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4 Jun 2007 : Column 95W—continued
(ii) The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on advertising by (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years. [139523]
Mr. Woodward: The information is as follows:
| (a) spend (£) | |
(b) This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Recruitment
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department and its agencies paid to recruitment consultants in each year since 1997. [140032]
Mr. Woodward: The Department and its agency, the Royal Parks, do not separately identify the cost of recruitment consultants from other recruitment costs such as advertising. The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Digital Broadcasting: Broadcasting Reception
Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of households can currently receive digital terrestrial transmission in the (a) Anglia, (b) Border, (c) Central, (d) Granada, (e) London, (f) Meridian, (g) STV Central, (h) STV North, (i) Tyne Tees, (j) Ulster, (k) Wales, (l) West, (m) West Country and (n) Yorkshire ITV regions. [140406]
Mr. Woodward: We do not have figures for digital terrestrial transmission by ITV region. Ofcom hold the following information on DTT coverage by Government region:
54 per cent. of households in the East of England;
94 per cent. of households in the north-west of England;
82 per cent. of households in Scotland;
74 per cent. of households in the West Midlands;
74 per cent. of households in the East Midlands;
86 per cent. of households in London;
58 per cent. of households in the south-east;
89 per cent. of households in the north-east;
58 per cent. of households in Northern Ireland;
57 per cent. of households in Wales;
62 per cent. of households in the south-west; and
82 per cent. of households in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Digital Broadcasting: Scotland
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households qualifying for assistance in switching over to digital television in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland will be required to pay a £40 fee to access assistance. [139919]
Mr. Woodward: The information is not available in the form requested.
We estimate about 49 per cent. of Scottish households in the Grampian and Scottish TV regions eligible for help will qualify for free assistance under the Digital Switchover Help Scheme; 51 per cent. of households in the Grampian and Scottish TV regions eligible for help will qualify for assistance to which there is a £40 charge.
For the Border region covering England and Scotland (but excluding Whitehaven and the Isle of Man), we estimate that 41 per cent. of eligible households will qualify for free assistance; 59 per cent. of eligible households will qualify for assistance to which there is a £40 charge.
Football: Tickets
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to prevent the re-sale of tickets for football matches (a) on the street and (b) online. [139031]
Mr. Woodward: The resale of tickets for football matches on the street and online is prohibited under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, as amended by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006. It is a matter for the police.
Leisure: Training
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the chief executive of People 1st on the national skills strategy for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sectors on the account taken of environmental sustainability in the delivery of the strategy. [139950]
Mr. Woodward: People 1st regularly attend the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games. DCMS works closely with People 1st on improving skills and retention rates across the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries. Officials have regular meetings with their Chief Executive.
The industry-led National Skills Strategy (NSS) for England contains a Ten Point Plan of action to improve skills and retention levels. Research indicates that industry increasingly recognises the need to adopt sustainable practices and the NSS will take this into account in implementation and delivery. In particular, the UK Skills Passport, qualifications reform and the National Hospitality Skills Academy (Points 1, 2 and 8 of the Plan) are important developments which can help promote the sustainability agenda. For example, there are currently no publicly funded training programmes for sector businesses which reflect the trend toward a sustainable business approach and this will be considered as part of the wider qualifications reform programme and in the new and innovative programmes developed by the Skills Academy.
Sustainability will be fully integrated and built into the Department’s tourism policies and practices, including skills. This is a key theme running throughout our Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games, due to be launched later this summer, which will balance the needs of visitors, industry, community and the environment.
Olympic Games: Greater London
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what effect the use of Lottery funding for the 2012 Olympic Games will have on funding of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. [139749]
Mr. Woodward: Subject to parliamentary approval £4.5 million will be transferred to the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund between 2009 and 2012 from the balance of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI). On current projections, even after this contribution, and any sales diversion effect from Olympic Lottery products, ACNI should still have around £20 million of fresh Lottery income over those four years. Existing commitments need not be affected by the additional Olympic transfer.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will (a) consult shooting organisations on the location for Olympic shooting events and (b) reconsider the decision to site them at Woolwich; and if she will make a statement. [140147]
Mr. Caborn: The Great Britain Target Shooting Federation and International Shooting Federation were previously involved in the decisions regarding the change of shooting venue from the National Shooting Centre, Bisley to the current venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich.
