| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many households in Scotland would meet the eligibility criteria for the New Home Energy Efficiency Scheme if it were to be applied in Scotland. [88152]
Dr. Reid: The information is not held centrally.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Pollok Centre, Glasgow
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total rateable value of the Pollok Centre in Glasgow; how much was paid in rates by the centre during the last financial year; and how much and what percentage of the total raised was made available to Glasgow City Council. [88160]
Mr. Macdonald:
Assuming full occupation, the total rateable value of the Pollok Centre is £2,374,550, of which almost £1.2 million was paid in rates by the centre in the last financial year. This amount will be included in Glasgow's contribution to the Non-Domestic Rates Pool for 1998-99. Each council's share of Aggregate External Finance (AEF) is calculated according to relative spending need or assessed by Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE). Once specific grants have been top-sliced the
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 196
balance of the AEF share is made up of two components, Non-Domestic Rates Income (NDRI) and Revenue Support Grant (RSG). NDRI is distributed pro-rata to population and the balance then becomes the council's RSG.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what date his Department was first informed that Parts IV A and IV B of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 were no longer in force. [88796]
Dr. Reid
[holding answer 28 June 1999]: My Department was advised on 21 June that these provisions were no longer in force.
Mr. David Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures the Government will take to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Office/ Pieda Study, Towards a Strategy for Vacant Land, that (a) dereliction considered to have adverse environmental effects should be dealt with by 2010 and (b) no local authority should have more than 0.5 per cent. vacant land by 2010; and if he will make a statement. [89022]
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 197
Dr. Reid:
The two specific recommendations cited from Pieda's report to the Scottish Office have not been adopted as targets. The Government have, however, allocated £3 million a year to bring vacant and derelict land in Glasgow up to a standard suitable for housing. In addition remediation of contaminated land will be addressed by Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which it is planned will be brought into force by the end of 1999. A number of National Planning Policy Guidelines also make clear to planning authorities that priority should be given to the re-use of vacant and derelict land. The information in the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey has been improved to record the development potential of sites and to enable planning authorities to prioritise sites for re-use.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications have been made to local authorities for the development of opencast coal over the past 12 months; and how many have been approved. [R] [88943]
Mr. Macdonald
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Information on planning applications made to and approved by local authorities in respect of open-cast coal developments is not held centrally. General information on planning statistics is collected by the Scottish Office Development Department. However, there is no detailed provision for authorities to inform the Department of applications made for opencast coal developments unless the proposal falls within the scope of the Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Direction 1997.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland from whom information about the contamination of Belgian food products was first received by his officials. [88951]
Mr. Macdonald
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Scottish Office officials initially received this information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when (a) he and (b) his officials were informed of the contamination of Belgian food products. [88950]
Mr. Macdonald
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: My right hon. Friend first learned of the contamination of Belgian food products on 3 June 1999. Scottish Office officials first learned of this problem on 1 June 1999.
Valerie Davey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how the sports co-ordinators for schools will be apportioned (a) by individual sport, (b) by school sector and (c) in other ways; and if they will include co-ordinators for swimming events. [88183]
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 198
Mr. Banks:
Sport England are currently working up detailed plans for the role the Co-ordinators will play. However, it is not envisaged that Co-ordinators will be apportioned by individual sport, but play a generic role covering all sports, including swimming. They will be based in secondary schools, with the target being up to 600 Active Schools Co-ordinators operating in 1,000 secondary schools and associated primary schools over the next 10 years.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the announcement of the appointment of school sports co-ordinators was first made; and by whom. [88453]
Mr. Banks:
The announcement of the appointment of Active Schools Co-ordinators was first made in Sport England's Lottery Strategy in May. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced that he had written to Sport England to ensure that arranging competitive fixtures between schools was a key part of the Co-ordinators' job description.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action his Department is taking to encourage participation by and representation of the Asian community at national level in cricket, badminton, hockey and football. [88676]
Mr. Banks:
Sport can play a major role in ridding society of racism, especially given the positive influence it can have on young people. It is an issue which impacts on all sports and must be tackled by them.
Sport England, in conjunction with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), has established a Racial Equality Advisory Group to work with all sports national governing bodies to encourage racial equality in sport. The group meets on a regular basis and comprises representatives from a variety of agencies. The Group examines issues relating to ethnic minorities in sport, and advises Sport England to ensure that its policies offer equal opportunities to all people, irrespective of their ethnic background.
Furthermore, all recipients of grant-in-aid must agree to have all facilities, courses and events open to the whole community. Similar criteria are also used in assessing applications for grants from the Lottery Sports Fund.
Much has been done to address the problems of racism in football. I am pleased to acknowledge the good work undertaken by the Commission for Racial Equality and the Professional Footballers Association, who were involved in the Lets Kick Racism Out of Football campaign. The Football Task Force Report on Racism in Football, produced earlier this year, has also been very well received alongside initiatives such as Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card.
I want to ensure that the lessons and proposals highlighted in that report are extended to other sports. To this end I have recently written to the governing bodies of five major sports as a first step asking how they are going about addressing any problems within their sports. I intend to call a meeting with those governing bodies, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Local Government Association to root out this problem.
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 199
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to ensure that equal opportunities are offered to girls and boys in youth sports schemes funded or promoted by the Government. [88593]
Mr. Banks:
The Government fund Sports England to develop programmes for young people and they do this through their Active Schools programme. A key principle of the programme is that every child--having due regard for differences in ability, gender and background--should benefit from the programme.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent per head of population on tourism in England in the last year for which figures are available. [88600]
Janet Anderson:
The total amount spent in England in 1997 by tourists who stayed at least one night is estimated at £21.7 billion, equivalent to £440 per head of the population. Including the spending during tourism day visits would almost double these amounts.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on his expenditure plans for tourism for the next three years. [88813]
Janet Anderson:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced his expenditure plans for tourism over the next three years on 14 December 1998. They include an extra £5 million over three years for the British Tourist Authority and an extra £4 million to transform the English Tourist Board into a new strategic body, the English Tourism Council (ETC). The launch of the ETC heralds new regional funding arrangements enabling a greater proportion of funds to be provided direct to Regional Tourist Boards to provide extra support for tourism in the regions of England.
(Temporary Provisions) Act 1989
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |