§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what responsibilities which his Department had prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review are to be(a) discontinued by his Department, (b) transferred to another department, (c) transferred to an executive agency and (d) added to his Department over the period 1998–99 to 2001–02. [68399]
§ Mr. Chris SmithThe Comprehensive Spending Review did not result in the discontinuation or transfer of any DCMS responsibilities to other Government Departments or to executive agencies. A number of executive functions which prior to the Review were undertaken by the Department are being transferred to relevant NDPBs. These are
funding of the Pairing Scheme to the Arts Council of England;funding of the Sportsmatch scheme to the English Sports Council;funding for the Heritage Grant Fund and the Architectural Heritage Fund to English Heritage;funding for the Royal Society of Arts Art for Architecture scheme to the new national body for architecture;management responsibility for a number of central London statues and for Marble and Wellington Arches to English Heritage;some executive functions relating to underwater archaeology will be transferred to English Heritage, subject to a legislative opportunity. Administrative responsibility for the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites will also be transferred out of the DCMS, in discussion with the heritage agencies of the other Home Counties, and the devolved administration once established;subject to Parliamentary approval, management responsibility for Parliament and Trafalgar Squares will be transferred to the Greater London Authority when it is established;subject to agreement on the transfer of funding, responsibility for the maintenance of Marlborough House will transfer from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to DCMS on 1 April 1999;the Department has agreed to take over responsibility from the Ministry of Defence for that part of the Public Meteorological Service related to basic weather forecasts that are provided for the BBC.