§ Baroness Anelay of St Johnsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Millennium Dome can be operated by the New Millennium Experience Company until 31 December without any further moneys being made available to it from the Millennium Commission after 27 July. [HL3781]
§ The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)You will be aware of the Millennium Commission's decision to provide a further grant of £47 million to the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC). The decision was taken following an independent review of the financial situation commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers by NMEC. The resulting report estimated that a further £47 million was required to cover all creditors' needs of NMEC, including current liabilities, contingent liabilities and the anticipated costs of an orderly wind-down. Early closure of the Dome is not a cheaper option. It would have resulted in an additional £30-£40 million in costs on top of the latest additional grant by the Millennium Commission; up to 5,000 jobs, for people directly and indirectly employed at the Dome, could be lost; creditors would go unpaid; small businesses would suffer; and tens of thousand of visitors and many schools with pre-booked tickets would be disappointed. Whilst the recent news has been disappointing, the commission and the Government have taken the sensible approach.
219WAWhether all or part of the £47 million is used depends on the extent to which contingent liabilities crystallise, on actual wind-down costs and on achievement of the 4.5 million paying visitor volume target for the year.