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8 Nov 2004 : Column 511W—continued
Digital Terrestrial Television
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when digital terrestrial television will be available throughout Totnes constituency, with particular reference to (a) Blackawton and (b) Halwell. [196947]
Estelle Morris: Due to the topography of the land and technical constraints on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) transmissions from the Beacon Hill transmitter, digital terrestrial services are not predicted to be available to viewers in Blackawton and Halwell before Switchover.
The Government are committed to ensuring that at Switchover everyone who can currently receive the main public service broadcasting channels on analogue will be able to do so on digital systems.
No firm dates for Switchover have been set, but current discussions suggest that Switchover could start to happen as early as 2007 and be completed by 2012.
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English Heritage
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much English Heritage spent on skills and education projects in each year from 1997; and if she will make a statement. [194664]
Mr. Caborn: Since 1997, English Heritage has spent the following on education projects:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,150,000 |
| 1998–99 | 1,100,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,150,000 |
| 2000–01 | 1,222,000 |
| 2001–02 | 1,210,000 |
| 2002–03 | 1,145,000 |
| 2003–04 | 1,343,000 |
English Heritage does not undertake specific skills projects, therefore a similar breakdown cannot be provided. They take a strategic approach towards skills development, co-ordinating action across industry, education, other public bodies and government. Since 1997 they have spent £300,000 on supporting the work of the National Heritage Training Group and conducting research into the condition of the traditional building sector, plus £474,000 on supporting parks, gardens and landscape maintenance skills.
Fair Trade
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy to ensure that all hospitality within her Department is sourced from Fair Trade producers wherever possible within the boundaries set by the public procurement rules. [196655]
Mr. Caborn: It is already the policy in DCMS for all catering to make use of Fair Trade goods and provisions wherever possible.
Free Television Licences
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in Dagenham receive the free television licence for the over-75s. [196454]
Estelle Morris: TV Licensing, who administer free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, 2001 Census data indicate that approximately 6,600 people living in the Dagenham constituency are aged 75 or over.
Gambling
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport where she expects the proposed new casinos to be located, broken down by region. [194667]
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Mr. Caborn [holding answer 1 November 2004]: When the Gambling Bill is implemented it will be for operators to decide where to site new casino premises, provided that they have the necessary operating licences, premises licences and planning permission.
Heritage Lottery Fund
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is in relation to the provision of funds by the Heritage Lottery Fund for heritage properties overseas that have a particular British connection and relevance. [196107]
Mr. Caborn: Decisions on the provision of funds by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) are a matter for the board of trustees who are independent of Government: it is not open to Ministers to intervene in these decisions. The HLF only supports projects that relate to the national, regional or local heritage of the UK.
Licensing Act
Claire Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects the Licensing Act 2003 to be fully implemented; and if she will make a statement on progress with implementation. [196576]
Mr. Caborn: We are making good progress with the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. On 7 July, the Secretary of State announced that the first appointed day, when the transitional period begins, would be 7 February 2005, and that full implementation of the 2003 Act was therefore expected for November 2005. Draft regulations, which provide details on how the new licensing system will operate, are currently the subject of a public consultation that ends on 10 November. We announced a separate consultation with regard to the draft on Thursday 4 November.
Lottery Funding (Scotland)
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the displacement of lottery funding to Scotland that would be consequent on a successful London bid for the 2012 Olympics. [195265]
Tessa Jowell: In the event of a successful bid, new Olympic Lottery games may lead to a sales diversion from core national lottery games. This, and the possible change to percentage shares after 2009 should the full lottery contribution towards the games be required, could result in a loss of income to the existing good causes of around 5 per cent. before 2009 and up to 12 per cent. between 2009/2012. This displacement of funding will occur at the same level for Scotland as for the rest of the country.
Lottery Games
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the likely overall impact of the new London Olympic lottery game on the existing national lottery. [195264]
Tessa Jowell:
It is estimated that sales diversion to Olympic lottery games, which will only be introduced if the Olympic bid is successful, will reduce income to the
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existing good causes by about 5 per cent. overall. The effect is likely to be lower in the early years, and to increase as the games approach.
Lotto Terminals
Anne Picking: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many representations have been made to her expressing concern about the process used by Camelot when selecting outlets for lotto terminals; and if she will make a statement. [195923]
Estelle Morris: In the last two years my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received eight representations expressing concern about the selection process used by Camelot when selecting outlets for lotto terminals. Issues concerning national lottery terminals are a matter for the national lottery operator acting under its licence from the National Lottery Commission.
Olympic Games
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on financial guarantees the Government has given to the International Olympic Committee with regard to the London Olympic bid. [194170]
Tessa Jowell: In the Applicant Questionnaire, submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 15 January 2004 for the first stage of the bid process, the Government confirmed it would be the ultimate guarantor of Olympic funding should there be a shortfall between Olympic costs and revenues.
For the next stage, in the Candidature File, the IOC are seeking detailed guarantees, within that existing Government commitment, which relate to financing the various elements of the Games. They cover the infrastructure, transport, economic shortfall of the OCOG and government related services such as security, medical, customs and immigration. In agreeing these guarantees the Government will be careful to ensure that the commitments made are consistent with the Olympic funding Memorandum of Understanding laid before Parliament as a Command Paper 5867 and further reported to Parliament in a Departmental Minute dated 2 December 2003.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of a successful London Olympic bid on tourism on each (a) country and (b) region of the UK. [194174]
Tessa Jowell: We are assessing the impact of staging a London Olympics on various economic sectors, including on tourism. This does not include an attempt to estimate a breakdown of that impact by UK nation and region.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the value to the UK economy of the proposed London Olympics; and whether she has made an assessment of employment generated by the proposed games in each (a) country and (b) region of the UK. [194209]
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Tessa Jowell: We are assessing the impact of staging a London Olympics on the economy, but this does not include an attempt to estimate employment generation by UK nation and region.
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