To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of cinemas equipped to show films with subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired. (321649)

The most recent assessment of the number of cinemas able to provide subtitled screenings of films suggested that at the end of 2008 there were 316 suitably equipped sites in the UK. This equated to 40 per cent. of UK cinema sites, providing around 24,000 subtitled screenings in 2008.

Since that time a number of cinemas have installed digital projectors, which means that the number of sites equipped to show subtitled screenings is likely to have increased significantly.