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Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the date of the most recent annual general meeting of each non-departmental public body held in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. [188811]

Ruth Kelly: Cabinet Office guidelines state that non-departmental public bodies should hold Annual Open Meetings where practical and appropriate. The Cabinet Office does not hold lists of the dates of such meetings.

The annual publication 'Public Bodies' indicates which NDPBs hold public meetings. Copies of 'Public Bodies' are available in the Library.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Community Legal Service

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many Community Legal Service franchises have been granted in Wales to firms undertaking (a) criminal work and (b) family work; and if he will make a statement. [188977]

Mr. Lammy: There are currently 212 solicitors' offices in Wales which hold either a full or temporary Specialist Quality Mark for Crime and a General Criminal
 
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Contract with the Legal Services Commission to provide legal advice and representation to people accused of or charged with a crime.

There are currently 286 solicitors' offices in Wales which hold contracts in the family category of law.

Welsh Language

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Department has adopted a Welsh language policy. [189085]

Mr. Lammy: My Department is committed to meeting the requirements of the Welsh Language Act. The Court Service, the Magistrates Court Committees in Wales and the Office of the Information Commissioner have schemes in place approved by the Welsh Language Board. The Legal Services Commission is in the process of finalising their draft scheme.

Documents produced by my Department are already published in Welsh, as well English whenever there is a clear need to do so.

After extensive discussion between the former LCD (and then the DCA) and the Welsh Language Board a draft Welsh Language Scheme for the remainder of the DCA was sent to the Board in September 2003 for final approval. The Board replied to my officials last December raising a number of new and unexpected issues.

A resolution to these issues was reached with the Board in August 2004, and my staff are currently making a few minor amendments to our draft scheme. I hope that we can now move forward to approval of the final scheme very soon.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding has been allocated for the 2012 Olympic bid. [189052]

Tessa Jowell: As stated in the Command Paper Cm 5867 laid before the House in June 2003, the Mayor and I agreed that DCMS and the London Development Agency should contribute to the costs of the bid organisation and associated planning in equal shares to a combined limit of £30 million.

Academic Consultation

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times her Department has consulted members of the academic community with regard to (a) physical activity, (b) gambling and (c) alcohol since January; and if she will make a statement. [188749]

Mr. Caborn: The Department has consulted members of the academic community formally and informally on about 100 occasions so far this year in respect of gambling. There have been no consultations on either physical activity or alcohol since January.
 
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Betting

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to undertake a review of fixed odd betting terminals; and if she will make a statement. [188857]

Mr. Caborn: I expect to see in November 2004 the report of the independent research on the usage of fixed odds betting machines, which was commissioned by the Association of British Bookmakers at my request. We shall be including provision in our proposed Gambling Bill for the statutory regulation of these and other machines which do not fall within the definition of gaming machines in the current law, but which nevertheless have all the essential characteristics of gaming machines.

Departmental Paper Sources

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what procedures are in place to ensure that paper and card products used by her Department originate from a sustainable source; and if she will make a statement. [189300]

Mr. Caborn: The Department takes seriously the commitment to sustainable procurement in respect of the supply of all goods and services. Contracts for the supply of paper and card products specify that content must be at least eighty percent recycled where the product allows. In respect of A4 copier paper only one hundred percent recycled paper is purchased. The onus is upon the supplier to show compliance.

Departmental Recycling

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the latest available 12 month figures are for the proportion of the Department's redundant documentation, waste paper and card that is recycled; and if she will make a statement on the Department's recycling policy. [188697]

Mr. Caborn: 100 per cent. of Confidential Waste is shredded and recycled. Other recyclable office paper is separated from general waste by providing staff with two waste bins and is all recycled. 80 per cent. of all card is also recycled, only high gloss card being excluded. It is the policy of the Department to recycle or compost all usable waste. In procurement the Department seeks to limit the amount of packaging in which goods are delivered, thereby reducing the amount waste to be disposed of.

Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects digital terrestrial broadcasting to be available in Pendle; and if she will make a statement. [188567]

Estelle Morris: Ofcom do not hold data on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) coverage in individual constituencies. However, according to Ofcom, DTT services are available to those constituents that receive their television signals from the Winter Hill or Pendle Forest transmitters. This includes viewers in Nelson, Barrowford, Brierfield and most of Colne.
 
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At present around 73 per cent. of UK households can access DTT services, but the Government are committed to ensuring that at Switchover everyone who can currently get the main public service broadcasting channels in analogue form (BBC 1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4/S4C and Channel 5) can receive them on digital systems.

Much progress has been made in the discussions between the Government, Ofcom and the Public Service Broadcasters and while the broadcasters have not reached a full consensus on the optimum timetable, some—including the BBC—have suggested that 2012 may be the most appropriate date for the completion of Switchover.

Historic Buildings

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications to build on sites of Scheduled Ancient Monuments have been approved in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [188774]

Mr. Caborn: Scheduled monument consents that are granted by the Department are not recorded by the types of works that are to be undertaken on them. Therefore this information is unavailable.

English Heritage inspectors take into careful consideration any works to scheduled monuments that are applied for, assessing the archaeology of the site and its national importance before advising the Department if consent should be granted.

Ofcom

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress in winding-up the heritage regulators whose work has been assumed by Ofcom. [188233]

Estelle Morris: The regulatory functions of the Independent Television Commission, Radio Authority, Oftel, and the Broadcasting Standards Commission were transferred to Ofcom on 29 December 2003; under transitional arrangements the bodies remained formally in existence, principally to provide for completion of the Annual Accounts. These have since been published and laid before the House, apart from those for Oftel, which will be published shortly. An Order formally abolishing these bodies will be brought forward in due course. In addition, the functions of the Secretary of State formerly performed by the Radiocommunications Agency have been transferred to OFCOM, but no winding up will be required in that case as the RA was part of the DTI.

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