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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Television

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress is being made on the Digital Television Action Plan. [108677]

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Dr. Howells: The Digital Television Action Plan is updated regularly. I am arranging for copies of the current version of the Action Plan to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Action Plan is available on the website: www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk

Entertainment Licensing

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 22W, on entertainment licensing, whether the charge made to cover costs can include the costs of the entertainer; and if she will make a statement. [108939]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 11 April 2003]: Under the Bill, entertainment which the public or members of a qualifying club did not attend would not be licensable if a charge was made with the intention of only covering costs, which may include the costs of the entertainer.

European Capital of Culture

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of Birmingham's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture. [108182]

Mr. Caborn: We have appointed an Independent Advisory Panel to assess all the bids. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will wait for the panel's final report and recommendation before reaching any conclusions about any of the six shortlisted bids.

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received in support of Birmingham's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture. [108183]

Mr. Caborn: We have received many representations in support of Birmingham being designated European Capital of Culture, from both people in Birmingham and from elsewhere in the West Midlands.

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to visit Birmingham to discuss the city's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture. [108184]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to visit Birmingham or any of the other shortlisted cities to discuss their bids to be designated European Capital of Culture. However she may visit on other business and in order to present a certificate to mark their designation as a Centre of Culture.

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the independent expert panel who will judge Birmingham's bid to be designated European Capital of Culture. [108187]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met the Chair and members of the Independent Advisory Panel on 26 March to discuss with them the progress of the competition and their approach to the assessment of the six shortlisted bids.

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European Working Groups

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which her Department is responsible. [105743]

Mr. Caborn: The position on transparency with regard to the European Economic Area working groups on which the Department is represented is as follows:

Cultural Affairs Committee

Audio Visual Working Group

Meetings are not open to the public, and papers are variously classified. Those with no restriction are put immediately on the Council website (http://europa.eu.int/pol/av/index en.htm); others have a restricted circulation while proposals are under negotiation.

Television Without Frontiers Directive (Article 23(A)) Contact Committee

Proceedings are restricted to the member states, and papers are generally available after one year. Decisions on availability are for the Contact Committee.

Working Group on Cultural Statistics

Working Group on Audiovisual Statistics

Working Group on the Collection of Statistical Information in the field of Tourism

At the end of 2002, the Eurostat management board decided in principle that summary minutes of all Eurostat working groups should be published on the website (http: //europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat). Plans are in hand to do this.

Exhibitions

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list events at which her Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which her Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition. [107628]

Dr. Howells: This information is not held centrally and it would not be possible to provide it without incurring disproportionate cost.

Information Technology

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's (a) total managed expenditure (b) total spending on information technology and (c) spending on information technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure was in each financial year since 1997–98. [107187]

Dr. Howells: The figures for total managed expenditure and spend on information technology are as follows.

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£ million

1997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–02
Total managed expenditure4,1874,9495,5905,4865,766
IT expenditure1.811.963.332.9
IT expenditure as percentage0.04%0.04%0.06%0.05%0.05%

The figure for information technology expenditure only covers departmental IT systems and services. It does not include expenditure on IT or IT projects that the Department's sponsored bodies may have undertaken.

National Insurance

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost will be to public funds in 2003–04 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of her Department. [107908]

Dr. Howells: It is estimated that the changes to employers' national insurance contributions announced in last year's Budget will increase pay costs on average by 0.7 per cent. next year.

National Lottery

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the difference in annual lottery funding between (a) that received by the Birmingham, Erdington constituency and (b) the average amount awarded per constituency; and what steps she is taking to address this difference. [108333]

Mr. Caborn: According to the National Lottery database which is based on information provided by distributors, the Birmingham, Erdington constituency has received £14.65 per head compared with a national median of £102.05. The sum of awards to a particular constituency does not reflect the wider benefits such areas may receive from national, regional and local authority wide awards. We have none the less encouraged distributors to work closely with hon. Members from constituencies which appear to have done less well to encourage greater levels of applications from such areas.

Pension Schemes

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which her Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if she will make a statement. [104917]

Dr. Howells: The pension arrangements for the Royal Parks Agency and the non-departmental public bodies for which the Department is responsible are as follows:

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Details of the last actuarial valuation of the PCSPS can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office. The Department does not hold centrally data about the various funded scheme arrangements of its non-departmental public bodies. Further information is available in the annual accounts of each organisation which are placed in the Libraries of the House.

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