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10 Jun 2008 : Column 125W—continued
Small Businesses: Crime Prevention
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advice and assistance is provided by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to owners of small businesses on the prevention and detection of crime. [207751]
Paul Goggins: The chief constable has provided the following answer:
The Policing Plan 2008-2011 contains two targets specifically related to business crime.
These targets call for the police to:
work in partnership with relevant agencies to tackle business crime; and
work in partnership with the business community to develop a business crime strategy.
Crime Prevention Officers provide advice to small businesses throughout Northern Ireland. The PSNI also engage with Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Northern Ireland Independent Retailers Association to identify crime problems and provide tailored solutions including an offer of crime prevention advice to each FSB branch in Northern Ireland.
Culture, Media and Sport
Architecture
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent on the online database under the Engaging Places programme. [208844]
Margaret Hodge: £23,500 has been spent on the online component of the Engaging Places programme (including an editorial strategy). The website is currently being developed by Culture24 and makes use of Culture24's existing online database technology.
Departmental Catering
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2008, Official Report, column 325W, on the Fairtrade initiative, how much his Department spent on refreshments for official departmental meetings and engagements in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of this total was spent on Fairtrade products. [208711]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department spent the following on refreshments for official departmental meetings and engagements:
| £ | |
The Department does not hold information on the percentage relating to Fairtrade products.
Departmental Official Visits
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times he has visited (a) commercial leisure organisations, (b) licensed bingo clubs and (c) dance schools in the last 12 months; when his last visit to each such organisation was; and what the location of visit was in each case. [208194]
Andy Burnham: I have not visited any commercial leisure organisations, licensed bingo clubs or dance schools in an official capacity since becoming Secretary of State.
Eurovision Song Contest
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial contribution was made by the BBC towards the cost of the Eurovision Song Contest in each of the last 10 years. [209041]
Andy Burnham: The BBC is an independent body and financial contributions towards the cost of the Eurovision Song Contest are a matter for the BBC.
Fairtrade Initiative
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2008, Official Report, column 325W, on the Fairtrade initiative, what Fairtrade products are (a) available for purchase in his Department’s staff catering facilities and (b) offered at official departmental meetings and engagements; what value of Fairtrade produce was purchased in his Department’s staff catering facilities in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of total revenue this represented. [208703]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department does not hold information on the type of Fairtrade products available or the value of Fairtrade items purchased.
The Department does encourage its catering contractor to make Fairtrade products available in the staff catering facilities and for official departmental meetings and engagements wherever possible.
Gambling: Young People
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were (a) prosecuted, (b) fined and (c) cautioned for underage gambling in each of the last 10 years. [208508]
Mr. Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
National Railway Museum: York
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department provided to the National Railway Museum in York in 2007; and how much it expects to provide to the museum in 2008. [209322]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 9 June 2008]: The National Railway Museum is a branch of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not earmark funding for a particular branch of the NMSI, and under the arms-length principle is not involved in the decision-making process whereby NMSI decides how DCMS funding is distributed to the NRM.
In 2007-08, DCMS provided £38,484,000 grant in aid to the NMSI; in 2008-09, it expects to provide £39,158,000.
Sports: Facilities
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that sports facilities and playing surfaces are maintained in good condition in the long term; and if he will make a statement. [209486]
Mr. Sutcliffe: In 2007-08 Sport England invested £248 million to support community sport, of which £113.3 million was grant in aid and £134.6 million was lottery.
Investment through programmes like Community Club Development and the National Sports Foundation assisted both National Governing Bodies and local community sports clubs to develop over 1,700 capital projects over the last five years.
Where a sports project has benefited from a capital award from Sport England, there is a requirement within the funding agreement for the facility to be maintained for the life of the award. Projects are required to set aside “sinking funds” for the life cycle of the facility or pitch to allow for routine planned maintenance and for the renewal of major elements of the facility such as indoor floor finishes, plant and outdoor playing surfaces. The term of the grant varies according to the scale of investment made. Typically, on a grant award over £50,000, Sport England requires a minimum of 21 years sporting outputs.
St. George’s Day
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on promoting St. George's Day in each of the last five years. [208825]
Margaret Hodge: The Department promoted St. George’s Day by flying the St. George’s flag on 23 April.
