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30 Mar 2009 : Column 918W—continued
Departmental Public Appointments
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which former (a) hon. Members who left Parliament since 1997 and (b) Members of the House of Lords from each party have been appointed to positions on public bodies within his Department's responsibility; and who made each appointment. [266792]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 26 March 2009]: Information on board membership appears in the annual report and accounts published by individual public bodies.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much capital spending is planned to be brought forward by his Department to (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [266296]
Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 27 January 2009, Official Report, column 356W.
Digital Broadcasting
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to help those on low incomes update television sets in preparation for the digital switchover. [267025]
Andy Burnham: The Government and the BBC have set up a Digital Switchover Help Scheme which targets help for those groups likely to have the greatest need. Research has indicated that cost is not the main barrier to take-up of digital TV and that older pensioners and disabled people may have the most difficulty switching.
The Help Scheme covers households where one person is aged 75 or over, or has a severe disability, or is registered blind or partially sighted and anyone who is normally resident in a care home. Help is free within these groups for those on pension credit, income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance.
The scheme provides easy-to-use equipment that suits a person’s needs. It also provides help with installing the equipment, including where necessary a new dish or aerial, and an easy-to-understand demonstration of how everything works. The scheme also ensures that there will be someone that people can call for help while they are getting used to digital television.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to inform the public about the digital switchover. [267034]
Andy Burnham: Digital UK is responsible for informing the public about switchover and for providing general information about the Switchover Help Scheme. Key elements of Digital UK’s communications campaign include information leaflets sent to every home, advertising, roadshows and on-screen captions broadcast to analogue homes during the six months before a switchover.
The Help Scheme is run by the BBC, under an agreement with the Government, to help older and disabled people make the change to digital TV. Every eligible person will be offered practical help to convert one of their TV sets to digital in the run-up to switchover in each region.
Digital UK is also working with local charities to provide information, advice and support to those who are not eligible for the Help Scheme but may need some extra help in managing the switchover process. Digital UK has contracted with Digital Outreach Ltd. to deliver this service in the first four TV regions to switch—Border, West Country, Wales and Granada.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number of households fully prepared for the digital switchover. [267035]
Andy Burnham: The Ofcom/Digital UK switchover tracker survey for the fourth quarter of 2008 estimated that 63 per cent. of all UK households had switched all of their televisions to digital.
Film and Video Games
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's officials work on policy to assist the (a) film and (b) video games development industry. [267564]
Barbara Follett: The current full-time equivalent (FTE) number of officials working on policy to assist the film industry is 3.7.
The current full-time equivalent (FTE) number of officials working on policy to assist the video games industry is 1.5.
Hague Convention
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are for legislation to introduce the provisions of the Hague Convention; and if he will make a statement. [267306]
Barbara Follett: The Government intend to introduce the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill, which will enable the UK to ratify the Hague Convention, as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Historic Buildings
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many publicly owned buildings are included on English Heritage's Heritage at Risk register. [267370]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 27 March 2009]: 200 publicly-owned grade I and grade II* listed buildings and structural scheduled monuments nationally, and a further 95 grade II listed buildings in London, were included on their 2008 Heritage at Risk Register.
Legislation
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which provisions of primary legislation for which his Department is responsible enacted in each of the last 10 years have yet to be brought into force. [266907]
Barbara Follett: All of the Acts introduced by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the last 10 years have been brought into force. However not all of the enactments contained in those Acts have been brought into force. These are as follows:
The Communications Act 2003—sections 272 to 274 (“must offer” obligations affecting public service television) and sections 299 to 300 (sporting and other events of national interest).
The Licensing Act 2003—two consequential amendments in Schedule 6—paragraphs 98 and 99(c), which by reason of the drafting do not achieve the intended effect.
The Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004—various enactments are not in force mainly relating to the sale of the Tote and the Horserace Betting Levy system.
The Gambling Act 2005—the vast majority has been brought into force except for sections 7(5)(a), 159 to 165,175(2) to (8), 204 and Schedule 9 in so far as they relate to premises licences for regional casinos.
The National Lottery Act 2006—section 5 which concerns annual fees and some provisions relating to the Channel Islands and Schedule 1 which sets out the reserve licensing structure to allow the National Lottery Commission to issue more then one licence to operate and promote the lotteries forming part of the National Lottery.
The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006—sections 13 to 16 which relate to the regulation of transport during the Games and section 39(1) and paragraph 13 of Schedule 3 which amend legislation repealed since the passing of the Act.
