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Leisure Centres and Libraries (Access)
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what definition he uses of a reasonable distance when determining access to (a) a leisure centre and (b) a library. [124644]
Kate Hoey: No specific definition of distance is used to determine access to leisure centres. Sport England have established a Facilities Planning Model to help assess the extent of under provision of different kinds of sports facility. That model currently uses driving time rather than distance. It is currently being updated to take greater account of other modes of transport.
In respect of libraries, there is no generally agreed definition of reasonable distance from a library and information about the distance of people from their nearest library is not available. However, we launched a consultation paper, on 15 May, setting out draft standards for public libraries, and proposed there that
"all service points (i.e. central, branch and mobile libraries) should be located within reasonable travelling time for the majority of intending users regardless of their method of travel".
Convicted Foreign Sportsmen
Ms Jenny Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning the consequences for the staging of international sporting events in the United Kingdom of foreign sportsmen and women who have been convicted of a serious criminal offence being refused entry into the United Kingdom. [124460]
Kate Hoey: Neither I nor my right hon. Friend have received any representations on this particular matter.
This Government are committed to attracting major international sporting events to the UK and, in the usual way, we have signed undertakings to a number of international sports governing bodies on the entry of athletes and officials to the UK as part of the bidding
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process. These undertakings do not offer carte blanche entry to the UK for those associated with events, and cases will continue to be judged on an individual basis.
National Lottery (Computer Failures)
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from (a) Camelot, (b) OFLOT and (c) the National Lottery Commission on the failure of the National Lottery's computer system to award accurate payouts to prize winners; if he will ensure that the National Lottery operator makes good losses of prize money caused by computer failure; and if he will make a statement. [124358]
Kate Hoey: The National Lottery Commission (which took over OFLOT's functions on 1 April 1999) has a statutory duty to ensure that the National Lottery is run and promoted with all due propriety, and to protect the interests of players. It has kept officials and, through them, Ministers informed of the defect in the National Lottery software and of its on-going investigations. It will determine the appropriate course of action once all the facts have been established and fully considered, and make a further statement at that time.
I understand that Camelot has already said that it will reimburse the full amount not paid to winners. Where it can identify winners it will pay them direct and, where it cannot, it will liaise with the Commission over the best course of action.
New Opportunities Fund
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund has been allocated to Wales (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of total funding. [124463]
Kate Hoey: New Opportunities Fund money is allocated to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on the basis of population levels and is weighted to reflect the level of deprivation in each country. The total amount allocated to Wales under the Fund's health, education and environment programmes is £91.4 million. This amount represents 6.5 per cent. of all UK funding (with the exception of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) training programmes for teachers and librarians where slightly different proportions are used).
The Funding available to Wales under each of the programmes is as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| ICT training for teachers and school librarians | 12.65 |
| ICT training for public library staff | 0.870 |
| Out of School Hours Child care | 14.3 |
| Out of School Hours Learning | 13.3 |
| Cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care | 9.45 |
| Healthy Living Centres | 19.5 |
| Community Access to Life Long Learning | 13 |
| Green Spaces and Sustainable Communities | 8.12 |
To date, grants totalling £3.795 million have been made to 65 health and education projects applying from Wales. This includes 50 out of school hours child care projects, costing some £670,000 and creating 5,798 new child care places, and 15 out of school hours learning projects
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totalling £3.125 million. In addition, ICT training to the value of £2.972 million has so far been provided to school teachers and librarians in Wales.
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the money from the New Opportunities Fund for cancer equipment will be available in Wales. [124464]
Kate Hoey: The £9.75 million of Lottery Funding available to Wales under the New Opportunities Fund's cancer detection, prevention, treatment and care programme will be distributed on the basis of applications, which will be invited in the autumn. The Fund's Board will consider these applications in November and the funding should be available to support agreed projects shortly thereafter.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions since 31 March 1999 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity. [124129]
Mr. Chris Smith: During the period 31 March 1999 to the end of March 2000, Special Advisers in this Department travelled overseas on five occasions.
Lottery-funded Projects
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action he is taking to encourage lottery-funded projects to use energy from renewable sources. [124679]
Kate Hoey: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has issued policy directions to all distributors which require them to take into account the need to further the objectives of sustainable development in awarding grants. Distributors therefore expect projects to be sensitive to the needs of the environment and the use of natural resources.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on how many occasions since 31 March 1999 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity. [124114]
Mr. Rooker: During the period 31 March 1999 to the end of March 2000, Special Advisers in this Department travelled overseas on two occasions.
Occupational Pension Schemes
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are in (a) defined benefit private sector occupational pension schemes and (b) defined contribution private sector occupational pension schemes. [124508]
Mr. Rooker: The latest figures that are available are for 1995.
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It is estimated that there are 4.7 million active members in defined benefit private sector occupational pension schemes and about 1.1 million active members of defined contribution private sector occupational pension schemes. Additionally, there are about 0.3 million active members of private sector occupational pension schemes which have elements of both defined benefits and defined contributions.
There are an estimated 5.2 million former members with preserved pension rights in private sector occupational pension schemes. A breakdown between defined benefit and defined contribution schemes is not available. Some former members may now also be active members in another occupational pension scheme.
- Source:
- Government Actuary's Department
Additional Pension Entitlement
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if additional pension entitlement based on earnings will be calculated automatically; or if each pensioner will be requested to claim individually; [124200]
- (2) how many pensioners in receipt of basic rate state pension are awaiting re-assessment of additional pension entitlement based on earnings; [124199]
(3) when additional pension processing will be completed; and if there will be retrospective payment of additional pension based on earnings. [124201]
Mr. Rooker: The additional pension (SERPS) component of a State Retirement Pension is calculated automatically by the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS) computer. There is no need for a pensioner to request separately payment of SERPS--completion of one claim form suffices for all components which can make up a pension with the exception of a claim for a dependency increase when a separate claim form must be completed.
Most people who are entitled to both basic pension and additional pension (SERPS) have that entitlement available to receive in time for their first pension pay day. There are however about 60,000 claims a year where NIRS has not been able to supply the SERPS rate. The principal reason for this is the existence on the person's National Insurance account of a discrepancy regarding the time they were contracted out of SERPS. That discrepancy must be resolved before NIRS can provide the SERPS rate. Putting right the discrepancy falls to the Inland Revenue's Contracted Out Employments Group (COEG) but the delayed implementation of NIRS2 has meant they have not until recently been able to do this. As a result the Benefits Agency and COEG have carried out clerical calculations to ensure that as far as possible pensioners receive their SERPS entitlements on time. There are 22,000 claims waiting for a clerical calculation.
The Benefits Agency expects to complete its recovery from the effects of the delayed implementation of NIRS2 by the end of this year including cases where there has been a delay in processing the additional pension (SERPS). All clerical calculations will be compared with the NIRS2 calculations. Any which are wrong will be revised and full arrears paid if there has been an underpayment along with any compensation if all the
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conditions of the DSS Special Payments Scheme are satisfied. Any overpayments incurred will not be recovered although the awards will have to be revised.
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