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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Heritage Lottery Funding

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Heritage Lottery funding

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has been awarded to each Lancashire district in each of the last five years. [150410]

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Estelle Morris: Figures by district are not available. The following is the information by local authority:

	Financial year					Total for the last five
Local authority	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	financial years
Burnley	11,550	1,119,000	99,300		64,657	1,294,507
Chorley	221,450	—	28,500	926,600	43,662	1,220,212
Fylde	—	—	329,000	100,000	36,000	465,000
Hynburn	—	221,500	—	24,000	—	245,500
Lancaster	—	153,400	329,000	1,746,500	60,630	2,289,530
Pendle	47300	250,000	50,000	—	996,000	1,343,300
Preston	90000	103,548	149,800	2,070,500	485,690	2,899,538
Kibble Valley	—	156,000	77,200	15,400	—	248,600
Rossendale	248,500	—	—	—	165,000	413,500
West Lancashire	—	—	—	—	972,500	972,500
Wyre	28,300	—	144,600	—	—	172,900

Information Technology

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what audit mechanisms are in place to determine whether information technology (a) hardware and (b) software products are being used properly in her Department. [150937]

Mr. Caborn: The Department has a range of auditing and monitoring systems in place to ensure that hardware and software are used in accordance with the Department's policies. We have inventory management systems in place for both hardware and software and a metering system monitors all software use. The Department is a corporate member of FAST, the Federation Against Software Theft.

All internet access is logged along with all e-mail. Systems are configured such only authorised software may be installed. All staff sign the Department's Acceptable Use Policy before being allowed access to the Department's IT systems and resign it on an annual basis thereafter. Our procedures are audited both by the Department's own internal audit function and by independent external auditors on a regular basis.

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what cost savings have been made in her Department since the introduction of the Information Technology Procurement Centre of Excellence; and how these were calculated. [151053]

Mr. Caborn: The Department has established a Centre of Excellence and is working with its sponsored bodies to ensure that IT procurement is effectively managed. It is too early at present to identify any savings that have accrued.

Royal Family

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the contribution to the economy in terms of revenue from tourism generated by the Royal Family in each of the last three years. [150200]

Mr. Caborn: We have no rigorous basis on which to estimate the contribution to the economy in terms of revenue from tourism generated by the Royal Family, but that contribution is certainly substantial.

Significant recent events include the Golden Jubilee in 2002, which proved to be a big draw for visitors from around the world, and the Royal Tourism Day in June 2003.

In addition to such contributions, some of Britain's most popular attractions are directly associated with the Royal Family, including Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and most recently Clarence House. The Palace and the Tower of London are named more than any other attractions by overseas visitors to London, with about a third of them planning to visit them. The biggest free attraction is the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace which is a 'must see' on most visitors' itineraries.

Royal Parks Constabulary

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to brief employees of the Royal Parks Constabulary about the details of its proposed merger with the Metropolitan police and the implications for their terms and conditions. [150290]

Mr. Caborn: The Government have been unable to find the parliamentary time to bring forward legislation to merge the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) during the current parliamentary session. It remains our intention to do so at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime we are working closely with the MPS and have provided extra funding to establish from 1 April an MPS Operational Command Unit within the Parks to work alongside the RPC to ensure the Parks continue to be policed effectively. The Chief Executive of The Royal Parks wrote to all RPC staff on 16 January to bring them up-to-date with these plans.

Stonehenge (Parker Plan)

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions (a) her Department and (b) English Heritage have had with the proposers of the Parker Plan for road construction near Stonehenge. [149882]

Estelle Morris [holding answer 26 January 2004]: None. In accordance with paragraph 19(1) and (2) of Schedule 1 to the Highways Act 1980, the Highways

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Agency on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport published a notice directing that anyone who intended to submit an alternative route to the draft Orders for the A303 Trunk Road (Stonehenge Improvement) should do so by 19 December 2003. An alternative, locally known at the 'Parker Plan or Parker Route', has been received and will be considered before an independent inspector at the public inquiry.

UK Sport

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the recent decisions made by UK Sport concerning (a) the departure of leading officials in sports administration and (b) sports funding. [150641]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 26 January 2004]: UK Sport recently made the following announcements:

(a) Richard Callicott has stood down as Chief Executive. Liz Nicholl was appointed in his place, with effect from December 2003.

(b) UK Sport recently announced changes in its sport funding arrangements. 10 sports have been agreed across the Sports Councils as being of UK wide significance from participation through to success.

The aim is to support the 10 sports in the development of a One Plan, providing more effective linkages between their UK and home country governing bodies.

This approach will provide sports with a simplified funding process and help foster improved co-ordination, communication and consultation between UK and home country governing bodies and their partners.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Pensions

Mr. Chope: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will take action to ensure that payments of civil service pensions by Capita Hartshead to retired civil servants resident in France enjoy the same rate of exchange as payments of the state pension; and if he will make a statement. [150877]

Mr. Alexander: The rate of exchange for payments in overseas currency is determined by the UK banks responsible for the conversion. The rates offered on any one day may vary from bank to bank, and within each bank depending on the terms and conditions applicable to each customer. However, in view of the relative volume of payments to state pensioners resident overseas, it is unlikely that any bank would offer exactly the same terms and conditions to an occupational pension scheme as those agreed for the state scheme.

The bank responsible for converting overseas payments for occupational pension schemes administered by Capita Hartshead regularly monitors its rates against those offered by competitors, including those responsible for converting payments for other occupational pension schemes, to ensure it offers a competitive service.

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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Angola

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the Government of Angola about ensuring (a) greater transparency in the management of oil revenues and (b) that oil revenues are focused on social programmes in that country. [150111]

Hilary Benn: The UK Government are active in promoting greater transparency in oil revenue management in Angola, including through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative launched by the Prime Minister at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. We are currently in discussions with the Angolan Ministry of Finance on providing technical support so that Angola can develop and adopt legislation to implement the Initiative.

The UK is also supporting the World Bank's programme to promote greater transparency in the Angolan oil industry. Specifically, DFID is funding an oil expert to take part in the Bank's Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review (PEMFAR). The results of this review should help clarify financial relationships between the Government, the Central Bank and the state oil company Sonangol. It will also make recommendations on how Angola can adopt transparent, internationally accepted practices in oil revenue management. Finally, the UK is demonstrating its commitment to strengthening Angolan civil society by supporting a coalition of national NGOs active in advocating on transparency issues including oil revenue management.

Greater fiscal transparency in Angola is only one element in ensuring that more public resources are spent on reducing poverty. With this in mind, DFID funded an economist to help prepare Angola's first ever three-year macro-economic framework which has since been incorporated into the recently published Angolan draft Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The macro-economic framework income is assisting the Government to plan spending increases in the social sectors.

The UK will continue to work with the Government and people of Angola to ensure that greater transparency in oil revenue management is converted into tangible programmes for poverty reduction.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Angolan refugees in Zambia he estimates will reject the voluntary repatriation programme; and what assessment he has made of the impact this will have on (a) the humanitarian requirements in Zambia and (b) the humanitarian requirements in Angola. [150108]

Hilary Benn: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that at 30 November 2003 there were a total of 167,184 Angolan refugees in Zambia.

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Under their voluntary repatriation programme, UNHCR estimate that 20,000 Angolans refugees would be repatriated in 2003 and 40,000 in 2004. It is too early to predict how many will reject the voluntary repatriation programme. This will become clearer during the course of 2004, and in the light of UNHCR's discussions with the Government of Zambia over the rights of Angolans to remain in Zambia legally.

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