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Information and Communication Specialists

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many information and communication technology specialists there are in full-time employment in the Department. [189581]

Mr. Caborn: My Department has three information and communication specialists in full-time employment.
 
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Lottery Grants

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Lottery money has been granted to Healthy Living centres, breaking down funding by (a) distribution body and (b) region, when the grants were made; and if she will make a statement. [188748]

Estelle Morris: The New Opportunities Fund Healthy Living Centres initiative was designed to reduce health inequalities throughout the UK and improve the health of the worst off in society. Between the launch of the initiative in 1999 and the final awards being made in September 2002, a total of £267,775,226 was committed to 351 projects UK-wide.

It is not possible to break down funding in the way requested, but the following table shows total funds committed by the New Opportunities Fund by region:

Region	£ million
East Midlands	16.22
Eastern	11.00
London	34.47
North East	18.79
North West	31.37
South East	20.81
South West	14.67
West Midlands	14.23
Yorkshire and the Humber	35.59
England wide	7.62
England total	204.18
Northern Ireland	12.64
Scotland	31.72
Wales	17.65

The number of grants awarded by year in England only is as follows:

	Number
1999	54
2000	157
2001	45
2002	1

Other Lottery distributors may have awarded other grants to Healthy Living Centres, but this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Marine History

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of her time she has spent on work on the marine historic environment in the last 12 months. [189200]

Mr. Caborn: Officials carry out marine historic environment duties on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. Within the last 12 months various licences have been issued that allow archaeologists and recreational divers access to protected wrecks. In addition the Departments consultation paper "Protecting our Marine Historic Environment: Making the System Work Better" was published in March 2004.
 
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Renaissance in the Regions Programme

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her intention to fund in future the North West Renaissance in the Regions hub for improvements in the delivery of museum services to the same level as the pathfinder hubs in the north east, south west and the Midlands. [189400]

Estelle Morris: As set out in the 2004 Spending Review White Paper, it is our intention to extend the Renaissance in the Regions programme to all nine English regions. Our spending plans for 2005–08, which will be announced later in the year, will strike a balance between that objective and the other spending priorities we have to deliver during the period.

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to develop the Renaissance in the Regions programme in the east of England. [189486]

Estelle Morris: As set out in the 2004 Spending Review White Paper, it is our intention to extend the Renaissance in the Regions programme to all nine English regions. Our spending plans for 2005–08, which will be announced later in the year, will strike a balance between that objective and the other spending priorities we have to deliver during the period.

Televised Sporting Events

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers she has to insist that recorded highlights of major sporting events including international football matches, are shown on terrestrial television. [188426]

Estelle Morris: None. Provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1996, as amended by the Communications Act 2003, ensure that when rights to live coverage of events on the statutory list are made available they should be offered to the free-to-air broadcasters who reach 95 per cent. of UK audiences (currently BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4), either for live coverage (Category A events) or for delayed coverage or highlights (Category B events). It is a matter for the relevant broadcasters whether they acquire these rights and show the sporting events.

Television Reception

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what discussions she has had with (a) the BBC and (b) BSkyB on the options that will be available for free-to-view digital satellite television in areas where this is the only practical way of receiving terrestrial stations; [188413]

(2) what plans she has to enhance the affordability of digital television when the only means of access is via satellite. [188416]

Estelle Morris: The Department is in ongoing discussions with broadcasters, including the BBC and BSkyB, and with Ofcom about the further development of digital television services. BSkyB has announced plans to offer a free-to-air satellite service; in their report "Building public value" BBC declared that they "will work with others to develop, market and promote" a free digital satellite service. Ofcom have indicated that
 
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they will consider whether regulatory intervention is needed to secure a viable free-to-view satellite proposition before switchover.

Tourism Revenues (Royal Family)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the amount of revenue generated by tourism related to the royal family in summer 2004. [189204]

Mr. Caborn: No estimate is made of the amount of revenue generated by the royal family in relation to tourism. The royal family and its heritage is a major factor in attracting visitors to Britain. They are a key part of Britain's successful tourism industry which is worth £76 billion to the economy. The royal family is very supportive of the tourism industry and their commitment will continue to bring great economic benefits to Britain.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Australian Embassy (Jakarta)

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the level of threat faced by British missions and their staff in South East Asia following the Australian embassy bombings in Jakarta; [189267]

(2) if he will make a statement on the security arrangements in place for British Missions and their staff in South East Asia; and whether those arrangements have been reviewed following the Australian embassy bombings in Jakarta. [189268]

Mr. Rammell: We take the security of all our staff, both overseas and in the UK, extremely seriously. The level of threat faced by British Missions in South East Asia and other parts of the world is high. Security arrangements for all our Posts are regularly reviewed. We have implemented a number of measures to enhance the security of our Missions in South East Asia in recent years, and have reviewed them again following the bombing outside the Australian Embassy.

Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 20 July from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms. Ruma Begum Churi. [188856]

Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary replied to my right hon. Friend on 10 September.

Gibraltar

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role he has agreed with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will play in the tercentenary celebrations [160695]

 
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Mr. MacShane [pursuant to his reply, 11 March 2004, Official Report, c. 1701W]. We are playing a full part in celebrating the warm relationship that we have enjoyed with the people of Gibraltar for the past 300 years. The Government are participating in an extensive programme of commemorative events taking place in both Gibraltar and the UK. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment and military units from the United Kingdom, including the Royal Marines, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy ships and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are taking part in a total of more than 20 events throughout the year. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary hopes to attend an event to commemorate the Gibraltar Tercentenary later this year.

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