| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
11 Mar 2003 : Column 176W—continued
Award Schemes
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the award schemes in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002 promoted by the Department; what their scope was; when the relevant participating organisations are scheduled to be sent results; and whether other parties will be given notification of the results at the same time. [102057]
Dr. Howells: The Department is represented on the awards panel which confirms and finalises the result of each application for the Artsmark award, which is awarded by the Arts Council of England. Artsmark is a national arts award for schools in England. It is a symbol of recognition for schools making a strong commitment to the full range of the arts—art and design, music, dance and drama. There is one round of awards per year.
Round three results will be announced at the end of May. Schools will be notified first, then results will be announced to the public.
The Beacon Council scheme is promoted largely by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, However the Department is involved in criteria setting and bid analysis when the theme of the award relates to the Department's areas.
The Beacon Council themes in which the Department has been involved are; 2001–02—Regeneration through Culture, Sport and Tourism and 2002–03—Libraries as a community resource.
BBC
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to extend National Audit Office scrutiny to the BBC. [101212]
Dr. Howells: The National Audit Office (NAO) already has access to the BBC to examine the value for money of the administration of the television licensing system and the BBC World Service. As indicated in the Government's response of 6 March 2003 to the Public Accounts Committee report "Collecting the Television Licence Fee", the coming review of the BBC's Charter provides the context in which to consider the case for extending NAO access to the BBC. As part of that review the Government will decide what should be the future role of the C&AG in relation to the Corporation.
British Library
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the income receipts of the British Library were in each year from 1990–91 to 2003–04 (planned), excluding grant in aid; and if she will make a statement. [99843]
Dr. Howells: The total income of the British Library, less any grant in aid received, but including all trading income, investment income, donations and sponsorship is shown in the table for the period 1990–91 to 2003–04. The figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are based on budgets and business plans.
11 Mar 2003 : Column 177W
| Financial year | Non GIA income (£000) |
|---|---|
| 1990–91 | 24,311 |
| 1991–92 | 29,532 |
| 1992–93 | 27,105 |
| 1993–94 | 30,498 |
| 1994–95 | 32,722 |
| 1995–96 | 35,753 |
| 1996–97 | 32,459 |
| 1997–98 | 35,025 |
| 1998–99 | 40,009 |
| 1999–2000 | 33,867 |
| 2000–01 | *27,997 |
| 2001–02 | 32,283 |
| 2002–03 | 31,041 |
| 2003–04 | 31,263 |
* The figure for 2000–01 shows a dip in relation to the medium term trend. We are advised by the British Library that this is largely attributable to a change in accounting which resulted in payments for services used at the beginning of 2000–01 being attributed to1999–2000.
Community Fund/New Opportunities Fund
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to consult with the voluntary sector concerning the proposed merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund; whether the consultation period on the merger will be 12 weeks in accordance with the compact; and if she will make a statement. [101949]
Mr. Caborn: The business case for a merger between the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund is strong, but we shall consult further with the voluntary sector and other interested parties before determining the nature of the new body. Proposals emerging from these discussions will be included in a White Paper later this year, which would provide a 12-week consultation period, in accordance with the compact.
English Heritage
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many properties have been compulsorily purchased by English Heritage in each year since 1999. [101826]
Dr. Howells: English Heritage has not compulsory purchased any properties since 1999. It served a compulsory purchase order in that year, in respect of a property in the City of Westminster, but the owner commenced repair work and the order was put in abeyance. English Heritage has not served a compulsory purchase order since then.
Free Television Licences
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the annual cost of providing free television licences for retired people over the ages of (a) 70 years and (b) 65 years. [101811]
Dr. Howells: The estimated cost of providing free television licences for every household with a member aged 70 years or over is £200 million a year, while providing free television licences for every household with a member aged 65 years or over would cost an
11 Mar 2003 : Column 178W
estimated £410 million a year. These costs are additional to the provision of free television licences for people aged 75 and over.
Hyde Park
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what costs were incurred in the clearing and restoration of Hyde Park following the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations. [99944]
Dr. Howells: The cost of cleaning up amounted to £6,000 and the cost of reinstatement was £5,000 (both figures exclusive of VAT).
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what costs were incurred in the clearing and restoration of Hyde Park following the Stop the War rally on 15 February. [99942]
Dr. Howells: The cost of cleaning up after the demonstration amounted to £10,000 and the cost of reinstatement is estimated at £140,000 (both figures exclusive of VAT).
Listed Buildings
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) Grade I and (b) Grade II listed buildings there are in (i) Northamptonshire and (ii) the Borough of Northampton; and what public funds, with particular reference to Lottery funds, have been spent on them in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [100804]
Dr. Howells: There are 191 Grade I, 356 Grade II* and 5,833 Grade II listed buildings in Northamptonshire, and 14 Grade I, 23 Grade II* and 390 Grade II listed buildings in the Borough of Northampton. English Heritage funding made available over the past five years is listed as follows:
| Amount in £ | |
|---|---|
| Financial year | |
| 1997–98 | 212,399 |
| 1998–99 | 51,817 |
| 1999–2000 | 104,896 |
| 2000–01 | 68,236 |
| 2001–02 | 19,826 |
| Year | |
| 1997 | 212,399 |
| 1998 | 49,175 |
| 1999 | 45,792 |
| 2000 | 123,536 |
| 2001 | 25,272 |
The information on Lottery funding is not immediately available. It is being put together now. I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available.
Overseas Trips
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list each of the overseas trips made by herself and other members of her ministerial team in 2002; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost of each trip was. [101846]
11 Mar 2003 : Column 179W
Dr. Howells : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.
Tourism
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to promote (a) tourist attractions and (b) resorts outside London. [101421]
Dr. Howells: The British Tourist Authority has a target in its Funding Agreement with my Department to promote a regional spread of overseas visitors to the UK. The Department also contributes funding (£250,000 in 2002–03) to the Greater London Authority to help support its statutory duty of promoting London as a Gateway to the rest of the UK.
As part of the Government's tourism reform programme the new national tourism organisation will be launched on 1 April 2003 with a remit that will include domestic marketing. Also, the Regional Development Agencies in England will from 1 April play a stronger part in the strategic leadership of tourism, and this will help stimulate awareness of the importance of maintaining high quality amenities and services across the country, including traditional resorts. Local Authorities, working with tourist attractions, also play an important role in attracting visitors.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to increase the numbers of visitors to the UK from (a) EU countries and (b) non-EU countries. [101422]
Dr. Howells: The British Tourism Authority (BTA) is responsible for promoting Britain overseas. It has offices around the world which undertake a full range of promotional activities in 27 countries, including EU and non-EU countries. Its activities include advertising, marketing, direct mail, new media, travel trade liaison, press and public relations work, to increase the number of visitors to Britain.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total Government expenditure on the promotion of tourism in the UK to visitors from overseas was in 2002. [101423]
Dr. Howells: In 2002–03, the total amount of funding for tourism promotion overseas was £57.4 million. DCMS allocated the British Tourist Authority £35.5 million in baseline grant in aid for the promotion of Britain overseas as a tourist destination. An additional £20 million was allocated to help tourism to recover from the impact of foot and mouth disease and 11 September. A further £1.9 million was allocated to the Greater London Authority for the promotion of the capital as a tourist destination and as a gateway to the rest of the UK.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what targets are identified under the current grant in aid funding agreement with the English Tourism Council. [101424]
11 Mar 2003 : Column 180W
Dr. Howells: Funding agreement targets agreed between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the English Tourism Council (ETC) are included in the ETC's recent annual report, which was laid before Parliament and is available in the Libraries of both Houses.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |