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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 13 February 2001
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Hinduja Brothers
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Ministers and officials in his Department have (a) been contacted by and (b) contacted (i) Mr. G. P. Hinduja and (ii) Mr. S. P. Hinduja since 2 May 1997; if he will list the occasions on which there was such contact; and if he will make a statement. [148077]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 31 January 2001]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) on 1 February 2001, Official Report, columns 278-79W.
It is not the normal practice of the Government to release details of officials' meetings or discussions with private individuals or companies.
Millennium Dome
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the current monthly running costs are of the Millennium Dome; for what proportion of these costs the Millennium Commission is liable; and if he will make a statement. [148522]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 2 February 2001]: The current monthly running costs of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) are between £2.5 million and £3.5 million excluding physical decommissioning costs. Monthly running costs are intended to reduce as the company moves towards solvent liquidation. The NMEC is liable for the company's costs but is able to draw on National Lottery grant awarded by the Millennium Commission.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to ensure that the contents of the Dome are not sold until the future use of the site has been finalised. [149341]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 7 February 2001]: Nothing will be sold at the forthcoming auction which would prejudice uses of the Dome including as a visitor attraction. The Government remain in negotiations with the preferred bidder, Legacy plc, in the competition to buy the Dome. The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has a timetabled decommissioning programme. Leased assets, such as lighting and sound equipment, have been returned to avoid incurring additional charges. Third party assets, such as Ford's Journey Zone and BT's Talk Zone, are being removed.
Granada/Anglia Merger
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the
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impact of the Granada/Anglia merger on the location of jobs in television production and quality of programme production. [149512]
Janet Anderson: Reorganisation of television production with Granada is a matter for the company itself. The licence commitments of ITV regional companies, which include obligations to provide high- quality programming, remain unaffected by changes in ownership. The recent White Paper, "A New Framework for Communications", announces that the new regulator, Ofcom, will be required to undertake a review of the regional obligations in each ITV licence whenever its ownership changes, and will be empowered to amend licence conditions to meet any concerns arising.
School Sports
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many School Sports Co-ordinators have been appointed; and how many are in post; [148708]
- (2) what moneys have been (a) committed and (b) paid over by the New Opportunities Fund to Sport England to fund School Sports Co-ordinators. [148709]
Kate Hoey [holding answer 7 February 2001]: 140 School Sport Co-ordinators are now in place in 33 partnerships across the country. No money has been committed by the New Opportunities Fund to Sport England for this programme. Direct support for activities within the School Sports Co-ordinator Programme is available under the New Opportunities Fund Out of School Hours Learning initiative.
Terrestrial Television
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers he has to require broadcasters to ensure the transmission of television programmes on the five terrestrial channels. [149669]
Janet Anderson: The responsibility for ensuring the transmission of television programmes on the five terrestrial channels lies principally with the BBC Governors in respect of BBC1 and BBC2, the Independent Television Commission in respect of Channels 3, 4 and 5 and the Welsh Authority in respect of S4C.
Digital Radio
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish the criteria he intends to apply for digital switchover of radio. [150058]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 12 February 2001]: Digital radio is at a relatively early stage of development with take-up by consumers still very low. We have not therefore determined criteria to be met in order to achieve switchover. However, we shall keep our approach under review as the roll-out of digital radio services and receiving equipment increases.
Television Licensing Telephone Number
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many telephone calls were
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received in each of the last three months on the television licensing telephone number; and what the cost of responding was. [150342]
Janet Anderson: TV Licensing, which administers the television licensing system as agent for the BBC, operates several different telephone inquiry numbers. Information provided by the BBC shows that the total number of telephone inquiries received by TV Licensing in each of the last three months for which information is available was:
| Number of calls | |
|---|---|
| October 2000 | 87,869 |
| November 2000 | 727,400 |
| December 2000 | 528,972 |
Of these, the number of calls to the over-75 helpline were as follows:
| Number of calls | |
|---|---|
| October 2000 | 242,508 |
| November 2000 | 150,733 |
| December 2000 | 104,748 |
Information on the cost of responding to these calls is not available.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
India
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what advice her Department is giving to people who wish to undertake voluntary work in Gujarat State, India, following the recent earthquake. [149464]
Mr. Mullin: India has a great deal of expertise in relief and rehabilitation operations and substantial resources have been mobilised in response to the earthquake in Gujarat, including medical and paramedical personnel, engineers and logisticians.
The Department for International Development has advised those volunteers with specialist skills to contact organisations that maintain databases of suitably qualified individuals, such as RedR (Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief; 1 Great George street, London, SW1P 3AA, 010 7233 3116) and the International Health Exchange (1st Floor, 134 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7AE; 020 7620 3333). These databases are used by the United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and other non- governmental organisations when personnel are needed quickly for short-term missions as well as longer-term assignments.
The DFID encourages people without specialist skills who wish to contribute to do so in cash rather than in kind by contributing towards the operational agencies working in the area. The best way for individuals to help is to contribute to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) at 52 Great Portland street, London W1N 6TB (0870 60 60 90). The DEC is the umbrella organisation that is responsible for co-ordinating the response to emergencies from charitable organisations as well as donations from the public. The DEC appeal has raised £5 million to date.
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Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what items have been urgently requested of her by the Indian Government following the earthquake in Gujarat State; to what extent her Department is able (a) to supply and (b) to advise on these items; and if she will make a statement; [149463]
- (2) what requests she has received from the Indian Government for assistance to survivors from the recent earthquake in Gujarat State. [149466]
Mr. Mullin: The Indian Government have not made any formal request for assistance, but have announced that appropriate support would be welcome.
I refer my hon. Friend to my previous response detailing the material and financial assistance my Department has given to date, given on 5 February 2001, Official Report, columns 408-09W.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what long-term programme of assistance and advice her Department is developing with the Indian Government to help in the area affected by the recent earthquake in Gujarat State. [149467]
Mr. Mullin: The Department for International Development's priority is to ensure that those who have survived the earthquake are cared for until normal services can be restored. The Indian Government are developing plans for rehabilitation and reconstruction; it is expected that these will be largely funded by the World bank and the Asian Development bank. We have offered advice to the Indian Government on strengthening disaster preparedness arrangements, which will include Gujarat.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department is offering to the Indian Government to help young children orphaned by the recent earthquake in Gujarat State. [149468]
Mr. Mullin: The Department for International Development has made a total allocation of £10 million for humanitarian assistance to Gujarat.
This is being channelled through the United Nations, the Red Cross and a number of non-governmental organisations for the provision of essential relief items such as tents, blankets, medical supplies, food, water and sanitation. All these agencies aim to focus their assistance on the most vulnerable, which will inevitably include young children who have been orphaned as a result of the earthquake.
More specifically we have provided £1 million to UNICEF, part of which will support their child protection programme. This programme aims to identify and care for children who have been orphaned or separated from their families.
We have also contributed £450,000 to Save the Children for the provision of shelter and non-food relief items for children and their families. They will also make efforts to ensure that those children placed in orphanages make contact with any remaining family by offering specialist advice to all organisations working with separated children.
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