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28 Jan 2008 : Column 11W—continued
Topical Debates
Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House (1) how many suggestions for topical debates her Department has received from hon. and right hon. Members by (a) post, (b) the link on her website and (c) other means; how many she has received from hon. Members of each party; and who suggested each of the subjects she has selected for debate; [181869]
(2) what proportion of subjects for topical debates suggested by hon. and right hon. Members she has selected for topical debates; [181870]
(3) what the 10 most popular suggestions made by hon. and right hon. Members for topical debates have been. [181871]
Ms Harman: The information is as follows.
| Total received | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | |
| Note: This does not include requests made to me at business questions as this is already a matter of public record. | ||||
Topical debates take place in Government time and the decision and announcement are for me.
Of the requests made, other than at business questions, two subjects have been requested more than once. The topics are: a medal for members of the armed forces who have been killed or wounded in combat and Farepak.
Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House what criteria she uses to decide whether a subject proposed for a topical debate is topical. [181872]
Helen Goodman: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House to the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) on 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1225W.
Culture, Media and Sport
Domestic Sports: Player Nationality
11. Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the EU rules affecting the nationalities of team members in domestic sports teams. [182033]
Andy Burnham: We have been in regular dialogue with both the European Commission and colleagues in member states on the issue of home grown players and on the relationship between the Commission and sport more widely.
The Commission published its White Paper on Sport in July last year and are assessing in more detail the relationship between sport and freedom of movement rules.
We look forward to the outcomes of this work which we understand will be completed in April.
Heritage Bill
12. Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the draft Heritage Bill to be published. [182034]
Margaret Hodge: We are aiming to publish the draft Heritage Protection Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in spring 2008.
Additional Sporting Activity
13. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward proposals to encourage school students with an interest in sport to undertake additional sporting activity outside school. [182035]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The 2006-07 school sport survey showed that 86 per cent. of five to 16-year-olds did two hours of high quality PE and school sport per week in and out of school, exceeding the target of 85 per cent. a year early.
We now have a more ambitious target to offer five hours of sport for all young people aged five to 16 and three hours for those aged 16 to 19 per week. This will be delivered in and out of school through a range of school, community and club providers.
BBC
15.Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the BBC on arrangements for the scrutiny of BBC expenditure by the Committee of Public Accounts. [182037]
Andy Burnham: Neither I nor my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions have had recent discussions. The matter was fully addressed during Charter review and I am satisfied that the current arrangements strike the right balance between protecting public resources and maintaining the independence of the BBC. We have no plans to propose any changes.
Sport: Young People
16. Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to promote opportunities for young people to participate in competitive sport. [182038]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The 2006-07 School Sport Survey showed that:
98 per cent. of schools held a competitive sports day;
58 per cent. of pupils were involved in intra-school competition; and
35 per cent. of all pupils were involved in inter-school competition.
We are committed to increasing the number of children and young people involved in competitive sport as part of our plans to offer five hours of sport for all five to 16-year-olds and three hours for young people aged 16 to 19.
We are working with governing bodies and school sport associations to improve their competition frameworks and we are also establishing a national network of competition managers to implement our plans at a local level.
Departmental Spending
18. Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department will be spending on (a) museums and galleries and (b) theatre in the next 12 months. [182040]
Margaret Hodge: In 2008-09 DCMS will provide nearly £371.5 million to the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries and £46.2 million toward the Renaissance in the Regions programme for regional museums. Arts Council England propose to spend £102.5 million on theatre and £25.4 million on galleries.
Funding: Arts Council England
19. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria were used in determining the withdrawal of Arts Council England funding from certain arts organisations. [182041]
Margaret Hodge: The Arts Council operates at arm's length from Government, according to the criteria set out in their Royal Charter:
“to develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and practice of the arts (and) to increase accessibility of the arts to the public in England.”
