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24 July 2006 : Column 947W—continued
Arts Council England
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how much of the grant-in-aid to Arts Council England was allocated to theatre between 1997 and 2005; [87012]
(2) how much of the Arts Council England allocation to subsidised theatre between 1997 and 2005 was paid to (a) actors, (b) musicians and (c) writers; [87013]
(3) what representations she has received from (a) theatre managers, (b) orchestras and (c) entertainment trade unions regarding the impact of the comprehensive spending review on theatre between 2008 and 2011. [87014]
Mr. Lammy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave him on 18 July 2006, Official Report, columns 331-32W.
BBC Charter
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her oral statement of 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1156, on the BBC Charter, what additional areas of the BBC’s financial responsibilities she is considering adding to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office; and if she will make a statement. [87657]
Mr. Woodward: We are not considering adding any areas of the BBC’s financial responsibility to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office (NAO). As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced, we are currently exploring with the NAO how we might best establish an efficiency benchmark against which future performance might be judged.
Broadcasting
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her oral statement of 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1156, on broadcasting, which areas of the BBC’s financial responsibilities her Department is considering adding to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office; and if she will make a statement. [86795]
Mr. Woodward: We are not considering adding any areas of the BBC’s financial responsibility to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office (NAO). We are currently exploring with the NAO how we might best establish an efficiency benchmark against which future performance might be judged.
Chance to Shine Campaign
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initial assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Chance to Shine campaign; and if she will extend similar schemes to other sports. [87624]
Mr. Caborn: The “Chance to Shine” initiative, a £50 million campaign to improve participation in cricket in state schools and run by the Cricket Foundation, has recently issued its first mid-term report.
In the six weeks since its launch, 33,600 boys and girls have taken part in the schools programme, 7,471 curriculum and extra-curriculum sessions have been delivered and 504 boys and girls in schools involved in the initiative have joined clubs.
It is anticipated that over the next 10 years, “Chance to Shine” will reach a third of all schools in England and Wales.
There are no plans to extend the scheme to other sports.
Computing Equipment
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks, (b) compact discs, (c) DVD-ROM discs, (d) laptop computers, (e) external computers hard drives, (f) internal computer hard drives and (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in her Department in each month since March 2005. [88747]
Mr. Lammy: This question cannot be answered save at disproportionate cost.
Cultural Agreement with India
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the United Kingdom Government have to establish a cultural agreement with India; and with which countries the United Kingdom Government has established a cultural agreement. [87616]
Tessa Jowell: The United Kingdom does not have general cultural agreements with other countries. However, we are in the process of finalising a Film Co-Production Treaty with India. The UK has similar Agreements on Film with France, Germany, Canada, Norway, Australia and New Zealand and we are also finalising one with South Africa.
Departmental Staff
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were employed in her Department in each year since 1997. [87618]
Mr. Lammy: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. Historical information on the numbers of people employed by DCMS and its agency, The Royal Parks, is available in the Library and on the civil service website at:
<http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/staff/index.asp>
Data for 2005 can be found at:
<http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/employment/index.asp>
Digital Switchover
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps she is taking to ensure that proprietors of homes in multiple dwelling units are informed of the necessary steps to upgrade their properties to receive digital television; [87817]
(2) what steps she is taking to encourage private landlords to upgrade their properties to provide digital television services to their tenants. [87819]
Mr. Woodward: The digital switchover programme, led by Digital UK working with Government and Ofcom, has established a dedicated workstream on housing issues. This will make sure the progress in converting communal television systems is tracked and that the right messages go to private and social landlords and to managing agents and other representatives. It will also be important to make sure that tenants are aware of what is happening, something Digital UK will do as part of its wider communications campaigns.
The housing workstream is supported by a dedicated Housing Stakeholder Group, chaired by Ross Fraser, the chief executive of Housemark and drawn from representatives from the private and social housing sectors, from practitioners, and from tenants’ representatives, as well as central and local government.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with (a) the National Landlords Association and (b) the National Housing Federation since 2001 on the provision of digital television services to tenants in private accommodation. [87818]
Mr. Woodward: We have had extensive contacts with the National Landlords Association and National Housing Federation regarding the provision of digital television services and digital switchover. Both organisations were represented on the editorial board which oversaw the development of the “Digital Switchover: A Good Practice Briefing Special", which we published, in association with the Chartered Institute of Housing in August 2005.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her policy to support the use of integrated reception systems to provide digital services in multiple dwelling units. [87823]
Mr. Woodward: No. It is for landlords in consultation with residents to determine the most appropriate way of adapting communal TV aerial systems for digital television services.
