§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the advisory committee referred to in the guidelines for the European City of Culture will be appointed; who will appoint individuals; what selection procedures will be used to select and appoint committee members; what the deadline is by which interested cities must declare an interest in bidding; how many cities will be shortlisted; if there will be a programme of visits to bidding cities; and if there will be a limit on the nature and the extent of illustrative material which can be submitted to support a bid. [4371]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 16 July 2001]The advisory panel referred to in the guidelines will be in place by spring 2002.
The members of the advisory panel will be appointed by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Ministers. They will be selected from the usual sources used by the Department for public appointments. These include: DCMS and Cabinet Office databases, consultation with other Government Departments and with the devolved Administrations, nominations from individuals or by other organisations. While appointments to the advisory panel are not expected to fall within the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice, the Department will apply the spirit of the code when making these appointments.
The deadline for applications by interested cities is 31 March 2002 and we anticipate that the shortlist will be announced by autumn 2002. No decision has been made regarding the number of cities which will be shortlisted. No decision has been made regarding visits to bidding cities. We have placed no limit on the nature and extent of illustrative material to support a bid, except that any audio-visual material should last no longer than 30 minutes.