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Legal Staff (Professional Development)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General if there is a mandatory requirement for legal staff to participate in a continuing professional development programme. [35944]

The Solicitor-General [holding answer 14 February 2002]: Yes, lawyers in the CPS are required to undertake continuous professional development (CPD) according to the requirements laid down by their particular professional body, either the Law Society or the Bar Council. The requirement exists by virtue of the individual's professional status, not their employment with the CPS. All solicitors and barristers employed by CPS are provided with adequate opportunities to satisfy the CPD requirements of their professional bodies. Many lawyers annually exceed the requirements for CPD.

CPS is authorised to accredit CPD for in-house courses based on guidelines laid down by the Law Society and the Bar Council.

In addition to the requirements of the professional bodies, it is mandatory for CPS lawyers to attend the following in house courses:

Induction for new lawyers

Direct Communication with Victims

European Court of Human Rights training

Diversity Awareness

Advocacy Skills training

Each year the CPS produces a National Training Plan, this specifies the mandatory training to be undertaken by staff to meet the requirements of new legislation and internal initiatives, this year these include the Proceeds of Crime and Racially Aggravated Crime.

Specialist areas are also supported by mandatory training. CPS lawyers undertake training to prepare them for casework in areas such as Youth Offenders, Child Abuse, and Speaking Up for Justice.

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1532W

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Hyde Park

Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many paying concerts and other events were held in Hyde Park in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001; [37877]

(2) how much the paying concerts and other events held in Hyde Park raised as a contribution to the running costs of the Royal Parks in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001, net of the costs of repairing damage to the parks caused by the events; [37878]

(3) how many paying concerts and other events are planned for (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004 in Hyde Park; [37879]

(4) how much of the revenue raised by paying concerts and other events in Hyde Park is spent on Hyde Park itself. [37881]

Mr. Caborn: Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency and I have asked its Chief Executive, William Weston to reply.

Letter from William Weston to Mr. Mark Field, dated 28 February 2002

I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about concerts and other events in the Royal Parks, as this is an operational matter which has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency.

In 1999 ten large events were held in Hyde Park, raising ÿ538,216 towards the Agency's running costs; in 2000 eight large events were held, raising ÿ586,021; and in 2001 fourteen such events raised ÿ1,085,000. These figures are net of the cost of repairing damage to the parks caused by the events.

All income raised by the Agency is taken into consideration when expenditure budgets are allocated to individual parks. Revenue is not allocated specifically to the park or section that raised it.

We are contractually committed to hold thirteen large events in Hyde Park in 2002 and to staging the Prince's Trust concert in 2003. The Prince's Trust concert is the only event planned as yet for future years.

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1533W

National Lottery

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds each of the National Lottery Distribution Funds hold which are allocated but not yet distributed. [38136]

jenny

Mr. Caborn: There is one National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) and all the money held in it is allocated to the distributing bodies. The table shows the amount held in the NLDF for each distributor, but not drawn down at 31 December 2001—in other words its NLDF balance; and the amount committed by each distributor, but not yet paid out to project operators, at the same date.

Distributing Body	Amount held in NLDF at 31 December 2001 (ÿm)	Balance of outstanding commitments (ÿm)
Arts Council of England	244,418,707	260,629,000
Film Council	58,506,013	57,395,466
Arts Council of Northern Ireland	32,790,612	18,900,264
Scottish Arts Council	45,528,808	33,167,092
Arts Council of Wales	30,786,187	36,891,097
Community Fund	408,038,972	543,131,065
Heritage Lottery Fund	981,827,570	1,031,160,453
Millennium Commission	420,980,083	266,400,000
New Opportunities Fund	748,502,904	789,421,108
Sports Council (England)	415,561,569	633,627,000
Sports Council for Northern Ireland	18,510,607	14,593,783
Scottish Sports Council	74,968,465	50,557,408
UK Sports Council	6,303,404	50,291,164
Sports Council of Wales	39,230,023	28,886,605
Scottish Screen	3,817,547	4,768,403
	3,529,771,471	3,819,819,908

Departmental Buildings

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many buildings her Department operates; how many people work in each of those buildings; what the cost of maintaining each building has been in each of the past seven years; what plans her Department has to move from those buildings in the next two years; and if she will make a statement.[38133]

Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport occupies and manages four buildings and has done so only since 1999. Maintenance costs of buildings occupied before occupation of present buildings have been handed over to present occupants. The four buildings currently occupied are all in central London and are:

Building	Occupancy
Trafalgar Place (SW1)	344
Oceanic House (SW1)	103
Grove House (WC2)	94
Queens Yard (W1)	14

A small number of staff are also located in buildings occupied by other Government Departments as a result of Machinery of Government changes following the 2001 General Election, there being insufficient room in the four buildings named above for them to be absorbed.

Maintenance costs are very similar from year to year except where major plant or building works are required.

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1534W

	1998	1999	2000	2001
	ÿ000	ÿ000	ÿ000	ÿ000
Trafalgar Place	343.3	353.1	372.2	332.7
Oceanic House	0	*92.0	63.5	81.2
Grove House	148.2	147.1	166.5	138.6
Queen's Yard	0	*28.0	131.7	101.5

* occupancy began = part year only.

There are no plans at present to move existing staff from these buildings.

Sport England

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Sport England accounts will be laid before the House. [38142]

Mr. Caborn: Sport England's Lottery accounts were laid before the House by the Comptroller and Auditor General on 25 February and its Exchequer accounts were laid before the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 26 February.

Television Signals

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many homes, per constituency, in each of the last seven years have been unable to receive (a) digital terrestrial, (b) digital satellite, (c) cable and (d) none of those television signals because of their geography; how many have been unable to receive analogue television signals; and if she will make a statement. [38135]

Mr. Caborn: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For details of current digital television coverage, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr. Yeo) on 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 502W, by my hon. Friend the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting. Further information on digital terrestrial television coverage, based on individual post codes, is available on the Digital Television Group website: www.dtg.org.uk.

Catering Services

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost was of (a) in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by her Department in each of the last four years. [38927]

Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened a staff restaurant on 2 April 2001. Prior to that time only hospitality for meetings, in the form of hot drinks and biscuits, which combined with a vending contract, was provided at a cost of about ÿ18,000 for each year. The predicted revenue cost of the staff restaurant on completion of 12 months operation is about ÿ62,000 (this includes an element of start-up costs).

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1535W

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