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Equipment Leasing

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by her Department in each of the last four years; and what the cost to public funds in each case is. [39024]

Mr. Caborn: Equipment leasing in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is limited to photocopiers. The contract was entered into in 2000 for a term of three years at fixed costs of ÿ74,277 per annum inclusive of maintenance.

Advertising

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the publicity and advertising campaigns run by her Department in each of the last four years, specifying the (a) purpose, (b) cost to public funds, (c) number of staff involved and (d) method of evaluation in each case. [39076]

Mr. Caborn: The Department has run no publicity or advertising campaigns in the last four years.

Special Advisers

Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental (special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; and if she will list the total cost, including (i) travel, (ii) accommodation and (iii) subsistence allowance, for each occasion. [37971]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 27 February 2002]: Between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2001, special advisers in this Department travelled overseas on official business on four occasions; to Venice (Italy), Berlin (Germany) and Apeldoorn and Haarlem (Netherlands); at an average cost of ÿ232 per visit. Information for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2000 is already in the public domain. All travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

Special Urgency Provisions

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how often the Department has applied the special urgency provisions in paragraph 22 of Circular 18/84 (Development by Government Departments) to a development by the department; and if she will make a statement. [38706]

Mr. Caborn: There is no record of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport having any direct involvement in any relevant development.

Broadcasting Costs

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the costs to public service broadcasters of broadcasting channels via (a) digital satellite television, (b) digital terrestrial television and (c) digital cable television.[38954]

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Mr. Caborn: The costs of broadcasting television channels on each platform are a matter for the individual broadcasters and transmission companies concerned and are commercially confidential. However, approximate costs of the changes necessary at the transmission sites to deliver Digital Terrestrial Television (provided by the Independent Television Commission) are set out in the consultation document, Digital Television: The Principles for Spectrum Planning, published on 11 December 2001, copies of which are in the libraries of both Houses and on the website: www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk.

Free-to-Air Channels

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which free-to-air channels are available to consumers receiving their television via (a) digital satellite, (b) digital terrestrial and (c) digital cable. [38957]

Mr. Caborn: The free-to-view channels available on both Digital Terrestrial and Digital Satellite are:

BBC1

BBC 2

BBC Choice

BBC 4

BBC News 24

BBC Parliament (Audio Only)

CBBC

Cbeebies

Channel 4

Channel 5

ITN News Channel

S4C (In Wales)

S4C 2 (In Wales)

These channels are offered to cable operators for inclusion in their basic digital cable subscription packages.

Free-to-view digital terrestrial also offers ITV2, (UTV2 in Ireland), Tele G (in Scotland) and a full range of National and Regional channels.

Free-to-view digital satellite also offers more than 20 further channels and over 40 radio services.

Electronic Programme Guides

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the regulations regarding access to the electronic programme guides on (a) digital satellite, (b) digital terrestrial and (c) digital cable. [38955]

Mr. Caborn: Third party access to electronic programme guides (EPGs) is regulated in accordance with relevant provisions in the licences for satellite EPGs (satellite television service licenses) digital terrestrial EPGs (digital additional service licences) and for cable services (local delivery licences).

Each of these licences requires the licensee not to engage in any practice or enter into any arrangement which is prejudicial to fair and effective competition in

28 Feb 2002 : Column 1537W

the provision of the licensed service and services connected with them, and to comply with any direction, code or guideline issued by the ITC for this purpose.

Following consultation with Oftel (which has responsibilities where an EPG is an integral part of a conditional access system) and broadcasters, the ITC published a code in 1997 providing further guidance. Amongst other things, the code requires EPG providers not to discriminate between free-to-air and pay television services, to provide due prominence to public service channels, and to ensure that any agreement with other broadcasters is made on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

Oftel also have powers to regulate Conditional Access Systems for fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory access for third parties. This applies to the Sky EPG on the Dsat platform.

Grassroots Sports

Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding she has given to grassroots sports in each constituency since 1992; what the most recent annual figure is; and if she will make a statement on her plans for the future of the development of grassroots sports with particular reference to South-East Cornwall constituency. [38333]

Mr. Caborn: I am arranging for the figures for Sport England's Lottery Community Fund and Sportsmatch funding, broken down by constituency, since 1992 and in the last available financial year, to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It is not possible for Sport England to break down their exchequer funding distribution by constituency, and it is not possible for the Football Foundation to provide a breakdown of its funding by constituency. The Government's plans for the development of sport at all levels are set out in the documents XA Sporting Future For All" and XThe Government's Plan for Sport."

External Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with her Department (a) won new contracts at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) won new contracts after a period of inactivity with her Department in each of the past five years. [38760]

Mr. Caborn: All service contracts let by the Department were subsequently subjected to competitive tender and, in each case, awarded to different companies. No contracts have been re-won during the time that the Department has been in existence.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with (a) her Department and (b) executive agencies in each of the past five years. [38759]

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Mr. Caborn: The only contract outside the activities set out, is that for Facilities Management provision awarded to WSP Facilities Management, part of the WSP Group, in October 1999 for a period of five years. The Department has used the central framework contract with Capita for recruitment advisory services.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the 30 largest contacts awarded by her Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date, indicating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed. [38761]

Mr. Caborn: The full list of awarded contracts is as follows:

Company	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Schlumberger* Sema	*	0	0	ÿ1.5 million	ÿ1.5 million
PWC	Nil	Nil	Nil	83,000 (2)	96,000 (1)
KPMG	Nil	23,000 (1)	Nil	Nil	Nil
WSP FM	Nil	Nil	93,000	153,000	153,000
WS Atkins	Nil	55,000 (3)	33,000 (2)	Nil	Nil
Deloitte & Touche	109,000 (2)	207,000 (1)	Nil	Nil	Nil
Capita	Nil	39,000 (3)	Nil	Nil	26,000 **
Pitney Bowes Management Services	Nil	1.4 million over five years	Nil	Nil	Nil
First Security	Nil	1.5 million over five years	Nil	Nil	Nil

* XSchlumbergerSema have been the Department's outsourced IT service provider since 1993. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of fees annually from 1997–98 but the payment to SchlumbergerSema for direct services was of the order of ÿ1.5 million in 2000–01 and will be a similar figure in 2001–02. Expenditure in previous years will not have exceeded that amount.".

** Recruitment services utilising central government framework contract.

Includes Royal Parks Agency

Number of contacts in brackets

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