§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will list the foreign-owned companies he has contacted in relation to providing financial backing to the Millennium Dome project; and if he will make a statement; [57981]
(2) if he will list the meetings he has had with the American company, McDonald's in his official capacities in relation to the Millennium Dome; and if he will make a statement. [57982]
§ Mr. Mandelson[holding answer 3 November 1998]: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 27 October 1998, Official Report, column 130.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the criteria which have been followed by the Millennium Experience Company when deciding which companies to approach in their efforts to attract private sector financial backing to the project; and if he will make a statement. [57984]
§ Mr. Mandelson[holding answer 3 November 1998]: The New Millennium Experience Company's (NMEC) sponsorship strategy aims to identify business and commercial sectors, and individual companies within those sectors, which have a potential affinity to the various components of the Dome. These components include the different exhibit zones and the linked National Programme of activities around the country. A further important consideration is the NMEC's overriding objective to ensure that sponsorship arrangements do not impact adversely on the integrity of the project as the national focus for the millennium celebrations.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the contacts the Millennium Experience Company has had with the American company, McDonald's; and if he will make a statement. [57983]
§ Mr. Mandelson[holding answer 3 November 1998]: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has been in discussion for some months with a number of major companies operating in the UK and elsewhere, including McDonald's. The unique nature of the sponsorship arrangements for the Millennium Experience project inevitably requires a series of meetings at officer and Director levels and such meetings have taken place between the NMEC and all committed and potential sponsors.
§ Mr. ÖpikTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will detail the merchandising arrangements which have been agreed between the Millennium Experience Company and private sector financial backers; and if he will make a statement. [57985]
§ Mr. Mandelson[holding answer 3 November 1998]: The Millennium Experience is not a trade show. Opportunities for sponsors to promote or sell their own products will be strictly controlled through contractual arrangements with the NMEC and these will ensure that the integrity of the project is not adversely affected.
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§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make it his policy to publish, within one week of their agreement to commit funds, the identity of all new private sponsors of the Millennium Experience at Greenwich; [59232]
(2) if he will make it his policy to publish, within the week of their agreement at board level to commit funds, the identity of all new corporate sponsors of the Millennium Experience at Greenwich. [59233]
§ Mr. Mandelson[holding answer 10 November 1998]: The timing of any announcements about sponsorship is a matter for negotiation between the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) and individual sponsors. Both the NMEC and its sponsors have operational and commercial considerations to take into account which will influence the timing of announcements.
However, association with the nation's unique focus for the millennium celebrations is something which I would expect all those who support it, financially or otherwise, to want to declare as soon as possible.