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20 Mar 2006 : Column 12W—continued
TRANSPORT
Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the commitments set out in the letter of the Minister of State of 8 February 2006 (Ref SL/001336/06) in relation to the Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority and the complaints of the chairman of the Riparian and Mooring Rights Owners Group will be met; and if he will make a statement. [59668]
Dr. Ladyman: In my letter of 8 February I undertook to keep the hon. Member informed of progress. We are now treating this case as a priority and I will provide the hon. Member and his constituent with a substantive reply as soon as possible.
Great Western Franchise
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) rail routes will be cut and (b) stations will be closed as a consequence of the Government's detailed specification for the Great Western franchise. [59682]
Derek Twigg:
None.
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M62
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason roadworks are taking place on the M62 on the westbound carriageway east of junction 37; why such work was not carried out when this stretch of the motorway was recently resurfaced; and if he will make a statement. [59428]
Dr. Ladyman: The roadworks on the westbound carriageway east of junction 37 of the M62 are to install an electronic signing system that will alert road users to high winds affecting vehicles on the Ouse Bridge and divert such vehicles off the motorway. The scheme includes an anemometer to monitor wind speeds and update the settings of the diversion signs.
The current scheme was not commissioned until January 2006 and the resurfacing scheme was completed in August/September 2005. As the resurfacing scheme was to the west of junction 38 and the current scheme is to the east of junction 37, they could not be completed at the same time.
Railway Stations
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will provide assistance to West Lancashire council to pilot partnership approaches to improve security at and around stations; [58436]
(2) what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that (a) train operating companies and (b) British Transport Police improve security at stations in West Lancashire. [58437]
Derek Twigg: The Department continues to work with Network Rail, train operators, the British Transport Police, the Office of Rail Regulation and local authorities, including West Lancashire council, to reduce crime of all kinds as well as the fear of crime wherever it occurs on the transport network.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase the number of (a) waiting rooms, (b) toilet facilities and (c) commercial business activities at railway stations; and if he will make a statement. [59430]
Derek Twigg: Railway stations are owned by Network Rail and managed by Network Rail or Train Operators. It is for these parties to plan the facilities at stations, in consultation with stakeholders. The Department continues to work with the ORR, Network Rail, Train Operators, Passenger Focus and other industry stakeholders to streamline industry processes and encourage third party investment.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Conservation Officers
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what resources have been made available to local authorities for conservation officers; and what percentage of local authorities now employ a full-time conservation officer. [59976]
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Mr. Lammy: Government support for historic building conservation is funded via the Revenue Support Grant Settlement. Revenue Support Grant is an unhypothecated block grant. This means that authorities are able to spend the grant on any service. It is not therefore possible to say how much grant an authority received for a particular service.
Research commissioned by English Heritage and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in 2003 indicated that 85 per cent. of local authorities could draw on in-house conservation expertise, with an average of 1.7 full time equivalent specialists per authority. This research is being updated in 2006.
Digital Television
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the Public Service Broadcast requirement for additional capacity on digital terrestrial for high definition television; who will pay for the additional capacity; and what estimate she has made of the cost of providing the additional capacity. [59984]
James Purnell: I have made no such assessment. The award, management and pricing of spectrum are primarily matters for OFCOM. They have announced in their annual plan that they will consult later this year on the application of spectrum pricing to broadcasting spectrum, and are currently undertaking a digital dividend review" to understand how to ensure optimal use of the spectrum released by switchover.
Gambling
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what methods she will use to assess the proposed regional casino pilot scheme. [59975]
Mr. Caborn: We will ask the Gambling Commission to advise on whether the introduction of the new types of casino permitted by the Gambling Act 2005, including the one regional casino, has led to an increase in problem gambling or is increasing that risk. We will also assess what the regeneration and other economic outcomes have been.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the timetable will be for the assessment of the casinos pilot scheme under the Gambling Act 2005. [60063]
Mr. Caborn: Our intention is to ask the Gambling Commission to make an assessment of the impact of the introduction of the new casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 no earlier than three years after the award of the first premises licence.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for new casinos have been submitted under the Gambling Act 1968 (a) since 1997 and (b) between (i) May 2005 and (ii) November 2005 and the latest date for which figures are available; and how many applications there have been for planning alterations to existing casinos in each period. [59335]
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Mr. Caborn: The Gambling Commission (previously the Gaming Board for Great Britain) considers applications for certificates of consent for casinos under the Gaming Act 1968. Once a certificate of consent is issued, operators can then apply to the licensing justices for a licence. The tables set out the number of applications for certificates of consent in respect of new casinos that were received during the periods requested.
Operators also apply for a certificate of consent when they wish to relocate, extend or significantly alter an existing casino. These applications are also included in the tables.
New casinos | Substitute/ extended/altered premises | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2 | 9 |
| 1998–99 | 8 | 5 |
| 1999–00 | 8 | 8 |
| 2000–01 | 7 | 6 |
| 2001–02 | 5 | 3 |
| 2002–03 | 10 | 5 |
| 2003–04 | 12 | 3 |
| 2004–05 | 25 | 4 |
| 2005–06 (to end February 06) | 47 | 8 |
Government Art Collection
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pieces of artwork have gone missing from the Government art collection in each of the last seven years. [59188]
Mr. Lammy: The following figures represent the numbers of works of art that have gone missing during the last seven financial years that have not yet been found.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 2 |
| 2004–05 | 3 |
| 2003–04 | 4 |
| 2002–03 | 11 |
| 2001–02 | 19 |
| 2000–01 | 7 |
| 1999–2000 | 2 |
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pieces of artwork are in the Government art collection; and how many are recorded as missing. [59189]
Mr. Lammy:
There are currently about 13,200 works included in the Government art collection.
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The first extant records of the collection date from 1898. Because of the uncertainty surrounding many of the old manual records no exact figure can be given for the number of missing works. Currently 636 are listed as missing. These are mostly prints of relatively low value. Analysis of the records of missing works indicate that most of the losses occurred before the early 1990s. A large proportion of these were reported as missing in the late 1980s as a result of improvements in recording. It is likely that most of these losses had happened many years earlier but had not been reported at the time. The completion of a decade-long period of computerisation of records and employment of a professional museum register in1991 has led to a radical improvement in inventory control and resultant reduction in missing works. Far fewer works go missing now—within the last year there were two.
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