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3 Nov 2008 : Column 138W—continued
Bank Services
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes to the lending policies of those banks recapitalised with public money in areas relevant to his responsibility. [230063]
Andy Burnham: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of current topics.
BBC: Manpower
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people are employed by the BBC. [232861]
Andy Burnham: The BBC annual report and accounts 2007-08 indicate that the average number of people employed was 24,331.
This is broken down as follows:
| Number | |
Clothing: Greater London
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure (a) that London is a competitive centre for fashion and (b) those working in the industry are encouraged to continue to work in the UK. [232709]
Barbara Follett: In February this year the Government published ‘Creative Britain—New Talents for a New Economy’, a strategy for the Creative Economy in the UK, which sets out in 26 commitments the Government's determination to move the creative industries from the margins to the mainstream of the UK economy. Fashion industry initiatives, both for London as a national and international fashion centre, and for those working in the industry in this country, are central to the strategy.
Creative Britain includes plans to tackle problems faced by the industry and to encourage and support its growth through education, access to technology and to business support, as well as a commitment to promote British fashion on the world stage.
For example, the strategy sets out plans to explore support for the British Fashion Council (BFC) to build on its strengths and become a central voice leading the fashion industry. We will work with the industry and with Skillfast UK, the Sector Skills Council for the fashion, textile and apparel industries, to create new apprenticeship opportunities as part of a new Creative Apprenticeships initiative. We will also help the London College of Fashion, the BFC, Skillfast and others to scope a project to develop a High-Fashion Hub for London; this project is intended to be a model for the fashion sector elsewhere in the country.
We will work with the Mayor of London to champion London Fashion Week and help it fight to retain its status as a focal event in the industry calendar amidst increasingly strong international competition.
The strategy publication can be read in full at
Conferences: Greater London
Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of London's standing in the
International Congress and Convention Association's rankings of countries and changes in those rankings over the last three years. [231351]
Barbara Follett: London's position in the International Congress and Convention Association's (ICCA) rankings for 'number of meetings per city' has fallen over the past three years. However, the UK remained in the top four countries in the rankings of 'number of meetings held per country' over this same period. ICCA advises commentators not to interpret their statistics in isolation, as they only record events that take place regularly and rotate between at least three countries. These statistics do not take into account the corporate and inter-governmental sectors.
In partnership with the industry and the wider public sector, the DCMS has a clear and coherent policy framework for industry growth, including branding and marketing improvement led by VisitBritain.
The 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games presents the UK tourism industry with its greatest-ever opportunity. Early indications from eventBritain and Visit London are that much interest has been expressed in holding large international events and conventions in London in the period up to the games and beyond.
Departmental Allowances
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on staff expenses in each of the last three years. [231342]
Barbara Follett: The table sets out expenses incurred in respect of travel and subsistence, including minor incidental expenses to departmental officials.
All official travel is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide under Travel and Subsistence and is consistent with the Civil Service Management Code.
| Total expenses £ | |
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent press officers (a) work and (b) provide assistance for his Department. [232845]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are 13 full-time equivalent press officers working in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and they all provide assistance for the Department.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost to the public purse of his Department was in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [228624]
Andy Burnham: The total departmental spending (and therefore the cost to the public purse) of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2006-07 was £4,623,291,000.
The figures for 2007-08 are not due to be published until late 2008. The estimated outturn figure published in the 2008 DCMS annual report is £4,898,899,000.
For ease of reference the data can also be found on page 13 of the following link and page 52 of the annual report, under ‘Total departmental spending: DCMS’.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on publishing in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) publication and (b) category of publication. [231343]
Barbara Follett: The amount spent on publishing for each of the last three years was:
| Spent on publishing (£) | |
(a) The breakdown by publication is as follows:
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