The estimated spend in the last five years is as follows:
| Estimated spend (£) | |
| (1 )The Department did not fly the St. George's flag until 2007. | |
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with English Heritage on its St. George's Day campaign. [208826]
Margaret Hodge: The Department has had no specific discussions this year with English Heritage regarding St. George's Day.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department took to celebrate St. George's Day in 2008. [208841]
Margaret Hodge: On 23 April, the Department flew the St. George's flag alongside the Union flag to celebrate St. George's Day.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to provide funding to local authorities for the celebration of St. George's Day. [208842]
Margaret Hodge: The Department does not fund local authorities in this way.
Local authorities are core funded through Government financial settlements administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Algeria: Christianity
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of (a) steps taken by the Algerian government against Christian denominations and (b) the prosecution of Habiba Konider for possession of a Bible; what his policy is on the account taken of the need for toleration of all faiths by participants in the proposed EU-Mediterranean partnership; and what representations he has made to the Algerian government on these matters. [208666]
Dr. Howells: I am aware of reports emerging from Algeria concerning the closure of unauthorised churches and the detention of Christians accused of evangelisation. Our officials in Algiers and London continue to monitor developments. On 30 May, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London met with Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a non-governmental organisation which raises awareness of restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief across the world, including in Algeria.
In respect of Habiba Konider, I am aware that she is a 37-year-old Algerian national, currently facing prosecution for evangelisation. She was allegedly found in possession of more than 10 copies of the bible and was, as a result, arrested on 29 March 2008. The unauthorised possession of multiple copies of religious
books is considered an offence according to the new Algerian law on the practice of worship by non-Muslims, adopted in February 2006. The trial is ongoing, with the court having suspended a verdict pending further investigation.
The situation of the right to freedom of religion and belief in Algeria was raised on 14 April during Algeria's examination under the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review, which the UK participated in. Additionally, the EU-Algeria Association agreement, which came into force in September 2005, restates that the principles and fundamental human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an essential part of the agreement and must be followed by both signatories. The EU will continue to raise questions of human rights in Algeria.
The Government are involved in EU discussions on the proposal to upgrade the Barcelona Process in light of President Sarkozy's proposals for a Union for the Mediterranean. At this stage the discussions are focused on the governance and activities of the new arrangements. The Government are keen that the new arrangements will better advance the implementation of the Barcelona Declaration, including on promoting dialogue, respect for human rights and a greater understanding between cultures.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Politics and Government
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with representatives of (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) Belgium on the arrest of the losing presidential candidate, Jean-Pierre Bemba, in Belgium to face charges laid by the International Criminal Court. [208910]
Dr. Howells: Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was arrested in Belgium on 24 May on the basis of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is currently in Belgian custody. A decision on transferring Bemba to the ICC is for the Belgian authorities to make, in line with Belgian law and the Rome Statute of the ICC. We are in contact with Belgian officials both in Brussels and in Kinshasa and they are keeping us informed of developments. We have had no contact with the Democratic Republic of Congo authorities on this issue.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the contract his Department has signed for its new content management system and website requires the Department to use a single contractor for the maintenance of these systems. [208724]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's contract for the new content management system and websites was let to a prime contractor to deliver the platform as a whole. This includes maintenance and support of the associated systems for four years until 2012.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the terms of his Department's contract with the provider of his Department's new content management system and website permits sharing the intellectual property with other Government departments. [208725]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The intellectual property in items created by the supplier specifically under the contract or as a result of the supplier's performance under the contract belongs to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and so can be shared with other Government Departments. However, the supplier's pre-existing intellectual property which is used in performance of the contract is only licensed to the FCO and cannot be used by other Government Departments unless it is embedded in software written specifically by the supplier for the FCO where the FCO has the right to sub-licence such software to other Government Departments. The actual web content management system is third party software provided by the supplier and the licence of such third party software does not extend to other Government Departments. In addition, there are various other third party software products used for the Department's new website where the licences do not extend to other Government Departments.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has undertaken bench-marking activity against private sector bodies to establish whether the time taken to develop its new content management system and website is reasonable. [208726]
Mr. Jim Murphy: Before formally commencing procurement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office engaged in market testing to inform its requirement in a number of areas, including the feasibility of the timeline. Use of the negotiated Official Journal of the EU procurement route enabled further development and refinement of the timeline with the bidders. The project was scheduled to be complete by September 2008 and is still on track to do so.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department considered an open source solution during the procurement process for its new content management system and website. [208727]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The procurement strategy adopted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office focused on business requirements and outcomes rather than use of a particular content management system. Suppliers were free to propose open source solutions within their technical designs.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department's new content management system and website cost; and whether this project was delivered within the original budget. [208728]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The costs of the project were detailed in a response on 15 May 2008, Official Report, columns 1772-3W). The project is currently on budget and on track to be completed in September 2008.
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