HC Deb 09 November 1998 vol 319 cc52-3W
29. Mr. Clifton-Brown

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the size of the total lottery contribution to the Millennium dome. [57272]

Mr. Mandelson

I have received many representations from members of the public and from Members of this House about all aspects of the Millennium Experience project. Of the £2 billion of lottery money which the Millennium Commission is distributing to flagship and community-based initiatives around the country, £449 million (gross) will go to the Millennium Experience project—this incorporates both the Dome at Greenwich and a linked programme of events and activities around the country.

30. Dr. Gibson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to include information on cancer research in Britain in the Millennium dome. [57273]

Mr. Mandelson

The zones within the Dome will explore different aspects of our lives. The zones which will include a look at the world of medicine are those dedicated to the Body and the Mind. In developing the detailed content of these zones, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is taking advice from a number of advisers—including Sir Kenneth Calman (the recently retired Chief Medical Officer for England), and Professor Catherine Peckham and Sir Michael Peckham.

34. Mr. Ben Chapman

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the impact of the millennium experience on the regions. [57277]

Mr. Mandelson

One of the key commitments made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister when the decision to proceed with the Millennium Experience was announced was that it would be a truly national event. I am delighted to say that this commitment is being more than met through the New Millennium Experience Company's (NMEC) national programme of events and activities and the Millennium Festival. Both initiatives are an integral part of the Millennium Experience project and their impact is already being felt in all regions of the United Kingdom.

The national programme consists of the Learning Experience and the UK Challenge which embrace a range of exciting projects. These include: Tesco SchoolNet 2000—enabling thousands of children across the UK to record their own ideas and those of their families about how they see life in the third Millennium; Marks and Spencer's Voices of Promise—a celebration of music talent in schools, encouraging young people to compose songs and perform them locally: and Manpower's UK Skills Championships, which brings together a range of competitions covering specific skills and trades.

The Millennium Festival, which is being run by the NMEC, in partnership with the Lottery Distributors, is offering grants to local and regional projects covering arts, sport, heritage and charitable activities and events taking place during the year 2000. More than 3,500 applications have been received in the first grant round.

In addition, to those specific initiatives, the positive impact of the Millennium Experience on the tourism and leisure industries will undoubtedly benefit the UK as a whole. For example, the NMEC aims to ensure access to pre-employment training opportunities to people around the country in preparation for recruiting staff to operate the Millennium Experience at Greenwich during 2000.

35. Mr. Syms

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the contract for catering in the millennium experience has been awarded; if it was put out to tender; and if he will make a statement. [57278]

Mr. Peter Ainsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to announce the outcome of bids for the provision of catering facilities at the Millennium Exhibition at Greenwich. [57210]

Mr. Mandelson

The new Millennium Experience Company's (NMEC) policy is to provide as wide a range of catering services as possible to meet the varied needs of visitors to the Dome. The NMEC intends to divide the provision of catering services between branded suppliers and a single catering services company. On 9 October the NMEC issued invitations to tender to thirty catering companies covering both branded suppliers and others. The deadline for tenders to be submitted is 16 November and the NMEC expects to reach decisions about contract awards by the end of this year.

Mr. Chope

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if the New Millennium Experience Company has authority to receive sponsorship from anonymous corporate donors; [57017]

(2) pursuant to his answer of 2 September 1998, Official Report, column 866, if he will ensure that the name of each company which concludes a sponsorship agreement with the New Millennium Experience is published immediately thereafter; and if he will make a statement. [57019]

Mr. Mandelson

[holding answer 27 October 1998]There are no formal qualifications attaching to the New Millennium Experience Company's (NMEC) remit to raise sponsorship towards the cost of the Millennium Experience project in its Memorandum of Association, in the Financial Memorandum issued by the Shareholder in February 1997 or in the Grant Agreement issued by the Millennium Commission in August 1997.

The NMEC has not received any offers of sponsorship with anonymity of source as a condition; nor is it seeking such offers. Indeed, the whole basis on which the NMEC's sponsorship strategy is built concerns the benefits sponsors can achieve through public recognition of their support. The names of sponsors who have made a commitment to the project have been, and will continue to be, announced at such points in the negotiations between them and the NMEC which the two parties consider acceptable.

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