The Royal Artillery Barracks are part of the Host City Contract agreement with the IOC and are deemed to provide a more compact Games that allowed athletes to train and compete within 30 minutes travel time of the Olympic Village. There are currently no plans to move the Olympic shooting events to an alternative venue.
Sport England: Finance
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the funding allocation for Sport England is for each of the next two financial years. [140548]
Mr. Caborn: It will not be possible to confirm the funding allocation to Sport England for the next two financial years until the outcome of the comprehensive spending review 2007 is known.
Sports: Apprentices
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to extend the young apprenticeship in sports management leadership and coaching pilot project. [139952]
Mr. Caborn: The Young Apprenticeships in Sports Management, Leadership and Coaching were first delivered in September 2005 as part of the Department for Education and Skills’ Young Apprenticeship programme.
An expansion of the Young Apprenticeship programme has been approved to start in September 2007 which will see the number of pupils on the Young Apprenticeship in Sports Management, Leadership and Coaching increase from 350 currently to around 1000. The number of Young Apprenticeship partnerships will also rise from 13 to 46.
SkillsActive (the Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure and Learning) is working closely with a network of specialist Sports Colleges, particularly those also with vocational specialisms to ensure the Young Apprenticeship is established nationwide as a viable opportunity to those entering Key Stage 4.
Stonehenge
Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of the report prepared and sent in response to the request from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2005 to send them a report on progress in resolving the A303 Stonehenge Improvement Scheme; and when the report was sent. [139820]
Mr. Woodward:
I am arranging for copies of the 2005 Reactive Monitoring Report for the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites World Heritage Site to be
placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The report was sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on 31 January 2005.
Tickets: Touting
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department’s code of practice on ticket touting in reducing that practice. [138841]
Mr. Woodward: The Department has held four summits with the primary and secondary ticket markets and agreed a Statement of Collective Agreement. We continue to engage with stakeholders, both to benefit and protect the public. We will continue the dialogue with industry to tackle ticket touting.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department has issued to internet auction sites on ticket touting; and if she will make a statement. [138842]
Mr. Woodward: None. At a meeting with key stakeholders in April 2006, a Statement of Principles was presented and agreed, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Ministers continue discussions with all stakeholders including principal online auction sites, to find solutions to ticket touting concerns.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with representatives of (a) music concerts, (b) music festivals, (c) sporting events and (d) theatres on ticket touting; when such discussions took place; and if she will make a statement. [138843]
Mr. Woodward: Ministers met representatives from the music industry at the fourth summit meeting on ticket touting on 8 February 2007 and met with the five major professional sports governing bodies on 16 May 2007. DCMS officials met the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, who represent ticket agents, theatre and others, on 17 May 2007 and with senior representatives from the UK major events industry on 23 May 2007. Discussions continue with key interested parties on finding solutions to tackle further ticket touting.
Tourism: Costal Areas
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much VisitBritain spent in promoting British seaside destinations in each of the last five years. [139615]
Mr. Woodward:
VisitBritain actively promotes seaside destinations to the inbound and domestic tourism markets, in partnership with regional and local
partners where appropriate. The amounts it has spent in this way cannot be disaggregated from its general marketing spending.
By way of illustration, however, over the period 2004-05 to 2005-06, VisitBritain spent £363,000 on the EnjoyEngland WatersideEngland campaign, which includes the promotion of seaside locations. VisitBritain was also active in promoting the SeaBritain campaign in 2005.
Tourism: Irish
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists from the Irish Republic visited the UK in each of the last 10 years. [140141]
Mr. Woodward: The number of visits to the UK from the Irish Republic since 1995 is shown in the table. This information is taken from the International Passenger Survey and primarily gives an annual estimate of the number of visits to the UK via air and sea routes. However, an estimate of visitor flows across the land border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland has also been included in the figures.
| Visits to the UK from the Irish Republic ( 1 ) 1995-2005 | |
| Visits (000) | |
| (1) Changes were made to the IPS methodology in 1999 to improve the quality and detail of estimates of travellers to and from the Irish Republic. Care should be taken when comparing results for 1999 and 2000 with earlier years. Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS). | |
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