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26 Nov 2007 : Column 6W—continued
Patrol Craft: Repairs and Maintenance
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maintenance schedule of the River Class offshore patrol vessels is; and if he will make a statement. [166434]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The three River class vessels are supported under a Contractor Logistic Support contract placed with VT Group plc. Under the contract the three vessels are required to be operationally available for a total of 960 days per annum. Each vessel undergoes two maintenance periods per annum, one of nine days and one of 16 days duration. The work undertaken during these periods is a combination of contractor and ship’s company tasks.
Reserve Forces: Finance
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the planned funding for the (a) Royal Marines Reserve, (b) Royal Naval Reserve and (c) Royal Fleet Auxiliary is in the financial years (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09. [164551]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: These organisations do not have distinct, identifiable budgets. Costs are managed functionally rather than organisationally. But the following indicative figures are available for forecast expenditure in 2007-08:
Spending plans for future years are being reviewed in the current Departmental planning round.
Tornado Aircraft
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to remove some part of the operational capabilities or lower the operational readiness of the Tornado GR4 aircraft at (a) RAF Lossiemouth and (b) RAF Marham over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [166975]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The MOD has no plans for any changes to the Tornado GR4 force structure at present.
Warships
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what further reductions in the numbers of (a) frigates and (b) destroyers are planned to facilitate financial savings. [164728]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 19 November 2007]: While the Defence Programme is kept under regular review, there are currently no plans to change the number of destroyers or frigates in service with the Royal Navy.
Warships: Finance
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of (a) HMS Ocean, (b) HMS Bulwark and (c) HMS Illustrious when commissioned in 2007 prices. [167532]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The costs of HM Ships Ocean, Bulwark and Illustrious at the time they were commissioned, uprated to 2007-08 prices, are set out in the following table:
| Vessel | Date of commissioning | Price uprated to 2007-08 prices (£ million) |
Olympics
Olympic Board Secretariat
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what functions are performed by (a) the Secretariat to the Olympic Board and (b) the Government Olympic Executive; how many people work in each body; and how much has been spent on staffing each body. [163719]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 13 November 2007]: The Secretariat to the Olympic Board provides support to the board through arranging meetings and preparing agendas, papers and minutes. As of 12 November 2007, the Secretariat consists of two full-time equivalent staff. The current Secretariat, based within the Government Olympic Executive (GOE), took over this function from the Olympic Programme Support Unit in September 2007. The cost of the current Secretariat for September and October 2007 was £7,109.48.
The Government Olympic Executive consists of 61.3 full-time equivalent staff. GOE's main function is to provide an intelligent client for the Olympic programme on behalf of Government. GOE currently divides its staff broadly across four main functions:
(1) Oversight of and support to the key delivery bodies (ODA and LOCOG);
(2) Legacy planning;
(3) Co-ordination of other functions including parliamentary business, research, planning, and public engagement;
(4) Detailed oversight of financial operations.
The GOE staff cost for October 2007 was £629,691 and staff costs to date in this financial year are £2,168,158.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will place in the Library a copy of the Olympic Delivery Authority's register of gifts and hospitality. [165486]
Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority intends to publish its register of gifts and hospitality early next year.
Olympic Games 2012: Mayor of London
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she plans to revise further the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London. [165485]
Tessa Jowell: There is no current reason to further revise the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London.
Culture, Media and Sport
Anti-Semitism
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officials from his Department attended the cross-Government working group on anti-Semitism on 15 November, broken down by grade; and if he will make a statement. [167395]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhandra) on 22 November 2007, Official Report, column 1012W.
Cricket: Floods
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will provide an update on assistance provided to cricket clubs affected by flood damage. [168214]
Mr. Sutcliffe: To date, two applications have been made to Sport England for National Sports Foundation funding for cricket clubs affected by flood damage. Additional information was requested and has now been received from the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). These applications can now be considered for funding.
Cultural Heritage: Marketing
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what agreements exist between English Heritage, the national museums and galleries and VisitBritain for the joint-marketing of English Heritage properties and the national museums and galleries to (a) inbound and (b) domestic visitors. [166157]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 19 November 2007]: VisitBritain works closely with English Heritage, and the National Museums and Galleries, on the marketing of Britain’s historic and cultural assets to both inbound and domestic visitors.
Although there are no formal marketing agreements VisitBritain hosts free contributions on its websites from English Heritage and the National Museums and Galleries. VisitBritain and English Heritage are partners in the Great British Heritage Pass which is marketed by VisitBritain to inbound visitors.
Working in partnership as the Heritage in Britain consortium, English Heritage, VisitBritain, and National Museums and Galleries share research and best practice in the marketing and promotion of Britain’s attractions both domestically and overseas.
Departmental Official Hospitality
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what entertainment or hospitality members of his Department's management board received in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement. [164749]
Margaret Hodge: Paragraph 4.3.5 of the Civil Service Management Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality. The Government are committed to publishing an annual list of hospitality received by members of departmental boards. The first list for 2007 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current calendar year.
Departmental Orders and Regulations
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many regulations his Department has (a) made and (b) revoked in the last 12 months. [167081]
Margaret Hodge: Over the last year, DCMS made 61 statutory instruments and revoked 44. The majority of these new and revoked instruments (43 and 31 respectively) relate to the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 which came fully into effect on 1 September 2007 and which simplified and modernised previous gambling legislation.
Departmental Public Participation
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what opinion polls his Department has conducted of (a) the public and (b) staff since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) name of the firm employed to conduct the poll, (ii) purpose and (iii) cost to the public purse was in each case. [164953]
Margaret Hodge: The Department has conducted one public opinion poll since 27 June 2007. The firm employed was BMRB and the purpose was to gauge national public opinion about the Olympic legacy promises. The cost was £65,629.
The Department has conducted various opinion polls of staff since 27 June 2007 which are listed:
1. Two staff workshops with a range of DCMS staff to explore responses to the recent DCMS Capability Review. These were managed by Campbell Keegan and cost £12,250.
2. A staff opinion survey. The firm employed was ORC International and the purpose was to find out staff views on working at DCMS. The cost was £20,425.
Departmental Publicity
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available. [167346]
Margaret Hodge: The Department has had a zero spend on managing its corporate identity in the last 12-month period.
With regard to its agencies, this figure could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Standards
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to publish his Department's autumn performance report. [164875]
Margaret Hodge: DCMS has not yet set a date for publication of its Autumn Performance Report for 2007, however it is our intention to publish this before the House rises for the Christmas recess.
Digital Broadcasting: Radio
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that the Ofcom tendering process procures a single digital radio broadcasting contract to provide coverage for the whole of Gloucestershire. [167256]
James Purnell: The planning, licensing and regulation of radio (except BBC) is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom.
Heritage
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on progress in developing a UK national heritage science strategy. [163085]
James Purnell: In consultation with the sector, English Heritage is setting up a steering group which will collect and collate information and make proposals for a UK national heritage science strategy.
Museums and Galleries
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) UK residents and (b) tourists from overseas visited (i) museums and (ii) art galleries in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [167264]
Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows:
(a) The number of visits by UK residents to (i) museums and (ii) art galleries sponsored by DCMS are set out in the following table.
| Million | ||
| (i) Museums | (ii) Art galleries | |
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