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British Agrochemicals Association Ltd.
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what representations he has received from the British Agrochemicals Association Ltd. in the past 12 months; what was the subject of those representations; and if he will make a statement; [18453]
- (2) what meetings he has had with the British Agrochemicals Association Ltd. in the past 12 months; what was the subject of the meetings; and if he will make a statement. [18452]
Mr. Greg Knight: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Industry and Energy attended the British Agrochemical Association's annual luncheon on 4 December 1996.
Neither my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade nor other DTI Ministers have otherwise met or received representations from the British Agrochemicals Association in the last 12 months.
Regional Selective Assistance
Mr. Milburn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much in total his Department has failed to recover from companies defaulting on the terms of awards of regional selective assistance for each of the last 10 financial years; and if he will list the number of companies which defaulted in each year. [18669]
Mr. Greg Knight [holding answer 4 March 1997]: The amount that the Department has failed to recover in the last 10 financial years is:
| Number of companies | £000 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1987-88 | 3 | 841 |
| 1988-89 | 19 | 620 |
| 1989-90 | 40 | 704 |
| 1990-91 | 55 | 1,287 |
| 1991-92 | 152 | 5,988 |
| 1992-93 | 181 | 9,025 |
| 1993-94 | 89 | 2,747 |
| 1994-95 | 54 | 2,543 |
| 1995-96 | 57 | 1,659 |
| 1996 to February 97 | 99 | 2,593 |
In total, this amounts to less than 3 per cent. of the total spend over the same period.
5 Mar 1997 : Column: 623
Ministerial Accountability
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Prime Minister what account is taken of the Crichel Down precedent when considering whether a Minister ought to tender their resignation. [18743]
The Prime Minister: A discussion of the relevance of the events surrounding the resignation of Sir Thomas Dagdale in 1954 to present-day circumstances is contained in the memorandum on "Ministerial accountability and the provision of information to Parliament" which the Government submitted to the Public Service Committee in March 1996. The memorandum was published in volume III of the Public Service Committee's second report, Session 1995-96.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the circumstances in respect of failure or errors by a Government Department in which he would require the appropriate Minister to resign. [18723]
The Prime Minister: This would necessarily depend on the particular circumstance of the case, including the nature of the failure or errors in the Department and the extent of the Minister's personal responsibility for those failures or errors.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Sport (Students)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to encourage students to participate in sport and physical recreation. [17414]
Mr. Sproat [holding answer 26 February 1997]: The sport policy statement, "Sport: Raising the Game", published in July 1995, set out the Government's strategy for rebuilding the strength of British sport at all levels, from sport in schools, through sports clubs and further and higher education institutions, to our top athletes.
In "Sport: Raising the Game", we emphasised the importance of students continuing to have the opportunity to develop a lifelong involvement in recreational or competitive sport at colleges and universities. We shall continue to emphasise this at every opportunity.
Following on from the policy statement, in June 1996, the Further Education Funding Council produced its first report on good practice in sports provision in the further education sector, which included audited information. The report also includes examples of good practice. The FEFC has agreed to update its database on sports provision annually, to continue to comment on sports provision and students achievements in sport in its inspection reports, and to monitor changes in provision indicated by statistical returns from colleges.
Also following on from the policy statement, in December 1996, the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals and the Standing Conference of Principals jointly published "Sport in Higher Education", an important part of which is the first ever in-depth survey of the extent and nature of sports facilities and opportunities, including community use, in the higher education sector.
5 Mar 1997 : Column: 624
The report makes a number of recommendations higher education institutions might pursue to raise the profile of sport, including ensuring that institutions' literature, particularly the prospectus, conveys the scope of available sports facilities and infrastructure, and records students' sporting achievements.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans her Department has to aid universities and colleges in implementing the recommendations of the Bannister committee's report into university sports scholarships. [17408]
Mr. Sproat
[holding answer 26 February 1997]: The Bannister committee's report highlights examples of best practice and sets out guidelines for the operation of university sports scholarship schemes. I fully back that guidance and hope further and higher education institutions will follow it. The results will undoubtedly benefit both the institutions and their sports scholars.
Over the post two years, further and higher education institutions across the United Kingdom have benefited substantially from lottery grants for upgrading existing sports facilities and for building new ones. Under the lottery-funded world class performance programme, applications for the funding of individual athletes must be made through the national governing bodies of sport. Where an eligible athlete is also a student, part of the grant awarded to that athlete may be used to offset all or part of the student's study costs. The first awards under the world class performance programme will be made shortly.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what analysis has been made to determine what proportion of students in secondary education who progress on to further or higher education continue to participate in sport and physical recreation while studying. [17409]
Mr. Sproat
[holding answer 26 February 1997]: The 1990 general household survey indicated that 91 per cent. of full-time students take part in sport or physical recreation on a regular basis.
Sir Irvine Patnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has for visiting the proposed sites for the British Academy of Sport. [18335]
Mr. Sproat:
I visited the site proposed by the Heyford Consortium on Tuesday 4 March. I will be visiting the sites proposed by the Sheffield Consortium and by the Central Consortium on Thursday 6 March.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many lottery tickets have been sold in the Crewe and Nantwich parliamentary constituency. [18638]
Mr. Sproat
[holding answer 4 March 1997]: This is an operational matter for Camelot Group plc. I have therefore asked the Director General of the National Lottery, who is responsible for regulating the operation of the lottery, to write to the hon. Member and to place copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.
5 Mar 1997 : Column: 625
Dr. Howells:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by county and district and by amount the awards made in 1995, 1996 and 1997 by the Sports Council Lottery Fund to benefit (a) bowls, (b) athletics, (c) disability sports, (d) multi sports, (e) tennis and (f) mountaineering in Wales. [17300]
Mr. Sproat:
Awards totalling more than £23.7 million have been made to 232 sports projects throughout Wales. I have arranged for the lists to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Dr. Howells:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by county and district the awards made in 1995, 1996 and 1997 by the Sports Council Lottery Fund to benefit the sports of (a) football, (b) rugby union and (c) swimming in the UK indicating the amount of each award. [17306]
Mr. Sproat:
Awards totalling over £441 million have been made to 2,603 sports projects throughout the UK. I have arranged for the lists to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what preparations her Department is making for the United Nations General Assembly special session, earth summit II; and for the meetings leading up to the summit. [18396]
Mr. Clappison:
I have been asked to reply.
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