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5 Jun 2008 : Column 1052W—continued
Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of vehicles registered at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to pay road tax was registered before 2001. [208355]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of vehicles, to the nearest 1,000, that were licensed at the end of 2007 and not exempt from vehicle excise duty was 31,914,000. Of those, 13,093,000 vehicles, 41 per cent, were first registered prior to 2001.
Official Cars
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will ensure that Ministers are able to choose a British-built vehicle as their ministerial car. [202926]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 10 March 2008, Official Report, column 8W, given to the hon. Member for Houghton and Washington, East (Mr. Kemp).
Railways: Finance
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the £15 billion Government funding for rail announced in July 2007 has been allocated. [207576]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 2 June 2008]: The White Paper “Delivering a Sustainable Railway” (Cmd 7176) published in July 2007 set out the public funds available to secure delivery of the railway in England and Wales, as specified in the White Paper, during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014.
How these funds are specifically allocated to programmes will be determined as a consequence of the Office of Rail Regulation's Access Charges Review which is planned to conclude later this year.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether additional funding has been allocated to rail transport since the 2007 Rail White Paper. [207577]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 2 June 2008]: The White Paper “Delivering a Sustainable Railway” (Cmd 7176) published in July 2007 set out the public funds available to secure delivery of the railway in England and Wales, as specified in the White Paper, during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014.
The Department for Transport budget settlement in the comprehensive spending review was consistent with the statement of funds set out in the White Paper. Planned funding for the railway in England and Wales remains as set out in the White Paper.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the White Paper “Delivering a Sustainable Railway”, Cm 7176, how much of the £15 billion in overall Government support for the railway between 2009 and 2014 has been allocated, broken down by scheme; and how much is yet to be allocated. [208264]
Mr. Tom Harris [holding answer 4 June 2008]: The White Paper 'Delivering a Sustainable Railway' (Cmd 7176) published in July 2007 set out the public funds available to secure delivery of the railway in England and Wales, as specified in the White Paper, during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014.
How these funds are specifically allocated to programmes will be determined as a consequence of the Office of Rail Regulation's access charges review, which is planned to conclude later this year.
Sea Rescue: Manpower
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many coastguards there are in (a) Cornwall, (b) the South West and (c) England. [208339]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following number of Coastguards are:
Sea Rescue: Pay
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what pay scale is used for coastguards. [208340]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The following pay scale is used for the following grades of coastguard staff:
Pay Band A (Coastguard Watch Assistants) £12, 509 - £14, 384
Pay Band B (Watch Officers) £14, 742 - £18, 717
Pay Band C (Watch and Sector Managers) £19, 746 - £25, 072
Pay Band B and D1 (Rescue Co-ordination Managers): £23, 847 - £30,277
In addition to these salaries, a 25 per cent. Coastguard allowance is paid to coastguard watch assistants, watch officers and watch managers, a 15 per cent. coastguard allowance is paid to sector managers, and RCC managers receive £2,455 on-call allowance.
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Public Health
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008, Official Report, column 1889W, on the Olympic Games 2012, what provision will be made to reduce any potential spread of sexually transmitted infections. [208150]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The national health service in London is currently working with both the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority to assess the sexual health needs up to, during and after the games. Lessons learned from previous games in host cities such as Sydney and Athens are also being considered as part of the planning process.
Culture, Media and Sport
Archaeology
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the terms of reference of the review of the Portable Antiquities Scheme are. [208198]
Margaret Hodge: The review has been commissioned by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, which will be partnered by the British Museum and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in its management and delivery.
The review will consider the efficiency and effectiveness of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. It will consider in particular the following areas:
(i) the objectives of the scheme in the light of changes in regional museum provision, most particularly the Renaissance programme;
(ii) options for levels of activity and funding;
(iii) how the scheme can be delivered in the future in the most cost-efficient manner; and
(iv) how the scheme can be funded and managed in the future in a sustainable way.
Archaeology: Finance
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding allocation he has made for the Portable Antiquities Scheme in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [208215]
Margaret Hodge: Decisions on levels of funding for the Portable Antiquities Scheme for these years will follow the outcome of the review that has been commissioned by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
Archaeology: Vacancies
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Portable Antiquities Scheme posts are vacant; and what plans there are to fill them. [208216]
Margaret Hodge: The following Portable Antiquities Scheme posts are vacant.
