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Maritime Safety

Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on departmental responsibility for the safety of (a) passengers, (b) employees of the operators of the pier and (c) employees of the operators of the ship while (i) embarking on and (ii) disembarking from a ship at a port in Scotland. [87513]

The Prime Minister: Health and safety and maritime matters are reserved to the UK Government. Ship operations are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport. Dock operations, which include the embarkation and disembarkation of passenger and crew, are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive, which is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Ministerial Code

Mr. Brady: To ask the Prime Minister what the minimum size of property portfolio is which is covered by the Ministerial Code. [87227]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of the Cabinet's letter of 11 December 2002 to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis), a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Poland

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent meeting with the Prime Minister of Poland. [87011]

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The Prime Minister: I discussed a wide range of issues, including the EU enlargement negotiations, when I met Leszek Miller in London on 26 November 2002. After our meeting, I announced that Polish nationals will be eligible to enter the UK as au pairs. The Government have since announced that we will extend to citizens of Poland, and the other EU member states, from their accession on 1 May 2004, the full rights to work in the UK as enjoyed by existing EU citizens, a subject that Leszek Miller raised with me.

Scottish Fishing Industry

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise the state of the Scottish fishing industry at the Copenhagen summit. [87130]

The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I gave in the House today.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Football Training Facilities

15. Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Football Association on its involvement in the provision of football training facilities. [85584]

Mr. Caborn: I have regular meetings with the Football Association to discuss the provision of grass roots training facilities through the Football Foundation. The Foundation benefits from Lottery funding from Sport England and the New Opportunities Fund. The provision of training facilities for professional players is the responsibility of the football authorities and individual clubs.

Museums

16. Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department gives to small local and regional museums. [85585]

Tessa Jowell: We will be providing #70 million for regional museums from this year until 2005–06.

Extra funding will also be made available to the national museums to enable them to work in partnership with regional museums. Additionally, there will be funds from the Department for Education and Skills to support museums' education.

27. Mr. Kelvin Hopkins : If she will take steps to increase funding of regional museums. [85596]

Tessa Jowell: We will be providing #70 million for regional museums fro this year until 2005–06.

Extra funding will also be made available to the national museums to enable them to work in partnership with regional museums. Additionally there will be funds from the Department for Education and Skills to support museums' education.

Olympic Games

17. Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will support the London bid for the 2012 Olympics. [85586]

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Tessa Jowell: The Government's decision on whether to support a bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games in London will be made early next year.

25. Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received regarding the possibility of bidding to hold the Olympic Games in London in 2012. [85594]

Tessa Jowell: Officials from my Department have held regular meetings during this year with the Greater London Authority, London Development Agency, the British Olympic Association, UK Sport and Sport England to discuss the implications of London bidding to host the 2012 Olympic Games. In addition, the relevant Government Departments have been involved in assessing the ARUP report on the Costs and Benefits of a 2012 London Olympic Bid.

I have met the Mayor of London and will continue to meet the British Olympic Association and other non-Government stakeholders to discuss the practicalities of such a bid.

Licensing Bill

18. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the costs to be incurred by churches in applying for licences to host live music performances at their venues as a result of the provisions in the Licensing Bill. [85587]

Dr. Howells: Costs incurred by churches under the licensing regime proposed in the Licensing Bill would depend on the licensable activities, if any, which are undertaken and their frequency. The Regulatory Impact Assessment, published at the same time as the Licensing Bill and placed in the Libraries of both Houses, estimates that an application for a premises licence under the new regime will cost between #100 and #500, with an annual charge of between #50 and #150.

21. Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on her plans to reform the public entertainment licence since the publication of the Licensing Bill. [85590]

Dr. Howells: My Department has received a number of representations from hon. and right hon. Members, members of the public, including musicians and Morris dancers, and from companies and organisations.

In addition, a large number of correspondents have written in support of the hon. Member's Early Day Motion 1182, the aims of which will be implemented by the Licensing Bill which is currently before Parliament.

23. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the costs that will be incurred by live music venues if they wish to continue hosting live music performances at their venues as a result of the provisions in the Licensing Bill. [85592]

Dr. Howells: Under the proposed new regime, the cost of a premises licence would remain the same whether it solely covered the sale of alcohol or included any number of additional licensable activities, such as the provision of live music. The estimated fees in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, published with the

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Licensing Bill, were between #100 and #500 for an application for a premises licence with a subsequent annual charge of between #50 and #150. Fees would be set centrally by the Secretary of State in secondary legislation.

BBC3

19. Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department will take to ensure that BBC3 does not dilute the quality of programmes on BBC1 and BBC2. [85588]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend's approval for BBC3 includes strong and wide-ranging conditions to ensure that the channel is distinctive and innovative. These include specific requirements that delivery of the BBC3 schedule must not be at the expense of programmes on BBC1 and 2 for the same age group, and that new programmes commissioned for BBC3 will be made available to enhance programming on BBC1 and BBC2.

Tourist Authorities

22. Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with relevant regional and sub-national organisations regarding the reorganisation of the tourist authorities for England. [85591]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Regional Development Agency Chairs on 27 June 2002 to discuss their new strategic role in tourism. We both met RDA and Regional Tourist Board representatives and the Local Government Tourism Executive at Tourism Fora in November 2001 and April 2002, and at the Hartwell House seminars in October 2001 and July 2002, in which reorganisation was discussed.

Communications Bill

24. Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the changes she has made to the draft Communications Bill as a consequence of pre-legislative scrutiny. [85593]

Tessa Jowell: As I explained at the Second Reading of the Communications Bill on 3 December 2002, Xwe accepted more than 120 of [the] 148 recommendations of the Joint Committee on the draft Communications Bill". For the detail of the changes made to the Bill as a result, I refer the hon. Member to Appendix 4 of the explanatory notes that were published alongside the Bill, as well as our response to the Committee.

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