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D'Oyly Carte
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he has taken to secure the future of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. [53748]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 30 July 1998]: D'Oyly Carte is an independent company, responsible to its Board and backers for the operational decisions it takes. Public funding for the arts is channelled through the Arts Council of England who take decisions on the funding of individual arts organisations without the
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involvement of Ministers. Ministers have, however, drawn to the attention of the Arts Council the representations made in Parliament on this issue.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with sports governing bodies on measures for dealing with sports supporters who bring their sport, teams or country into disrepute. [53596]
Mr. Banks
[holding answer 30 July 1998]: The Government deplore all acts of hooliganism at sporting events. I know from my regular dealings with sports governing bodies that they share this sentiment. The actions of thugs and hooligans who constitute a tiny minority detract from the good behaviour of the vast majority who are sport's true supporters. Of course, the full weight of the criminal law can be used to deal with incidents of serious disorder at sports grounds but increasingly sports organisers are tightening their own rules in response to bad behaviour.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) men and (b) women aged over 60 years were employed by (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's agencies on 1 January. [53066]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 30 July 1998]: On 1 January my Department employed four women aged over 60. No staff over 60 were employed by the Royal Parks Agency on that date.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) men and (b) women employed by (1) his Department and (2) his Department's agencies have contracts of employment which permit them to retire after their 60th birthday. [53042]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 30 July 1998]: No staff in my Department have terms and conditions of employment which permit them to retire after their 60th birthday. However, staff may be retained beyond age 60 if there is an exceptional need for their services. In the Royal Parks Agency one man and two women have contracts which specifically allow them to work beyond 60 subject to the needs of the Agency, continued good health and efficient performance. These are reviewed annually.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the non- departmental public bodies in existence on 1 May 1997 that (a) have been disbanded, (b) will be disbanded in the next 12 months, (c) have had their functions transferred to (i) another non-departmental public body and (ii) a democratically elected body, (d) have been renamed but continue to perform a similar role and (e) have been unchanged; if he will indicate in (c) (ii) the relevant successor body; what new non-departmental public bodies have been established since 1 May 1997; and how many non-departmental public bodies his Department currently is responsible for. [53857]
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Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 30 July 1998]: The answer is as follows:
The following NDPBs have been established since 1 May 1997:
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 29 June 1998, Official Report, column 59, (1) if he will request the Chief Executive of English Heritage to answer questions 47396, 43400 and 47397 tabled by the hon. Member for the City of York (Mr. Bayley) on 24 June; [53719]
Mr. Banks:
I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the hon. and learned Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the cost of Ministerial overseas travel in his Department in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97 and (c) 1997-98 to date. [26638]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 5 February 1998]: I regret that it has not been possible to provide the full details requested in the hon. Member's question before
31 Jul 1998 : Column: 711
now. I will write to the hon. Member in due course and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Ian Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to correspond electronically with (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public. [49848]
Mr. Spellar:
I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment his Department has made since 1990 of the implications of information being exchanged between Libya and the biological warfare programme organised by South Africa's former apartheid regime; what were the conclusions of this assessment; when this assessment was started and finished; what action has been taken in the light of this assessment; and if he will make a statement; [53088]
Mr. Spellar:
A thorough assessment of South Africa's biological warfare programme was made as part of the continuous process by which the UK Government monitor the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. I am withholding further details under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice for Access to Government Information, relating to Defence, Security and International relations.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of British service personnel deployed to the Gulf in 1998 refused to take anti-anthrax injections; for what reasons such injections are currently voluntary; and if he plans to make such injections compulsory. [50001]
Mr. George Robertson:
On 3 March this year, the Ministry of Defence announced that UK Service personnel and MOD civilians posted to the Gulf region were being offered immunisation against anthrax. As of 13 July, our records showed that 4,482 UK Service and MOD personnel have been offered immunisation and 1,469 are recorded as having commenced a course of anthrax immunisation. Hence an estimated 67 per cent. of personnel offered anthrax immunisation have declined to accept it. The level of uptake appears to be related to where an individual is serving and may be based on his or her personnel judgment as to the threat they personally face or faced. For example, 66 per cent. of personnel who were offered their first vaccination whilst serving in Kuwait have chosen to be vaccinated, but of personnel who were offered their first vaccination whilst serving on RN ships in the Gulf only 18 per cent. have chosen to accept.
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We consider Immunisation to be vitally important for the protection of UK Service personnel against disease, in the context of public health threats as well as defence against biological warfare agents. At present, MOD policy is that immunisation for both purposes is voluntary, on the basis of informed consent. However, the means of protecting our personnel against such threats are continually reviewed and updated in the light of changing circumstances.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 June 1998, Official Report, column 7, what estimate he has made of the numbers, breeds and species of animals required at Porton Down for the experiments relating to Gulf War Syndrome; how many experiments involving animals will be required; and what representations he has received concerning the experiments. [50625]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
(a) None
(b) None
(c) (i) None, (ii) None
(d) Treasure Valuation Committee (formerly the Treasure Trove Reviewing Committee) 1
New Millennium Experience Company (formerly Millennium Central Ltd.) 2
(e) Details of all other NDPBs in existence on 1 May 1997 sponsored by this department are listed in "Public Bodies 1997".
(i) National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts
(ii) New Opportunities Fund
(iii) Football Taskforce
(iv) Historic Royal Palaces (formerly the Historic Royal Palaces Agency).
1 The Treasure Trove Reviewing Committee was reconstituted as the Treasure Valuation Committee in September as a result of the Treasure Act 1996.
2 Millennium Central Ltd. was reconstituted as the New Millennium Experience Company following the review of the Millennium Dome Project by the Government during May and June 1997.
My Department is responsible for 54 public bodies which include executive and advisory NDPBs and public corporations.
(2) what discussions he has held with the Chief Executive of English Heritage about the proposed relocation of its Ancient Monuments Laboratory to Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, with reference to (a) potential job losses, (b) the accuracy of the figures in the Chief Executive's letter dated 21 July to the hon. Member for the City of York (Mr. Bayley) and (c) the need to consult widely before relocating. [53608]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the extent and nature of the biological warfare programme organised by South Africa's former apartheid regime, what were the conclusions of this assessment; when this assessment was started and finished; what action has been taken in the light of this assessment; and if he will make a statement. [53087]
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