,892	392,727	556,308
April	68,773	112,352	12,077	398,208	579,333
May	102,903	157,385	13,456	241,916	502,204
June	135,181	165,461	14,502	239,625	540,267
July	123,077	217,267	15,575	266,175	606,519
August	20,148	263,521	12,958	267,547	551,216
September	109,372	209,374	13,285	144,538	463,284
October	74,448	424,524	16,609	158,652	657,624

⁽⁸⁾ Includes free school visits, carers for disabled people, sponsor ticket allocation, accompanying teachers on paying school visits, coach drivers, Greenwich residents, NMEC guests and VIPs.

⁽⁹⁾ This reflects a range of promotions and offers which are normal for the visitor attraction business and which are factored into the company's business strategy. For example, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has run a number of offers and promotions with its sponsors for their customers and also continues to run a special ticket price for entry after 4pm. Key promotions with M&S, Boots, Tesco and BT have been undertaken. The Tesco half price promotion was redeemed in October, BT will be redeemed in November and December.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Sponsor tickets have been purchased and allocated per each individual sponsorship contract.

⁽¹¹⁾ This number is an approximation and as such should be used for review purposes only. There is insufficient accuracy for it to be regarded as audited or validated information.

⁽¹²⁾ Total attendance does not take into account non-attendance by ticket purchasers. It represents visitor footfall via the admission system and not total tickets sold.

Note:

NMEC operates 2 different systems, one for ticket sales (Enta) and one for admissions (ACS). The admissions system records total attendance, but does not show details of the attendance ie: purchase source of admission or monetary value of admission. Consequently figures for free and discounted tickets are derived from the ticketing system, whereas total attendance is derived from the admission system.

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Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish correspondence between Mr. Mike O'Connor and his Department concerning the grant of £47 million to the Dome in September. [134488]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 26 October 2000]: As requested, I am arranging for copies of the correspondence between Mr. Mike O'Connor, the Director of the Millennium Commission, and my Department regarding the additional grant of £47 million to the Dome in September to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what budget has been allocated to mark the closure of the Millennium Dome. [136451]

Janet Anderson: The Dome is open for business on new year's eve from 9.00am to 6.00pm. The separate and private Ministry of Sound event in venues adjacent to the Dome will begin at about 9.00pm. Therefore no budget has been allocated to any celebration to mark the closure of the Dome.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to mark the closure of the Millennium Dome. [136239]

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Janet Anderson: The Dome is open for business on new year's eve from 9.00am to 6.00pm. The separate and private Ministry of Sound event in venues adjacent to the Dome will begin at about 9.00pm.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what events are scheduled to take place in the Millennium Dome after 31 December. [140426]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 27 November 2000]: No events are scheduled to take place in the Millennium Dome after 31 December.

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