Berkshire and Oxfordshire: this post has not been advertised yet.
Kent: interviews have been arranged.
Norfolk: interviews have been arranged.
Northamptonshire: this post will become vacant in September.
Warwickshire and Worcestershire: post-holder is on maternity leave.
Yorkshire (north and east): second post has been deleted.
Finds Adviser (Medieval Objects): post-holder is on maternity leave.
Bingo
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licensed bingo clubs (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 2003. [208195]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table indicates the number of bingo halls licensed and operating in each year since 2003. No other statistics are held centrally.
| Total licensed | Total operational | |
Departmental Standards
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many members of staff in his Department are responsible for each of its Public Service Agreement targets. [208262]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 4 June 2008]: The number of people in my Department responsible for each public service agreement target is shown in note 7, on page 62 of the 2006-07 Resource Accounts, which can be found at the following website address:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/dcmsresource accounts_200607.pdf
or in the House Library. A similar note will appear in the 2007-08 Resource Accounts, which is expected to be laid before Parliament on 14 July 2008.
Electronic Government
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether mechanisms are in place to monitor the extent to which his Department's (a) internal and (b) external (i) correspondence and (ii) distribution of publications is carried out electronically. [199201]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Internal transactional correspondence within the DCMS is almost exclusively undertaken electronically. No departmental studies exist on this issue, as the current working method has been in place for many years.
As a point of customer service, departmental policy on correspondence with external sources is to respond to inquiries in the manner in which the original request was received, unless a more effective and helpful method is available.
Electronic versions of all DCMS publications are placed on the departmental website, and links to such publications are routinely placed throughout the DCMS website. Our publications policy is to adopt electronic rather than hard copy publication wherever possible, taking into account the needs of the target audience groups.
Gaming Machines: Licensing
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) B2 machines or their equivalent and (b) B3 machines or their equivalent there were in licensed betting offices in each year since 1996. [208357]
Mr. Sutcliffe: In 1996, licensed betting offices could offer two “amusements with prizes” all-cash (AWP) gaming machines (now classified as category C machines under the Gambling Act). The AWP gaming machines were contingent on the betting office licence issued by the local licensing justices. No central records were kept on the number of AWPs in betting offices, but the Budd Report (2001) stated that according to the estimate of the British Amusement Catering Trade Association, there are about 14,500 all-cash machines in betting offices.
From 2003, and prior to the Gambling Act coming fully into force in September 2007, licensed betting offices could make available up to four fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) with a maximum prize of £500. No central records were kept on the number of FOBTs made available in betting offices but the Gambling Commission's 2006-07 annual report included an estimate by BACTA that there were 24,500 fixed odds betting terminals as at March 31 of that year.
From September 2007, FOBTs were reclassified as category B2 gaming machines. Betting offices can offer B3 gaming machines as part of their entitlement to a maximum of four category B gaming machines. The Gambling Commission is currently collating information about the numbers of gaming machines in betting offices and this figure will be available in due course.
Royal Opera House
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of those attending performances at the Royal Opera House who are from socio-economic groups (a) A, (b) B, (c) C1, (d) C2, (e) D and (f) E in each year since 1997. [201679]
Margaret Hodge: My Department has made no estimate of the figures requested.
Arts Council England has informed me that the Royal Opera House collects data on its audiences based on ticket buyers but does not hold audience data of this kind.
Sports: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the £755 million indicated in his Department’s corporate plan as spending on sport over the next three years will be contributed by (a) his Department, (b) other Government Departments, (c) local authorities and (d) National Lottery sources; which other Government Departments are expected to contribute; and how much of the £755 million has been allocated to spending areas. [208321]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The £755 million indicated in the Department’s corporate plan refers to the budget for the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP) and is Exchequer funding. The DCMS contribution to the PESSYP strategy 2008-11 includes £31.5 million for our Extending Activity work strand, and £5 million for coaching.
In addition to this, since the publication of the Department’s corporate plan the DCMS has provided additional funding of £13.45 million for club and dance links, £12 million for leadership and volunteering, and a £3 million increase to the initial coaching programme.
This makes a total DCMS contribution of £64.95 million out of the overall strategy budget of over £783 million, with DCSF providing the balance.
All these moneys have been committed via the Department’s delivery bodies. Our ambition is for local authorities to work with our delivery partners to realise the wider benefits that PESSYP can bring.
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