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14 Mar 2008 : Column 685W—continued
Culture, Media and Sport
Ipsos MORI
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [193865]
Mr. Sutcliffe: According to our records, we have made one payment to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months of £91,000 (excl. VAT) for a survey on ‘the experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music authorisation’.
Museums and Galleries: Fees and Charges
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if his Department will subsidise the entry fee to cultural institutions for children from low income households to ensure that every child experiences five hours of culture a week. [189068]
Andy Burnham: On 13 February 2008 we announced a £25 million Find Your Talent programme of 10 pilots that will trial ways of delivering a structured five hour cultural offer.
This programme, which will help inform our plans for a national roll out of the offer, builds on the Government’s already considerable investment into these areas. This includes the support we give to enable free entry to National Museums, the Creative Partnerships programme which will receive over £110 million over the next three years, and the recently announced £332 million programme to support school music.
We have published a prospectus seeking applications from partnerships in local areas around the country and each partnership can apply for up to £2.5 million over three years. While we would expect the majority of money to be spent directly on new activity for young people it can also be used for skills assessments, training and CPD to those implementing delivery, or subsidising entry fees to local cultural institutions.
Playing Fields
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2008, Official Report, column 7WS, on playing field statistics, which 40 applications led to a detrimental impact on sport, broken down by local authority. [194462]
Mr. Sutcliffe: 97 per cent. (1,176) of 1,216 concluded planning applications affecting playing fields in 2005-06 resulted in improved or protected sports provision. The 40 (3 per cent.) approved planning applications in 2005-06 that were considered by Sport England to be a detriment to sport are listed in the table. None of the 40 cases resulted in the complete loss of a playing field, the detrimental impact on sport included issues such as loss of space around the margins of a field, temporary loss of school playing field space during rebuilding works, or the creation of a new sporting facility which did not meet all of Sport England’s design standards. Sport England maintained an objection to each of these 40 applications that was overruled by the local authority.
| Site name | Local authority |
|
Automotive Lighting Factory (former) and Cannock Ind Centre (x 3 planning applications) | |
Transport
A264: Accidents
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents occurred on the A264 between Stone Cross and Blackham in each of the last 10 years. [194537]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of reported personal injury road accidents which occurred on the A264 between Stone Cross and Blackham in 1997 to 2007 are given in the table:
| Number of accidents | ||||
| Year of accident | Fatal | Serious | Slight | Total |
A4: Heathrow Airport
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport where she plans the A4 to run in relation to Heathrow airport in proposals in the ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’ consultation; and what assessment she has made of the security implications of the location of the road. [193692]
Jim Fitzpatrick: It is expected that the routing of the A4 would be largely unaffected by the proposals in the ‘Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport’ consultation document. It is, however, expected that sections of the road would pass in tunnels underneath aeroplane taxiways between the existing airport campus and the new runway. If proposals are taken forward, further work would need to be carried out as part of a comprehensive transport assessment prior to the airport operator submitting any planning application: this would include any security implications of the location of the A4. This would be done in consultation with the Highways Agency, TfL—Transport for London—and local authorities.
Aviation: Security
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assurances she has obtained from
foreign Governments whose airlines utilise armed air marshals on the co-operation by such marshals with UK police officers on aircraft on British soil. [193492]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has not sought assurances from foreign Governments regarding cooperation by foreign air marshals with UK police officers. Policing at UK airports is a matter for the respective police forces and the Home Office.
Biofuels: Imports
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what percentage of biodiesel used in the UK was imported from the US in 2006-07; [184169]
(2) what steps are taken to determine whether biodiesel imported from the US has been produced sustainably; and what certification requirements apply to such imports. [184170]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government do not presently hold precise data on the provenance of the biofuels used in the UK. We will have more accurate data once the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) comes into effect in April. Under the RTFO, transport fuel suppliers who wish to earn Renewable Transport Fuel certificates in respect of their biofuels will have to report to the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) on matters such as the country of origin and wider sustainability of those fuels. Further detail on the reporting requirements is available via the RFA’s website at:
We are aware that during 2006 and 2007 a significant proportion of the biodiesel sold in the UK was imported from the US. There are currently no sustainability or certification requirements on these or other imports of biofuel into the European Union, and the UK Government do not have the power unilaterally to impose any such restrictions. We have expressed our concerns on this issue to the European Commission at the highest level and are supporting their efforts to press for legislative changes in the US. Once the RTFO is in force, transport fuel suppliers importing biodiesel from the US will be subject to the same sustainability reporting requirements as outlined above.
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on shredding in her Department and its agencies. [191770]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The policy on shredding in the Department for Transport is based on guidance from the Cabinet Office’s Manual of Protective Security. This requires material to be shredded using equipment of an approved standard, commensurate with the material’s level of protective marking.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Publications
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of staff were involved in the publishing of DVL Today in each year since it was first published. [191704]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Since November 2003 (edition 25) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has not had any members of staff working full-time on the external publication DVL Today. Instead, the work is distributed between several members of staff. The estimated number of working hours per edition is shown as follows.
| Estimated number of working hours | |
| (1) Hours altogether. | |
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