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25 Jan 2010 : Column 536W—continued
Culture: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding he plans to allocate to the (a) British Film Institute National Film Centre, (b) British Museum World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, (c) British Library newspaper archive and (d) new Stonehenge Visitors' Centre in each of the next five years. [312990]
Mr. Simon: The Department has allocated £45 million to the British Film Institute National Film Centre, £22.5 million to the British Museum World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, £33 million to the British Library newspaper archive and £10 million for the new Stonehenge Visitors' Centre. The Department is discussing the funding profile for these projects with the bodies concerned.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies plans to sign up to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 per cent. in 2010. [311433]
Mr. Simon: The Department and its agency The Royal Parks have not committed to make this reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. They are already exceeding the Government targets to reduce carbon emissions from offices by 12.5 per cent. by 2010-11, relative to 1999-2000 levels; and to reduce carbon emissions from road vehicles used for Government administrative operations by 15 per cent. by 2010-11, relative to 2005-06 levels.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 2003. [306457]
Mr. Simon: An element of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives.
Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the SCS is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
The Department makes non-consolidated performance payments to its employees for two purposes: (a) in-year
non-consolidated performance payments to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (b) year-end non-consolidated performance payments to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. In both cases they support and help drive high performance.
These figures are exclusive of two key senior staff in the Government Olympic Executive, who were appointed on fixed-term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects extensive relevant experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of the remuneration of two key senior staff were published in the departmental Annual Reports and Accounts 2009.
Details of the non-consolidated performance payments paid to departmental employees are set out in the table.
| Performance year | Total number of awards | Value of non-consolidated performance payments (£) | Wages and salaries (£) | Non-consolidated performance payments as percentage of wages and salaries (percentage) |
| Note: The "wages and salaries" for each financial year is taken from Department's annual resource accounts | ||||
Departmental Public Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on (a) new furnishings, (b) works of art and (c) new vehicles in each of the last two years. [312545]
Mr. Simon: In 2007-08 the Department spent £83,705 on new furnishings and £0 on new vehicles.
In 2008-09 the Department spent £70,273 on new furnishings and £0 on new vehicles.
The Government Art Collection (GAC), which is managed by the DCMS, spent £414,542 in 2007-08 and £564,256 in 2008-09 on acquiring works of art for display in UK Government offices and our embassies and Government properties overseas, using funds directly from GAC and other sources of funding.
Digital Broadcasting: Scotland
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of local commercial radio stations in Scotland without a digital migration pathway. [312103]
Mr. Simon: No specific estimate has been made of the number of local stations which may remain on FM after the digital radio switchover.
Gambling: Internet
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what mechanisms are in place to regulate the use of credit card payments to make bets through gambling websites. [312921]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Online gambling operators licensed in Great Britain are required to verify age, allow individuals to set financial limits or self-exclude, and intervene where there are signs of problem gambling regardless of the payment method used.
Licensed Premises: Birmingham
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licensed premises there were per 1,000 of population in Birmingham in each of the last three years. [312782]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Statistical Bulletin, under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, collects the number of premises licences and club premises certificates.
The following table shows the number of licensed premises per 1,000 of the population of Birmingham as at 31 March 2007, 2008 and 2009.
| Premises licences and club premises certificates per 1,000 population | |
The number of licences in 2007 has been adjusted by mid-2007 population estimates (produced by the Office for National Statistics), the number of licences in 2008 and 2009 have both been adjusted by mid-2008 population estimates (latest available estimates).
Listed Buildings: Conservation
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the English Heritage at Risk register will next be updated. [312647]
Margaret Hodge: English Heritage advise that their 2010 Heritage at Risk register will be published on 1 July 2010.
Museums and Galleries: Educational Visits
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what free educational schemes his Department operates in national museums and galleries. [312412]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 21 January 2010]: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Children, Schools and Families jointly fund the 'Strategic Commissioning' programme. This programme provides funding for national museums to develop free educational and community programmes.
The programme was established in 2003 and exists to support the formal and informal learning of children, young people and adults through the more effective use of museums and galleries. By 2011, this programme will have seen £32 million of investment.
By 2011, £15.3 million of this investment will have gone towards enabling 11 national museums and their regional partners, plus the British Library, to develop free museum-based educational programmes for school- age children and local communities. Over 300,000 school children have benefited from this programme to date.
Royal Parks Agency: Taxation
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much accrued to the Royal Parks Agency from the encroachment rate payable in Bushy Park in each of the last 10 years; when the rate was first levied; what rate was charged in each of the last 10 years; how many dwellings and hereditaments are liable for the rate; and whether the rate is classified as a tax by the Office for National Statistics. [311475]
Margaret Hodge: The Royal Parks (TRP) advise that there are currently 45 commercial, 84 residential, and 17 utility encroachment licenses recorded for Bushy Park. TRP advise that they have accrued the following encroachment income over the past 10 years:
| Financial year | Income( 1) (£) |
| (1) These figures exclude British Telecom encroachments which are licensed under a Master Agreement covering all parks. | |
The procedure for licensing encroachments has been in operation since prior to the turn of the previous century, and the licence fee is for the use and occupation of Bushy Park land. The level of fee is assessed individually to reflect the extent of the encroachment on park land.
The licence fee is not classified as a tax by the Office for National Statistics.
Royal Parks: Parking
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on the research project by Peter Brett Associates on the effects of car parking charges in Richmond and Bushy Parks. [312991]
Margaret Hodge: The Royal Parks advise that the report, by traffic consultants Peter Brett Associates, cost £7090.60.
Sports: National Lottery
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Big Lottery Fund has given to sport-related activities in 2008-09. [312803]
Mr. Simon: The information requested is not held by my Department and relates to matters that are the responsibility of the Big Lottery Fund.
Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund to write direct to the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent.
Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Swimming: Lincolnshire
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department has provided to local authorities in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire to meet the costs of free swimming lessons for (i) pensioners and (ii) young people since April 2009. [312083]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Free Swimming Programme is funded to provide 100,000 free swimming lessons. Local authorities are required to apply to the Amateur Swimming Association for funding for the delivery of free swimming lessons in their areas.
North East Lincolnshire Unitary Authority applied for funding for free swimming lessons for the elderly and young people and received a total of £2,300.
Television: Licensing
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many convictions there have been of residents of Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency for non-payment of a television licence in the last three years. [312206]
Mr. Simon: The number of defendants found guilty of television licence evasion across the West Midlands police force area from 2005 to 2007 has been provided by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and is given in the table:
| 2005( 1) | 2006( 1) | 2007( 2) | |
| (1)As well as television licence evasion, these data include proceedings for summary offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 to 1967. (2)These figures relate to the offence of television licence evasion under the Communications Act 2003. Note: 1. 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. 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. Source: Ministry of Justice. | |||
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