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3 Mar 2004 : Column 966W—continued

National Lottery

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on her plans to make the distribution of National Lottery funds more responsive to public opinion. [157785]

Tessa Jowell: The Government made a commitment in the National Lottery Funding Decision Document to increase the public's involvement in decisions on Lottery spending. The new merged distributor will pioneer new ways to achieve this. In preparation, the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund are already beginning to look at new ideas for consulting local people about particular local decisions. Other options on involving the public are being explored, including some of those set out in the decision document. Lottery distributors are also working together to identify best practice and to develop options for increasing public involvement in decisions about Lottery funding themes and local Lottery spending.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Heritage Lottery funding was given to each of the principal seaside towns in England and Wales from (a) the inception of the Lottery to 1997 and (b) 1997 to date, listed in descending order. [156039]

Estelle Morris: The amount of Heritage Lottery Funding that was given to each of the principal seaside towns in England and Wales from (a) the inception of the Lottery to, 1997 and (b) 1997 to date, listed in descending order was:

	£
	(a) Inception—31 December 1996
Brighton	1,218,650
Folkestone and Hythe	116,000
Thanet	183,000
Blackpool	97,500
Weston-Super-Mare	71,500
Conwy	60,000
Isle of Wight	57,000
Southport	34,000
Hastings and Bexhill	7,200
Bournemouth	—
Eastbourne	—
Lowestoft	—
Southend-on-Sea	—
Torbay	—
Whitstable and Herne Bay	—
Worthing	—
(b) 1 January 1997 to date
Brighton	13,130,219
Hastings and Bexhill	6,920,138
Conwy	6,765,877
Southport	5,538,238
Thanet	5,054,713
Isle of Wight	5,149,466
Folkestone and Hythe	5,412,968
Bournemouth	3,407,225
Weston-Super-Mare	1,954,475
Whitstable and Herne Bay	1,707,311
Southend-on-Sea	1,694,929
Torbay	939,100
Lowestoft	775,547
Blackpool	745,800
Eastbourne	435,650
Worthing	2,062,145

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Parthenon Sculptures

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received from the Greek Government regarding the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures. [157777]

Estelle Morris: Representations made to Government from the Greek Government have focused primarily on reuniting the Parthenon Sculptures in the planned new Acropolis Museum in Athens on a long term basis.

In giving evidence before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in June 2000, the Greek Government emphasised that their current case rested on the proposal for a change in location of the Sculptures, rather than ownership issues.

In October 2002, the Prime Minister of Greece presented the Prime Minister with a copy of a proposal for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Greece which suggested that the restitution of the Marbles be carried out in the form of a long-term loan from the British Museum to the new Acropolis Museum, "bypassing the issue of ownership".

The Government have stated that they consider the Parthenon Sculptures to be a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum who are independent of Government.

Satellite Television

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with service providers on access to free-to-view, commercial terrestrial channels, via satellite; and if she will make a statement. [157776]

Estelle Morris: Until May last year, the BBC paid for "solus" viewing cards enabling customers who did not wish to pay a subscription to receive the public service broadcasting channels by satellite. However, following the move of its broadcast services to a new satellite, all of the BBC's digital channels are now available via satellite without the need for a viewing card. It has therefore stopped paying for the provision of solus cards.

Following representations from the Government last year, an agreement was reached between the other main broadcasters and BSkyB to ensure that existing solus card viewers could continue receiving the other public service channels after their current cards expired in 2003. Viewers were able to purchase a new card, valid until at least 31 December 2005, for a one-off fee of £20+VAT. This offer was extended until 31 January 2004.

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We understand that the broadcasters have no current plans to provide solus cards to new satellite customers. However, the Government remains committed to ensuring that analogue terrestrial broadcasting signals are maintained until everyone who can currently get the main public service broadcasting channels (BBC1 and 2, ITV1, Channel 4/S4C and Five) can receive them free-to-view via at least one of the digital platforms.

Television Licence (Pensioners)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will fund free television licences for pensioners. [157689]

Estelle Morris: The Government have already introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over but have no plans to extend this concession to all pensioners. However, the arrangements for funding the BBC after the expiry of the Corporation's current Royal Charter at the end of 2006 are due to be considered as part of the Charter review process. The review will include a detailed examination of the concessionary arrangements.

SCOTLAND

Public Transport

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures have been introduced to encourage use of public transport by the disabled. [155423]

Mrs. McGuire: The specific issues in relation to public transport in Scotland are devolved and a matter for the Scottish Executive. Nicol Stephen., MSP, is the Scottish Executive Minister with responsibility for transport.

I understand, however, that the Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that public transport is accessible to people with disabilities.

Supreme Court

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the appropriate number of Scottish members of the new Supreme Court. [156769]

Mrs. McGuire: The consultation on the Supreme Court was undertaken by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Responses from Scottish organisations went directly to them. My right hon. Friend has not received any representations on the number of Scottish members of the new Supreme Court.

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NORTHERN IRELAND

Cardiology Services

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what benefits derive from local hospitals providing nurse-led cardiac care services. [157339]

Angela Smith: All cardiac care inpatient services in local hospitals are consultant led. Cardiology nurses involved in the provision of cardiac services deliver essential elements of the patients' care, such as lifestyle advice in the case of cardiac rehabilitation. Their skills and knowledge allow for a more holistic approach to the care of patients.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the cost of local hospitals providing a mobile coronary care service involving (a) a senior house officer and (b) nurses only. [157340]

Angela Smith: A number of different models currently exist for mobile coronary care units. Some are led by junior doctors, some by nurses and others by paramedics. Models of service delivery need to be flexible enough to respond to local needs including geography, demographics and existing service provision. Different types of vehicle are used and different grades of staff are involved, even within one discipline such as nursing. There is no average cost or typical unit. Any estimate of costs for a generic model therefore, whether led by doctors or nurses, would not be meaningful.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what actions doctors can take as part of a mobile coronary care service that cardiology nurses are unable to offer. [157381]

Angela Smith: Mobile coronary care units are staffed by cardiology nurses and/or junior doctors. There is no difference in the procedures that can be undertaken by a doctor and a nurse when involved in a call-out.

During call-outs the coronary care team has access to a telemedicine link with their base hospital, which allows them to obtain the opinion of a senior cardiac doctor if the need arises.

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