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25 Jun 2007 : Column 41Wcontinued
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what advice she gave to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the issuing of a visa to the Chairman of the Zimbabwean Cricket Union Peter Chingoka to attend the International Cricket Council conference at Lords between 24 and 29 June. [145787]
Mr. Caborn: The Government do not comment on individual visa application cases.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions (a) she and (b) her officials had with the England and Wales Cricket Board on the granting of a visa to Peter Chingoka to attend the International Cricket Council conference at Lords between 25 June and 29 June. [145792]
Mr. Caborn: My officials and I have discussed the International Cricket Conference at Lords in June with the England and Wales Cricket Board. However, the Government do not comment on individual visa applications cases.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds were allocated to the protection of Iraqs heritage in each of the last four years. [143004]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 19 June 2007]: My Department supports international activity by bodies such as the National Museums and Galleries, the British Library and English Heritage through their annual grant in aid. Specific sums are not ring-fenced on a country by country basis, as operational decisions on priorities are best taken by the professionals in each institution in the light of changing circumstances.
In the case of Iraq, I would highlight the work of the British Museum, which has:
provided expertise and training on conservation and site management;
sent two archaeologists to Iraq who were instrumental in co-ordinating the quick supply of a wide range of desperately needed materials and equipment to the Baghdad Museum; and
arranged and managed (with additional funding of £15,000 from the DCMS) a project that allowed three interns coming from the Iraqi Ministry of Culture to learn the skills necessary for the future management of the Babylon archaeological site.
In addition to the work of the British Museum, the British Library has also provided expertise and support. It was able to work with the Iraq National Library and Archive, supplying surrogate material to replace that which was lost during the conflict.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria her Department applies before deciding whether or not to celebrate a cultural anniversary. [144020]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 20 June 2007]: None. There are a plethora of cultural anniversaries every year, marking a broad spectrum of people, events and occasions. My Department does not take unilateral decisions on whether or not to celebrate any of them.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by (a) civil servants and (b) Ministers in her Department in each of the last three calendar years; and what the total cost of such flights was. [144944]
Mr. Lammy: Departmental expenditure for overseas travel and subsistence by officials is shown in the table.
Regarding Ministers' visits overseas, since 1999 the Government have published, on an annual basis, a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 is currently being compiled and will be published before the summer recess. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code, the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.
Financial year | Overseas travel and subsistence costs by officials (£) |
(1 )Subject to finalisation of the annual resource accounts. |
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by staff in her Department via departmental (a) credit, (b) procurement and (c) fuel cards in each of the last three years. [145288]
Mr. Lammy: The Department spent the following amounts on (a) credit cards, (b) procurement cards and (c) fuel cards in the last three financial years:
£ | |||
(a) Credit cards | (b) Procurement cards | (c) Fuel cards | |
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many energy saving light bulbs were purchased by her Department for use on the departmental estate in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. [144943]
Mr. Lammy: The Department did not purchase any energy saving light bulbs during these periods.
We are currently refurbishing our offices at 2-4 Cockspur Street and are installing T16 energy efficient light bulbs.
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Memoranda of Understanding are in force as a result of agreements with foreign Governments entered into by Ministers in her Department; and what executive actions each entails. [144477]
Mr. Lammy: There are three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed by DCMS Ministers relating to sport:
(i) UK-Saudi Arabia, December 1987;
(ii) UK-South Africa, February 2005;
(iii) UK-Brazil, September 2006.
These MoUs have been put into operation by UK Sport (i and ii) and the British Council (iii).
There is one MoU between the UK and Italy on Digital Television, signed by the Secretary of State in 2004. An exchange of information between the UK and Italy is planned; the form of this is being discussed.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in her Department have been allowed to work from home for part of the week in the last year; and if she will make a statement on her Departments policy on home working. [143888]
Mr. Lammy: DCMS has 16 members of staff currently working from home on a regular basis. In DCMS there is an arrangement where staff work part of their hours from home. At present we are only able to support a limited number of formal home-working arrangements. However, we also support and encourage the more informal home-working arrangements in which staff may have agreed to work from home on an occasional ad-hoc basis.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which advertising and marketing campaigns were run by (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; which external agencies were involved; and what the cost was of each campaign. [144617]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is as follows.
(i) The DCMS spent £163,200 on the Licensing Act campaign in 2005. The external agency involved was COI.
(ii) There was a smaller amount of advertising and marketing activity around the BBC Charter Review.
Campaign | Cost (£) | Agency |
The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of the concordat governing the relationship between her Department and the Northern Ireland administration. [145943]
Mr. Lammy: My Department does not currently have a Concordat with the Northern Ireland Executive but will work with colleagues in the Devolved Administration in Northern Ireland to develop one. A copy will be laid in the House when this has been done.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of staff in her Department were over 60 years of age in each of the last three years. [145676]
Mr. Lammy: The information is shown in the following table.
As at 1 April: | Percentage of staff over 60 years of age |
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people aged (a) over 55 years of age and (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by her Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year. [145710]
Mr. Lammy: In the last three years the Department recruited one person over the age of 55 which represented 7 per cent. of those recruited in that year. No staff were recruited over the age of 60.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public consultations her Department undertook in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each consultation. [145271]
Mr. Lammy: Over the 12 months to end May 2007, my Department launched 36 formal public consultations in order to inform the Departments policy development. Information on the cost of each consultation and the total cost of all consultations, could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All consultations are available on the departmental website:
Mr. Vaizey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) of 11 June 2007,
Official Report, columns 738-39W, on art works, which recommendations from the Goodison report have been addressed by (a) her Department and (b) each other Department; and what steps have been taken in respect of each recommendation that has been addressed. [143556]
Mr. Lammy: I am placing in the House Libraries a table setting out the actions taken by DCMS and others to address the recommendations of Sir Nicholas Goodisons report.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff surveys her Department undertook in the last 12 months; and at what total cost. [145255]
Mr. Lammy: DCMS is in the process of undertaking a staff opinion survey. They take place biennially and the last one was in 2005. The cost of this years survey is £21,540.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department and its agencies paid in travel agencies fees in each year since 1997. [139912]
Mr. Lammy: The following table shows the Departments expenditure on travel agencies fees since July 2000. Data prior to July 2000 are no longer available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The increase since 2002 reflects reductions in the commission the airline industry paid to travel agents for booking flights, and the consequent reduction in the levels of rebates travel agents pass on to clients. Travel agents fees now reflect the full cost of the travel management contract.
The Department has one Executive agency, the Royal Parks, which has not incurred any expenditure on travel agencies fees.
Financial year | DCMS (£) |
(1) Subject to the finalisation of the resource accounts. |
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