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13 Dec 2006 : Column 1093W—continued
Digital Television
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that digital television coverage extends to (a) the whole of Blaydon constituency and (b) Crawcrook village. [109185]
Mr. Lammy: The vast majority of households in those areas should be able to receive digital TV services via either digital satellite or digital terrestrial now.
At switchover, coverage of digital terrestrial television will be increased to substantially match that currently achieved by analogue services.
Gaming Act
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many remote gaming operators have been prosecuted for breach of section 42(1)(c) of the 1968 Gaming Act in the last 12 months; what charge was brought in each case in which all proceedings are complete; and on what date each charge was brought. [108280]
Mr. Caborn: In the last 12 months there have been no prosecutions for violating the advertising provisions of the 1968 Gaming Act.
The joint DCMS/Gambling Commission guidance on remote gambling advertising has led to a significant reduction in adverts that would be deemed to be in breach of the current regulatory framework in this area.
Gershon Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by her Department and its associated public bodies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs have been included in reporting headline efficiency savings; and if she will make a statement. [108356]
Mr. Lammy: The Department did not allocate a separate budget to implement Gershon, and the NDPBs were not given funding specifically to implement efficiency savings. Therefore any costs will have been absorbed into day-to-day work and are not included in reporting headline efficiency savings. We have not previously asked NDPBs for information on the cost of implementing the efficiency programme; to obtain this information now could be achieved only at disproportionate cost as it would involve the 28 NDPBs plus DCMS having to review costs since the start of the programme.
Licensing
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what role (a) town and (b) parish councils have in making representations to a licensing authority in respect of an application pertaining to their local area; and on what grounds a licensing authority may reject such representations. [108270]
Mr. Lammy: Revised guidance to licensing authorities issued by the Secretary of State in June this year clarified that a parish council is a body which represents people living in the vicinity of a premises. It is therefore an interested party able to make relevant representations under the Act. This also applies to town councils.
For the licensing authority to consider representations from interested parties to be relevant they must relate to the impact of the application on the licensing objectives, be made within the prescribed period and not be frivolous or vexatious.
Ministerial Visits
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Ministers in her Department have visited Leicester in the last year; and where they visited in Leicester. [108691]
Mr. Lammy: In the last year, I have visited Leicester twice. On 26 January 2006 I opened the Broughton Astley library and visited the Braunstone library, and on 4 July 2006 I spoke at the cultural strategy launch at the Peepul Centre.
No other DCMS Ministers have visited Leicester in the last 12 months.
All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and ‘Travel by Ministers’.
Olympic Games
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which consultants have worked on the 2012 Olympics to date; and what the project task and cost was in each case. [108309]
Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 100.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of5 December 2006, Official Report, columns 264-5W, on the 2012 Olympics, which organisations submitted their responses to the consultation after the deadline of17 November; and if she will make a statement. [108936]
Mr. Lammy: The response from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, South(Mr. Woodward) to the hon. Member of 5 December 2006, Official Report, columns 264-65, contained errors when setting out the responses which were received after 17 November. The correct figures are that 146 responses were received before the deadline and 25 were received after 17 November. These 25 are in the following list.
Global Refund UK Limited
People1st
Openwide International Limited
Creative and Cultural Skills
National Caravan Council
Local Government Association
Devon County Council
The Guild of Registered Tourist Guides
Umbrella response—England’s Regional Development Agencies
Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership;
Lancaster City Council
Cardiff Council
Imagination Ltd
Greenwich Council—Tourism Development Department
British Resorts and Destinations Association
BT Group
East Midlands Tourism
SkillsActive
CTC Charitable Trust
City of London Corporation
Campaign for Museums
Northern Ireland Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure
East of England Development Agency
South West Tourism
Natural England
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of5 December 2006, Official Report, columns 264-5W, on the 2012 Olympics, whether her Department requested submissions from (a) local authorities and (b) regional development agencies to the consultation; and if she will make a statement. [108938]
Mr. Lammy: DCMS officials sought submissions from a variety of organisations through an open dialogue with stakeholders during the consultation process. This included local authorities and regional development agencies.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of materials and waste associated with the development of the Olympic site she plans to be moved by water. [107060]
Mr. Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority is currently considering ways in which construction and waste materials might be transported to and from the Olympic Park, including what use might be made of both rail and waterways. More specific information will be set out in the ODA’s Sustainable Development Strategy due to be published in the new year.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the announcement on funding for the Bow Locks to the Prescott Channel is due to be made. [107061]
Mr. Caborn: British Waterways and other members of the DEFRA family, along with the Olympic Delivery Authority, have drawn up a plan for the regeneration of the waterways of the Lower Lea Valley and Olympic Park. These proposals include the provision of a lock and weir on the Prescott Channel, which will bring a wide range of benefits. Beneficiaries will contribute towards the cost of the lock.
