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1 Nov 2004 : Column 40W—continued
Arts Grants (Barking and Dagenham)
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the arts in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham have received in Government grants in each year since 2001. [194422]
Estelle Morris: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not fund the arts directly, but through Arts Council England, who are responsible for distributing public money from Government.
The following table supplied by Arts Council England provides a breakdown of the information requested.
(10) Grants for the arts, Individuals and Organisations, was launched in 2003–04.
Chorley Football Club
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants are available to Chorley Football Club to enable it (a) to stay at Victory Park and (b) to move to a new ground. [194622]
Mr. Caborn: Grants are available from the Football Foundation's Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) to clubs playing in the football league, conference or national league system, down to step seven and below, who wish to improve their facilities or relocate to new grounds.
The type of projects which qualify for FSIF funding and the amount of grant available depend upon the level at which clubs are playing.
Clarence House
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what accommodation is occupied by (a) HRH Prince Charles and (b) his staff at Clarence House. [193942]
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Mr. Caborn: Clarence House is the official London residence of HRH The Prince of Wales and the main office for His Household.
The ground floor rooms of Clarence House are used by The Prince of Wales for receiving and entertaining official guests and visitors; approximately 4,000 were received or entertained during the last year. The rooms are open during the summer when His Royal Highness is not in residence; approximately 42,500 members of the public visited Clarence House this summer.
The first and second floors provide private accommodation for The Prince of Wales and for Princes William and Harry when they are in London.
The third floor provides permanent accommodation for one member of staff and overnight accommodation for staff when The Prince of Wales is in London on official duties.
There are 37 rooms in Clarence House that accommodate 48 of The Prince of Wales's office staff.
Consultants
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the contracts awarded by her Department to consultants in (a) 1996, (b) 1997 and (c) 1998; what the (i) name of the consulting company, (ii) value of the contract and (iii) purpose of the contract was in each case; and if she will make a statement. [194662]
Mr. Caborn: Detailed records of contracts are not retained for the years 1996, 1997 and 1998. In the financial year 1995–96 the cost of consultants was £164,000, in 1996–97 it was £309,000 and in 1997–98 it was £728,000.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many consultancy firms or companies have been retained by the Department since June 2001; what the projects are for which each has been retained; and what the total is of the fees paid or incurred in each case. [193415]
Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 October 2004, Official Report, columns 442–43 to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maples).
Creative Partnerships
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on Creative Partnerships in each year from 2003–04 (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the total budget of Creative Partnerships; how much she estimates her Department will spent in each year until 2007–08; and if she will make a statement. [194661]
Mr. Caborn:
The information requested is set out in the table. Outturn figures for the current financial year and budget figures for 2006–07 and 2007–08 are not yet available.
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| Budget allocated by DCMS | Outturn | Percentage of budget | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 33,500 | 23,100 | 69 |
| 2004–05 | 25,300 | n/a | n/a |
| 2005–06 | 45,000 | n/a | n/a |
Departmental Documents
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Department's target is for the interval between publication of (a) departmental announcements and documents and (b) material published by public bodies for which her Department has oversight and their posting online; and what the average interval was in the latest year for which figures are available. [195399]
Mr. Caborn: The Department aims to make all announcements and documents available online at the same time as they are otherwise released. No 30-minute target exists. However, we require a maximum of three days lead-in time to make documents compliant with the Disability and Discrimination Act accessibility guidance when they are to be published online so, in certain circumstances, simultaneous publication is not possible. The information on the targets set by DCMS bodies for publishing online could be discovered only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental IT
Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level. [195660]
Mr. Caborn: My Department uses a number of open source applications but it would not be meaningful to express those in terms of a percentage of computer systems.
My Department was involved with the recent OGC led review of open source and our future plans will take account of the revised Open Source Software Policy Version 2.0.
Departmental Press Officers
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press officers are employed in her Department; and how many were employed in each year since 1996–97. [195361]
Mr. Caborn: There were 12 press officers, including two non-permanent staff, employed by the Department in 2003–04. Numbers of press officers employed in each year from 1996–97 are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 7 |
| 1997–98 | 7 |
| 1998–99 | 9 |
| 1999–2000 | 8 |
| 2000–01 | 9 |
| 2001–02 | 8 |
| 2002–03 | 9 |
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Departmental Salaries
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in her Department earn more than a whole-time equivalent salary of £57,485 per year. [195330]
Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport have 25 people who earn more than a whole-time equivalent salary of £57,485 per year.
Digital Broadcasting
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the timetable for providing free to air digital broadcasting to High Peak. [194267]
Estelle Morris: Free to air digital services via Digital Terrestrial Television are unlikely to be available throughout the High Peak area until Switchover because of spectrum constraints. The BBC and Ofcom believe that Switchover could start to happen as early as 2007 and be completed by 2012.
Discussions are taking place between the Government, Ofcom, and the Public Service Broadcasters and other stakeholders on the detailed plans for switchover. However, no specific dates have been set for the conversion of individual transmitters (with the exception of the Technical Trial transmitter in Ferryside where we plan Switchover in March 2005).
Some free to air services are available via digital satellite. Unfortunately, a regional breakdown of digital satellite reception is not possible, but, according to Ofcom figures, digital satellite coverage currently stands at between 96 per cent. and 98 per cent. of all UK households.
Mrs. Brooke : To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the date for the switch-off of analogue television transmissions. [194584]
Estelle Morris: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Torbay (Mr. Sanders) and Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).
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