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5 Jun 2006 : Column 132W—continued
Hylas Spacecraft
Mr. Roger Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with Digital UK on the use of the
Hylas spacecraft to increase digital television reception in rural areas; and if she will make a statement. [73470]
Mr. Woodward [holding answer 25 May 2006]: Neither I nor my officials have had any discussions with Digital UK regarding the use of the Hylas satellite.
Leased Land
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) land and (b) property her Department (i) leases and (ii) leased in (A) 1979, (B) 1983, (C) 1987, (D) 1992 and (E) 1997 in (1) the Southend, West constituency, (2) Essex, (3) Hertfordshire and (4) the Metropolitan Police area of London. [72122]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have and has never held leases in the Southend, West constituency, Essex or Hertfordshire.
In the Metropolitan Police area of London, the Department currently leases the following properties: 2 to 4 Cockspur Street; Oceanic House, 1a Cockspur Street; Grove House, 2 to 6 Orange Street; Queen's Yard, 179a Tottenham Court Road; 55 Blandford Street.
The Department was created under its previous name, the Department for National Heritage, in 1992. It thus held no leases in 1979,1983 or 1987. In 1992, the Department leased 2 to 4 Cockspur Street and 2 Sheraton Street. In 1997 the Department leased 2 to 4 Cockspur Street; 2 Sheraton Street; Grove House, 2 to 6 Orange Street; and Haymarket House, Oxendon Street.
Libraries
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many static public libraries there are in England. [73859]
Mr. Lammy: The number of static public libraries in England in each of the last five years was as follows.
| Static libraries in England (by hours open per week) | |||||
| 60 plus | 45 to 59 | 30 to 44 | 10 to 29 | <10 | |
The original source for these statistics is the Public Library Statistics Actuals, published by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). These are published annually, most recently in January 2006.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the level of funding for libraries. [75000]
Mr. Lammy: In terms of public libraries, there is no ring-fenced Government core funding: such funding is via the Local Government Financial Settlement administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
It is for the 149 library authorities in England to decide upon the level of funding for their services bearing in mind their statutory responsibility to make comprehensive and efficient provision.
The public library statistics published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy show that library authorities made net expenditure (excluding capital charges) of £817,216,604 in 2004-05 (the latest figure available). The comparable figure for the previous year was £781,990,546.
Additional examples of funding for public libraries from within my Department's portfolio are the £120 million of National Lottery support for the People's Network, around £130 million of DCMS Private Finance Initiative Credits for library or part library projects, and the ongoing DCMS funding of £2 million per annum for the Framework for the Future Action Plan programme. I also look forward to the Big Lottery Fund's £80 million community library funding programme which will be launched later this year.
My Department is also responsible for sponsorship of the British Library, the UK's national library. Grant-in-aid funding to the British Library over the 2004 Spending Review period is as follows:
| £ million | ||
| Source: DCMS Annual Report 2006 | ||
Licensed Premises
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many outlets in (a) the county of Greater Manchester, (b) Tameside metropolitan borough and (c) Stockport metropolitan borough have been prosecuted under the Licensing Act 2003. [72647]
Mr. Woodward: This information is not held centrally.
Licensing Act
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Government will publish the first part of the review of its Guidance in respect of the Licensing Act 2003. [73329]
Mr. Woodward: Following the initial review, which covers issues where a broad consensus exists among stakeholders, it is expected that supplementary Guidance will be laid before Parliament in June 2006.
Mr. Mark Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Government's proposed timetable is for the completion of the second
part of the review of its Guidance in respect of the Licensing Act 2003. [73330]
Mr. Woodward: We expect to lay a revised version of the Guidance before Parliament by the end of 2006.
Live Music
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government are taking to support live music. [74136]
Mr. Woodward: The Government are committed to supporting live music in all its forms. Through the Live Music Forum, we are working to ensure that opportunities for the promotion of live music are realised to the full. We are also achieving this through increased investment—funding for music through Arts Council England has more than doubled since 1997 to over £100 million in 2006.
