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Works of Art

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by the Government since 1 May 1997 on acquiring works of art; and how much has been realised from the sale of works of art. [23073]

Dr. Howells: Since 1 May 1997 the Government Art Collection has spent £688,000 on purchases of works of art. No works of art have been sold from the Government Art Collection. The Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office has spent approximately £506,501 and the Department for Education and Skills approximately £26,451.

We have been notified of no other purchases or sales by other Government Departments.

Public Libraries

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries there were in the Buckingham constituency in (a) 1997 and (b) 2001. [23749]

Dr. Howells: There are eight public libraries in the Buckingham constituency: Buckingham; Haddenham; Ivinghoe; Long Crendon; Steeple Claydon; Stewkley; Wing; and Winslow. This is the same number as in 1997. The Buckingham mobile library (full-time) and the Aylesbury Urban and Aylesbury Rural mobiles (part- time), also serve the constituency.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of adults in the Buckingham constituency that are library members. [23748]

Dr. Howells: Such statistics are not maintained on a constituency basis, and Buckinghamshire do not currently differentiate between adult and child members. However, Buckinghamshire county council's statistics show that 75 per cent. of the population of the county are library members. This is in excess of the national average.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the libraries based in the Buckingham constituency which have received funding from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge indicating (a) the nature of the project, (b) the date of the award and (c) the amount of funding provided in each case. [23747]

Dr. Howells: No libraries in the Buckinghamshire constituency have been successful in their applications for match funding from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund since the programme began in 1998.

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Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the evidence presented in the Arts Council of England's two consultation periods; and if she will make a statement. [23570]

Dr. Howells: Following the first consultation my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wanted to see proposals which created a dynamic new organisation; brought the regions into the heart of the funding system; delegated real decision making to regional level; set challenging targets for administrative savings; was simpler and more consistent for those applying for funding.

We are confident that the new proposals will deliver this.

The Secretary of State has just received a progress report following the second consultation exercise and will respond to the Arts Council in due course.

PFI/PPP Contracts

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) PFI and (b) PPP contracts her Department maintains; if she will list those contracts, giving their (i) length and (ii) value, and the businesses involved in fulfilling them; what assessment she has made of those contracts; and if she will make a statement. [23575]

Dr. Howells: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not itself entered into any PFI or PPP contracts. The Royal Parks Agency, which is an executive agency, has entered into one PFI contract, Pembroke Lodge, Richmond, relating to the restoration of building and operation of catering facilities, which is to last for 30 years. Its value is £1 million, and The Hearsum Family Ltd. is fulfilling the contract. The Agency has employed consultants to advise on whether construction works are compliant with the contract.

Gambling Report

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many responses the Government have received to recommendations (a) 60, (b) 61, (c) 62, (d) 63 and (e) 64 of the Gambling report, indicating how many (i) supported, (ii) opposed and (iii) were in neutral in respect of each recommendation. [23781]

Mr. Caborn: By the end of the consultation period we had received 20 responses supporting and 10 opposing recommendation 60, nine responses supporting and seven opposing recommendation 61; 11 responses supporting and 11 opposing recommendation 62; eight responses supporting and 10 opposing recommendation 63; and nine responses supporting and 13 opposing recommendation 64. A very much larger number of responses did not specifically refer to this group of recommendations. Since these we have received a number of further letters from hon. Members enclosing correspondence from constituents operating or employed in businesses involving gaming machines which children may currently play, criticising the recommendations.

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Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what estimate she has made of the impact on the Government's policies to regenerate seaside resorts of the implementation of recommendations 60–64 of the Gambling Review report; [23780]

(2) what estimate the Government have made of the impact on jobs of the implementation of recommendations 60–64 of the Gambling Review report. [23782]

Mr. Caborn: We have not yet completed out consideration of the report.

Betting Levy Board

Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the use by the Betting Levy Board of its general funds to finance a pension shortfall. [23767]

Mr. Caborn: The Horserace Betting Levy Board is responsible for its pension commitments and may properly use Levy income for these purposes.

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received about making the Millennium Dome a listed building; what the earliest possible date for listing the Dome would be; and if she will make a statement. [24130]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received no representations this year about making the Dome a listed building. The general rule when looking at buildings for listing is that those less than 10 years old are not eligible for consideration. There is no reason for us to adopt a different policy for the Millennium Dome.

Public Entertainment Licences

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received regarding the issuing of public entertainment licences; and if she will make a statement. [24133]

Dr. Howells: Representations from hon. Members, industry, performers and licensing law practitioners concerning public entertainment licensing law have tended to fall into five main categories. These are concerns about inconsistent approaches adopted by different licensing authorities; the scope for local licensing authorities to impose disproportionate and burdensome requirements on smaller venues; the duplication of the requirements with the fire safety and health and safety regulations; some evidence of excessive fee charging; and the limitations on the exemption from public entertainment licensing for public houses in the Licensing Act 1964. Changes to public entertainment licensing laws require primary legislation, and our reform of the alcohol and public entertainment licensing laws will address these anxieties. We shall present the necessary legislation as soon as Parliamentary time permits.

"Time for Reform"

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to implement the

19 Dec 2001 : Column: 318W

proposals outlined in 'Time for Reform'; what estimate she has made of the time scale for implementation; and if she will make a statement. [24132]

Dr. Howells: We remain fully committed to the proposals set out in the White Paper "Time for Reform" and intend to introduce legislation to implement them. The timetable for implementation inevitably depends on when it will be possible to introduce the necessary legislation in Parliament and this will be done as soon as parliamentary time permits.

Capital Assets

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 889W, on capital assets, if she will place in the Library information on the accounting treatment of the public private partnership projects relating to (a) British Library corporate bibliographic services, (b) British Library provision of catering services and (c) the Royal Parks Embassy Pembroke Lodge; and if she will make a statement. [24258]

Dr. Howells: The contract for the British Library corporate bibliographic services project has been terminated. I refer the hon. Member to the Minister for Sport's letter of 18 November 2001 to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws), a copy of which has been placed in the Library. The British Library provision of catering services project is treated as the purchase of services and is accounted for off balance sheet. The Royal Parks Agency Pembroke Lodge project is accounted for on balance sheet in accordance with the Accounting Standards Board's Statement of Standard Accounting Practice—Accounting for Leases and Hire Purchase Contracts.

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