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24 July 2006 : Column 963W—continued
Portchester Castle
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what conditions were attached by the donor when Portchester Castle was given to the nation in 1974; and whether these conditions have been varied at any time. [87742]
Mr. Lammy: The guardianship of Portchester Castle was given to the Commissioner for Works on 23 June 1926. No conditions were attached to this gift.
Regulations concerning the castle have been made subsequently, most recently in 1974 by the Department of the Environment following discussions with Fareham borough council and St. Mary’s Church.
Following a direction made under section 34 of the National Heritage Act 1983, responsibility for managing the property was delegated to English Heritage.
Regal Cinema, Evesham
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the listing of the Regal Cinema, Evesham. [87407]
Mr. Lammy: In October 2000, the Department received two applications to list this building. It was listed at Grade II in November 2000. Between November 2001 and January 2002, we received six requests, from the same individual, to de-list it or to approve ‘in principle’ plans to alter its interior. These were turned down. In June 2002, we received a request to upgrade the cinema to II. This was rejected, on the advice of English Heritage, 10 September 2002.
Sport England
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many funding applications have been made to Sport England from organisations in Leicester, South constituency; and if she will provide details of each application. [86131]
Mr. Caborn: Sport England does not hold information about funding applications in the required format. Over 900 applications have been made in the East Midlands region, however, information specifically about the Leicester, South constituency could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Sport England grants have been awarded to organisations in Leicester, South constituency; and if she will provide details of each award. [86132]
Mr. Caborn: Sport England records show that, since 1995, 14 lottery grants have been awarded to organisations in the Leicester, South constituency at a total value of £6,927,625. In addition, the constituency may also have benefited from Community Club Development programme grants of £1,137,889 awarded to organisations throughout Leicestershire.
Details of the Lottery awards are given in the following table.
Sports Clubs
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) football, (b) rugby, (c) hockey, (d) tennis, (e) cricket, (f) swimming and (g) gymnastic clubs there were in (i) each London borough and (ii) London in the last year for which figures are available. [87417]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS does not hold the information requested and there is no central register for such clubs.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by her Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005. [85183]
Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported.
Television Licences
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in (a) Houghton and Washington, East constituency and (b) Sunderland city council area have been in receipt of free television licences in each year since the introduction of free licences for people over 75 years. [87374]
Mr. Woodward: TV Licensing, which administers free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, is 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 Houghton and Washington, East constituency in 2004-05 was 4,490, according to Department for Work and Pensions records. Winter fuel payment figures for the Sunderland city council area are not available; however, the figure in 2004-05 for the unitary authority of Sunderland was 15,330.
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will introduce a scheme to exempt those staying in respite care from the need to purchase a television licence in addition to the one purchased for their home. [87418]
Mr. Woodward: Television licences for respite care arise principally in relation to the Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC) concessionary scheme. As part of BBC Charter Review, the Government re-examined anomalies within the existing concessionary arrangements, with a special focus on the ARC scheme. In the March 2006 White Paper, the Government acknowledged the shortcomings of the scheme but noted that proposals for change focused on individual anomalies rather than ways to improve the scheme as a whole. Previous changes to correct individual anomalies have done little to improve the scheme as a whole and have tended to create new problems. We therefore have no plans to amend the scheme, or to introduce a separate concessionary scheme for respite care accommodation.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussion took place between her Department and the BBC about the decision not to renew the contract for renewal and purchase of television licences supplied at post offices. [87429]
Mr. Woodward: The award of the contract was a commercial decision for the BBC as television licensing authority. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport did not therefore have any discussions with the corporation about the substance of the decision. However, DCMS officials were briefed by the BBC prior to the corporation's announcement of the award of the contract on 31 March this year.
