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20 Oct 2005 : Column 1124W—continued
South London and Maudsley Trust
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were transferred to the care of the South London and Maudsley Trust for drug rehabilitation and mental health care in the last year for which figures are available. [17576]
Fiona Mactaggart: 32 prisoners were transferred from prison to the South London and Maudsley Hospital between 30 September 2004 and 1 October 2005.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Auditor Liability
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with (a) officials and (b) auditing firms about reform of auditor liability. [19627]
Alun Michael:
Ministers and officials have had numerous discussions with auditing firms about auditor liability, particularly since the publication of the consultative document Director and auditor liability" in December 2003. We also continue to have discussions on the subject with companies and investors who have an interest as customers of auditors, and with bodies representing companies, investors and accountants.
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Football Broadcasting
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to meet (a) the FA Premier League, (b) the European Commissioner for Competition, (c) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, (d) Ofcom and (e) the Office of Fair Trading to discuss the structure of Premier League television broadcasting rights from season 2007–08 onwards. [20316]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have no such plans to meet to discuss this case.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role (a) Ofcom and (b) the Office of Fair Trading are playing in implementing European competition law regarding the structure of premier league television broadcasting rights from season 2007–08 onwards. [20338]
Mr. Sutcliffe: These are matters for Ofcom and OFT, as independent regulators. Accordingly, officials have asked the chief executive of both organisations to respond directly the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executives' letters will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had since May with the European Commission on the structure of premier league television broadcasting rights from season 2007–08 onwards. [20339]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Ministers and officials from this Department are in contact with the European Commission and will continue to remain so in order to facilitate an agreement which is good for football and good for the fans.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport since May 2005 on the roles of (a) Ofcom and (b) the Office of Fair Trading in the matter of deciding the structure of FA Premier League television broadcasting rights from season 2007–08 onwards. [20340]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Ministers and officials in this Department and from DCMS have stayed in close contact throughout, both through briefing meetings and telephone calls, with Ofcom and OFT and will continue to do so in order to facilitate an agreement which is good for football and good for the fans.
Ministerial Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many air miles were accrued through departmental ministerial travel in 2004–05, broken down by Minister; how many were (a) foregone and (b) donated to charity, broken down by charity; and whether air miles accrued by officials were required to be (i) foregone and (ii) given to charity. [17335]
Alan Johnson: No air miles were accrued through departmental ministerial travel in 2004–05.
Ministerial travel is conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers. Guidance for Ministers on the use of air miles is set out in the Ministerial Code. The guidance makes clear that air miles should be used only for official purposes or else
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foregone. However, if it is impracticable to use the benefits for Government travel, there is no objection to Ministers donating them to charity if this is permissible under the terms of the airline's scheme and the charity is one chosen by the airline.
Similar rules are in place for officials.
Motorsport Unit
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how much the Government have allocated to the motorsport unit since its inception. [19362]
(2) what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Government motorsport unit; [19363]
(3) what assessment he has made of the suitability of the projects supported to date by the Government motorsport unit; and if he will make a statement; [19364]
(4) what projects have been funded by the Government motorsport unit; and how much each received; [19365]
(5) what procedure his Department has in place to assess those projects which have received funding to date from the Government motorsport unit; [19366]
(6) what assessment he has made of the propriety of Government motorsport unit's (a) formula women and (b) cruisesport projects; [19367]
(7) how much the (a) formula women and (b) cruisesport projects have received in funding from the Government motorsport unit since its creation; [19368]
(8) if he will make a statement on the future of the Government motorsport unit. [19369]
Alun Michael: On 11 July 2003 the then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, announced a Government commitment of £16 million over five years to fund the recommendations of the motorsport competitiveness panel, whose report was published on the same date. The panel was made up of leading figures from the motorsport industry, sport and academia together with officials from relevant departments. Its role was to recommend ways to strengthen the industry and sport from technicians at a grass roots level right up to the Formula 1 drivers and engineers at the top level of motorsport.
The report recommended that a motorsport development board be created to lead, coordinate and prioritise development activities and an RDA-led Government motorsport unit should be formed to coordinate available Government resources towards the motorsport cluster. The board and the RDA-led unit are collectively known as motorsport development UK (MDUK).
The projects now being taken forward by motorsports development UK are based upon the panel's priorities. These have not been revisited and it would be for the organisation itself to recommend any changes, either to the projects or the way in which they are being implemented. Assessment of the propriety and value for money of each project is carried out in line with
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the established procedures of the funding body concerned and action is taken where necessary to safeguard public funds.
There has been some encouraging progress particularly in the use of bio-fuels in motorsport and also engaging young people to take part in engineering activities with a motorsport theme—the Learning Grid'.
Spending to date on the five projects now being pursued is shown in the following table:
Note:
Formula Woman" is a commercial enterprise owned and organised by Formula Woman International Ltd. No MDUK funding has been granted to this venture.
CruiseSport" is one of the areas of activity within MDUK's project to widen participation and promote social inclusion in motorsport. Spend to date is £120,000. This figure is included within the total for widening participation is in the table.
Paternity Leave
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what percentage of those entitled to paid paternity leave took advantage of their right during (a) 2005 and (b) 2004. [17310]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Equal Opportunities Commission's survey Dads and Their Babies: Leave Arrangements and the First Year", published earlier this year and part-funded by DTI, found that nine out of 10 fathers take time off work to spend with a new child and that over two-thirds of fathers currently take up the paternity entitlements available to them. The survey also found that a large percentage of employers are providing support for fathers which goes beyond the statutory provision and that almost three-quarters (72 per cent.) of the surveyed fathers who took paternity leave took at least some of this at full pay. We estimate that around 415,000 working fathers are eligible for statutory paid paternity leave.
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