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11 Mar 2004 : Column 1636W—continued
Uzbekistan
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects his Department is funding in Uzbekistan. [159844]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID is currently assisting the Government of Uzbekistan and the World Bank in the design of a new health care reform project; providing organisational capacity-building support to civil society organisations; and providing financial support to small local projects through a small grants scheme. Uzbekistan will also be included in a Central Asia region HIV/AIDS project starting in September this year.
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Additionally, the UK provides assistance to Uzbekistan through the EU programme of Technical Assistance to the Countries of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia (TACIS). In calendar year 2002 (the most recent year figures are available) the UK's attributed contribution was £0.96 million.
SCOTLAND
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days on average his Department took in Session 2002–03 to give a substantive answer to a parliamentary question for ordinary written answer; and what the greatest number of days taken to answer such a question was. [155931]
Mrs. McGuire: While records on average processing times for parliamentary questions are not collected, the Department answered approximately 70 per cent. of its Session 2002–03 ordinary written questions on time (five sitting days). Ministers attach great importance to Parliamentary Questions and endeavour to reply within the parliamentary deadlines wherever possible.
Westminster Hall
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to reply in person to debates in Westminster Hall. [159682]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
New Opportunities Fund (Crosby)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Crosby in each year since 1997. [160450]
Estelle Morris: The New Opportunities Fund began making grants in 1999. The awards to Crosby are shown in the table.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 0 |
| 2000 | 900,513 |
| 2001 | 155,946 |
| 2002 | 69,425 |
| 2003 | 610,475 |
| To February 2004 | 0 |
Television Licences
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of BBC licence revenue is derived from notional payments from persons aged over 75 years. [160682]
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Estelle Morris: In the financial year 2002–03, 14 per cent. of the BBC's television licence fee revenue was derived from payments from the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of free licences issued to people aged 75 or over.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many TV licences were (a) issued and (b) paid for in each of the last six years; and what the unit cost of the collection process was in each of those years. [159690]
Estelle Morris: All television licences have to be paid for, whether by the individual or, in the case of free licences issued to people aged 75 or over, by the Department for Work and Pensions. The total number of licences issued in each of the last six years, the number of free licences issued in each year since their introduction in November 2000 and the gross cost of issue per licence were:
| Total licences issued (million) | Free licences issued (million) | Gross cost per licence (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 22.4 | — | 4.88 |
| 1998–99 | 23.0 | — | 5.79 |
| 1999–2000 | 23.2 | — | 4.91 |
| 2000–01 | 23.5 | 3.0 | 5.61 |
| 2001–02 | 23.9 | 3.2 | (1)3.99 |
| 2002–03 | 24.4 | 3.3 | 6.00 |
(1) Licence fee collection costs were significantly reduced in 2001–02 by a rebate from Consignia for non-performance of contractual obligations.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the cost is of the National Television Licensing Authority's Get One or Get Done advertising campaign; who pays for it; which advertising agency is responsible for the campaign; and if she will ask the authority to sever its connection with this agency forthwith; [158578]
- (2) who in the National Television Licensing Authority is responsible for its Get One or Get Done campaign; and if she will make representations to the authority for the dismissal of the person or persons responsible; [158579]
(3) what connection the BBC has with the National Television Licensing Authority's Get One or Get Done campaign. [158580]
Tessa Jowell: As Licensing Authority, the BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system. TV Licensing's marketing and communications are carried out by the AMV Consortium under contract to the BBC.
The BBC has indicated that it does not publicise the costs of individual advertising campaigns, for reasons of commercial sensitivity. However, the corporation has confirmed that all such campaigns undergo a series of legal compliance checks before they are approved by the corporation.
The Government have no power to intervene in the everyday management of the television licensing system nor would it be appropriate for it to seek to influence the BBC's choice of contractors, staff or advertising campaigns.
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Television Programme Guidelines
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what procedures are applicable to a company bound by the Independent Television guidelines on the amount of (a) political and (b) current affairs coverage that fails to meet its requirements; [160128]
- (2) how many complaints she has received concerning failures of companies bound by the Independent Television guidelines to meet the appropriate level of (a) political and (b) current affairs coverage. [160129]
Estelle Morris: These are matters for Ofcom.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Clerk's Department
David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many full-time appointments there have been to the Clerk's Department in the last five years; and how many were (a) female and (b) of an ethnic minority. [160417]
Sir Archy Kirkwood: There have been 155 full-time appointments to the Clerk's Department in the five year period up to 10 March 2004, of whom 86 were female (55.5 per cent.). 13 of the 155 have since left the Clerk's Department (six of whom were female). Of the 142 appointees still employed, 80 are female (56.3 per cent.).
House of Commons staff are currently in the process of completing and returning revised ethnicity survey questionnaires. Of the 142 current staff who started within the last five years, approximately half have so far returned their questionnaires. Of these, 5.3 per cent. are from an ethnic minority background. If this proportion holds good for all the staff in this group, approximately eight of them will be from an ethnic minority background.
TRANSPORT
British Transport Police Numbers
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport police officers were based in each British Transport police force area in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04. [160648]
Mr. McNulty: The British Transport police have provided the following information.
(2) Midland and South Western Areas were merged to form Western Area in 2003–04.
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Council Tax (DVLA)
Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency supplies local authorities with the vehicle registration numbers of people who are in arrears with their council tax payments. [160635]
Mr. Jamieson: The DVLA vehicle register is maintained primarily for vehicle taxation and law enforcement purposes and DVLA is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 to carry out those duties.
The vehicle register is not an open record but information may be released in a number of circumstances. Section 29 (3) of the Data Protection Act exempts from its non-disclosure provisions information required for the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature. Under this exemption, local authorities apply to DVLA for keeper details to trace council tax debtors through the registration numbers of their vehicles.
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