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10 Nov 2008 : Column 811W—continued
Serious Organised Crime Agency: Standards
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency against its targets. [232895]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with the chair and the Director General of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency provides the Department with a performance report quarterly.
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 requires that,
“As soon as possible after the end of each financial year SOCA must issue a report on the exercise of its functions during that year (an “annual report”). The annual report must include an assessment of the extent to which the annual plan for that year under section 6 has been carried out.”
The SOCA Annual Report 2007-08 was published on 15 May 2008 and a copy was placed in the House Library.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the recommendations of the National Audit Office report on the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), HC (2006-07) 253, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has implemented following the transfer to SOCA of the powers and functions of the ARA. [232897]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The recommendations of the National Audit Office report on the Assets Recovery Agency were reinforced and developed by subsequent recommendations in the Public Accounts Committee's Fiftieth Report of Session 2006-07 (HC 391). The Serious Organised Crime Agency has taken forward relevant aspects of the NAO and PAC recommendations jointly. SOCA has implemented Recommendations (a) to (d) of the NAO report. Specifically:
(a) SOCA has single points of contact established with key civil recovery referral partners and also has a significant network of liaison officers to facilitate working with partner agencies.
(b) SOCA has case management systems in place which contain all relevant management information.
(c) SOCA has formal case review processes in place for all its cases.
(d) Receivers' rates are negotiated and capped under the terms of a multi-agency Framework Agreement. SOCA monitors and maintains records relating to the performance of receivers and scrutinises all individual invoices to determine the reasonableness of their claims.
The remaining recommendations (e) and (f) of the NAO report relate to ARA functions that were transferred to the National Policing Improvement Agency.
UK Border Agency: Manpower
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) permanent and (b) casual staff have been employed in administrative roles by the UK Border Agency and its predecessors in each of the last five years; and at what cost. [227495]
Mr. Woolas: The number of (a) full-time, (permanent), and (b) non permanent workers deployed in administrative roles in the UK Border Agency in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. The non-permanent category includes both casual staff and agency workers.
| Total pay cost figures for each financial year | ||||
| £000 | ||||
| 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 | 2004-05 | |
| 64,584 | 68,446 | 69,318 | * | |
| * The figures for these costs were not given separate definitions in the previous accounting system to Adelphi and figures are not therefore available before 2005. Notes: 1. The records for deployment in administrative roles have not been broken down further into type of non-permanent worker and casual staff cannot therefore be identified. 2. The figures are for full-time equivalent staff rounded to the nearest whole figure. | ||||
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 162680, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November 2007, on English language requirements for non-UK nationals. [206266]
Mr. Woolas: My predecessor replied to the hon. Member on 1 September 2008, Official Report, column 1562W.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 188653, on indefinite leave to remain, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 20 February 2008. [207630]
Mr. Woolas: I replied to the hon. Member on 23 October 2008, Official Report, column 514W.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 177335, tabled on 7 January 2008, on the housing of persons granted leave to remain in the UK under the legacy exercise. [226977]
Mr. Woolas: I replied to the hon. Member on 22 October 2008, Official Report, column 436W.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 177352, tabled on 7 January 2008, on the cost of the legacy exercise. [226979]
Mr. Woolas: I replied to the hon. Member on 22 October 2008, Official Report, column 444W.
Culture, Media and Sport
Swimming: Bassetlaw
10. John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department is doing to support free swimming in Bassetlaw. [233998]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Bassetlaw district council has been offered £36,307 to provide free swimming to those aged 60 or over and £54,251 to provide free swimming to those aged 16 or under in each of 2009-10 and 2010-11. The council has also been offered a one-off capital reward payment of £25,355 for this year.
World Cup 2018
11. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in his discussions with the Football Association on its bid for the 2018 Football World Cup; and if he will make a statement. [233999]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government, from the Prime Minister down, wholeheartedly support the FA’s bid for the 2018 World Cup. My Department is working closely with the FA to deliver a bid of the highest quality, and last week I attended the initial meeting of the bid company board.
Free Swimming
13. Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in implementing the free swimming initiative; and if he will make a statement. [234001]
Andy Burnham: The closing date for local authorities to confirm their participation in all elements of the Free Swimming Programme has now passed. We are collating responses and I will be issuing a statement shortly.
Licensing Regime
14. Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effects of the Licensing Act 2003 on sports clubs. [234003]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Independent Licensing Fees Review Panel reported in 2006.
It found no evidence that any amateur sports club had closed because of licensing fees, and did not recommend a discount for sports clubs.
16. Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will bring forward proposals to amend the licensing regime to enable alcoholic refreshments to be sold to the audience at amateur dramatic performances for more than three consecutive days. [234006]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Both the retail of alcohol and the performance of plays can now be authorised by a single premises licence, which can apply for more than three consecutive days. The activities may also be authorised by a Temporary Event Notice (“TEN”) which is limited to events of up to 96 hours or four days in duration so long as other limits applying to the holder and the premises have been observed.
We have no plans to relax the restrictions on TEN’s which are there as an important safeguard for local residents for what is a light touch regime for temporary licensable activities.
Broadcasting Standards
15. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the 2006 agreement between the Secretary of State and the BBC, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC on broadcasting standards. [234005]
Andy Burnham: I regularly meet both Sir Michael Lyons and Mark Thompson to discuss a range of issues.
Elite Athletics: Funding
17. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding arrangements for elite athletes; and if he will make a statement. [234007]
Andy Burnham: Exchequer and lottery funding for elite athletes is concentrated on preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic games. Funding for the Beijing cycle was £265 million, compared with £85 million for Athens. The Beijing results were outstanding and Exchequer and lottery investment for London will increase to over £300 million.
Museums
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the most recent visitor figures are for national museums. [233996]
Barbara Follett: The most recent figures available show that there were a record 40 million visits to national museums in 2007-08. This represents a 72 per cent. increase in visits since the introduction of free admission in 2001-02, and equates to an additional 40 million visits to national museums over the last six years.
Digital Switchover
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress is being made to ensure that audio description is built into the core receiver requirements for the digital switchover help scheme. [234000]
Andy Burnham: Audio description is a mandatory part of the core receiver requirements. My Department has recently consulted on proposals to introduce a requirement for one button access to audio description from the remote control handset. This change is expected to come into force shortly.
Art Works: Theft
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to bring forward legislation to enable the restitution of artwork spoliated by Nazi Germany and now in the national collections. [233686]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 6 November 2008]: The Government intend to bring forward legislation to allow national museums to return works of art lost during the Nazi era and continues to seek a legislative opportunity for doing so.
British Film Institute
Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on the work of the British Film Institute; and if he will make a statement. [234004]
Barbara Follett: I routinely meet with the British Film Institute (BFI) and the UK Film Council to discuss the wide range of activities undertaken by the BFI and any important issues arising.
I also have regular meetings with and correspondence from people across the film industry and the work of the BFI comes up from time to time.
The BFI does an outstanding job in championing the diversity of film culture in the UK. I would like to offer my congratulations to them for the enormously successful 52(nd) London Film festival, featuring many important new films including Terence Davies’s Of Time and the City.
British Library: Finance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department has provided to the British Library in each of the last five years. [233822]
Barbara Follett: DCMS grant in aid funding for the British Library was as follows:
| British Library funding, incorporating resource and capital grant in aid | |
| £ million | |
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge) of 6 October 2008, Official Report, columns 36-37W, on departmental buildings, what the cost of each refurbishment was. [233388]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport refurbished its office at 2-4 Cockspur Street, London at a cost of £8,690,690.90.
The Royal Parks refurbished The Magazine in Kensington Gardens at a cost of £74,000.
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