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NATIONAL HERITAGE
Arts (Public Funding)
19. Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment she has made of overall public funding provision for the arts. [16371]
Mr. Sproat: Funding for the arts in this country is at a higher level now than ever before. Through the four arts councils, the Government are giving £229 million this year. Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales are providing revenue funding of around £237 million. Support last year from the business community reached a new peak at nearly £83 million. On top of this, the lottery has provided more than £277 million towards improving and increasing the availability and quality of the arts for everyone in the UK.
National Lottery
20. Mr. Jacques Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many charities which assist young people have been awarded funds from the national lottery. [16373]
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: Over 1,000 awards, to a value of £75 million, have been made to organisations directly concerned with young people, 114 of which, worth more than £16 million, have been made directly to schools.
Helping the nation's young people is an investment in our future. That is why I have recently announced plans to widen the distribution of lottery proceeds--with a particular emphasis on youth. My proposals will give the lottery distributors the ability to provide revenue support for initiatives to help develop sporting and artistic excellence in our country's young people.
21. Mr. Robert Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on the conclusions of monitoring the distribution of national lottery funds in relation to charities. [16374]
Mrs. Bottomley:
Monitoring of the distribution of lottery proceeds is on going. To date 4,394 awards worth £556.2 million have been made to charities and voluntary organisations.
23. Mr. Timms:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps she is taking to overcome the difficulties for lottery funds applications in inner city areas arising from the need to identify partnership funding. [16376]
Mrs. Bottomley:
I recently met the chairmen of the lottery distributing bodies and encouraged them, within the existing directions issued under section 26 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993, to take a flexible approach on partnership funding requirements, particularly when considering applications from areas in need of regeneration and in remote rural areas. The Sports Council has recently announced that it would be setting a lower limit for applicants based in any of 70 areas throughout England of economic and sporting deprivation. The partnership requirement can also be met by contributions in kind, such as voluntary labour, or the donation of land or equipment.
Mrs. Anne Campbell:
To asks the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will provide a breakdown of ticket sales for the national lottery on the same regional basis as the breakdown of value of all awards published in the December 1995 report on the distribution of national lottery proceeds; and if she will include such a breakdown of ticket sales in future monthly lottery reports. [16972]
Mr. Sproat:
The breakdown of national lottery ticket sales is an operational matter for Camelot Group plc. The Director General of the National Lottery has licensed Camelot to run the national lottery and he regulates its operations. I have therefore asked the director general to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.
22. Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations she has received since the publication of her consultation document on the televising of sport. [16375]
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Mr. Sproat:
My Department has received representations from members of the public, Members of Parliament and from organisations representing consumers, broadcasters, sports bodies and regulatory authorities.
24. Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what recent consultations she has had with representatives of the film industry. [16377]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
I meet film industry representatives on a regular basis and had meetings last week with Sir David Puttnam and Sir Sydney Samuelson.
25. Sir Fergus Mongomery:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations she has received about the siting of a new stadium in Manchester for the Commonwealth games in 2002. [16378]
Mr. Sproat:
I have received a number of representations about Manchester's plans for the Commonwealth games stadium but have not been directly involved in the decision making process. However, my officials have been kept in touch with progress.
Mr. Matthew Banks:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress she has made in reducing excessive regulation in the tourism industry. [16365]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
Good progress has been made. Measures such as the reforms of liquor licensing law, Sunday trading law and food hygiene regulation have all benefited tourism. My Department worked closely with the Department of Transport on the recent relaxation of the rules governing white-on-brown road signs. This will help a wide range of tourism-related businesses.
Sir Michael Neubert:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has for developing the tourist potential of the River Thames. [16370]
Mr. Sproat:
In January my right hon. Friend launched the "Focus London" initiative to revitalise London's image as a tourist destination. Four million pounds of public money will be made available to be matched by the private sector. This will undoubtably boost tourism to the river area. We are working closely with the London tourist board and the Government office for London and private sector partners to ensure that we take full advantage of the excellent opportunities for sustainable tourism offered by the river.
Mr. Hall:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will place in the Library a list of all overseas visits made by all Ministers of her Department since 1992, including (a) details of the places visited and brief reasons for the visit, (b) details of the size, composition and cost to public funds of the delegation
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and (c) the names of non-ministerial members of each delegation and the capacity in which each was present. [17488]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
[holding answer 1 March 1996]: I have today placed in the House Libraries a list detailing all overseas visits made by all Ministers of my Department since 1992.
Total overseas travel and subsistence costs for Ministers and accompanying private secretaries were £15,807.57 in 1993-94; £46,125.09 in 1994-95; and £23,800.89, so far in 1995-96. Figures for 1992-93 are not available.
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Allen: To ask the Attorney-General what consultations he has had with the Secretary to the Cabinet concerning the Government's response to the Scott inquiry; and where and when such consultations took place. [16607]
The Attorney-General [holding answer 22 February 1996]: Successive Governments have not disclosed the nature or the specific sources of the advice they receive from the civil service.
Confiscation Unit
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Attorney-General (1) if he will review with the service heads the resources allocated to the confiscation unit; [17146]
- (2) if he will review with the Director of Public Prosecutions the resources allocated to the confiscation unit. [17143]
The Attorney-General: The central confiscation branch is part of the central casework area of the Crown Prosecution Service. Whilst the allocation of resources within the service is primarily a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions I regularly discuss with her the allocation of resources to the service as a whole.
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Attorney-General how many full-time staff there are in the confiscation unit of the Crown Prosecution Service. [17141]
The Attorney-General: The central confiscation branch, which is part of the central casework area of the Crown Prosecution Service, has eight lawyers, two accountancy technicians, and eight caseworkers working full time. In addition, there are two lawyers and one accountancy technician working part time.
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Attorney-General what monitoring is undertaken of the documents relating to PII claims; and if he will make a statement. [17792]
The Attorney-General: It is for the Minister or other responsible person advancing a PII claim to satisfy himself that the documents fall within the scope of the claim as formulated.
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Mr. Carlile: To ask the Attorney-General (1) what is the definition his Department follows of public interest in relation to a PII certificate; and if he will make a statement; [17555]
The Attorney-General: The law on public interest immunity is judge-made. The courts have held that a PII claim may be advanced with respect to a document either on the basis of its contents or because it belongs to one of the established PII classes.
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