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20 Oct 2004 : Column 729W—continued

Secure Training Centres

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid out in compensation in respect of injuries sustained during staff training sessions in physical restraint techniques at each of the secure training centres in the last five years. [190223]

Paul Goggins: Secure Training Centres are operated by private companies under contracts managed by the Youth Justice Board. Consequently, neither the Home Office nor the Youth Justice Board has direct responsibility for dealing with compensation claims by staff members. The operating companies have told us that they have not paid any compensation in respect of injuries sustained in the course of training in physical restraint techniques over the last five years.
 
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Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff training sessions in physical restraint techniques have included training in distraction techniques in each of the secure training centres in each of the last five years. [190225]

Paul Goggins: All training in physical restraint techniques used in secure training centres includes training in distraction techniques. Guidance on the use of these techniques indicates that they are to be used only as a last resort and for as short a time as possible.

Sentencing Guidelines

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends sentencing guidelines will help to reduce prison numbers. [187243]

Paul Goggins: One of the factors the Sentencing Guidelines Council has to take into account when producing guidelines is cost-effectiveness. This will apply to all courts, in respect of all criminal offences and will lead to greater consistency of sentencing. The Government have made it clear the prison should only be used for the most serious, dangerous and persistent offenders, and that most others are better punished in the community.

Speed Cameras

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 13 October 2004, Official Report, column 283W, on speed cameras, where the specifications for speed camera reliability and safety are set out; and what the other sources of flash when driving at night are. [192555]

Caroline Flint: The specifications for reliability of speed cameras are set out in the Speedmeter Handbook, which is published by the Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch (PSDB). The requirements for safety, in terms of flash output, are assessed in each individual case by initially requiring the manufacturer to demonstrate that equipment submitted is safe for use at the roadside, by providing evidence, or that the flash output and filters used are similar to that which has been demonstrated as safe, as determined by independent University studies. After this is completed to PSDB's satisfaction, the police also give their view as to safety during testing at the roadside. Other sources of flash while driving at night include vehicle headlamps and the warning lights and beacons of various types of road vehicles.

UN Convention Against Corruption

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legislative changes would be required, with regard to forfeiture of the instrumentalities of crime, to enable the UK to comply with Article 55 of the UN Convention Against Corruption. [190482]

Caroline Flint: An amendment will be required to section 9 of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 to enable an Order in Council to be made allowing the courts to give effect to the order of a foreign court for the forfeiture of the instrumentalities of crime.
 
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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Libraries

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how much her Department plans to spend on modernisation of community libraries in each of the next 10 years; [192669]

(2) how much has been spent by her Department on the modernisation of community libraries in each year since 1997. [192670]

Estelle Morris: The Department does not fund public libraries directly. Public libraries are funded through a combination of the local authority settlement, locally raised taxation, and income that they generate for themselves. Public library funding is a matter of local discretion and it is for each library authority to decide how much to spend on their libraries.

However, we have funded the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council three year action plan which sets out a range of programmes to help libraries achieve the vision set out in "Framework for the Future". The
 
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Action Plan has been funded by a £5 million investment over the three-year period to 2005–06. The modernisation of public libraries has also been supported through a £120 million lottery funded People's Network programme which has linked all public libraries in the UK to the internet and provided training to library staff to enable them to facilitate access to the ICT for library users.

We cannot anticipate future spend on the modernisation of public libraries, except for the £5 million investment in the Action Plan, which takes us to the end of this spending review period.

National Museums (Yorkshire)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much national museums in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) the City of York have received in Government grants in each year since 1997. [192435]

Estelle Morris: Grant in aid for the national museums which fall within (a) Yorkshire and Humber and (b) the City of York is as follows:

					£000
Museum	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
National Coal Mining Museum England(23)	n/a	n/a	n/a	1,152	1,332
National Museum of Photography, Film and Television(24)	2,977	2,963	3,142	3,699	3,683
National Railway Museum(24)	3,315	3,350	3,650	3,922	4,608
Royal Armouries Leeds(25)	5,223	3,723	4,807	5,227	5,945
Total	11,515	10,036	11,599	14,000	15,568

				£000
Museum	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
National Coal Mining Museum England(23)	2,073	2,408	2,445	2,426
National Museum of Photography, Film and Television(24)	4,180	4,347	4,252	4,515
National Railway Museum(24)	5,557	6,109	6,595	6,425
Royal Armouries Leeds(25)	6,157	6,286	6,887	7,113
Total	17,967	19,150	20,179	20,479

⁽²³⁾ The Government started providing grant funding to the National Coal Mining Museum England through the National Museum of Science and Industry in 2000–01.
⁽²⁴⁾ The Government provides grant-in-aid to the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) of which the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television and the National Railway Museum are branch museums. Funding to its branch museums is allocated by the NMSI.
⁽²⁵⁾ This is the total allocation for Royal Armouries, which includes its Leeds, Fort Nelson and the Tower of London branches. Royal Armouries in Leeds is the Headquarter.

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people visited each of the national museums in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 1997; and on what date charges were waived for each category of visitor at each museum. [192436]

Estelle Morris: Visitors for the national museums which fall within the Yorkshire and Humber region are in the following table.

Museum	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
National Coal Mining Museum England(26)	n/a	n/a	n/a	65,802	60,032	107,282	121,822
National Museum of Photography, Film and Television(27)	298,901	83,613	962,899	969,822	823,309	768,161	723,273
National Railway Museum	420,079	434,566	467,880	485,785	587,862	767,299	740,217
Royal Armouries Leeds	349,000	296,000	173,500	185,710	280,867	302,527	277,105
Total	1,067,980	814,179	1,604,279	1,707,119	1,752,070	1,945,269	1,862,417

⁽²⁶⁾ The Government started providing grant funding to the National Coal Mining Museum England through the National Museum of Science and Industry in 2000–01, and required them to collect their visitor data from this year onwards. Figures for earlier years are not available.
⁽²⁷⁾ The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television was partially closed in 1997–98 and 1998–99 for refurbishment.


 
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Free admission for adult visitors was introduced to the National Coal Mining Museum for England on 8 April 2002. Children and people over 60 already received free admission.

Admission to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford has always been free.

The National Railway Museum in York introduced free access for children on 1 April 1999. Free admission for over 60s was introduced on 1 April 2000, with universal free admission introduced on 1 December 2001.

The Royal Armouries in Leeds introduced free admission for children and for over 60s on 1 April 2000, with universal free admission introduced on 1 December 2001.

All the museums charge for some temporary exhibitions.

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