Previous Section Index Home Page

23 Jun 2008 : Column 34W—continued

The pilots will begin their work in September 2008.

Departmental Inquiries

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what independent inquiries have been commissioned by his Department in the last five years; what the (a) purpose and (b) cost was of each; and what steps were taken following each. [211121]

Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS regularly invites external sectoral experts to contribute to policy evaluation and reviews, but there have been no formal retrospective independent inquiries into decisions, or courses of actions, commissioned by DCMS during the last five years.

Departmental Marketing

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department and its agency spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08. [212028]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agency, The Royal Parks, spent a combined total of £39,922 on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08.

Departmental Translation Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language. [205186]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The cost of translation and interpretation services in 2007-08 broken down by language were as follows:

Language Cost (£)

Translation Services

Welsh

18,660.75

Interpretation Services

British Sign Language Interpreter

350


Football: Sports Grounds

Mr. Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations his Department has received on the campaign for safe standing areas in top-flight football grounds in England in the last 12 months; what plans he has to meet with football clubs and supporters groups to discuss this matter; and if he will make a statement. [212848]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 20 June 2008]: I have received a number of representations on the campaign for safe standing areas. I have discussed this matter with the Football Association, local authorities, the police and the Home Office. The consensus among all parties is that there is no wish to re-introduce any standing areas at grounds in the top two divisions.

No new evidence has been presented to suggest that there is a single more effective way of achieving safety as well as public order than all seater stadia. The Government therefore remain fully committed to the current policy.

Strip Clubs

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Home Department on the regulation of lap dancing clubs. [212260]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I have had a number of meetings and telephone conversations with my hon. Friend, the Minister for Crime Reduction, about concerns relating to the regulation of lap dancing and similar establishments. He has agreed to consider, along with relevant ministerial
23 Jun 2008 : Column 35W
colleagues, whether we need to do more to support local communities in controlling these establishments. As a first step, I have recently written to chief executives of local authorities to clarify the powers available under the Licensing Act and to seek their views on whether these, and other controls, are sufficient to respond to the concerns of local people. I am arranging for a copy of my letter to be deposited in the Library of the House.

Tourism

Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect of the global economic climate on tourism to the UK; what steps he plans to take to address those effects; and if he will make a statement. [210186]

Margaret Hodge: It is too early to say if the current economic climate is affecting tourism to the UK. But indications for both inbound and domestic tourism remain positive for 2008.


23 Jun 2008 : Column 36W

The latest inbound tourism figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the number of visitors to the UK for the three months to April 2008 was, at 8.4 million, broadly the same as in 2007, and 5 per cent. up on the previous three months.

Northern Ireland

Crimes of Violence: Sexual Offences

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of serious sexual assault in each of the last three years. [211337]

Paul Goggins: The following table outlines the number of prosecutions and convictions for serious sexual assaults by type of offence for the calendar years 2002 to 2006 (the latest available years).

Data are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

Prosecutions and Convictions for serious sexual assault offences by type of offence 2004 to 2006
2004 2005 2006
Offence Prosecutions Convictions Prosecutions Convictions Prosecutions Convictions

Rape

29

15

21

4

32

11

Attempted rape

8

3

9

4

5

0

Gross indecency with child

5

3

10

6

6

5

Buggery with male person, 16 years or over without consent

1

0

0

0

0

0

Buggery with boy under 16 years of age

11

6

3

1

7

3

Buggery with a woman

1

1

0

0

0

0

Buggery with a girl

3

1

2

0

1

0

Unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 14 years

4

4

4

3

3

3

Unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 17 years

3

2

4

4

6

5

Incest by man on female

0

0

1

1

1

1

Forcibly abducting a female with intent to carnally know her

0

0

1

0

0

0

Indecent assault on female

89

57

85

51

109

73

Indecent assault on male

20

17

16

11

14

8

Indecent assault on female child

8

3

20

18

5

2

Indecent assault on male child

6

4

8

5

1

0

Indecent exposure with intent to assault a female

3

2

5

2

9

6

Total

191

118

189

110

199

117


Domestic Rates

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what records his Department holds on the size of the average domestic rate bill in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [205438]

Paul Goggins: This matter is now the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Administration.

Domestic Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of domestic violence were reported to the police in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) police command unit and (b) council area. [211349]

Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the following answer:


23 Jun 2008 : Column 37W

23 Jun 2008 : Column 38W
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Antrim

706

595

688

Ards

843

1,012

858

Armagh

482

497

534

Ballymena

584

516

600

Ballymoney

272

232

286

Banbridge

431

406

433

Carrickfergus

480

419

460

Castlereagh

432

493

485

Coleraine

1,072

1,183

998

Cookstown

503

386

367

Craigavon

1,403

1,460

1,283

Down

670

792

674

Dungannon and South Tyrone

406

476

355

East Belfast

1,336

1,513

1,376

Fermanagh

609

557

592

Foyle

1,691

1,561

1,742

Larne

313

272

329

Limavady

460

564

551

Lisburn

1,551

1,819

1,539

Magherafelt

345

342

323

Moyle

128

145

139

Newry and Mourne

960

954

832

Newtownabbey

973

941

963

North Belfast

2,157

2,231

2,199

North Down

919

867

862

Omagh

723

789

728

South Belfast

999

886

968

Strabane

498

479

484

West Belfast

1,113

1,069

1,428

Northern Ireland

23,059

23,456

23,076


Next Section Index Home Page