Millennium Exhibition (Hansard, 22 December 1997)

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio what contingency plans he has made in respect of time and cost overruns for the Millennium Exhibition. [21120]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The New Millennium Experience Company's overall cash budget of £758 million, which was approved by the Government during the June review and by the Millennium Commission as the basis for its grant, includes a cost contingency of £88 million. This contingency is managed centrally within the Company to ensure tight control over its allocation and use. Both cost and time issues are the subject of comprehensive and regular review at Executive and Board level. I am satisfied that the NMEC's management and control systems are thorough and comprehensive and enable early identification and correction of potential cost or time overruns. The project is currently to time and to budget.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio for what reasons the Advisory Committee on Advertising was not consulted over the appointment of M and C Saatchi in respect of the Millennium Experience. [21117]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The New Millennium Experience Company is not aware of any requirement to consult the Advisory Committee. The NMEC considers that the Selection Panel who interviewed the short-listed companies afford the requisite level of expertise and experience in this field. The panel comprised: Mr. Michael Grade, NMEC Board member and Chairman of First Leisure Corporation Plc; Mr. Ian Ash, NMEC Board member and Corporate Relations Director British Telecom; Ms Jennie Page, Chief Executive NMEC: Mr. Kevin Johnson, then Commercial Director Designate of NMEC.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio (1) how much private sector money has now been pledged in sponsorship for the Millennium Exhibition; [21021]
(2) how much money has been raised for the Millennium Exhibition by the International Management Group. [21263]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The right hon. Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine) chaired a meeting of potential sponsors in June 1996 and laid the foundations for establishing significant private sector interest. That interest is being 399W intensively followed up. Public commitments have been made by British Airways, British Telecom and the Corporation of London. Others will be announced in the New Year.
The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) and IMG are now in the process of detailed and sensitive negotiations with a range of other national and international companies. These discussions have been given added impetus following the NMEC's announcement, in early December, that 11 designers are under contract to develop further the Millennium Experience's content. The NMEC and IMG can now consider with potential sponsors how particular aspects of content can be shaped to meet their commercial requirements while at the same time ensuring the integrity of the Experience.

§ Mr. Spring
To ask the Minister without Portfolio (1) how many people will make up the junior board for the Millennium Experience; what it will do; how it will be chosen; and what its budget will be; [21013]
(2) if he will make a statement on his plans for a junior board or junior council for the Millennium Experience. [21014]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The New Millennium Experience Company are developing arrangements for the establishment of a junior council, including identification of membership and terms of reference. I will make a detailed statement in the New Year.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio what studies he has commissioned into the likely displacement impact of the Millennium Experience on other tourist attractions in London during the millennium year. [21016]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee have recommended that the Government commission a study of the potential displacement effects of the Millennium Experience on other tourist attractions. I shall be discussing how we should respond to this recommendation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and will report back to the Committee within their deadline for responses. As I explained in a previous answer to the right hon. Gentleman on 16 December 1997,Official Report, column 79, the British Tourist Authority predict substantial benefits to the tourism industry in this country from the Millennium Experience.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio what targets in respect of(a) numbers of visitors and (b) revenue he has set for the Millennium Exhibition. [21118]

§ Mr. Mandelson
(a) I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 21 July 1997,Official Report, column 392, which said that the New Millennium Experience Company's Business Plan estimates that the number of visitors to the Millennium Experience will be 12 million.
(b) I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 12 November 1997, Official Report, column 573, which said that the costs of the Millennium Experience will be covered by a grant of £399 million (net) from 400W the Millennium Commission and forecast income of £359 million from sponsorship, commercial activities, visitor revenue and disposal income.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio what plans he has for the Millennium Dome to be dismantled after 2000 and taken around the country. [21116]

§ Mr. Mandelson
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Selby (Mr. Grogan) on 1 December 1997,Official Report, columns 2–3.

§ Mr. Marshall-Andrews
To ask the Minister without Portfolio, pursuant to his answer of 11 November 1997,Official Report, column 533, what assessment he has made of the nature of the possible potential damage caused to (a) Richard Rogers Partnership, (b) M. and C. Saatchi and (c) Kock Hightec by the disclosure of commercial in confidence information; and what competitions for similar contracts to those conducted by (a) to (c) are currently being assessed by his Department. [17293]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The nature of the possible damage is covered by Exemptions 7 and 13 of the Code of Practice on Open Government, which exempt the release of information which would harm the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of a public body and would damage the competitive position of a third party. Requiring the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) to release the details of fees agreed with their current contractors might be harmful to the competitive position of these third parties in relation to any deals they may wish to strike with other companies in the future. NMEC would not be able to conduct their business efficiently or secure good value for money on the contracts they negotiate if the NMEC, required to reveal the details of their deals, were in the process making the information available to their contractors' competitors. NMEC are currently progressing a number of works and services contracts. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which provides advice to me in my role as shareholder of the NMEC, has an ongoing responsibility for ensuring that the Company complies with the requirement of its financial memorandum, which sets out the rules governing the letting of contracts by NDPBs.

§ Mr. Maude
To ask the Minister without Portfolio (1) if he will release interim accounts and contractual information for the New Millennium Experience Company before September 1998, under the Public Interest Override provisions in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information: Guidance on Interpretation; [17591]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 11 November 1997, Official Report, column 533, what paragraphs of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information: Guidance on Interpretation form the basis of his decision not to release interim accounts and details of contracts awarded by the New Millennium Experience Company. [17613]

§ Mr. Mandelson
The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) are accountable to Parliament in the 401W same way as any other Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB). As such they are required to produce audited accounts for the period between February 1997 and March 1998 by September 1998, and these will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament at that time. Expenditure for the period before the Company became an NDPB is accounted for in the Millennium Commission's Annual Report which was placed in the libraries of both Houses in October 1997.
Only companies listed on the stock exchange are required to produce interim accounts.
To require NMEC to produce audited interim accounts would take time and place a more onerous regime on them than on other NDPBs.
The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information only relates to requests to disclose information that currently exists. As the Company does not produce Interim Accounts, the Code of Practice is not relevant in relation to this request.
As far as the request for the disclosure of contractual information is concerned, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I have given today to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Medway (Mr. Marshall-Andrews). I do not consider that the Public Interest Override provision on Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information: Guidance on Interpretation is relevant or appropriate in this case.