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30 Apr 2008 : Column 550W—continued
| Company | Service | Date | Net a mount (£) | Information provided annually |
Culture: Local Authorities
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what requirements his Department makes of local authorities to produce local cultural strategies; and how many local authorities have submitted such strategies to his Department in each year since 2000. [200297]
Margaret Hodge: We encourage culture to form part of sustainable communities’ strategies and regional economic strategies, however we place no statutory duty on local authorities to submit local cultural strategies.
Cycling
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s non-departmental public bodies provide (i) tax-free benefits and (ii) other allowances for their staff to purchase bicycles under the Cycle to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement. [197630]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department will be launching the Cycle to Work Scheme on 1 May 2008 and The Royal Parks Agency introduced the scheme in June 2007. The Department also offers staff an interest free advance of salary to assist in the purchase of a bicycle if it is used for work. We do not centrally hold information on schemes run by our NDPBs.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent employees are employed in his Department’s public engagement and recognition unit. [202332]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Public Engagement and Recognition Unit (PERU) was set up on 15 April 2008 as part of the transformation of DCMS following its capability review. Based on an earlier model, PERU brings together a number of functions which were previously spread across policy teams in the Department in order to provide a higher quality service. It is expected that, over time, the centralisation of these functions will enable the service to be delivered more efficiently, and at a lower cost, than before. PERU is responsible for much of the Department’s direct communication with the public and Parliament, including correspondence and telephone inquiries, Freedom of Information requests and parliamentary questions. It is also responsible for co-ordinating briefings for Ministers, appointments to public bodies and recommendations for honours.
It currently employs 37.95 full-time equivalent employees.
Departmental Pensions
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability in present value terms of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions for (a) discount and (b) longevity the estimate is based. [200731]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The most recent information is contained in the scheme's resource accounts. Copies of the accounts are available from the House Library or can be viewed on-line on the Cabinet Office's website using the following link:
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the unfunded liability in present value terms was of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1990-91. [200732]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information on liabilities in present value terms have been detailed in the scheme's resource accounts since 2000-01, although these are produced under differing sets of assumptions (e.g. on longevity), so are not comparable across years. Copies of the scheme's accounts since 2000-01 are available from the House Library or can be viewed from the following page on the Cabinet Office's website at:
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) rate and (b) cost was of employer contributions for each public sector pension scheme for which his Department has responsibility in each year since 1990-91; and if he will make a statement. [200733]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The most recent information is contained in the scheme's resource accounts. Copies of the accounts are available from the House Library or can be viewed on-line on the Cabinet Office's website using the following link:
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement. [200735]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information is set out in DCMS's resource accounts 2006-07 on pages 26-29. Copies of the accounts are available from the House Library or can be viewed online on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website using the following link:
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the budget of his Department’s public engagement and recognition unit is for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [202333]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Public Engagement and Recognition Unit (PERU) was set up on 15 April 2008 as part of the transformation of DCMS following its capability review. PERU is responsible for much of the Department’s direct communication with the public and Parliament, including correspondence and telephone inquiries, Freedom of Information requests and parliamentary questions. It is also responsible for co-ordinating briefings for Ministers, appointments to public bodies and recommendations for honours. Based on an earlier model, PERU brings together a range of functions, which were previously spread across policy teams in the Department, in order to provide a higher quality service. It is expected that, over time, the centralisation of these functions will enable the service to be delivered more efficiently than before.
PERU’S administration budget for 2008-09 is £1,460,000 and its programme budget is £160,000. The Unit’s budget for 2009-10 has not yet been determined.
Digital Broadcasting
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to ensure full television transmission to all people following the digital TV switchover, with particular reference to transmission blind spots; when the process will be complete; and how much it will cost. [202201]
Andy Burnham: At switchover, it is expected that UK wide coverage levels for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), will reach that of present analogue services, which is 98.5 per cent. of households. For virtually all other households, there will be other options available, including free-to-view satellite services. The switchover process will be completed by 2012. The costs of building out the transmission network for switchover are being met by broadcasters. These costs are confidential.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of constituencies in which residential areas will no longer be able to receive terrestrial television signals following digital switchover in 2012. [202216]
Andy Burnham: We expect that at switchover the coverage of the public service broadcaster (PSB) multiplexes, via Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), will match that of the existing analogue services, which is 98.5 per cent. of households.
