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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Foot and Mouth (Tourism)
Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to convey accurate information to foreign tourists of the impact of foot and mouth disease on human health. [157026]
Janet Anderson: My Department is working closely with the British Tourist Authority (BTA) to ensure that the message that foot and mouth disease has no adverse effect on human health and that Britain is open to business is conveyed to overseas visitors. Where concerns have been expressed, BTA's overseas offices have held briefings for the local media and travel trade to provide accurate information and reassurance about travelling to Britain. Information is also available to overseas media and the public through BTA's overseas call and visitor centres.
BTA has been, and is continuing to monitor press and public opinion in all its key priority markets. On 20 March I visited New York to help spread the message that Britain is open for business and dispel all the rumours that had started appearing in the American national press about public safety.
Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if compensation will be made available to non-rural tourism businesses that have been adversely affected by foot and mouth disease. [157050]
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what compensation will be made available to those in the tourist industry in (a) the Chorley area and (b) Lancashire following the foot and mouth outbreak. [157312]
Janet Anderson: My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment announced on 20 March a package of measures to help those adversely affected by the foot and mouth outbreak. The Government are considering the need for further measures in the light of the latest developments.
Wembley Stadium
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on (a) the use of lottery money for the new Wembley Stadium and (b) the amount of lottery money proposed for the new Wembley Stadium. [157316]
Kate Hoey: Sport England have committed £120 million to the Wembley Stadium project. The bulk of this money--£103 million--was used to secure the purchase of the stadium site in January 1999.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has held with the Cabinet Office on overseeing the new Wembley Stadium project. [157544]
Kate Hoey: No discussions have been held with the Cabinet Office about the Wembley Stadium project.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how often meetings are held between him and the Chairman of the new Wembley Stadium Company; [157317]
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- (2) when he last met the Chairman of the new Wembley Stadium Company. [157313]
Kate Hoey: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I meet Sir Rodney Walker from time to time to discuss a wide range of issues including his new responsibility as Chairman of Wembley National Stadium Ltd. as well as his other duties including that of Chairman of UK Sport. My right hon. Friend and I last met Sir Rodney on 1 February.
Tourism (Lancashire)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the impact on tourism in Lancashire of the foot and mouth outbreak. [157311]
Janet Anderson: We are making inquiries of a range of tourism-related bodies to determine the impact of foot and mouth disease on tourism businesses. This research is at an early stage and therefore no figures are yet available. The English Tourism Council and the Regional Tourist Boards are also implementing research to assess the impacts at local level. However, the North West Tourist Board estimates that the potential impact on tourism income in the north-west is around £6 million and is threatening around 200 jobs per week. No figures relating specifically to Lancashire are available.
New Millennium Experience Company
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when and how the papers of the New Millennium Experience Company will be opened for public scrutiny; and if he will make a statement. [157244]
Janet Anderson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 29 March 2001, Official Report, columns 715-16W.
Religious Broadcasting
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to end the BBC's monopoly of religious broadcasting. [157259]
Janet Anderson: All public service broadcasters are committed to carrying religious programming. Such programming is an important element of public service provision and the Government reaffirmed in the White Paper "A New Future for Communications", which was published on 12 December 2000, that it will continue to be so. The White Paper invited comments on whether the current restrictions on ownership of broadcasting licences by religious organisations should be relaxed in the new legislation, and the Government are currently considering the responses.
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what grounds Christian broadcasting organisations are not allowed access to the air waves in the UK; and if he will review the matter. [157260]
Janet Anderson: The Broadcasting Act 1990 disqualifies religious organisations from holding broadcasting licences, except where the regulators are satisfied that it is appropriate for such bodies to hold licences for licensable programme services, satellite television, or local analogue, cable or satellite radio
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services. The White Paper, "A New Future for Communications", which was published on 12 December 2000, proposed that religious organisations should also be allowed to hold local digital radio licences. These restrictions have been considered necessary to safeguard pluralism in the media and to avoid religious discrimination: capacity constraints mean that one religious organisation may be able to hold a licence where another may not. Nevertheless, the White Paper invited comments on whether these restrictions should be relaxed, and we are currently considering the responses.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Bereavement Benefits
Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to ensure that widowers will get the new bereavement benefits from April. [157948]
Mr. Rooker: Bereavement Benefits will concentrate the help available where and when it is needed most: on immediate needs and on families with children. Men who are widowed on or after 9 April 2001 will be able to claim Bereavement Benefits. But existing widowed fathers, with children in full-time education whose wives died before that date, are also eligible to claim the new Widowed Parent's Allowance. Invitations to make a claim have been sent to over 13,000 men whose Child Benefit records indicate may be eligible.
We have publicised the new benefits through relevant leaflets, which are distributed to outlets such as local offices, advisory organisations and doctors' surgeries, and can be found on the internet at www.dss.gov.uk. Advertorials in magazine titles which men are likely to read are due to appear in June.
We have however identified an error in the legislation that will affect a small number of widowers who will inherit both SERPS and a contracted-out pension from their late wives. In line with normal practice the SERPS payment should be reduced to take account of a contracted-out pension paid by a private pension scheme. This is technically known as a contracted-out deduction, and is made because National Insurance rebates would have been received instead of National Insurance contributions being paid for a SERPS pension. The intention was to treat all widows and widowers equally, but for this group of widowers the contracted-out deduction cannot be made until the legislation is corrected.
We will correct the legislation at the first available opportunity so as to treat widows and widowers equally. Those affected will be informed from the outset of this error and that it is likely to be corrected by future legislation. They will also be informed that they will not be asked to repay the extra amounts.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many Disability Living Allowance recipients, whose main disability is deafness, are aged between 16 and 64 and live in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland. [157404]
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Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.
| Country | Number |
|---|---|
| England | 12,000 |
| Wales | 700 |
| Scotland | 1,300 |
Note:
Figures relate to 31 August 2000.
Source:
DSS Information Centre: 5 per cent. data
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