A number of issues remain to be clarified. The timing of an announcement depends on when these issues are resolved, hopefully early next year.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made against the national target on physical exercise set out in the 2002 Game Plan report published by the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit; and if she will make a statement. [108993]
Mr. Caborn: The Government remain committed to the Game Plan aim of increasing levels of participation in physical activity. DCMS has set out its priorities through its public service agreement (PSA) to increase the number of people from priority groups who participate in sport by 3 per cent. by 2008. Progress at national level will be measured via the Taking Part survey.
Theatres
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of changes in the number of theatres since 1997. [108162]
Mr. Lammy: No estimates have been made on the change in the number of theatres since 1997.
The Arts Council England commissioned an economic impact study of UK theatre, published in 2004, which estimates that 541 theatres make up the building-base of UK theatre. This includes commercial theatres, local authority venues and subsidised theatres.
The number of theatre organisations receiving regular funding from Arts Council England has increased from 192 in 1996-07 to 234 in 2006-07.
Tote
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress with her Department’s plans to sell the Tote. [109354]
Mr. Caborn: I expect to be able to announce soon how the Government intend to proceed with its objectives of removing the Tote from public ownership, promoting horserace pool betting and benefiting racing.
Written Questions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what target her Department has for the maximum acceptable amount of time to answer parliamentary written questions; and what percentage of parliamentary answers met that target in each parliamentary session since 2001. [107471]
Mr. Lammy: My Department aims to answer parliamentary questions within the timescales specified by Parliament, which is named day questions on the day named, and ordinary written questions within a working week.
Defence
Armed Forces: Casualty Reporting
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence why data on casualties have not been centrally compiled for operations in (a) Sierra Leone and (b) the Balkans since May 1997. [105716]
Mr. Ingram: Data on casualties were not collected centrally before the formation of the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre in April 2005 because casualty reporting and tracking was the responsibility of each Service individually. Historic data on casualties have now been compiled for major and ongoing operations in Afghanistan, the Balkans and Iraq and other theatres brigaded together, including Sierra Leone. The Defence Analytical Services Agency is currently working to reconcile these data. When this detailed work is complete it will be placed in the public domain.
Conventional Military Threats
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of conventional military forces in tackling terrorism (a) in the UK and (b) overseas. [105198]
Des Browne: The police have primacy in the detection and prosecution of criminal activity undertaken in the UK by terrorists and their sympathisers and in the maintenance of public safety. The armed forces can and do provide support to the police, at their request, using specialist military capabilities (for example through bomb disposal). The permanent deployment since 1969 of the armed forces in support of the police in Northern Ireland has, for example, been an essential element in delivering the improved security situation seen in recent years.
Overseas, the armed forces continue to play a key role as part of the cross-Government and international effort to counter the terrorist threat. Building the counter-terrorist capacity of friends and allies is an integral part of the Government’s strategy addressing the terrorist threat. Conflict prevention, peace support operations and defence diplomacy can all assist in prevention by tackling some of the underlying causes of terrorism.
Both at home and overseas, our armed forces can therefore play an important role in pursuing terrorists and those who support them but there is no military solution to the terrorist threat. Irrespective of location, the response must be wide-ranging and include respect for the rule of law, international obligations, and human rights, all of which are threatened by the activities of terrorists.
Letters of Condolence
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many letters of condolence he sent to the next of kin of personnel who have died in service in (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq in each year between 2001 and 2005; and how many he has sent in 2006. [105699]
Des Browne: Since August 2003, the Defence Secretary has written letters of condolence to the next of kin of all those who have died on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Details of the numbers of fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan are available on the MOD website:
www.mod.uk
Living Accommodation
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces families in (a) Germany and (b) Cyprus are waiting for family accommodation; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest wait is which has been experienced. [103741]
Derek Twigg: No Service personnel entitled to Service Families Accommodation (SFA) arecurrently waiting for accommodation in Cyprus or Germany.
The average wait during the last 12 months for the allocation of SFA in Germany was seven days and the longest wait for SFA was 101 days. The 101-day wait resulted from the need to convert two properties into one to meet that particular family’s needs.
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