We do not keep data on a constituency basis.
Mass Media: Apprentices
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the procedure is for people to apply for the media apprenticeships announced by the Secretary of State on 22 February in his publication, Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy. [198382]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 2 April 2008]: The ambition of establishing up to 5,000 apprenticeships in the creative industries is designed to help remove the barriers to entry and diversify the work force. The BBC at mediacityiuk, Tate Liverpool, and Universal Music Group are among the first to sign up to offer high quality training.
The normal procedure is for people to find apprenticeships directly with an employer, or via a training provider, both of whom would carry out usual recruitment activities.
Potential apprentices can find out more information from the Learning and Skills Council or through the apprenticeship website at:
where they can register to receive information on apprenticeships available in their area. The website also identifies other sources of information, such as Connexions and Jobcentre Plus.
Sports: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to achieve the target of increasing private sector funding of sport in 2008-09. [202346]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has developed a commercial strategy to support its target to raise £50 million in private sector funding. This is part of its overall strategy for 2008-11, which is being finalised and is due to be launched shortly.
We are also working closely with UK Sport and others about raising the £100 million private sector funding for elite athletes.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Bankruptcy
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the practices of credit companies in issuing statutory demands to debtors rather than applying for county court judgements; and what assessment he has made of the effect this practice has on levels of bankruptcies. [201397]
Mr. McFadden: A creditor can ask the court to make a bankruptcy order in respect of a debtor on the ground of inability to pay their debts which may be demonstrated on the basis of a failure to comply with a statutory demand, or alternatively that a county court judgment has been returned unsatisfied in whole or in part. Both routes are equally acceptable, subject to the proper procedure being followed, and may result in a bankruptcy order being made by the court.
The Insolvency Service does not keep statistics on the number of bankruptcies which arise from either route, either within the credit industry or more widely and the effect of any particular industry practices upon bankruptcy numbers is therefore unknown. However, the number of bankruptcies arising from creditor petitions has remained relatively flat over the past few years.
There are a range of measures in place to reduce the number of individuals who become over-indebted and to support those who have become so. These include the expansion of the National Debtline, which now helps 150,000 clients per year and the face to face debt advice programme.
Billing
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Government will issue its response to the billing and metering consultation; and what the reasons are for the time taken to respond. [201887]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government will shortly issue their response to the consultation. Given the importance of this issue, the Government have been concerned that the response, and the material that accompanies it, including the draft Impact Assessment of smart metering, should be as thorough as possible.
Bird and Bird
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what contracts were awarded by his Department to Bird and Bird solicitors in each year since 2005; and what the (a) value and (b) duration of each such contract was. [201637]
Mr. Thomas: Central records indicate that the following amounts have been paid to Bird and Bird solicitors in financial years:
| £ | |
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Certification Officer: Pensions
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what pension scheme is offered to staff joining the Office of the Certification Officer; what the rate of employer contributions to the scheme is; and if he will place in the Library details of the terms and benefits of the scheme. [198497]
Mr. McFadden: The Office of the Certification Officer is covered by the civil service pension.
New entrants to the civil service are covered by the civil service pension arrangements. Staff can choose between ‘nuvos’, a defined benefit pension scheme and ‘partnership’, a stakeholder pension. If a person is being re-employed, and was previously a member of a civil service pension scheme, they may be able to rejoin their previous scheme, but this will depend on the length of time since they were last employed.
In respect of members of the defined benefit schemes, employer contribution rates are assessed for each of four ranges of pay levels. A separate rate is payable in respect of a group of prison officers who have certain reserved rights.
The rates for 2008-09 are as follows:
| Band | Full-time annual salary | Rate from 1 April 2008 (Percentage) |
The scheme rules are laid before Parliament and copies are in the House Library.
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