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12 Oct 2009 : Column 269W—continued
Ashes 2009: Official Hospitality
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Ministers in his Department have accepted complimentary tickets to Test matches in the 2009 Ashes series. [289361]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Two Ministers from DCMS have accepted complimentary tickets for the 2009 Ashes series.
Coastal Areas: Finance
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to announce details of Wave 3 of the Sea Change funding programme. [290061]
Margaret Hodge: We hope to announce decisions on Wave 3 of the Sea Change programme shortly.
Conservation Areas: Waste Disposal
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he has discussed with English Heritage the establishment of a policy on the use of household wheeled refuse containers in conservation areas. [290462]
Margaret Hodge: I have had no discussions with English Heritage about the establishment of a policy on the use of household wheeled refuse containers in conservation areas. I understand that English Heritage has no plans to establish such a policy, but that it has provided advice on this issue to local authorities, local civic societies and DCMS and other Government Departments when requested.
Cricket
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many registered community amateur cricket clubs there were in each region in each of the last 10 years. [289360]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) does not hold details of how many registered community amateur cricket clubs there were in each region in each of the last 10 years.
However, the ECB holds details of the number of community amateur cricket clubs registered as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) since CASC status was established in 2002(1).
(1) From 2004 publication of collated data changed from November to May of each year.
| Registered cricket clubs | |
| Number | |
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) Blackberrys and (c) laptop computers issued to staff of his Department in the last 12 months were issued to (i) new staff and (ii) existing staff following the (A) loss or (B) theft of a previous device. [290541]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My Department has issued five devices following theft or loss as shown in the following table:
| (A) Loss | (B) Theft | |||
| New staff | Existing staff | New staff | Existing staff | |
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008, Official Report, column 1069W, on departmental marketing, how many staff in his Department are responsible for branding activity; and what the cost of employing such staff was in 2008-09. [290294]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Brand activity is spread across the Department's corporate communications team. The estimated time spent on brand activity was 1.0 full-time equivalent. The staff cost was £45,432.50.
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2009, Official Report, column 496W, on departmental pay, who the employers are who are paying less than £7.45 an hour for work contracted out by his Department; what the nature of the work undertaken on each contract is; how many staff at each (a) payband and (b) location are working on each such contract; what the duration of each contract is; and what union recognition agreements are in place with each contractor. [285512]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 9 July 2009]: All work contracted out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is undertaken at its central offices in London.
| Supplier | Nature of work | Payband | Number of staff | Duration of contract | Union recognition |
|
MITIE recognises any official union their employees choose to join | |||||
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Minister in his Department has been assigned responsibility for overseeing the delivery of value for money in his Department; whether his Department has established a public sector reform team to implement service reforms; and if he will make a statement. [289744]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Minister for Creative Industries, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Simon), has been appointed to the task of overseeing the delivery of value for money in the Department.
The Department does not currently have a public sector reform team.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what data his Department holds on the level of diversity in its recruitment of employees in each of the last three years. [290504]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department currently holds information on its work force database for recruitment for all seven equality strands: gender, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion and belief and disability. Prior to 2007, the Department monitored on four equality strands: gender, age, disability and ethnicity.
Digital Broadcasting: Radio
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with overseas radio broadcasters whose signals are received in the UK on access to such services after radio digital switchover. [289363]
Mr. Simon: The Digital Radio Upgrade programme will affect only services licensed, and using frequencies allocated for use, in the UK. We recognise that some parts of the UK have access to overseas services; however, these are the result of overspill rather than the intended coverage. There is no legal right for consumer access to these services, which are under the jurisdiction of the relevant overseas authority. Accordingly, I have not had any discussions with overseas radio broadcasters whose signals can be received in the UK.
Entertainment: Animal Welfare
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether there have been any recent discussions between officials of his Department and representatives of the film and television industry on the effectiveness of regulations on the use of animals in the film and television industry; and if he will review his Department's recommendations on the use of animals in the entertainment industry. [290339]
Mr. Simon: There have been no recent discussions with representatives of the film and television industry on the effectiveness of regulations on the use of animals in the film and television industry.
We last addressed this matter in 2008 when a meeting with stakeholders (including RSPCA) looked at the issue of animal welfare in the film and television industries and determined that there was not a welfare problem. It was concluded that new Government regulation would not be considered.
I have no plans to review the regulations on the use of animals in the film and television industry.
Gaming Machines: Taxation
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer prior to Budget 2009 on changes to the tax treatment of amusement machines from Amusement Machine Licence Duty to Gross Profits Tax. [289498]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor his predecessor had discussions with HM Treasury Ministers about the change to Gross Profits Tax for amusement machines. The matter has been the subject of discussions between the Department and HM Treasury at official level since the budget.
Licensed Premises: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many premises in (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire have had their licence to sell alcohol taken away since the implementation of the Licensing Act of 2003. [289425]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Under the Licensing Act 2003, premises licences and club premises certificates are not always confined to the authorised sale or supply of alcohol; they also can provide regulated entertainment and/or late night refreshment.
The first DCMS statistical bulletin on alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment, under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, was published on 8 November 2007. This shows that, between April 2006 and March 2007, there were no completed reviews in the Dacorum licensing authority area (which covers Hemel Hempstead) and consequently no revocations. For the county of Hertfordshire as a whole, there were 13 completed reviews which resulted in 10 premises licences or club premises certificates having other conditions added or modified, two premises licences or club premises certificates being suspended and one premises licences revoked or club premises certificate withdrawn.
The second statistical bulletin, published on 30 October 2008 and covering the period between April 2007 and March 2008, shows that there were three completed reviews in the Dacorum licensing authority area which resulted in added or modified conditions to the premises licence or club premises certificates. For Hertfordshire as a whole, there were 19 completed reviews for this period which resulted in two premises licenses or club premises certificates being suspended and two premises licences being revoked or club premises certificates being withdrawn.
Since 6 April 2007, a premises licence can be suspended by a court under section 147B(1) of the Licensing Act 2003 (as amended by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006) for the sale or supply of alcohol, following an offence of persistently selling to under-age children. No premises licenses or club premises certificates have been suspended on these grounds in Hertfordshire county for the most recent statistical bulletin period.
Licensing Act 2003
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to undertake a review of the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. [291723]
Mr. Sutcliffe: None. The Licensing Act 2003 came fully into force on 24 November 2005. On 4 March 2008, Official Report, columns 102-105WS, the then Secretary of State made a written statement announcing the completion and publication of his evaluation of the implementation of the Act. A copy of the full evaluation was also then placed in the Library of the House. The main elements of the evaluation included:
Scrutiny Councils Initiative: a final report was issued in July 2006 and an update published in 2008;
Independent Fees Panel Report: published on 25 January 2007;
Review of the Statutory Guidance: revised Guidance issued on 28 June 2007;
Live Music Forum Report: published 3 July 2007;
Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Statistical Bulletin: published on 8 November 2007;
DCMS Simplification Plan: the 2(nd) Simplification Plan was published on 4 December 2007;
Closing times data commissioned by DCMS from CGA Strategy Ltd to analyse actual Saturday closing times-published on 4 March 2008; and
Home Office Report on the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on levels of crime and disorder: published on 4 March 2008.
The Department continues to monitor the impact of the 2003 Act.
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