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9 Mar 2009 : Column 21W—continued
Many Zimbabwean households receive remittances from household members working abroad.
There is a culture of children eating available food first while as many as a third of adults will go with one or fewer meals in a day.
A high contraceptive prevalence rate has led to smaller family sizes.
The main reason, however, for malnutrition levels being less high than might be expected is likely to be the enormous food aid programme that has fed seven million people in February. A sustained feeding programme will be needed through the next growing season in order to ensure nutritional status is protected and even improved.
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of people in Zimbabwe who are reliant upon international food aid; and if he will make a statement. [261464]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: UN figures suggest that 7 million people will have received food aid in Zimbabwe by February 2009. The next harvest—which will be collected in April—is likely to be slightly better for those who managed to plant seeds. However, as a result of an NGO ban during the election period last year, distribution of agricultural inputs was delayed and some people were unable to access the fertiliser they needed for a good crop. While an accurate estimate of the harvest will be done in March, early projections suggest a similar scale of food insecurity is anticipated in 2009-10 with a peak before next year’s harvest.
The NGO ban and the failure of the Government of Zimbabwe to import their agreed quota of food have made this a particularly challenging situation. The international community has shown considerable flexibility in ensuring that the basic food needs of the people of Zimbabwe are largely being met but more support will continue to be needed next year.
Culture, Media and Sport
Business Plans
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to publish his Department's annual corporate plan. [261454]
Andy Burnham: The Department’s next annual corporate plan is due to be published in spring 2009.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department’s entertainment budget was in each of the last five years. [261273]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested by the hon. Member is not readily available from the Department’s accounting system. To provide the information would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Trade Unions
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which trade unions are recognised in his Department. [262077]
Mr. Sutcliffe: In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport the recognised trade unions are the Public and Commercial Services Union and the First Division Association.
Equality
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when he plans to publish his Department’s progress review on work with its public bodies on ensuring that diversity is built into governance regimes; and if he will make a statement; [260778]
(2) when he expects to publish his Department’s review on work with its public bodies on ensuring that diversity is built into their governance regimes; and if he will make a statement. [261615]
Andy Burnham: I plan to publish details of the composition of our non-departmental public bodies boards, as part of a Departmental Appointments Plan, in April.
Licensing Laws: Bureaucracy
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what administrative cost reductions his Department has identified which have resulted from the entry into force of the Gambling Act 2005; [261619]
(2) what administrative cost reductions his Department has identified which have resulted from the entry into force of the Licensing Act 2003. [261620]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS continues to take significant steps towards reducing administrative burdens arising from its legislation. The latest simplification plan, the third one produced by DCMS, sets out progress to date and details of the forthcoming measures that will be implemented during 2009. Details can be found at the following web address:
DCMS has exceeded its baseline target to deliver a 43 per cent. reduction in administrative burdens. This has been achieved in large part by the changes to the regulatory regimes under the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005 which consolidated a number of separate pieces of legislation.
With the assistance of an expert panel last year, DCMS carried out a costing exercise of the Gambling Act 2005 using the standard cost model. This was a commitment from the previous plan and looked at the administrative costs of the previous regime compared with the new one established under the Act. It found that the administrative burden of the 2005 Act stands at £17.4 million annually which is a reduction from the baseline of the previous regime which was estimated by PricewaterhouseCoopers to be £74 million annually.
In respect of the Licensing Act 2003, the saving to the industry from reduced administrative burdens, validated by an expert panel including industry representatives, is
about £99 million annually against a baseline established by PricewaterhouseCoopers in May 2005. The 2003 Licensing Act came into full operation in November 2005 and aggregate savings since then exceed £300 million.
Museums and Galleries: VAT
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the retail prices for entry and guided tours have been reduced as a result of the December 2008 reduction in value added tax in (a) the Wallace Collection, (b) the Victoria and Albert Museum, (c) the Tate, (d) the Royal Armouries Museum, (e) Sir John Soane’s Museum, (f) the Natural History Museum, (g) the National Maritime Museum, (h) the National Museum of Science and Industry, (i) the National Gallery, (j) the Geffrye Museum and (k) the Horniman Public Museum. [258391]
Andy Burnham: Entrance to the museums listed is free, with the exception of the Tate St. Ives. Services offered by the museums are often free or where charges are made, they have fully reflected the reduction in VAT. Exceptions to this, where the museums have handled the rate change in VAT in different ways are summarised in the following list. The remainder of the museums have either fully passed on the reduction or do not offer or charge for guided tours.