Museums
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of people who have visited a publicly funded museum in the last 12 months. [267031]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) collects visitor figures from the museums and galleries that it sponsors. While the figures for the full year 2008-09 are not yet available, DCMS estimates that 40 million visits will have been made to DCMS-funded museums and galleries by the end of the 2008-09 financial year.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many museums he has visited in an official capacity in the last 12 months. [267032]
Andy Burnham: In the last 12 months I have visited 12 museums in an official capacity.
Television
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of households unable to receive Channel Five; and what steps his Department is taking to increase coverage. [267026]
Andy Burnham: Approximately 80 per cent. of the UK population can currently receive analogue terrestrial Channel Five services. After digital switchover, it is expected that 98.5 per cent. of UK households will be able to receive Channel Five.
Television: Standards
Mr. Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make an assessment of levels of use of blasphemous language in television programmes. [266918]
Andy Burnham: Responsibility for what is broadcast on television and radio rests with the broadcasters and the organisations which regulate broadcasting—the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the BBC Trust and the Welsh Fourth Channel Authority (S4C)—within the overall framework set by the Communications Act 2003 and the BBC Charter and Agreement.
In relation to broadcasting, Parliament has charged Ofcom with maintaining standards, notably to protect children and to protect the general public from harmful and offensive material. The Ofcom Broadcasting Code therefore sets out the rules with which broadcasters must comply. Ofcom also produce guidance notes to assist broadcasters interpret and apply the Broadcasting Code. In addition, the BBC’s editorial guidelines provide clear advice on the standards expected of all BBC content on television and radio. The S4C Compliance Guidelines also provide guidance on the standards expected of all content broadcast on S4C.
Within this framework, it is the broadcasters’ job to make judgments about what individual programmes should contain and the time at which they are broadcast. It is a long-standing principle that the Government do not interfere in programme matters, either on arrangements for scheduling or on content.
Video Games: Finance
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much financial assistance the Government has provided to the video games industry since 1997. [267567]
Barbara Follett: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We do not have the specific figures broken down by sector or year.
However, the video games industry has access to Government support in a number of different ways. Examples include research and development tax credits and support from the Technology Strategy Board, which funded the Creative Industries Technology and Innovation Network. Direct support from UK Trade and Investment is also available, including that for trade missions.
Additional support is also available from the regional development agencies and the regional screen agencies, this takes the form of financial assistance to individual games companies, funding of sector-specific networks, funding of sector support and incubation initiatives through universities and take-up of business support activities by computer games companies.
Energy and Climate Change
Biofuels: Renewables Obligation
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change under what circumstances biogas production is eligible for renewables obligation certificates. [267530]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Under the reforms to the renewables obligation that will come into effect on 1 April, biogas produced through anaerobic digestion will receive two renewables obligation certificates (ROCs)/MWh. Sewage gas will receive 0.5 ROCs/MWh, and landfill gas will receive 0.25 ROCs/MWh.
In addition, we are currently considering the inclusion of biogas under the renewable heat incentive, which we are aiming to introduce in April 2011.
Carbon Trust
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his role in the appointments of members of the board of (a) the Carbon Trust and (b) the Energy Saving Trust is. [266771]
Joan Ruddock: The Energy Saving Trust is a private company. Members of the board are appointed in line with its Articles of Association. The Government have no role in appointing members to the board.
The Carbon Trust is a private company. Under its articles of association, the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, both appoint one member to the Carbon Trust board. Following the creation of DECC in October 2008, DECC assumed responsibility for sponsorship of the Carbon Trust from DEFRA. We are in discussions with Carbon Trust to consider amendments to the current arrangements for board membership which are necessitated by the creation of DECC.
Other members of the board are appointed in line with Carbon Trust’s articles of association, which are publicly available at the Companies Registry.
Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding from the public purse was provided to the (a) Carbon Trust and (b) Energy Saving Trust in each of the last five years. [255860]
Joan Ruddock: Carbon Trust funding from the public purse, from 2003-04 to 2007-08, was as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) Includes £14,001,000 of accrued income—i.e. income payable to the Carbon Trust under arrangements for 2007-08, but disbursed in 2008-09 when funds were required. | |
This includes funding from BERR, DEFRA, and the Devolved Administrations.
Energy Saving Trust funding from the public purse, from 2003-04 to 2007-08, was as follows:
| As published in the Energy Saving Trust Limited’s audited accounts | |||||
| £000 | |||||
| Funding from public purse for the year ended 31 March | |||||
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | |
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