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the transmitter upgrade timetable is for digital switchover in Wales. [88858]
Mr. Woodward: Digital switchover will begin in the second half of 2009 in the HTV Wales region. We hope to be able to provide more specific information on the transmitter timetable for Wales later in the year, as well as for the west country and Granada regions, where the process will also begin in 2009.
Disability Discrimination Act
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department provides to assist (a) small hotels, (b) guest houses and (c) other tourism businesses to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [87395]
Mr. Woodward: Visit Britain’s National Accessible Scheme (NAS) helps hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation and other accommodation providers, to improve access and quality for those with hearing, mobility and visual impairment. It includes a self-assessment pack, which businesses can complete to see where improvements should be made to improve access.
In addition the Department paid a grant of £27,500 to Tourism for All in 2005-06 to help them provide their holiday care information service, update their current database of service users and members and to organise a series of roadshows to raise awareness about access improvements made by businesses and local authorities with suitable marketing opportunities. Tourism for All provides an important service to disabled people and helps the tourism industry to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Football
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 28 June 2006, Official Report, column 722W, on fixture lists, with which (a) football authorities and (b) sports governing bodies she is consulting; and what the process of consultation will be. [87674]
Mr. Caborn: My officials are currently consulting with all of the football authorities including the FA, the FA premier league and the Football League on the Independent European Sports Review. We will also be consulting the devolved Administrations who have responsibility for sport in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) who represent the interests of all sporting national governing bodies.
We will be holding a number of bilaterals with these consultees and will be encouraging them to reply formally to Jose Luis Arnaut, the author of the review, by the end of September.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Football Association Premier League on ticket pricing. [88207]
Mr. Caborn: I have not held any discussions with the FA Premier League on ticket pricing.
The Government have no role in the commercial and sporting operation of professional football. The issue of season ticket prices is a matter between individual clubs and the relevant football authorities.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what investigations her Department is undertaking into the football transfer market; and when they will report. [87627]
Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no plans for any investigation into the football transfer market. This is, however, an issue that has been raised in the European Sports Review recently published by Jose Luis Arnaut.
Gambling
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what estimate she has made of turnover in the gambling industry in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement; [86104]
(2) what assessment she has made of the extent to which recent increases in turnover in the gambling industry have been a result of (a) increasing losses by those taking part in gambling activities and (b) new participants. [86106]
Mr. Caborn: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on gambling expenditure (i.e. stakes minus winnings) by UK households. In the last five financial years, expenditure on gambling, including the national lottery, is as follows:
| £ million | |
The Gambling Act 2005, which will be fully implemented from September 2007, introduces a regulatory regime designed to ensure that the industry is crime-free, that gambling is fair, and that children and vulnerable people are properly protected.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the scale of betting conducted on British sporting events in other EU member states. [87675]
Mr. Caborn: The Government do not hold information relating to bets taken by operators based outside Great Britain.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has made to the EU study on gambling services in the internal market of the EU. [87676]
Mr. Caborn: My Department submitted evidence to the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, which undertook the study on behalf of the European Commission, and an official attended a briefing for member states hosted by the Swiss Institute.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact on market share of UK-based gambling and betting businesses of their effective regulation. [88825]
Mr. Caborn: A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Gambling Act 2005 was published on 21 April 2005. We are currently working through the programme of secondary legislation needed to implement the Act, in order that the process of implementation will be complete in September 2007. Statutory Instruments will be accompanied by Regulatory Impact Assessments where appropriate.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers the Government have to control online advertising of (a) online and (b) casino gambling; and if she will make a statement. [88842]
Mr. Caborn: The Committee of Advertising Practice will set standards and codes for non-broadcast advertising of gambling activities, including online advertising. The Secretary of State also has reserve powers under the Gambling Act 2005 to make regulations with regard to the form, content, timing and location of gambling advertising. She will not hesitate to use these powers if it becomes clear that self-regulation is not sufficient to protect children and vulnerable people from exploitation. Both the CAP codes and any Secretary of State regulations will apply to all non-broadcast advertising by gambling operators, wherever they are licensed.
Under the Gambling Act 2005 the Gambling Commission has the power to attach a condition to the licences it issues making provision for how gambling facilities may be advertised or described.
In addition, Section 331 of the Gambling Act prohibits any gambling operator based outside the European Economic Area or Gibraltar from advertising in the UK unless a specific exemption has been made for that jurisdiction under sub-section 331(4).
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions her Department has held with the Treasury on the taxation regime for online gambling; and if she will make a statement. [89085]
Mr. Caborn: Officials from this department speak regularly with colleagues from other Government departments across a wide range of issues.
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