The museum consolidated the VAT reduction for paying exhibitions into the ticket groups which it is believes will benefit the most. These are the concession rates for students, the unemployed and 12-17 year olds. Audio guides are supplied under contract by an external company, who have not reduced the unit price.
The Tate has not reduced charges for guided tours where a fee is incurred, as all guided tours are pre-booked. As a result the tours have been previously advertised and invoiced at the pre-VAT reduction price. The cost of changing this negated any reduction that might have been passed on. However, tour prices which would normally have increased in January 2009, were held at 2008 prices. The gallery’s audio guides are supplied under contract by an external company, who have not reduced the unit price.
The only current admissions charge is for the Peter Harrison Planetarium, where no adjustment has been made for the reduction in VAT as the effect on price was considered too small. The museum decided instead to freeze Planetarium ticket prices for next year. During the most recent paying exhibition, the museum experimented with audio guide pricing and prices were varied on a number of occasions. Since 11 January 2009 the audio guides have been free of charge. Prior to this, where charges were made at varying rates, the price was not adjusted to reflect the reduction in VAT.
4. National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI)
The museum has applied the VAT reduction to entry charges over £10.00. This includes special exhibitions and IMAX. Audio guides are only available at one of the NMSI’s branches, the National Railway Museum, where no adjustment was made for the reduction in VAT as the charge for these is under £10.00.
Prices for paying exhibitions have not been reduced as a result of the reduction in VAT. The price reduction was considered not material and would have produced an unwieldy pricing structure. Instead ticket prices are being held without increase throughout 2009. Guided tours, which are part of the gallery’s education programme are exempt from VAT. Audio guides for the main collection are by voluntary donation. A charge is made for audio guides for temporary exhibitions which has not been reduced as a result of the reduction in VAT. The first guide produced following the VAT reduction was an improved product with increased production costs which were not passed on to the public as the charge was held at previous levels.
Guided tours and audio guides are charged at a nominal rate and prices have not been reduced as a result of the reduction in VAT, as the effect on price is considered too small.
National Lottery: Complaints
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2009, Official Report, column 892W, on National Lottery: complaints, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the National Lottery Commission and Camelot implement lessons learned from complaints handled on a case-by-case basis; and if he will make a statement. [260881]
Barbara Follett: Both the National Lottery Commission and Camelot aim to provide a fair, transparent and accountable procedure for handling complaints from whatever source and by whichever channel of communication they are received. Complaints received by the Commission are logged and considered by a consumer protection team which reports quarterly to the Commissioners. This allows for trends in complaints or unusual cases to be escalated within the Commission and the appropriate action to be taken. As a matter of course, for every complaint received, Camelot reviews whether lessons can be learned and, if practicable, these are then implemented.
Tourism: South West
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) domestic and (b) overseas visitors visited (i) North Wiltshire constituency, (ii) Wiltshire and (iii) the South West in each year since 1997; and what the average spend per person per day was in each case. [259489]
Barbara Follett: VisitBritain have advised that, due to changes in the methodology used in the United Kingdom Tourism Survey, the information on domestic visits in the form requested is only available from 2006. Domestic visit figures before this date were collected in a way which is not consistent with the new methodology and are therefore not comparable.
VisitBritain have also advised that information on overseas visits is held from 1999 at a national and regional level but that it is not available at a constituency level.
Therefore, the following table sets out the number of (a) domestic and (b) overseas visits to (i) Wiltshire and (ii) the South West in each year for which the information is available; and what the average spend per person, per day, was in each case(1):
(1)( )United Kingdom Tourism Survey, which provides details of the number of visits rather than the number of visitors.
| Domestic staying visits ( Thousand ) | Domestic spend per visitor per day (£) | Inbound staying visits ( Thousand ) | Inbound spend per visitor per day (£) | |||||
| Wiltshire | South West | Wiltshire | South West | Wiltshire | South West | Wiltshire | South West | |
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