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20 Oct 2006 : Column 1453W—continued
Land Use
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will (a) introduce a date by which all local authorities should be fully National Land Information Service-enabled and (b) ensure such a requirement follows the New Burdens principle. [94816]
Mr. Woolas: There is no intention to introduce a date by which all local authorities should be fully National Land Information Service (NLIS) enabled, although progress is being monitored in line with the planned introduction of Home Information Packs on 1 June 2007. It should be noted that all local authorities in England and Wales can now process searches submitted through the NLIS network and 97 per cent. of them receive and return searches electronically. There are no new burden implications.
Planning
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 15 May 2006, Official Report, column 813W, on planning, if she will place in the Library a list of planning decisions approved and returned by the Secretary of State, and her predecessor, since June 2002 showing the name of the (a) applicant and (b) agent in each case. [91716]
Yvette Cooper: Decision Letters, which provide details of the applicant (and agent where applicable), for planning cases that have been approved or refused by the Secretary of State, and her predecessor, from 1 April 2002 to 1 March 2006, can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government website(1). The details of cases from 1 March 2006 onwards are currently being uploaded onto that website, so information on these cases is being placed in the House Library.
(1)http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l143333
Valuation Office Agency
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) hotels, (b) bed and breakfasts and (c) hostels are on Valuation Office Agency’s ratings list in each local authority in Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available. [94826]
Mr. Hain: I have been asked to reply.
The number of properties described as (a) hotels (b) bed and breakfasts and (c) hostels, in the 2005 Rating List for Wales, for each local authority area, at April 2006, is shown in the following table.
| Local authority | Hotels | Hostels | Guest and boarding houses (B and B) |
Wheelie Bins
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on the use of microchips in wheelie bins. [94617]
Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have not issued advice to local authorities concerning the use of microchips in wheelie bins. However, a report by The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a Defra-funded body, references technology associated with microchips in wheelie bins as an example of ways in which local authorities can measure the tonnage of household waste recycled. The report, entitled ‘Improving the Performance of Waste Diversion Schemes: A Good Practice Guide to Monitoring and Evaluation’, is available on the WRAP website at:
http://www.wrap.org.uk/document.rm?id=2646
Minister for Women
Redundancy
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what measures are in place to help women who have been made redundant to find alternative jobs. [95027]
Meg Munn: Women who have been made redundant can, like men, benefit from the range of services provided by Jobcentre Plus, including access to jobs, help and support to find work. Advice is tailored to the individual needs of the people using the service.
Constitutional Affairs
Legal Aid
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many prisoners held at HMP Peterborough accessed legal aid in the 12 months to 30 September 2006; how much such aid has cost the public purse; and if she will make a statement. [95411]
Vera Baird: The information is not available for the following reasons:
not all applicants give the prison’s postcode as their permanent address which would prevent identification in data extraction; and
it is also likely that many applicants will be represented by solicitors from outside the Peterborough area and identifying these cases would involve disproportionate costs.
Culture, Media and Sport
2012 Olympics
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) with which Muslim organisations she has had discussions in relation to accommodating the religious requirements of Muslims from abroad during the 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement; [94351]
(2) what discussions she has had with (a) the Mayor of London and (b) the London Development Agency on accommodating the religious requirements of Muslims from abroad during the 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement; [94352]
(3) what plans she has to accommodate the religious requirements of Muslims from abroad during the 2012 Olympics; and if she will make a statement. [94353]
Mr. Caborn: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority, the Mayor and his officials and my Department want to ensure that for the 2012 Games we understand the needs of all our communities including those of Muslim people, especially during Ramadan.
Throughout the bid, and in the 16 months since we won, much work has been done to understand both the requirements of faith communities, and their views of what would make a successful Games. This work continues. Specific discussions with the Muslim Council of Britain on Ramadan have taken place this year and discussions are ongoing. Dr. Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain is a board member of the London 2012 Organising Committee. The Muslim Council of Britain supported the London bid for the Games.
We want to make sure we find the best possible solutions for athletes, volunteers, officials, workforce and spectators, and we will learn the lessons from other major sporting events held during Ramadan.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she applies to accepting sponsors of the Olympic Games in 2012; which companies are sponsoring the Games; who was responsible for selecting each company; and if she will make a statement. [95128]
Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has identified six categories from which domestic partners will be chosen—banking, insurance, utility services (electricity and natural gas), oil and gas, automotive, and telecommunications. LOCOG is in discussions with potential partners and it will shortly issue invitations for tender (ITTs) in the banking and insurance sectors, with other ITTs following in the coming months. LOCOG hopes to confirm its first sponsorship agreement in early 2007.
To host and stage the Games, LOCOG has a £2 billion budget, almost all of which has to be raised from private sector. Around a third of this will be through sponsorship. Sponsors are, therefore, a vital part of delivering a successful Games. LOCOG will also receive a proportion of revenue from the sponsors in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) The Olympic Partner Programme (TOP), within the contribution it will receive from the IOC towards the London 2012 Games.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much McDonalds agreed to pay towards its sponsorship of the Olympic Games in 2012; what recent representations she has received on sponsorship by McDonalds; and if she will make a statement. [95129]
Tessa Jowell: McDonalds is an official TOP (The Olympic Partners Programme) sponsor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It has been an official sponsor of the Olympic Games since 1976 and has a longstanding commitment to the Olympic movement. In 2004, McDonalds confirmed its TOP sponsorship for the Games until 2012. As part of the IOC's contribution to the Games, LOCOG will receive a proportion of revenue from all of the IOC's TOP sponsors but we do not yet know the exact amount.
My Department has not received any recent representations from McDonalds regarding the sponsorship of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport recently met McDonalds to discuss their sponsorship of coaching.
IT Projects
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which information technology projects are being undertaken by (a) her Department and (b) its agencies; what the (i) start date, (ii) original planned completion date, (iii) expected completion date, (iv) originally planned costs and (v) estimated costs are of each; and if she will make a statement. [95866]
Mr. Lammy: My Department is currently taking forward an Information Management Programme which began in April 2005 and is due to complete in April 2008. The original planned costs were £3 million and current expenditure is in line with the planned estimates.
Local and Regional Media
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to encourage greater diversity of ownership of local and regional media, with particular reference to newspapers. [94292]
Mr. McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
Decisions about ownership of local and regional media and newspapers are a commercial matter for relevant parties in the industry. However, where mergers take place within the media, the Secretary of State does have certain powers to intervene to examine public interest issues that may be raised by such concentrations. Full details of the media mergers regime may be found in the Communications Act 2003 sections 373 to 389 (chapter 2 of part 5 of the Act) which amended the Enterprise Act 2002 so as to introduce the new regime. The Communications Act 2003 is published on the OPSI website at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030021_en.pdf. The explanatory notes to the Communications Act 2003 may be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/en2003/ukpgaen_20030021_ en.pdf. Separately, the DTI has published guidance on the operation of the media mergers regime explaining how public interest interventions in media mergers would work in practice. The guidance may be found on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file14331.pdf.
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