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11 Sept 2003 : Column 421W—continued
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Museum Charging
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment has been undertaken of museum entry prices; what plans there are to make an assessment; and if she will make a statement. [128777]
Estelle Morris: Since 1 December 2001, all the principal museums and galleries sponsored by this Department have offered free admission to all. This has been a huge success. In 2002–03, the first full year of free access, our sponsored museums and galleries received over 32 million visits—over 8 million more than in 1997.
School Sports Coaches
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what plans there are to increase the number of qualified school sports coaches employed at a local level; [128707]
- (2) how many qualified school sports coaches were employed in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) England, in each year since 1997. [128708]
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Mr. Caborn: DCMS is investing £28 million to implement the key recommendations of the Coaching Task Force. These include the creation by 2006 of 3,000 qualified Community Sports Coaches, who will work in partnership at local level with schools, clubs and other local or regional organisations supporting sport. I expect the first phase of some 100 Community Sports Coaches to be operational during the current financial year.
The information requested about numbers of qualified school sports coaches could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
British Tourism
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has undertaken research into the potential effect of the tolls and charges proposed for using cars on British roads, on the British tourism industry. [128575]
Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has undertaken no such research. DCMS recognises that transport is a key issue for UK tourism and officials from DCMS and the Department for Transport are in regular contact on transport issues. The revenues raised from local authority congestion charging schemes must be reinvested into local transport improvements and can help deliver a quality transport system that will benefit all sectors of the economy, including tourism.
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the provisional numbers of domestic and overseas tourists in England this summer. [128890]
Mr. Caborn: The latest provisional figures for the number of domestic tourism trips including an overnight stay in England show that over the three months April to June 2003 there were 31.4 million trips 1 .
Figures for the number of overseas tourists visiting England are currently only available up to March 2003. 2 These figures show that over the three months January to March 2003 there were 4.3 million visits from overseas residents to England
- 1 All figures for domestic tourism trips are taken from the UK Tourism Survey which is run by VisitBritain. Figures for domestic trips in England up to September 2003 will be available from early January 2004.
- 2 All figures for overseas visits are taken from the International Passenger Survey which is run by the Office for National Statistics. Figures for overseas visits to England up to June 2003 will be available in October 2003, and data up to September 2003 will be available in January 2004.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has undertaken research into the effect of the congestion charge on tourism in London. [128576]
Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has undertaken no such research. Responsibility for tourism policy in London has been devolved to the Mayor and the London Assembly. Likewise, congestion charging is the responsibility of the Mayor. An initial three-month assessment of the scheme has been published by Transport for London. A six-month report is due to be published in October.
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HEALTH
Hepatitis C
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his latest estimate is of the incidence of hepatitis C among the prison population; [129137]
- (2) what his latest estimate is of the proportion of prisoners with chronic hepatitis C who are receiving treatment in accordance with National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines; [129138]
(3) what his latest estimate is of the incidence of hepatitis C among prisoners (a) on reception and (b) on discharge; [129139]
(4) what steps he has taken to estimate the incidence of hepatitis C amongst the prison population. [129140]
Dr. Ladyman: Prisoners are not routinely screened for hepatitis C. Individual prisoners often ask to be tested for evidence of chronic hepatitis C infection and this is done, after pre-test counselling. The Public Health Laboratory Service undertook an unlinked, anonymised survey of the prevalence of blood borne viruses among prisoners in England in 1997–98. This indicated that 9 per cent. of adult men, 11 per cent. of all women and 0.6 per cent. of young men had evidence of previous exposure to hepatitis C. No research has been undertaken on the prevalence of hepatitis C on reception and discharge.
Prisoners newly diagnosed with hepatitis C are referred to national health service specialists for further assessment and treatment, as clinically appropriate. People received into prison with hepatitis C will have any treatment begun in the community continued while they remain in prison. Information about the number of prisoners receiving treatment for hepatitis C and what form that treatment takes is not collated centrally.
Lincolnshire NHS Trust
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding Lincolnshire NHS Trust received from the Government in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [129285]
Dr. Ladyman: Total income for 2002–03 for the Lincolnshire Partnership National Health Service Trust, including income from activities and all other operating income was £63,190,000. Figures for 2003–04 are not available.
- Source:
- The audited summarisation schedules for the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust 2002–03.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Parliamentary Mail
David Winnick: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee what progress has been made with the internal audit on the possibility of resuming later collections of parliamentary mail. [129231]
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Sir Archy Kirkwood: The arrangements for the reinstatement of later collections have now been set out in a notice from the Serjeant at Arms and Black Rod to all users of the service:
- In response to representations from Members of both Houses, from 9 September 2003 there will be a 7pm final collection on sitting days from the 15 main post boxes (detailed below). This reinstatement of service has been negotiated with Royal Mail to enable Members' and departments' letters to be processed through the Royal Mail network ensuring that they are delivered the following day wherever possible.
- Central Lobby and Post Office Counter
- Members' Lobby and Post Office Counter
- Peers' Lobby
- Members' Entrance
- Peers' Entrance
- Star Chamber Court
- Ground Floor Portcullis House
- Ground Floor Millbank House
- Ground Floor 7 Millbank
- Ground Floor Parliament Street
- Ground Floor 1 The Abbey Garden
- Ground Floor 2 The Abbey Garden
- Ground Floor Norman Shaw North
- Ground Floor Norman Shaw South
- Ground Floor 7 Old Palace Yard
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Sittings of the House
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the estimated cost to public funds is of interrupting the maintenance and building work in the Palace of Westminster for the two week sitting of the House in September. [129031]
Sir Archy Kirkwood: The Serjeant at Arms is collating the costs associated with interruptions to the works projects in the Palace of Westminster for the September sitting period and will write to the right hon. Gentleman when the figures are available.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Biotechnology Industry
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the change in (a) turnover and (b) employment in the UK biotechnology industry within the duration of the farm-scale trials programme. [128699]
Jacqui Smith: In the agricultural biotechnology sector, the following statistics are available:
| December | Revenue (£ million) | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 160 | 1,147 |
| 2001 | 198 | 1,145 |
Note:
No other figures are available for earlier years.
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