---

13 Jun 2003 : Column 1092W—continued

Higher Rate Taxpayers

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 194W, whether he has figures for (a) Brent and (b) Brent, North. [119210]

Dawn Primarolo: Reliable estimates are not available by parliamentary constituency.

Personal Debt

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average level of personal debt was in each of the last 10 years. [118685]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Jenkins, dated 13 June 2003:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on personal debt. I am replying in his absence. (118685).

The figures you requested are given below. These averages have been derived by dividing household sector financial liabilities by the number of adults (aged 16 and over).

The financial liabilities data used in the calculation include liabilities of non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) in addition to those of households. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined; separate estimates are not available.

13 Jun 2003 : Column 1093W

Average level of personal debt

Calendar year	£
1993	10,768
1994	11,248
1995	11,766
1996	12,215
1997	12,999
1998	13,796
1999	14,859
2000	16,102
2001	17,657
2002	19,737

Tax Credits

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to carry out an inquiry into the Inland Revenue's handling of applications for (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit. [116640]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 5 June 2003]: I would refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 53W, and to the further update I provided during the debate in Westminster Hall on 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 120WH.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of extending the baby element of the child tax credit payable in the first year so that parents of multiple birth children receive payments for each child. [117574]

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of extending child tax credit, so that parents receive a higher family element to reflect each child in a multiple birth, is estimated to be £5 million per year.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the time and duration of each occasion since 1 April 2003 when staff working on the public helpline desks have been unable to access the computer system for handling children's tax credit claims. [118035]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 9 June 2003]: The IT system supporting the new tax credits has not been working as well as we expected and there has been unscheduled down time as a result. The Inland Revenue are working urgently with their IT partners to improve the system's availability, speed and stability.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Lambeth Palace Library

Hugh Bayley: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 8 May 2003, Official Report, column 864W, on Lambeth Palace Library, whether the Commissioners' review of the arrangements for the housing and conservation of the documentary heritage of the Church will (a) take account of the documentary heritage held by York Minster Library and (b) seek to define the purposes and role of the collections of York

13 Jun 2003 : Column 1094W

Minster Library and how they complement those of Lambeth Palace Library and supplement those in the north of England. [118724]

Mr. Bell: The terms of reference of the Review are concerned with collections belonging to the national institutions of the Church of England and do not, therefore, extend to the cathedral libraries, which belong to the various Deans and Chapters.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

National Lottery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make the funding of sports and open space projects for community use a priority for unallocated Lottery funds. [118738]

Mr. Caborn: The 15 Lottery distributing bodies have, collectively, committed around £1 billion more to projects, than the overall balance held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund. The latest available figures for distributors' total commitments is over £4.2 billion, and for the total NLDF balance, under £3.2 billion.

Both sport and open space projects continue to be a priority for lottery funding. Sport currently receives 16 2/3 per cent. of all new Lottery income and they are guaranteed to get at least this until 2009. Furthermore, up to the end of the financial year 2002–03 sport had received over £2.22 billion as a result of the Lottery.

The New Opportunities Fund, under its environment remit, has already funded a number of open space projects and will continue to do so in the future. The HLF also funds open space projects.

New Opportunities Fund

Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been committed by the New Opportunities Fund under its environment programme in the financial year 2001–02. [119339]

Mr. Caborn: The New Opportunities fund committed £5,653,000 under its environment programme. This is a revision to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey) on 19 May 2003, Official Report, columns 540W-542W.

Sport England

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what discussions she has had with Sport England regarding the development of the High Performance Centre for Greater London at Pickets Lock; and if she will make a statement; [118686]

(2) what discussions she has had with Sport England regarding their re-prioritisation programme to better match their income to expenditure; what impact is expected on the development of the High Performance Centre for Greater London; and if she will make a statement; [118701]

(3) if she will make a statement on the feasibility study being undertaken by Sport England into the proposed High Performance Centre for Greater London. [118702]

13 Jun 2003 : Column 1095W

Mr. Caborn: Sport England has kept me and my officials fully informed of its review of its Lottery funded programmes. The Review is being carried out as part of the modernisation and restructuring programme that we have asked it to undertake and will ensure that all projects meet its new business strategy. I understand that its Council plan to consider all the projects under review at its meeting in July.

I have been kept fully informed by Sport England about the proposed High performance Centre at Pickets Lock including the decision by UK Athletics to select this site as its preferred location for its London Indoor 200m Centre.

The Lea Valley Regional Park Authority is undertaking a study into the feasibility of constructing and operating an indoor athletics centre at the Pickets Lock site. The study is being funded by the Authority, Sport England the Capital Modernisation Fund. Sport England, the Authority and UK Athletics are working closely together to facilitate the study which will form the basis of a Lottery application from the Authority should it consider the project viable.

Television Exports

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) value and (b) unit sales of UK television exports in (i) US, (ii) Canada, (iii) Germany, (iv) France, (v) Spain, (vi) Italy, (vii) Scandinavia, (viii) the rest of Western Europe, (ix) Eastern Europe, (x) Australia and New Zealand, (xi) Latin America, (xii) Asia and (xiii) elsewhere, broken down by type, in (A) 2000, (B) 2001 and (C) 2002. [118760]

Dr. Howells: This Department, in liaison with the British Television Distribution Association (BTDA), collate and publish annual statistical export data on behalf of the television industry. The following tables provide the information requested.

UK television export statistics 2000 vs 2001

	$ million
	2000	2001	Percentage
Sales by territory
USA	167	199	19.2
Canada	16	22	31.5
Germany	59	59	0.1
France	50	37	-25.7
Spain	28	22	-21.8
Italy	16	19	16.2
Scandinavia	29	29	0.1
Rest of Western Europe	43	38	-12.5
Eastern Europe	16	18	11.4
Australia/New Zealand	65	59	-9.0
Latin America	22	24	9.0
Asia	50	46	-9.6
Not elsewhere classified	55	53	-2.1
Total	617	624	1.2
Sales by type
Television	339	352	3.9
Videogram	41	54	30.5
Co-production	58	61	5.0
Format/Local production	23	35	51.4
Licensing/misc	149	118	-20.8
Commission on UK sales	7	4	-36.7
Total	617	624	1.2

13 Jun 2003 : Column 1096W

UK television export statistics 2001 vs 2002

	$ million
	2000	2001	Percentage
Sales by territory
USA	199	232	16.4
Canada	22	26	20.3
Germany	59	40	-32
France	37	36	-2.6
Spain	22	23	1.7
Italy	19	17	-8.9
Scandinavia	29	25	-14.8
Rest of Western Europe	38	69	82.3
Eastern Europe	18	18	2.3
Australia/New Zealand	59	65	8.8
Latin America	24	23	-5.8
Asia	46	55	21.1
Not elsewhere classified	53	38	-28.1
Total	624	666	6.6
Sales by type
Television	352	323	-8.2
Videogram	54	77	43.8
Co-production	61	79	29.3
Format/Local production	35	40	12.2
Licensing/misc	118	145	22.9
Commission on UK sales	4	2	-55.1
Total	624	666	6.6

Notes:

1. The BTDA represents over 30 of the UK's leading distributors, including all the major companies such as BBC Worldwide, Carlton International, Granada International, Channel 4 International, Minotaur and Fremantle International Distribution. In total the organisation represent more than 90 per cent. of all UK exports. The BTDA was relaunched in 1999 as a joint venture with producers' association PACT—with a key objective being the development of relationships between producers and distributors for the creation of improved programming for export.

2. Numbers have been rounded up or down to the nearest million.

---