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20 Jan 2005 : Column 1049W—continued
E-mails
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on the deletion of e-mails; when this last changed; and how. [208677]
Mr. Miliband:
It is Cabinet Office policy that all emails that form part of the official record must be printed and placed on existing paper files. This includes emails that contribute to the full understanding of a decision or results in action being taken. In December 2004 a three month time limit was introduced in relation to the time emails in inboxes, sent items and deleted items would be kept before automatic deletion.
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Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what guidance he has issued to other departments in respect of the deletion of emails; [208678]
(2) what guidance he issues to Government departments on circumstances under which paper copies may be kept of emails which have been deleted. [208679]
Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs has issued guidance to departments on records management, including the management of information held electronically, to all departments—specifically in relation to the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act on 1 January 2005.
Good records and information management is fundamental to the effectiveness of the Freedom of Information Act. Parliament has recognised this by providing a Code of Practice on the Management of Records under section 46 of the FOI Act.
All the guidance provided to departments is also publicly available on the departmental website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/quidance/proguide/index.htm.
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the Office's policy regarding the retention of e-mails in electronic form (a) after and (b) up to 1 January 2005; and what instructions have been given regarding the deletion of e-mails prior to 1 January 2005. [206955]
Mr. Miliband: The Department continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files in accordance with its administrative needs and the Public Records Act.
Email messages that form part of the official record are saved for as long as business needs require and stored corporately in accordance with departmental record management procedures. Further email guidance is available on the National Archives web site at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/electronicrecords/advice/pdf/managing emails.pdf
It is departmental policy that all emails that form part of the record must be printed and placed on existing paper files. This includes emails that contribute to the full understanding of a decision or results in action being taken. In December 2004 a three month time limit was introduced in relation to the time emails in inboxes, sent items and deleted items would be kept before automatic deletion.
Government IT Equipment
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the amount of Government IT equipment scrapped in the last 12 months; and what the average age of such equipment was. [207294]
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Mr. Miliband: Individual departments are responsible for the disposal of their information technology equipment and no central records are kept.
Record Keeping
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what (a) guidelines and (b) other regulations have been promulgated since July 2004 on procedures for record-keeping by (i) informal groups and (ii) formal ad hoc Cabinet Committees engaged in considering policy issues. [209938]
Mr. Miliband: The arrangements for recording decisions which are the collective responsibility of Ministers are set out in the Ministerial Code and have not changed since July 2004.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Amusement Arcades
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what reports she has received of difficulties experienced by the proprietors of amusement arcades and similar attractions which undertake joint operations between schedule C and schedule D in ensuring that prohibited persons take no part in activities covered by schedule C; and how many proprietors have (a) lost their licenses and (b) been prosecuted as a result of such breaches. [209346]
Mr. Caborn: The revoking of licences and bringing prosecutions for breach of licence conditions is a matter for local authorities.
I have received no reports of difficulties experienced by the proprietors of amusement arcades and similar attractions, in ensuring that children and young people do not play category C machines.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on (a) the duration of grandfather rights to proprietors of schedule D amusement arcades, (b) the grant of such rights to joint operations between schedule C and schedule D and (c) the steps which need to be taken by a proprietor to secure for himself such rights as may be granted; and what exceptions to the legislation are to be provided by the grandfather rights. [209347]
Mr. Caborn: Under the Gambling Bill grandfather rights will be granted to all current proprietors of amusement arcade establishments that offer gaming machines under part III of the 1968 Gaming Act.
Where existing arcade premises offer what will become known as category D gaming machines, they will become entitled to receive a family entertainment centre gaming machine permit. Where existing premises offer a mixture of category C and category D gaming machines, they will need to apply for, and be granted an operating licence from the Gambling Commission, and they will be entitled to receive a family entertainment centre premises licence from their local authority.
In all cases, the existing operator will need to apply for the necessary permit or licences, and to pay a fee. In the case of the family entertainment centre gaming
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machine permit and the family entertainment centre premises licence the grandfather rights mean that the local authority must grant these applications. They will have no power to reject the applications, or to impose conditions which alter the existing rights of the operator. However, all gaming machines must comply with the Bill's requirements on which category of machine may be used (from A to D), and the stakes and prizes for each.
Once grandfathered, the permits or licences will operate in the same manner as any new permit or licence. Therefore, there is no enduring duration of the grandfather rights. For example, should an operator breach the terms of a licence, the Gambling Commission will be able to review it, and may impose a penalty, including the revocation of the licence. The permits have a ten year duration, and that applies to grandfathered permits also.
Public Service Publisher
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what role is envisaged for the proposed public service publisher; what its budget will be; who will fund its establishment; and what plans she has for its relationship with (a) the BBC and (b) regional independent broadcasters. [209738]
Estelle Morris: The establishment of a public service publisher was a proposal made by Ofcom in Phase 2 of its Public Service Television review. Ofcom has conducted a public consultation on all of its proposals and will publish its final conclusions and recommendations in due course. The Government will of course consider those recommendations very carefully, against the background of BBC Charter Review and other relevant factors.
Theatre
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding the Arts Council has committed for theatre building and improvement schemes in each of the last three years; and what proportion of the total Arts Council lottery funding this constituted in each year. [208759]
Estelle Morris: The figures as requested, which have been provided by Arts Council England, are as follows. These do not include spend on multi-purpose arts venues that may also include theatre.
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