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29 Oct 2007 : Column 640W—continued
Tourism
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of the average percentage change in the productivity of (a) the creative industries and (b) the tourism industry in each year since 1998. [160160]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 25 October 2007]: The table shows the annual and average percentage productivity changes from 1998 onwards for both the creative and tourism and leisure industries. For comparison reasons information on ‘All Services’ and ‘Whole Economy’ are also included.
| Annual and average percentage productivity changes from 1998 onwards | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Sector | ||||
| Creative industries (excl. design and craft) | Tourism-related and other leisure | All services | Whole economy | |
| Source: Estimates based on the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), Office for National Statistics | ||||
Further explanation of this trend is provided in the DCMS annual report 2007, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, though figures for 2004 and 2005 may now differ due to more recent revisions of source data.
“Tourism and leisure” is presented as a combined sector to smooth out potential volatility in the series caused by fluctuations in levels of gross value added (GVA) or employment in any one particular industry. Combining these two small sectors allows better understanding of the overall trends.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists visited the UK in 2006; what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of tourism in that year on the UK economy; and if he will make a statement. [160708]
Margaret Hodge: In 2006 there were an estimated 32 million visits to the UK by overseas residents, in addition to the 126.3 million overnight trips within the UK taken by UK residents. The latest information available on tourism day trips estimated that 870 million were taken in 2005 by English residents within England.
No calculations have yet been made on the overall contribution of the tourism industry to the UK economy in 2006. However, estimates from earlier years suggest that the contribution will be in the region of 3.5 per cent. of UK gross value added (GVA).
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I work to ensure that the importance of tourism is made clear across the Government, and DCMS has regular discussions with HM Treasury on the tourism industry.
Tourism: Finance
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds were provided for the promotion of Great Britain as a tourist destination abroad in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was provided in each year since 1997. [157306]
Margaret Hodge: Since 2002-03, DCMS has funded the overseas promotion of Great Britain through VisitBritain. Up to 2001-02, funding for that purpose was made available to the British Tourist Authority.
VisitBritain's overseas marketing budget for 2006-07 was £35.5 million. Previous years' allocations were as follows:
| Amount (£ million) | |
A further £19 million was made available to the British Tourist Authority in 2001-02, as funding for the Million Visitor Campaign following the foot and mouth crisis and 9/11.
The regional development agencies and local authorities also invest substantial amounts in supporting the tourist industry, and this includes elements of overseas promotion. In 2006-07, the agencies spent £43.5 million on tourism support, and local authorities an estimated £120 million.
Travel Information
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourist information centres there are; and how many there were in 1997. [161398]
Margaret Hodge: There are currently around 500 tourist information centres in England. Unfortunately, the data were not collected for 1997.
Video Games: Children
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what policies his Department implemented as a result of the recommendations made in (a) the 2001 Home Office review of the effect of computer games on young
children and (b) the 2005 Stirling review of research on the impact of violent computer games on young people. [161374]
Margaret Hodge: Both of these reports found no conclusive evidence of a link between playing violent games and behaving violently in real life. Both reports confirmed therefore that the current regulatory regime is satisfactory. However, following concerns expressed by some people, we worked with the games industry on a package of measures designed to ensure that parents had sufficient knowledge about a game's contents so that they could make an informed decision when purchasing the game for their children. These measures included bigger classification symbols; advice explaining the type of content; strengthened guidance for retail staff; all games for adults to be classified by the British Board of Film Classification even if there is no statutory requirement to do so; and a website publicised by five million leaflets where parents can learn about the content of games and their classification.
We are keen to ensure that children are not exposed to inappropriate materials so we keep these measures under review. Currently, Dr. Tanya Byron is leading an independent review which is looking at the risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games.
Video Games: Safety
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will introduce legislation to make it a requirement for screen-based electronic games publishers to (a) test their products prior to publication to ensure that they do not cause serious photosensitive epileptic seizure and (b) provide warnings that their products could trigger photosensitive epileptic seizures. [155995]
Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
We believe there is already adequate legislation in the form of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, which require consumer products to carry adequate warnings and instructions for use.
Communities and Local Government
Adoption: Babies
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department provides financial incentives to local authorities to increase take-up of adoptions of babies under the age of six months. [149433]
John Healey [pursuant to the reply 17 July 2007, Official Report, c. 215-6W ] : The correct information is as follows:
The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister before it has since 2000 provided a system of performance incentivisation for local authorities in England across a range of service areas. This system
operated via the Local Public Service Agreements (LPSA), which have since been merged with Local Area Agreements (LAA). These agreements offered a reward grant to local authorities who could deliver outcomes over and above the level of performance Government would otherwise expect.
64 local authorities chose to include in their LPSA or LAA a measure performance on adoption and/or stability of placements for looked-after children, though the targets would not refer specifically to babies under the age of six months. Reward would be payable to local authorities and their partners for achievement of these particular targets, and in a number of cases this has now been claimed. Details on each target have been made available in the Library of the House, though we do not have data on the age of the children adopted in local authority areas.
Buildings: Energy
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will announce details of the qualifications, training and accreditation required for those producing display energy certificates and advisory reports as required by the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. [159574]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 19 October 2007]: The national occupational standards which offer the framework for training and development are already in place. Relevant qualifications are under preparation. CLG has invited potential accreditation schemes to apply. Details can be found at www.communities.gov. uk/epbd.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the operational rating methodology for the display energy certificates software and accompanying guidance notes will be published; and if she will make a statement. [159575]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 19 October 2007]: The operational rating methodology for display energy certificate software is currently under development and a preliminary version has been issued for testing. The final version of the software and accompanying guidance is scheduled to be published before the end of the year.
Climate Change
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) which organisations have representatives on (a) the Government’s Zero Carbon Homes Taskforce and (b) her Department’s Climate Change Planning Policy Statement Sounding Board; [157352]
(2) which local planning authorities were invited to the last meeting of her Department’s Climate Change Planning Policy Statement Sounding Board. [157353]
Yvette Cooper: The organisations that sit on the Government’s 2016 Zero Carbon Homes Taskforce alongside myself and the Minister for Energy are:
Home Builders Federation
Local Government Association
WWF
UK Green Building Council
UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy
Calcutt Review of Housing Delivery
Construction Products Association
Town and Country Planning Association
National House Building Council
Renewable Energy Advisory Board
Invitations to the sounding board for the planning policy statement (PPS) on planning and climate change have been personal to the individual concerned, and made so as to bring together a range of expertise and know-how to inform the development of the PPS. Although participants were not contributing as representatives of their parent organisations, participants from the following organisations have sat on the sounding board.
British Property Federation
Confederation of British Industry
English Partnerships
Environment Agency
Friends of the Earth
Green Alliance
Home Builders Federation
Local Government Association
London Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Merton
Planning Inspectorate
Royal Town Planning Institute
Solar Century
South East Regional Assembly
Town and Country Planning Association
UK Green Building Council
Wind Prospect Group
WWF
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department’s Climate Change Planning Policy Statement sounding board will next meet; and which organisations will be invited to attend. [159384]
Yvette Cooper: No further meetings are currently planned.
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