HC Deb 05 February 2002 vol 379 cc817-20W
Nick Harvey

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many(a) applications have been made to and (b) grants have been awarded by the lottery-funded awards for all grants programme, to help communities celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee in June. [30375]

Tessa Jowell

To date 408 applications have been made. Of these 171 have been awarded grants and 196 await a decision.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the resignation of Lord Levene from his responsibilities for co-ordinating the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in London. [30704]

Tessa Jowell

None.

Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will publish(a) the terms of reference, (b) the instructions and (c) other guidance Lord Levene of Portsoken was given by the Government; [31076]

(2) when Lord Levene of Portsoken was appointed by the Government to oversee aspects of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. [31077]

Tessa Jowell

[holding answer 28 January 2002]: Lord Levene's agreement to chair a special committee responsible for directing the planning and co-ordination of the celebrations in London was announced on 17 January 2001 by the Home Secretary. The terms of reference, announced the same day, were:

  1. 1. To direct and deliver a programme of Golden Jubilee celebrations in London without incurring additional expenditure from public funds.
  2. 2. In planning the above, to stimulate and consider proposals from potential organisers and sponsors of events in London to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
  3. 3. To ensure that the programme of celebrations in the capital for the Queen's Golden Jubilee is co-ordinated with the official programmes for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in London.
  4. 4. To provide Londoners with a lasting legacy of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
  5. 5. To report to the Official Committee for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when(a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) other Government Ministers have visited the Golden Jubilee Office; and what the purpose of each visit was. [31082]

Tessa Jowell

[holding answer 28 January 2002]: I visited the Golden Jubilee Office on 5 December 2001 to meet the staff and hear about their work. There have been no other ministerial visits.

Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when information about Lord Levene of Portsoken's resignation from the role to oversee aspects of the Golden Jubilee celebrations was released to the media; on what grounds the decision to release the information was made; and who authorised the release of the information. [31079]

Tessa Jowell

[holding answer 28 January 2002]: No information was released to the media by my Department.

Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff(a) work and (b) have stopped working (i) at their own request and (ii) at the request of others in the Golden Jubilee Office; when each member of staff was appointed; what the Department was from which each was seconded; what the Civil Service grade of each is; what the main responsibilities of each is; and what the reasons were for any who stopped work. [31080]

Tessa Jowell

[holding answer 28 January 2002]: On 21 January 2002, 21 staff, ranging from administrative assistant (grade D) to senior civil servant or equivalent levels, were working in the Golden Jubilee Office on a wide range of policy, operational and administrative duties. They were appointed between October 2000 and October 2001, from the Home Office, Government Information Service, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Cabinet Office, and from non-government sources. One Home Office administrative officer decided to leave during 2001 because she wished to return to her previous work.

Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when Lord Levene of Portsoken resigned from his role to oversee aspects of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. [31078]

Tessa Jowell

[holding answer 28 January 2002]: 5 July 2001.

Mr. Yeo

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions(a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have had with Ministers and officials in (i) the Scottish Executive, (ii) the Welsh Assembly, and (iii) the Northern Ireland Assembly about the Golden Jubilee; and for each one if she will state the nature of the discussion. [31085]

Tessa Jowell

[holding answer 28 January 2002]: The ministerial group for the Queen's Golden Jubilee is responsible for supervising the programme to celebrate the Jubilee. I chair this group which includes Ministers from the devolved Administrations. We have discussed and approved various Golden Jubilee issues through correspondence. Senior officials from the devolved Administrations are members of the Official Committee for the Queen's Golden Jubilee (which has met every two months), and its Programmes sub-Committee (which met monthly until it completed its work in December). In addition, officials in the Golden Jubilee Office are in regular touch with officials in the devolved Administrations on a wide range of issues.