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16 Dec 2008 : Column 547W—continued
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on (a) taxis, (b) potted plants, (c) works of art and (d) redecoration in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available. [240381]
Ann McKechin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 12W, to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) with regards the Scotland Office spend on (a) taxis. The Office has incurred no costs on (b) potted plants or (c) works of art in 2007-08. The cost of (d) redecoration of its buildings in Edinburgh and London was £39,102. Under the terms of the building leases the Office is required to maintain the buildings to an acceptable standard of decoration and repair.
Departmental Rail Travel
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date he last used a train in the course of his official duties. [242626]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I last used a train in the course of my official duties on 24 November. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Wales
Departmental Official Hospitality
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department spent on Ministerial hospitality in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06, (c) 2006-07 and (d) 2007-08, expressed in current prices. [241123]
Mr. Paul Murphy: My Department does not keep records of ministerial hospitality in this form, and the information could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.
All spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to strengthen creative industries. [240274]
Andy Burnham: 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.
The strategy includes commitments to encourage employers to create 5,000 new apprenticeships in the creative industries by 2013, and the establishment of a new, international event for business and the creative industries—the Creativity & Business International Network (c&binet)—the first of which will take place in 2009.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1027-28W, on intellectual property, when he expects to publish updated figures for the value of the creative industries to the UK economy. [242451]
Andy Burnham: The Creative Industries Economic Estimates bulletins contain statistics on gross value added, exports, employment and numbers of businesses within the creative industries.
The publication of the 2008 bulletin has been delayed to allow additional time to investigate revisions that have been made to the source data.
The Department is aiming to publish the 2008 bulletin by the end of the year. It will be available on our website at
Departmental Internet
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008, Official Report, columns 336-37W, on Government departments: information and communications technology, which IP addresses are used by (a) his Department and (b) computers in the offices of its (i) Ministers, (ii) communications officials and (iii) special advisers. [241948]
Mr. Sutcliffe: To help defend against electronic attack, it is standard good information security practice for corporate IT systems, not to publish internal IP addresses. When accessing internet websites, the IP addresses of all of the computers on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport internal office IT system are hidden behind the following IP addresses which are publicly available—195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209. These IP addresses are shared with other Government Departments that use the Government secure intranet.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of including return path functionality in his Department’s core receiver requirements, with particular reference to the cost of including a return path with a provision for broadband capability. [242418]
Andy Burnham: Earlier this year DCMS commissioned independent research into set-top boxes including a return path to support bi-directional interactive services. That report did not include an estimate of costs.
However, the technical experts on the Department’s Emerging Technology Group, which keeps the Core Receiver Requirements under review, did arrive at an initial costing for including return path functionality to provide for broadband capability.
We will be re-examining both the rationale for and costs of enhancements to set-top-boxes as part of the Digital Britain report.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been allocated for spending on bonuses for staff within his Department in 2008-09. [240942]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department makes bonus payments to its staff for two purposes: (a) special bonuses to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (b) performance bonuses linked to the end of year staff appraisal, which are awarded to staff who have had a highly successful performance over a whole year.
All end of year bonuses for 2008-09, (for performance in 2007-08) have been paid. The total amount paid was £434,417. Of the special bonuses £100,560 has been allocated of which £25,580 has been paid.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for Walsall, North’s letter of 5 November 2008 to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, transferred to his Department at the end of November regarding a constituent. [240353]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 8 December 2008]: A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 15 December, explaining that we are unable to comment on the findings of the Community Pubs Inquiry Report at this time. However, we hope to be able to reply in full early in the new year.
Sports: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what recent steps the Government has taken to improve community sport facilities in Coventry; [242638]
(2) what steps the Government has taken to promote sport for families in Coventry. [243082]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 15 December 2008]: Since April 2004 Sport England have awarded £3,533,934 in community sport funding to various organisations in Coventry, to improve sporting facilities and promote sport for families.
Sports: Schools
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps the Government has taken to promote sport in schools. [243081]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Through our joint PE and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP), the Department is working with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to increase the take-up of sporting opportunities among five to 19-year-olds.
Our aim is to sustain and increase current levels of participation by those aged five to 16 in at least two hours of high quality PE and sport at school, and offer five to 19-year-olds at least three hours of sport beyond the school day, delivered by a range of school, community and club providers.
These ambitions will be realised through a range of programmes and activities delivered through Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust, and will be supported by increases in the number of coaches in schools, and a national network of competition managers within School Sport Partnerships.
Television: Licensing
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) of 11 November 2008, Official Report, column 1096W, on television: licensing, how many people were convicted for failing to purchase a television licence in each of the last five years; and of these how many were fined the maximum sum prescribed. [242165]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
Data showing the number of persons found guilty, and those issued with a fine, at all courts for Television Licence evasion in England and Wales, from 2003 to 2007, the latest available, are given in the following tables:
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
| Table A: The number of persons found guilty at all courts of Television Licence evasion, England and Wales, 2003 - 07( 1, 2, 3) | |
| Number | |
| (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The TV licensing provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 were replaced by new provisions in section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 which came into effect 1 April 2004. | |
| Table B: The number of persons, on conviction of Television Licence evasion offences, issued with a fine, at all courts, England and Wales, 2003 - 07( 1, 2) | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | |||||
Tourism: Isle of Man
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to promote tourism between the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom. [240875]
Barbara Follett: VisitBritain’s marketing of England for tourism purposes includes the dissemination of material to people living on the Isle of Man. Any associated press activity is also shown in the Isle of Man. National campaigns taken forward by VisitBritain also target the Isle of Man.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for overseas marketing is in place between VisitBritain and the Isle of Man Government which sets out a framework, respective roles and responsibilities and working relationships for the benefit of promoting Britain and the Isle of Man effectively to overseas visitors. The Isle of Man Government pay VisitBritain an annual marketing fee in support of the MoU. This ensures that the Isle of Man has equivalent treatment to the other nations and regions of Britain.
Defence
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles on average were used in each training session at Castlemartin Range in the last 12 months. [242643]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The average number of Armoured Fighting Vehicles used in each training package at Castlemartin Range in the last 12 months is 26.
Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost was to his Department of private haulage of armoured vehicles to and from Castlemartin Range in each of the last five years; [242644]
(2) what the cost was of transporting armoured vehicles to and from Castlemartin Range in each of the last five years. [242645]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many large goods vehicle movements transporting armoured vehicles to and from Castlemartin Range there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those were undertaken by (a) private sector vehicles and (b) army transporters. [242646]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nick Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training sessions using armoured vehicles took place at Castlemartin Range in each of the last five years; and what the average length of each such training session was. [242647]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of training packages using armoured fighting vehicles that took place at Castlemartin Range in each of the last five years is shown below:
| Number of training packages | |
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