Ticket Touting
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions were agreed at the Ticket Tout summit on 17 July regarding the charging of administration fees in relation to tickets returned to the original sellers for re-sale at face value; and if she will make a statement. [87118]
Mr. Woodward:
At the summit on 17 July, the industry stated their agreement to introduce a returns policy whereby fans can return tickets to the original sellers at face value. There were no specific provisions
agreed around charging administrative fees in relation to these tickets. The returns policy will be implemented by the industry itself and I hope that it will take all relevant views into account, especially those of the ticket buying public, when doing this. The industry also agreed to set up a website where fans could sell tickets to other fans at face value.
At the summit my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I also announced a future DCMS-led public consultation to establish the views of consumers and the industry on ticket sales issues. Other measures announced included further work with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on terms and conditions of ticket sales and the introduction of kite marks for ticket sales websites. The Government also pledged to continue working with the industry and OFT to draw up an overarching code of practice for both primary and secondary ticket sellers.
Our principle in taking this forward remains that the interests of the consumers are paramount and that our creative, cultural and sporting industries should be able to prosper in a healthy legitimate market.
Tourism
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the tourism deficit in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [87382]
Mr. Woodward: The UK tourism balance of payments deficit was £18.1 million in 2005. This figure has been produced using a range of data sources including the UK Tourism Survey and the International Data Survey.
The deficit reflects a range of factors including increased prosperity and the availability of cheap flights. The UK is by no means alone in this regard, indeed, in 2003 Germany’s deficit stood at over £27 billion.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives have been put in place by her Department to increase domestic tourism visits. [87392]
Mr. Woodward: Domestic tourism represents around 80 per cent. of the turnover of the UK tourism industry. My Department funds VisitBritain to market England to the British, as advised by the England Marketing Advisory Board. £10.4 million a year in grant in aid to VisitBritain is presently allocated for this purpose.
VisitBritain’s domestic marketing activities include the EnglandNet project, which provides comprehensive destination information for both domestic and overseas visitors, with facilities for live booking of accommodation and other services using the websites of VisitBritain’s commercial and public sector partners. A total of £10 million has been allocated to EnglandNet to date, including £2 million over the current Spending Review period from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
My Department also works closely with regional and local government in supporting and promoting domestic tourism, currently contributing £3.6 million a year to the Regional Development Agencies to support
tourism in the regions, and £1.9 million a year to the Greater London authority to support the Mayor’s statutory tourism duties.
Support for the growth of domestic tourism is central to the consultation on the Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched on 19 July.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding her Department plans to contribute for (a) marketing, (b) e-tourism, (c) improving the quality of tourism products and (d) skills and training in connection with achieving the target of £100 billion value for tourism by 2010. [87393]
Mr. Woodward: My Department funds VisitBritain to market Britain overseas, and market England to the British and in some European territories as advised by the England Marketing Advisory Board. Grant in aid to VisitBritain under the current Spending Review is in the following table:
| Resource | Capital | Total (£000) | |
My Department also currently contributes £3.6 million a year to the Regional Development Agencies’ Single Pot in support of their strategic responsibilities for tourism in the regions, and £1.9 million a year to the Greater London authority to support the Mayor’s statutory tourism duties.
Marketing including the use of e-tourism, and improvements in product quality and workforce skills, are essential elements of the consultation on the Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games, which my RHF the Secretary of State launched on 19 July. In these and other areas, VisitBritain, the development agencies, and the Authority are expected to have major roles in tourism’s preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The effects of any new work arising from the consultation on VisitBritain’s future funding levels cannot be foreseen at this stage. Levels of grant-in-aid from my Department to VisitBritain, the development agencies, and the GLA for years after 2007-08 are yet to be agreed, and are subject to the present Comprehensive Spending Review.
The consultation also seeks views on the possible effects of the games opportunity, and of changes in statistical methodology, on my Department’s strategic targets for tourism.
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 enhance the skills of employees. [87394]
Mr. Woodward: The Department is working closely with DFES and People 1(st) (the Sector Skills Council for the Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism industries) on a broad and ambitious skills programme.
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