Lotteries
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to restrict the ability of gambling operations to market lottery style betting games. [74566]
Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State does not have any plans to impose conditions to operating licences under section 68 of the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to lottery style betting games.
The Gambling Act 2005 sets out the definitions of different types of gambling activity, and provides that it is a criminal offence to offer facilities for gambling without authorisation.
However, should the Commission consider that there is a regulatory need to do so, it does have powers under section 79 of the Act to impose conditions on operators which relate to the manner, nature and circumstances (including marketing) of licensed activities (including lottery style betting games).
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will announce her decision on the review by the Gambling Commission, of the legal limits on the size of (a) prizes and (b) proceeds of society lotteries. [71627]
Mr. Caborn: We are currently considering the Gambling Commission's review of the limits on the prizes and proceeds for society lotteries, and will make an announcement in due course.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is Government policy to encourage competition between the National Lottery and society lotteries. [71629]
Mr. Caborn:
The Government believe that society lotteries and the National Lottery can co-exist happily. Both types of lottery play an important role in raising money for good causes, and it is our policy to ensure that appropriate and proportionate regulation applies in each case. Society lotteries are required to abide by
strict limits on proceeds and prizes, currently up to £2 million and £200,000 respectively in any single lottery. We are supporting the work of society lotteries by introducing a range of deregulatory measures through the Gambling Act 2005, and by strengthening the protection for society lotteries from illegal lotteries that purport to be prize competitions in certain media outlets. The National Lottery continues to be regulated under separate legislation.
Museums and Galleries
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many items in national museums and galleries have not been on public display in the last three years. [74511]
Mr. Lammy: The number of collection items in the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries that have not been on public display in the past three years was estimated to have been around 105 million in October 2005. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) on 11 October 2005, Official Report, column 459W.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the most recent estimate is of the size of the reserve collections of the national museums and galleries. [74512]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) on 11 October 2005, Official Report, column 459W.
National Lottery
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Education and Skills on the use of lottery funding for projects in schools. [74506]
Mr. Caborn: We have regular discussions with colleagues at the Department for Education and Skills about joint programmes, such as those that receive funding from the Big Lottery Fund and the Arts and Sports Councils. For example, this includes the £750 million New Opportunities for PE and Sport (NOPES) programme which is bringing about a step change in the provision of sporting facilities for young people and the community more generally.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the current balance is of lottery funds held in the national lottery distribution fund on behalf of the Millennium Commission. [74508]
Mr. Caborn:
The Millennium Commission’s balance held in the national lottery distribution fund at the end of April 2006 was £56.1 million of which £34.5 million has been committed under existing grant programmes and for operating costs. The uncommitted balance is
allocated to the Millennium Commission’s final funding programmes, and decisions will be made on these in due course.
Under the provisions of the National Lottery Bill, the Big Lottery Fund, as the Millennium Commission’s successor body, would take on any remaining balance and funding commitments.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) cost to date and (b) projected cost is of the merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund to create the Big Lottery Fund. [74509]
Mr. Caborn: The cost to date of the administrative merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund to create the Big Lottery Fund is £4.976 million. The administrative merger is now effectively complete, though some minor costs will be incurred in effecting the legal merger, if the National Lottery Bill is passed. Savings of £3.5 million a year on costs have already been achieved and overall the merger will lead to savings of 10 to 20 per cent. of pre-merger costs, which equates to around £6 million to £12 million per annum.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the national lottery operator has paid to the National Lottery Commission in licence fees in each year since 1994. [74510]
Mr. Caborn: The information is as follows:
| Amount (£) | |
The figures for licence fees between 1994-95 and 1998-99 are cash-based and from 1999-2000 accruals-based. The figure for the year ending 31 March 2006 is not yet available, but will be published when the accounts for that period are laid before Parliament in July 2006.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many members of the public her Department consulted on the proposed changes to the National Lottery; and how many responses were received. [74513]
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