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26 Jan 2009 : Column 53W—continued
Broadcasting Programmes: Television
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to increase the use of audio description on television broadcasts; and if he will make a statement. [250578]
Andy Burnham:
The Communications Act 2003 sets minimum targets for the audio description of programmes
by broadcasters. However, it is the responsibility of Ofcom to ensure that these requirements are met.
The steps taken by Ofcom to increase the use of audio description include a successful TV campaign to raise awareness, requirements that the Electronic Programme Guide indicate which programmes have audio description, and discussions with manufacturers to encourage them to provide accessible equipment.
Catz Club
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding the charity Catz Club has received from each of the Lottery funds to date; and on what dates each of the payments was made. [250502]
Barbara Follett: The charity Catz Club has been awarded £203,134 in lottery funding. £80,296 on 26 June 2003, £117,311 on 17 October 2003 and £5527 on 10 February 2006.
Children: Internet
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the (a) staff costs and (b) total cost of the Byron Review. [248901]
Andy Burnham: The information is as follows:
(a) During the six-month period of the Byron Review, it was supported by two full-time DCMS staff. Using capitation rates(1) this equates to £51,992.
(b) The total cost of the review (excluding staffing costs) were approximately £275,000. This included expenditure on consultation with parents and other stakeholders, and a comprehensive literature review. This expenditure has been incurred in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidelines and a value for money assessment.
(1) Capitation rates cover average pay, national insurance and pension contribution costs, by grade, incurred by the Department.
Departmental Art Works
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Angus of 21 April 2008, Official Report, columns 1737-8W, on departmental property, what the (a) title and (b) Government Art Collection reference number was of the art work stolen from his Department in 2006. [250092]
Barbara Follett: The works of art listed in the following table were prints reported as missing from various Government offices in the UK and around the world and recorded in DCMS's Losses Register in 2006.
| Title | GAC number |
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many special advisers were employed in his Department at each pay band on 30 November 2008; and what his Department’s total expenditure on special advisers was in 2007-08. [243577]
Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 15 January 2009, Official Report, column 870W, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Watson).
Departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when his Department completed its review into its relationship with its non-departmental public bodies; and if he will publish its findings. [249812]
Andy Burnham: The March 2007 report of the Department's Capability Review recommended that the Department should develop a more robust, risk-based approach to engagement with its sponsored bodies and to managing performance. We have responded by carrying out risk assessments of our public bodies and tailoring the relationship with each body to the level of risk; working to reduce the number of reports required of sponsored bodies, and setting up an Advisory Board of sponsored-body representatives which considers strategic issues and ways to improve our working relationship. The Capability Review team will be looking at this as part of its re-review of the Department in February and March, and will publish a report of its findings.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make an assessment of the extent to which the functions and services currently carried out by his Department could be carried out by other Government departments. [250871]
Andy Burnham: There are no plans to carry out such a review. The Department's existence reflects the importance of the sectors we sponsor, which already account for some 13 per cent. of the economy and are central to the quality of life of every citizen. Following our Capability Review published in 2007, we have restructured and refocused the Department to ensure that we continue to increase our added value.
Digital Broadcasting: Selkirk
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date the national help scheme for the digital switchover process in the area around Selkirk was initiated; and on what date communications for the help scheme began. [249411]
Andy Burnham:
Under the scheme agreement, help scheme eligibility within a region starts eight months prior to switchover. Switchover in Selkirk took place on 20 November 2008. Using the Department for Work and Pensions data and data provided by local authorities
and care homes, the help scheme contacted about 17,000 eligible people in the Selkirk transmitter area directly by mail to invite them to take up the offer of help. Of these around two-thirds responded.
The scheme was mentioned in the very earliest publicity about switchover in Selkirk and when Digital UK announced the date for switchover in the Scottish Borders in October 2007. Further information about the scheme was available throughout 2008 through press and radio adverts, regional events and on screen analogue TV captions.
Digital Radio Working Group: Manpower
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's staff have provided support for the Digital Radio Working Group. [248922]
Andy Burnham: The Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG) were supported by up to four members of staff, with a varying degree of their time allocated to the project; taken together their time represented a full-time equivalent of 1.4 posts.
Horserace Betting Levy Board
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to begin the process of appointing a new chairman of the Horseracing Betting Levy Board; and if he will make a statement. [247353]
Andy Burnham: My officials are currently planning the appointment process in consultation with the Horserace Betting Levy Board in order to minimise disruption to its work, which includes facilitating discussions around the review of the Levy System. We hope to begin the process shortly.
National Lottery Commission: Consultants
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by (a) the National Lottery Commission and (b) the Gambling Commission on recruitment consultants in each of the last five years; and which companies provided these services. [249791]
Barbara Follett: The information is as follows:
(a) The National Lottery Commission has provided the information in the following table for spend on recruitment consultants.
| Financial year | Cost of recruitment agencies (£) |
| Note: All figures include VAT. | |
The recruitment companies used were as follows:
Capita Resourcing Ltd.
Career Moves Ltd.
Coby Philips (RBS Factors)
Connect Executive Resourcing Ltd.
Hays Office Support
Jonathan Wren
KPMG UK
Morgan Hunt Public Sector Ltd.
Parkway Associates
PMR Ltd.
Tate Employment
Thomas International UK Ltd.
Total Jobs Group Ltd.
The National Lottery Commission is unable to provide the names of recruitment consultants used in financial years 2003-04 and 2004-05 except at disproportionate cost as their electronic finance system was changed for financial year 2005-06 onwards and to provide the information would require thorough examination of two years of invoices.
(b) The Gambling Commission has provided the information in the following table for spend on recruitment consultants. The Gambling Commission came into existence on 1 October 2005.
| Financial year | Cost of recruitment agencies (£) |
| (1) 1 October 2005 to 31 March 2006. Note: All figures include VAT. | |
The recruitment companies used were:
Adecco UK Ltd.
Badenoch and Clark
Capita Business Services Ltd.
Carlisle Staffing
Elan Computing
Ellis Jay Consulting
Frazer Jones
G2 Legal
Hays Office Support
Hudson Global Resources
Katie Bard
Michael Page
Morgan Hunt
Odgers Ray and Berndston
Pathway Resourcing
PPS
Reed Payroll Management
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 1 July 2008, Official Report, column 880W, on non-departmental public bodies, on how many occasions bodies for which his Department is responsible requested authority to incur expenditure above the delegated limits set out in their financial memoranda in the last 12 months. [247496]
Andy Burnham: In the last 12 months, my Department received 19 requests from our non-departmental public bodies for approval to incur expenditure above the delegated limits set out in their financial memoranda.
Press
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the future prospects of local newspapers; and if he will make a statement. [250150]
Andy Burnham: I have had no recent discussions with the European Commission on the future prospects of local newspapers. However, the future of the local press is an important issue and is being taken forward under the Digital Britain project, which is shortly to publish an interim report.
Public Libraries
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance his Department plans to provide to local authorities to improve public access to library services. [248482]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is undertaking the Library Service Modernisation Review, which was launched by the Secretary of State on 9 October 2008. This seeks to define the Government’s vision for a modern, world-class public library service and sets out some of the steps necessary to achieve it. There are already some excellent library services across the country, which serve their communities’ needs and support the delivery of a range of outcomes. With the review’s findings, which will be published in the spring, we aim to help empower all library services to reach this standard, and help the best to go even further.
The Museums Libraries and Archives Council is the Government’s strategic adviser on the public library sector, and it continues to work to deliver its Action Plan for public libraries funded by DCMS through grant in aid. More details are at
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