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2 May 2007 : Column 1706W—continued


Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the supporting papers provided for the industry summits held to inform the further development of the Joint Creative Economy Programme. [135018]

Mr. Woodward: It is not possible to release the supporting papers provided for the industry summits as this would inhibit the formulation or development of Government policy. The papers were intended to inform the development of policy underpinning our approach to supporting the creative economy. We will publish the outcome of our discussion in the forthcoming Creative Economy Green Paper, planned for the summer.

Mass Media

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the new text-based labelling system of media content to be introduced by Ofcom referred to by the Chancellor in a speech on 7 March, will be applied to the print media. [135219]

Mr. Woodward: The independent regulator, Ofcom, has a duty to promote media literacy under the Communications Act 2003. In pursuit of that duty, Ofcom has been developing proposals for a common labelling framework which would extend to material either broadcast or found on electronic communications networks.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she expects London council tax payers to receive a refund following the sale of land after the Olympic games have been held. [133290]


2 May 2007 : Column 1707W

Tessa Jowell: Decisions on the London council tax are a matter for the Mayor of London.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of the revised memorandum of understanding with the Mayor of London on the costs of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic games; and if she will make a statement. [134171]

Tessa Jowell: My statement to the House on 15 March, set out that the Mayor of London and I have agreed to rewrite our memorandum of understanding to put in place profit sharing arrangements to enable the lottery and future regeneration needs of the local area to benefit from the returns on the investment that we are making in the Olympic park.

Work on this has begun; when it is completed I will have a copy of the revised memorandum placed in the Library of the House.

Radio: Essex

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the licensed commercial radio stations in (a) Romford, (b) Essex and (c) London. [134581]

Mr. Woodward: I understand that the following are the licensed commercial analogue and digital radio services in each area:

Radio: Regulation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to reduce the regulatory burden on analogue commercial radio. [134580]

Mr. Woodward: The regulatory regime for analogue commercial radio is established under the Communications Act 2003 and the Broadcasting Acts. Detailed implementation is the responsibility of the independent communications regulator Ofcom. Ofcom are currently consulting on phase 3 of their review of the future of radio and, subject to the outcome of that consultation, Ofcom and the Government will consider the case for reducing regulatory or legislative burdens on analogue commercial radio.

Sports: Scotland

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much National Lottery money was paid to sports-based causes in Scotland via distributors other than SportScotland in each of the last five years. [134698]

Mr. Caborn: The Big Lottery Fund has supplied the following information about grants to physical activity and sport by it and its predecessor bodies. The information covers the last five complete financial years.

£
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total

Active Futures

0

0

0

927,246

3,901,081

4,828,327

NOPES Activities

0

33,569,056

1,276,043

0

0

34,845,099

NOPES Facilities

2,910,336

4,119,865

27,980,074

13,852,510

0

48,862,785

Young Peoples Fund

0

0

0

0

1,111,482

1,111,482

Awards for All

0

0

250,000

250,000

500,000

1,000,000

School Sports Coordinators(1)

0

0

940,000

930,000

930,000

2,800,000

Youth Football(2)

0

0

0

0

1,500,000

1,500,000

Total

2,910,336

37,688,921

30,446,117

15,959,756

7,942,563

94,947,693

(1) Grant administered and delivered by Sport Scotland (2) Grant administered by Sport Scotland and delivered by the Scottish Football Association.

UK Sport has supplied the following information about grants in Scotland in each of the last five completed financial years. The figures given include grants to athletes who represent Scotland, to non governmental bodies based in Scotland and to sport events which could have benefited Scotland.


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2 May 2007 : Column 1710W
£
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Total

Athlete

580,028

551,908

533,190

441,546

725,421

2,832,093

NGB

247,931

300,456

371,627

533,406

318,380

1,771,800

Events

376,908

311,935

272,040

70,000

100,000

1,130,883

Total

1,204,867

1,164,299

1,176,857

1,044,952

1,143,801

5,734,776


Television: Telephone Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department’s policy is on dealing with the recent television premium rate phone call incidents. [134579]

Mr. Woodward: Responsibility for the regulation of these services rests with the independent regulators, Ofcom and ICSTIS. In response to recent concerns, ICSTIS has set out a range of actions aimed at restoring public trust in premium rate services. This includes the introduction of a licensing regime for all premium rate service providers operating participation TV services. In addition, Ofcom is now undertaking an inquiry into these services and will examine consumer protection issues. It will report to the Ofcom Board in early summer. In the meantime, Ofcom is investigating specific allegations. Where this exposes serious failures of compliance, or failures to protect the interests of consumers, Ofcom has the power to impose statutory sanctions and intends to use them.

Tourism

Mr. Anthony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to increase the number of people holidaying in the UK from (a) overseas and (b) the UK. [135205]

Mr. Woodward: The forthcoming tourism strategy for the 2012 games, which my Department will publish in partnership with VisitBritain and Visit London, will set out the framework under which the public and private sectors can work to increase (a) the numbers of inbound visitors to the UK, and (b) the numbers of domestic residents holidaying (or visiting attractions) within this country.

The strategy will build on my Department’s existing policies for promoting and supporting the tourism industry through marketing at UK and England levels, and support for the domestic industry in areas including product quality and workforce skills.

I expect the strategy to be published before the end of July.

Tourism: North-east Region

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of likely revenues from tourism in the North East of England over the next five years; and if she will make a statement. [134453]

Mr. Woodward: No forecasts have been made for the revenues from tourism in the North East.

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the value of tourism to the North East in each year since 2002. [134454]

Mr. Woodward: The table shows the total spend in the North East from (i) UK residents (with an overnight stay) and (ii) overseas residents, since 2002.

Domestic overnight spend( 1)
North East £ million

2002(2)

868

2003

824

2004

700

2005

822

(1 )The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred as a result of concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which are thought to be an under-representation of the true position.
(2) For 2002, data relate to Northumbria only.
Source:
UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards)

Total spend by overseas residents
North East £ million

2002

169

2003

213

2004

194

2005

206

Source:
International Passenger Survey (ONS)

In addition, account should be taken of the total spend of day visitors to, or within, the North East. The Leisure Day Visits Survey in 2002-03 recorded a total spend of £800 million to destinations in the North East. It is not possible to provide a time series for this information as the surveys are run intermittently.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Afghanistan: Drugs

Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) responsibilities and (b) functions are of the UK's role as (i) G8 lead nation for the counter narcotics campaign as set out in the Joint Declaration of an Enduring Relationship between the UK and Afghanistan and (ii) partner nation in the field for counter narcotics, as set out in the Enduring Relationship Action Plan 2006-07. [134005]

Margaret Beckett: The UK took on lead G8 responsibility for counter narcotics following the Bonn Agreement in 2001. In 2006 it was agreed that the concept of 'lead nation' was redundant, as the Afghan Government now had lead responsibility for all aspects of security sector reform. The UK therefore became Afghanistan's 'partner nation' on counter narcotics.


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