| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
10 Feb 2005 : Column 1722W—continued
Cleaning Costs
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the costs of cleaning the Department were in each year since 1997. [213775]
Mr. Caborn: The DCMS has four office premises; and the contract for cleaning is an outsourced contract. Costs since 1997–8 are as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | 96,563 |
| 1998–99 | 99,375 |
| 1999–2000 | 113,030 |
| 2000–2001 | 189,192 |
| 2001–02 | 216,343 |
| 2002–003 | 211,691 |
| 2003–2004 | 221,187 |
(16) Change of premises during this period
10 Feb 2005 : Column 1723W
As the scope of DCMS responsibilities has broadened and staff were recruited or transferred under machinery of government changes, more office space has been required. This has increased cleaning costs. Annual increases in cleaning contracts have been the norm and the above figures reflect cost per square metre cleaning costs in central London.
Correspondence
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the statement by the Minister of State for Sport on 24 January 2005, Official Report, column 109, undertaking to write to the hon. Member for Bath about the storage of electronic information as proof of entry for ticketless lotteries, when he will write. [215587]
Mr. Caborn: I wrote to the hon. Member on 8 February, and have arranged for a copy of the letter to be placed in Libraries of both Houses.
Design
Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who the ministerial design champion for her Department is. [215643]
Mr. Caborn: The Ministerial Design Champion for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the right hon. Lord McIntosh of Haringey, Minister for Media and Heritage.
Digital Switchover
Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to ensure that there is adequate information for the public in advance of digital switchover on purchasing television receivers which will be operable after digital switchover. [214493]
Estelle Morris: The responsibility for ensuring that everyone gets all the information they need about the digital switchover process, including information on what equipment will work after switchover, will primarily be one for Switchco, broadcasters and the supply chain. The Government will continue to take responsibility for communicating its switchover policy.
Free Television Licences
Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in Hartlepool are in receipt of free television licences. [215127]
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, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in the Hartlepool constituency in 2003–04 was 4,900, according to Department for Work and Pensions records.
10 Feb 2005 : Column 1724W
Government Art Collection
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the items of art purchased by the Government Art Collection since 1997; and what the cost of each item was. [215111]
Estelle Morris: The works of art purchased by the Government Art Collection (GAC) since 2 May 1997 are listed in a separate document. I am arranging for copies of the document to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The information about prices paid is commercially sensitive. It is not the GAC's practice to publish the prices paid for individual works of art purchased directly from the artist, individual or from a dealer as information of this nature might prejudice the commercial interests both of the GAC in its purchasing activities generally and of the relevant artist, individual or dealer. This practice is consistent with the practice of the national collections.
However, the prices paid for works of art acquired at auction are published by the auction houses, and in these cases are listed in the document referred to above.
The Government Art Collection is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; its acquisition policy is guided by the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection which is a non-departmental public body. Members are both independent and ex-officio, including the directors of the National Galleries.
Licensing Hours
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her latest estimate is of how many applications for extending licensing hours will be made in each police authority area in England and Wales. [214043]
Mr. Caborn: We estimate that up to 65 per cent. of applications to convert existing licences would also simultaneously apply to make variations, which would include extending licensing hours. Estimates are for England and Wales as a whole and are not made for each police authority area. A recent British Beer and Pub Association survey indicated that none of the 30,500 public houses and bars in England and Wales owned by its members expected to apply to open for 24 hours. The survey indicated the majority of pubs will stay open for no longer than at present during the week, and most will only look for an extra hour or two at the weekend.
Mobile Phones
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of staff mobile phone bills was in each year since 1997. [214899]
Mr. Caborn:
The cost to my Department of mobile phones supplied to Ministers and officials was £25,000 in 2000–01, £21,000 in 2001–02, £29,000 in 2002–03 and £36,000 in 2003–04. It is not possible to provide figures prior to 2000 save at disproportionate cost.
10 Feb 2005 : Column 1725W
Museums
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many foreign nationals have visited museums in England in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [214023]
Estelle Morris: Figures for the number of foreign nationals who visit all museums in England each year are not available. The number of visits from overseas residents to museums and galleries sponsored by DCMS, which include the national museums and galleries in England, is set out in the following table. They represented just under a third of all visits to DCMS-sponsored museums in 2003–04.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | n/a |
| 1998–99 | 10,429,096 |
| 1999–2000 | 10,508,406 |
| 2000–01 | 9,968,020 |
| 2001–02 | 10,113,088 |
| 2002–03 | 10,679,000 |
| 2003–04 | 11,709,431 |
Museums and Galleries
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken to measure the (a) socio-economic background, (b) area of origin, (c) ethnicity, (d) disability and (e) gender of visitors to (i) museums and galleries sponsored by her Department and (ii) other museums and galleries; and if she will make a statement. [215563]
Estelle Morris: In 1999, DCMS published in a review of efficiency and effectiveness of national museums and galleries a set of potential performance indicators. Working with the National Museums Directors Conference, these performance indicators have been refined to a set of key indicators. The measures include the number of visits by C2DEs to a sponsored museum, the ethnicity of the visitors, and whether visitors are from the UK or overseas. They do not include either the gender of visitors or whether they are disabled, but do separately identify, educational visits, children under 16 and people over 60.
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, which is sponsored by DCMS, has put in place similar measures to monitor visits to the regional hub museums. Participation by teachers and by individual adult and community groups is also measured, as are educational visits.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost to public funds of free admission to museums and galleries sponsored by her Department was in each year from 1999–2000 to 2003–04; what the estimated cost will be in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06; and if she will make a statement. [215564]
Estelle Morris:
The additional grant in aid paid in compensation to DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries which formerly charged for admission or which
10 Feb 2005 : Column 1726W
opened free in the period 1999–2000 to 2003–04, is shown in the following table. From 2004–05 onwards, a separate amount is not paid, but funding for free admission is taken into account in the allocation of all funds to all DCMS-sponsored museums.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many visitors to national museums and galleries sponsored by her Department were (a) from the United Kingdom and (b) visiting the United Kingdom from overseas in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [215565]
Estelle Morris: The number of visits from (a) UK residents and (b) overseas residents to museums and galleries sponsored by DCMS, which include the national museums and galleries in England, is set out in the table.
(17) Total visits were 23,500,000
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the change in revenue from (a) ticket sales for special exhibitions, (b) catering facilities, (c) merchandise and (d) other sources of museums and galleries sponsored by her Department as a result of offering free admission from the end of 2001; and if she will make a statement. [215567]
Estelle Morris: A study of income generated by the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries was published by the National Audit Office in January 2004. This showed that in the 2002–03, the year following the introduction of free admission, DCMS sponsored museums' income from trading increased by £0.7 million from £20.8 million to £21.5 million. Income from admissions fell from £24 million to £17.7 million. The net reduction in income from these two sources was £5.6 million. A total of £68.3 million was raised from other sources in 2002–03, taking the total self generated income to around £108 million.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |