| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
National Lottery
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list for each local authority area the number of awards made, the percentage they represent of the total sums, and the number of applications that were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful, for each category of national lottery funding; and if he will make a statement. [8855]
Mr. Banks: To date, over £3.75 billion has been awarded to 24,561 projects throughout the United Kingdom. Each distributing body has provided the information on successful and unsuccessful applications by local authority area and these figures are summarised in the following table.
| Category | Distributing body | Successful applications | Unsuccessful applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts | Arts Council of England | 1,450 | 952 |
| Scottish Arts Council | 316 | 122 | |
| Arts Council of Wales | 475 | 103 | |
| Arts Council of Northern Ireland | 253 | 60 | |
| Sub total | 2,494 | 1,237 | |
| Sports | English Sports Council | 2,192 | 1,230 |
| Scottish Sports Council | 339 | 238 | |
| Sports Council for Wales | 192 | 39 | |
| Sports Council for Northern Ireland | 266 | 55 | |
| Sub total | 2,989 | 1,562 | |
| Heritage | Heritage Lottery Fund | 1,043 | 651 |
| Millennium | Millennium Commission | 113 | 1,797 |
| Charities | National Lottery Charities Board | 8,486 | 31,013 |
| Grand total | 15,125 | 36,260 |
Figures as at 15 July 1997.
Debt Payment
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is the policy of his Department on the timely payment of debts; and what is his Department's record on the payment of debts in the current financial year. [9527]
Mr. Tom Clarke
[holding answer 18 July 1997]: All Departments are required to pay all their bills within agreed contract terms, or 30 days from receipt of the goods or service or a valid invoice, whichever is later, where no such terms exist. Information on payment performance for the current financial year could be
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 608
provided only at disproportionate cost. The Government will publish a league table of departmental payment performance for 1996-97 in the autumn.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will arrange for bicycle parking spaces to be provided outside his Ministry. [9980]
Mr. Tom Clarke:
My Department has existing secure storage for bicycles in an underground car park at one of our headquarters buildings for use by all staff.
Parliamentary Constituencies (Data)
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what categories of information and statistics his Department collects in relation to each parliamentary constituency. [8246]
Mr. Wilson: Currently, the only information which is specifically collected for each parliamentary constituency relates to electoral statistics. In addition, the Scottish Office compiles, and has access to, a wide range of statistical databases which hold information with a geographical reference allowing analyses by parliamentary constituency, from which summary information is available upon request. I will write to my hon. Friend with a list of the statistical information that is published by the Scottish Office for each parliamentary constituency. I shall arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of Scottish local authorities (a) savings and (b) additional expenditure arising from local government reorganisation in the years 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. [8196]
Mr. Chisholm [holding answer 21 July 1997]: The previous Administration made certain assumptions in setting the last three local government finance settlements and the planned figures for the next two years. The Government do not endorse those assumptions, but we are committed to live within the existing public expenditure control totals for this year and next. Within those totals we have, however, allocated an additional £89 million for schools in 1998-99 to reflect the priority we attach to education. My right hon. Friend has made it clear that this will be the only change of substance to the forward expenditure plans for local government current expenditure in 1998-99.
Erskine Bridge
Mr. Godman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the final cost of the repairs to the Erskine bridge following the accident involving an off-shore installation under towage; what contributions to the cost of repairs have been (a) sought and (b) obtained from those deemed to be at fault; and if he will make a statement. [9090]
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 609
Mr. Chisholm:
The final cost of the repairs to the Erskine bridge together with other ancillary costs related to the closure of the bridge is in the region of £3.85 million excluding VAT. Letters intimating claims in principle had previously been issued to those parties who appear to be responsible for the incident. None of the parties has admitted liability and no costs have been recovered. The next steps in the process of recovering the costs, including legal action if necessary, will commence in August 1997.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spends on biking press releases to (a) hon. Members and (b) other individuals or groups, each time his Department issues a press release; how many such press releases were issued by his Department (i) in the period 1 May to 1 July and (ii) in the period 1 January to 1 March; and if he will review his Department's use of couriers to deliver press releases and investigate the possibility of using fax or e-mail [8814]
Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 17 July 1997]: My Department does not use couriers to deliver press releases to hon. Members or to other individuals or groups. Any such press releases are sent by electronic or surface mail. With effect from 1 October 1997, the routine use of surface mail will cease and all press releases will be issued by electronic mail.
Ms Perham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how often since 1992 his Department has been responsible for employment advertisements which contained age restrictions upon those who could apply. [9508]
Mr. Dewar:
Complete records of recruitment activity are not available before April 1993, when the Scottish Office centralised its recruitment function. In the period 1 April 1993 to 30 June 1997, the Scottish Office ran 254 advertisements, none of which contained age restrictions.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has determined the criteria by which the pilot scheme for a Public Defender Service is to be judged. [9859]
Mr. McLeish:
The criteria will cover cost effectiveness, quality of services, client satisfaction and contribution to the efficiency of the criminal justice system. These criteria will be subject to discussion with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Law Society of Scotland.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to compensate rural local authorities for the increase in the price of vehicle fuel announced in the Budget statement. [9617]
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 610
Mr. Chisholm:
The increase in the price of vehicle fuel forms a significant part of the Government's environmental strategy and aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by encouraging lower fuel consumption. Local government has its part to play and my right hon. Friend has no plans to compensate rural local authorities beyond the benefit they already gain in the distribution of grant for rural factors such as population sparsity and weighted road length. In addition, local authorities will benefit directly from the other measures announced in the Budget: the additional £89 million current expenditure for schools next year; and the £8.9 million of capital resources this year with a further £26.7 million in each of the four subsequent years, also for education.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the annual cost of travel of Ministers and civil servants between Scotland and London. [10171]
Mr. Dewar:
From January to December 1996, the annual cost of travel of Scottish Office Ministers and civil servants between Scotland and London was £1,869,218.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has received from each council of the additional costs to it of giving full effect to the Children (Scotland) Act 1995; and what funds each council has allocated to give effect to the Act. [9618]
Mr. Galbraith:
The information is not available in the form requested but the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has estimated that £27 million is required to implement the Act's provisions.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |