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17 Jan 2007 : Column 1174W—continued
Job Search Support
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the UK left employment in the last 12 months; how many were provided with job search support via Government agencies; what the (a) total and (b) average cost per person was of providing such support; what success rates were achieved; and how success is measured. [102062]
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Great Britain lost their jobs in the last 12 months; how many were provided with job search support via Government agencies; what the (a) total cost of providing job search support and (b) average cost per person of providing job search support was in that period; what success rates were achieved; and how success is measured. [102665]
Mr. Jim Murphy: There are more people in work than ever before—up 192,000 this year and by over 2.5 million since 1997. Our employment rate is the highest in the G7. Redundancies are close to their lowest and vacancies are high, with over 600,000 thousand each and every month.
6.1 million people in the UK(1) (5 million excluding students) left employment in the last 12 months, of whom 2.6 million (2.3 million excluding students) were job to job changes, 1.4 million (1.2 million excluding students) were flows from employment to unemployed and 2.1 million (1.4 million excluding students) were flows from employment to inactivity.
We provide job search support via Jobcentre Plus and every working day Jobcentre Plus conducts 36,000 work-focused interviews and takes around 38,000 calls to the Jobseeker Direct number. However not all of the 6.1 million people that left employment in the last 12 months will have made contact with Government agencies to get help with finding new employment.
Information is not available on how many people were provided with job search support via Government agencies; what the total cost and the average per person cost of providing job search support was; or what success rates were achieved.
(1 )Relevant Office for National Statistics information is not available for Great Britain.
Culture, Media and Sport
Advertising
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on advertising with The Guardian newspaper, including online, advertorials and advertising features, in the latest year for which figures are available. [114042]
Mr. Lammy: The Department spent the following on advertising in The Guardian newspaper in the last year for which figures are available:
| £ | |
Coastal Towns
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action her Department (a) has undertaken and (b) is planning to undertake to improve the (i) economic competitiveness and (ii) quality of life for residents of coastal towns, with particular reference to sporting and cultural activities and amenities. [115765]
Mr. Lammy: The programmes supporting sporting and cultural provision offered by my Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are available in all towns of England, including coastal towns.
Here are some examples of the many actions we have undertaken or plan to improve the (i) economic competitiveness and (ii) quality of life for residents of coastal towns.
The investment we make through Visit Britain to support its promotional expenditure promotes and contributes to the visitor economy of Britain as a whole, including coastal towns.
We have invested in a number of large scale projects such as leisure centres, multi-sport facilities etc in coastal towns around England through Sport England’s community investment fund and Active England funding since 2005.
We recognise that the reuse and restoration of historic buildings and areas is a way of achieving a sense of place and local identity. Restoring the historic environment creates jobs and helps underpin local economies.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has funded 655 projects totalling £250.7 million in English coastal resorts. Many HLF funding schemes have complemented or levered in extra funding from regional development agencies, the single regeneration budget and the European regional development fund. HLF funding has also benefited other seaside towns including former mining and fishing towns.
There have been 520 lottery awards in the Hartlepool constituency, with a total value of over £28.2 million since 1 May 1997, the most notable award being one of just over £4 million from HLF towards the restoration of HMS Trincomalee. These have generated partnership funding of approximately a further £24 million.
The Regional Screen Agencies are actively involved in programmes in coastal towns and areas, including encouraging filming, supporting film festivals and supporting a range of community education projects. These help encourage more production to film there, and raise the profile of these areas.
The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy will be the venue for the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events in 2012. Hosting the games will provide enhanced facilities on the site that will provide an outstanding sailing legacy for all levels, from beginner to world class including disabled. The development will also act as a catalyst for the continued regeneration of the area.
Community Facilities: London
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) libraries, (b) community centres, (c) leisure centres and (iv) sports centres closed in each year since 1997 in each borough in the Greater London area. [116094]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Consultants
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was to (a) Sport England, (b) her Department and (c) UK Sport of the use of consultants in 2005-06. [115628]
Mr. Caborn: The total cost of consultants to Sport England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and UK Sport in 2005-06 is as follows:
| 2005-06 | |
| £ | |
Correspondence
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within (a) 10 and (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement. [114662]
Mr. Lammy: In the last 12 months the Department received 4,199 letters from hon. Members, broken down by month as follows:
| Number | |
It is not possible to provide details of the dates that responses were sent in the format requested without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members’/Peers’ correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 75-78WS.
Digital Switchover
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effect of digital switchover on energy consumption levels. [108441]
Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
Digital switchover is expected to have an impact on both transmitter power usage and consumer power usage.
Digital transmission is more efficient than analogue in terms of power usage. Replacing the analogue terrestrial transmission network with a nationwide digital terrestrial television network will lead to a significant net reduction in energy usage by the transmission networks, estimated to be 186 GWh per year.
Consumer power usage is expected to rise as a result of switchover, primarily because of the rapid increase in the take-up of set-top boxes, particularly for second sets, which would not be otherwise converted until replaced. The predicted level of the increase is dependent on a number of assumptions about the usage and the design of equipment in the market at the time of switchover. DCMS, DTI and DEFRA economists have estimated that the increase in consumer energy use attributable to switchover in 2012 is likely to be between 966 GWh and 2,816 GWh per annum. The increase is equivalent to a 0.37 per cent. increase in domestic electricity consumption.
The central estimate for the total impact of switchover is a net increase of 1,705 GWh per year, but this would be reduced if industry makes more energy-efficient products. Work on this is being taken forward as part of the DTI usability action plan.
Further details are contained in the ‘Regulatory and Environmental Impact Assessment: the timing of digital switchover’, published on 16 September 2005. This was placed in the Libraries of the House at the time of publication, and is also available at http://www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk/consultations/con_ria_timingods.html
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the number of households which will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands. [115474]
Mr. Woodward: The details are in the table.
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