---

1 Dec 2004 : Column 165W—continued

Warship Command Systems

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what risk assessments were made on the proposal to run the command systems for future Royal Navy warships on the Microsoft Windows operating system; what other options were considered; what benefits Windows has over the other options; and if he will make a statement. [200036]

Mr. Ingram: The Type 45 prime contractor, BAE Systems, and its sub-contractor, are responsible for selecting an operating system that meets the requirements placed on them by the Defence Procurement Agency. However, industry's decision to use Windows 2000 was also the subject of a review conducted by the Ministry of Defence which included specialist representatives from QinetiQ and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The review concluded that the choice of Windows 2000 presented the lowest risk of the available options. The contractor considered that there were only two credible choices of accredited operating system: Windows 2000 from Microsoft and a Unix based solution, Solaris from Sun. While the Unix option was considered technically viable, the decision to use Windows 2000 was taken as it was considered to minimise the risks for long-term support.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council Funding

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding the Arts Council has given to theatre in each of the last three years; and what proportion of total Arts Council funding this constituted in each year. [200630]

 
1 Dec 2004 : Column 166W
 

Estelle Morris: The following table shows the Arts Council's funding commitments to theatres over the last 3 years, also expressed as a percentage of their

total grant-in-aid spending on all artforms.

	Total ACE Spend on Theatre (£)	Theatre spend as a proportion of ACE spending (percentage)
2002–03	74, 629,940	33
2003–04	89,566,873	35
2004–05	95,601,602	34

Athletics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with UK Sport on the funding formula for performance athletes. [200662]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 30 November 2004]: Ministers and officials maintain an on-going dialogue with UK Sport about funding for elite athletes. Following the Sports Cabinet meeting in April this year, Ministers collectively agreed the funding package to be provided to our elite athletes through UK Sport's World Class Performance programme for the Beijing Olympic/Paralympic cycle. It is a matter for UK Sport, however, to devise the detailed formula to allocate this funding package to individual sports.

Commonwealth Institute Building

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will place in the Library (a) the report she commissioned from English Heritage on the de-listing of the Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington and (b) related correspondence between ministers and officials of her Department and English Heritage. [200225]

Mr. Caborn: The information is as follows:

(a) This report has not yet been received. I will place it in the Libraries of both Houses once the Secretary of State has taken her decision on whether or not this building should be de-listed.

(b) There has been no such correspondence other than the standard pro-forma commissioning English Heritage's advice.

Correspondence

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 27 September. [200322]

Mr. Caborn: I apologise for the delay in responding. The letter concerned an application to list a telephone box under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. This matter is still being considered by English Heritage and has been delayed as English Heritage have been considering possible amendments to the criteria for listing telephone boxes. They expect to be able to provide their advice to this Department in December and a decision will be made very shortly after that. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the decision has been taken.
 
1 Dec 2004 : Column 167W
 

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 21 October. [200323]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Media and Heritage replied to the hon. Gentleman on 25 November.

The letter of 21 October was not received in the Department until 25 November 2004, and was replied to immediately.

Cricket

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what agreements made by her Department govern negotiations for new television rights for (a) international and (b) first-class cricket. [200661]

Estelle Morris [holding answer 30 November 2004]: The Government intervenes in the sports broadcasting market only to ensure that viewers have access to those sporting occasions which are considered to have true national resonance. These events are listed under Part IV of the Broadcasting Act 1996.

Cricket test matches played in England are listed as Group B events as are the final, semi-finals and matches involving Home Nations teams in the Cricket World Cup. Exclusive live coverage of Group B events is permitted on subscription channels provided that delayed coverage or highlights have been offered on fair and reasonable terms for transmission on BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 or Channel 4.

Other international cricket matches and first class cricket matches are not included on the list.

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on the England cricket tour to Zimbabwe. [200361]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 29 November 2004]: Neither the Secretary of State or I have had any recent discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board about the England cricket tour of Zimbabwe. However, officials from the FCO and DCMS have been in contact about the tour. The decision whether or not to tour is a matter for the ECB.

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with (a) UK Sport and (b) the England and Wales Cricket Board on the proposed International Cricket Conference Headquarters in London. [200364]

Mr. Caborn : Earlier this year I had an exchange of correspondence with Sue Campbell, Chair of UK Sport, about proposals to relocate the headquarters of the ICC from Lord's cricket ground. My officials have also taken part in discussions with representatives of UK Sport. I am not aware that any discussions have taken place between my Department and the ECB.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff there were in her Department in each year since 1997. [200189]

 
1 Dec 2004 : Column 168W
 

Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to table C of the annual publication "Civil Service Statistics" which provides staff numbers in my department and its agency in each year from 1997 to 2003, copies of which are laid in the Libraries of both Houses. 2004 figures have been published on the Cabinet Office website www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

Departmental Telephone Use

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on the use of telephones by members of staff in her Department for personal use relating to (a) domestic calls and (b) international calls; and if she will make a statement. [200886]

Mr. Caborn: My Department has a policy on the use of telephones for personal calls which recognises that such calls may be necessary but that staff should keep the number and duration to a minimum.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures she has taken to ensure that telephones in her Department are not used by staff making unauthorised personal calls to international numbers. [200887]

Mr. Caborn: By default, all telephones in my Department have a bar on international access. If international access is essential for an official to carry out the duties of their post then a formal written request must be submitted, countersigned by an appropriate senior official.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimates she has made of the cost to her Department of unauthorised personal calls made by members of staff to (a) domestic numbers and (b) international numbers in the last year for which figures are available. [200888]

Mr. Caborn: As my Department is part of the Government Telecommunications Network (GTN), it pays a set fee per annum per extension number, regardless of how many calls are made. Therefore there are no additional costs incurred as a result of personal calls.

---