Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the Howell-Redesdale report on the future of local government archaeology services.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The report will be published in due course.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department's press release of 30 October 2014, if he will place in the Library a list of the 1,000 public buildings that will become wifi hot spots.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
As part of the announcement on 30 October 2014 we published a list of the public buildings that will, as a result of investment through the SuperConnected Cities Programme, have free high-speed and high-capacity Wi-Fi access for members of the public.
Over 1,000 buildings have passed into contract phase. Please find the full list detailed here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?ie=UTF&msa=0&mid=zwLLqmDnfnjA.kYSOB43DNGZ4
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department's announcement of 3 December 2013, on putting an end to shock mobile telephone bills, what progress his Department has made on implementing a consumer liability cap on stolen mobile telephones.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Telecommunications Consumer Action Plan has made strong progress. To continue important work on this issue I have invited the major Mobile Network Operators to a Round Table meeting, where the MNOs will confirm details of the liability caps they will offer for any unauthorised use of lost or stolen phones.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the freehold value of Blythe House is.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
DCMS is working with the Government Property Unit to assess the current use of Blythe House as the Government seeks to provide a long term, cost effective solution for museum storage and conservation facilities, as well as to improve access to the national collections. Property valuation information is however commercially sensitive and any disclosure would adversely affect the Government’s future ability to negotiate efficiencies and achieve value for money to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a list of all operational heritage assets referenced in paragraph 8.1.2 of his Department's 2013-14 Annual Report and Accounts, HC8.
Answered by Helen Grant
The Department does not hold an analysis of the operational heritage assets owned by the DCMS Group and so does not intend publishing such a list. As noted, in the detail at the bottom of the table on page 134 of the accounts, these buildings are owned by The Royal Parks Agency or Arm Length Bodies i.e. the Department itself does not own any.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department's Annual Reports and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014, which buildings are included in the valuation of £70,341,000 on page 134 of that report.
Answered by Helen Grant
A breakdown of the £70,341k can be provided by the Arm Length Bodies’ (ALBs), but a detailed split of this balance by building is only held by the individual ALBs.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the value of individual land, buildings and monuments were which are DCMS non-operational heritage assets.
Answered by Helen Grant
This information is not held centrally by the Department. Detailed analysis (including values) of non-operational assets split between land, buildings and other is held by the Arm Length Bodies themselves.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the cost to museums funded by his Department of pension responsibilities transfer to those museums; and how many (a) museums and (b) staff that transfer will affect.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
No estimate has been made of the cost to museums of the change in employer contribution rates. However, the estimated average employer contribution rate will increase from its current level of 18.9% to 21.1% in April 2015. The exact impact on individual museums will vary according to their workforce composition.
The table shows the Department’s sponsored museums which offer the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, and the total numbers of staff employed at each of them in 2012-13. A breakdown of the number of staff that are part of the pension scheme is not held centrally.
Museum | Number of Staff (Full-Time Equivalent) |
British Museum | 1033 |
Imperial War Museum | 572 |
National Gallery | 407 |
National Museums Liverpool | 521 |
National Portrait Gallery | 247 |
Natural History Museum | 822 |
Royal Museums Greenwich | 478 |
Science Museum Group | 833 |
Sir John Soane’s Museum | 44 |
Tate | 1228 |
Victoria and Albert Museum | 634 |
Wallace Collection | 94 |
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he last met representatives of the entertainment trade unions.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, met the Musicians Union as part of a music industry roundtable meeting on 2 September 2014. The meeting was called by him to discuss key issues affecting the music industry.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the consultation on the proposed abolition of the Advisory Council on Libraries cost the public purse.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
No costing has been estimated.