HC Deb 21 January 2002 vol 378 cc567-8W
Mrs. Helen Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received on the use of National Interest in Mapping Service Agreement funding of the Ordnance Survey. [28074]

Ms Keeble

Since the commencement of the National Interest Mapping Service Agreement (NIMSA) in April 1999 I have received two representations, from a Member of Parliament, which included references to the use of NIMSA funding to support colour imagery.

Mrs. Helen Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide a table showing the annual payments of National Interest in Mapping Service Agreement funding to the Ordnance Survey in(a) 1990, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001. [28075]

Ms Keeble

The National Interest Mapping Service Agreement (NIMSA) commenced in April 1999 and is based on the financial year April to March. Detailed is a table indicating the payments made since April 1999. The final figure to be paid for activities carried out during financial year 2001–02 will not be finalised until April 2002.

£ million
Financial Payment
1999–2000 14.6
2000–01 13.5
2001–021 12.0
1 To end December only

Note:

All figures have been rounded to the nearest £0.1 million.

Mrs. Helen Clark

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether he has agreed that National Interest in Mapping Service Agreement funding for the Ordnance Survey should support aerial photography in colour. [28076]

Ms Keeble

No. National Interest Mapping Service Agreement (NIMSA) funding is directed towards the support of non-commercial database maintenance and other uneconomic national mapping activities that Ordnance Survey undertakes in the national interest.

Aerial photography is used as part of the database maintenance process and NIMSA has always contributed to its use for uneconomic data base maintenance activities. £1 million which attracted expenditure in the last four years.

Details of the expenditure are:

The implications for NIMSA funding of Ordnance Survey's decision in May 2001 to change to colour photography, as part of a long term investment to improve services to customers, are currently under review.