In February 2007 the Arts Council said it would give particular priority to:
achieving a portfolio of effective and thriving organisations;
increasing engagement in the arts across the population;
delivering greater arts activity and presence in emerging priority places; and
delivering the recommendations of Turning Point, the Arts Council's strategic review of the visual arts sector.
Diversity: Cultural Events
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to encourage more diversity among participants in and audiences for cultural events; and if he will make a statement. [182025]
Andy Burnham: The Government are supporting a number of initiatives to increase diversity among participants and audiences for cultural events, across the arts, museums and heritage sectors.
We are working closely with Arts Council England, sponsored museums, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and English Heritage to deliver this.
Professional Football: Salaries
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to increase levels of transparency of salaries paid by professional football clubs. [182032]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are currently no plans to bring forward legislation in this area. Salaries are a matter for individual clubs and the Football authorities.
I have been clear, however, that football must find the right balance between its commercial and sporting sides if it is to secure its long-term success and stability.
National Museums: Children
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of visits by children to national museums in 2006-07. [182036]
Margaret Hodge: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave earlier to the hon. Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins).
Business
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department's planned expenditure on business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development is for each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and which elements of this expenditure are planned to be funded through regional development agencies' single pot. [179228]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 15 January 2008]: My Department provides the following funding for tourism:
| £ million | ||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| (1) Tourism funding agreement between the department for culture, media and sport and the Greater London Authority will be subject to the tourism strategic review. Note: Figures for 2008-09 to 2010-11 are from CSR2007 settlement, with some rounding adjustments. | ||||
The regional development agencies single budget is intended to deliver a range of statutory objectives including regeneration, business support, employment, skills and sustainable development. Detailed proposals for business support covering the next three years will be set out in the regional development agencies’ corporate plans which will be published in the spring.
In addition, my Department will also provide up to £3 million per year for the next three years to support projects that might emerge through the process of Government engagement with the creative industries.
Cultural Heritage
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance his Department has issued on the treatment of requests for the (a) return and (b) permanent loan of historical artefacts held by a museum in one part of the UK which were (i) discovered and (ii) created in another part of the United Kingdom. [182176]
Margaret Hodge: My Department has not issued guidance on this topic. Requests for the restitution of cultural objects are a matter for individual museums to consider.
Departmental Data Protection
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many confirmed security breaches of databases controlled by his Department occurred in each of the last five years; whether the breach resulted from internal or external action in each case; how many records were compromised on each occasion; and what estimate was made of the total number of records accessible to the individuals concerned. [173708]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 13 December 2007]: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public
interest, it has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on breaches of security.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department paid in bonuses to press and communication officers in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) highest and (b) lowest such bonus was in each of those years. [182715]
Mr. Sutcliffe: As part of the 2007 annual pay award for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, bonuses totalling £11,730 were paid to press and communications officers. The highest payment was £2,500 and the lowest payment was £680.
To provide the historical information requested for the past 10 years would incur disproportionate cost because in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport information is held by grade and not job role.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of his Department's staff are employed within each salary band; what the title and role of each position within each salary band is; and for each salary band what the (a) bonus structure, (b) retirement provision, (c) expenses provision, (d) total expenses incurred in each of the last 10 years, (e) average age of employee, (f) number of (i) women and (ii) men and (g) ethnic composition is. [171413]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
(a) The Department makes bonus payments to its staff for two purposes for staff below the senior civil service: (i) special bonuses to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (ii) performance bonuses to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. Senior civil service salaries, including bonuses are subject to review by the Senior Salaries Review Body.
(b) The normal retirement age for all permanent DCMS staff in all grades including the senior civil service is 65. Staff can choose between a range of pension options operating under the Principle Civil Service Pension Scheme.
(c) Expenditure on expenses in the Department is conducted in accordance with the principles of managing public money as well as the Department's internal guidance. An analysis of expenses is not separately recorded in the Department's accounting system and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
(e) The following table provides the further information requested;
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