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23 Apr 2008 : Column 2049W—continued
The figures in the ‘Heritage funded through DCMS’ column include grant in aid to English Heritage, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the Churches Conservation Trust and the Occupied Royal Palaces, together with central department expenditure on the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme, Memorial Grant scheme, Royal Parks, Royal Household property Services, Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Greenwich Foundation, Historic Royal Palaces and Theatres Trust.
The figures in the lottery column represent the value of grants awarded in England by the Heritage Lottery Fund which is a UK wide distributor, so the figures are not for England only.
All figures are adjusted to 2006-07 prices using information in the GDP deflator tables provided by the Office for National Statistics and available from the Treasury website:
I have been advised that updated tables to adjust figures to 2007-08 prices will be available toward the end of the summer.
Journalism: Regulation
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his policy is on the harmonisation of regulations affecting newspaper and broadcast reporting; and if he will make a statement. [201373]
Andy Burnham: News and current affairs regulation in broadcasting is covered by the statutory Ofcom Broadcasting Code and the BBC Editorial Guidelines.
There are no statutory regulations affecting newspaper reporting. The press is self-regulating through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). The PCC and the broadcasting regulators do seek to work together where appropriate. An example of this is the agreement in 2004 between Ofcom and the PCC to support a voluntary ban of “media scrums”, when media representatives congregate in large numbers to cover a news story.
At present the Government have no plans for the harmonisation of regulations affecting newspaper and broadcast reporting.
Transport
Biofuels: Standards
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she plans to introduce mandatory minimum standards for biofuels used to comply with the renewable transport fuel obligations; and if she will make a statement. [200775]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government announced in June 2007 that they aimed by April 2011 to introduce mandatory sustainability standards for all biofuels used under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), provided, among other things, that this was consistent with European Union legislation.
In January 2008, the European Commission issued a draft Renewable Energy Directive which includes proposed mandatory sustainability standards for all
biofuels supported by EU member states. As currently drafted, the Directive would not allow member states to introduce any additional or different sustainability requirements on the biofuels they supported. The UK is therefore negotiating to ensure that the Directive's sustainability requirements are as robust and comprehensive as possible.
The draft Directive currently includes a proposed implementation date of 31 March 2010.
Departmental Sick Leave
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of her Department's staff took more than (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 15, (d) 20, (e) 25, (f) 30, (g) 35 and (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, broken down by pay grade. [198974]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The detailed information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table demonstrates the number of occurrences of staff taking stress-related leave in each of the last five years:
| Number | |
This table excludes DVLA and VOSA statistics as they could provide these data only at disproportionate cost.
Karian and Box
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value was of each contract awarded by her Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997. [199642]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department was formed in May 2002. Since this date the Department has not awarded any contracts to Karian and Box.
M25: M3
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the experiment with revised lane arrangements at the junction between the M25 and the M3 is expected to end; what timetable she has for making decisions on permanent lane arrangements in the light of the experiment; when works required for permanent lane arrangements will be completed; and what plans she has to terminate the temporary speed restrictions in place at the junction. [200844]
Mr. Tom Harris: The trial has shown a significant journey time reliability improvement and an independent survey undertaken in 2007-08 shows support from those who travel through the junction. The Highways Agency has secured funding to deliver the scheme during this financial year and its current intention is for the works to take place between January and March 2009.
However, the final decision about making the trial permanent including the implementation of the 50 mph speed limit will be subject to a statutory consultation expected to take place over a 12 week period this summer. A final decision will be taken at the end of that process.
Railways: Expenditure
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on (a) road and (b) rail improvement projects in each Government region in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [192434]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Figures for departmental expenditure on national roads and railways by (Government office) region are available in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses, published by HM Treasury. PESA 2007, the latest available edition, gives spend figures for 2005-06 in table 9.19. Total figures for improvement projects are not available separately.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Audio Equipment: Licensing
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make it his policy to introduce a system for the licensing of new wireless microphones and in-ear monitor equipment when it is purchased; and if he will make a statement. [193913]
Malcolm Wicks: I am aware of the concerns of the Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE) community in respect of their use of spectrum and possible issues of interference. However the proposal that equipment be licensed at the point of purchase is not being considered at present. There is a strong possibility that this would impose burdens on vendors and others that are not proportionate to the scale of the problem at present. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) continue to consult on their proposals in respect of PMSE and I would encourage the PMSE community to respond to those consultations to express their concerns. I have asked my officials to discuss this matter further with Ofcom in the light of any submission made.
Departmental Information and Communications Technology
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2008, Official Report, column 328W, on departmental ICT, what categories of data were stored on each missing or stolen laptop; and what level of encryption or security was in place on each laptop. [198281]
Mr. Thomas: The information requested was not collected or recorded at the time of the loss or theft. As a result of the Government’s Review of Data Handling this information will be recorded in the future.
Departmental Manpower
Dan Rogerson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his Department’s expenditure on (a) salaries for those in permanent civil service posts, (b) salaries for those in permanent non-civil service posts and (c) payments to
temporary and agency workers was in each month since May 2005. [199458]
Mr. Thomas: The Department’s expenditure on salaries for those in permanent civil service posts, salaries for those in permanent non-civil service posts and payments to temporary and agency workers in each month since May 2005 is as follows:
| All figures in £000 | ||||||
| Wages and Salaries | April 2005 | May 2005 | June 2005 | July 2005 | August 2005 | September 2005 |
| Wages and Salaries | October 2005 | November 2005 | December 200 5 | January 200 6 | February 200 6 | March 200 6 |
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