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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

National Lottery Funds

9. Mr. Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures he is taking to ensure national lottery funds are distributed in a way that targets areas with the greatest social needs. [149393]

Mr. Chris Smith: Following the 1998 reforms to the National Lottery, distributors are required to take into account the need to ensure that all areas have access to funding and the scope for reducing economic and social deprivation. Since then, distributors have increasingly targeted funding on areas of need, on people and activities rather than just capital projects, and on smaller grants to community groups. All of this means that, more than ever, the communities with the greatest needs are experiencing the positive effects of National Lottery funding.

23. Mr. St. Aubyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the amount of national lottery proceeds not yet disbursed in favour of good causes. [149409]

Mr. Chris Smith: All the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes has been allocated to one of the 15 National Lottery distributing bodies. As at 31 December

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2001, the distributors' balances totalled £3.45 billion, all but £125 million of which has been committed to specific projects.

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has for the investment of capital reserves arising from the National Lottery into a National Endowment for Sport and Arts Coaching for young people between the ages of seven and 21 years; and if he will make a statement. [148852]

Kate Hoey: The overwhelming majority of the balance of the National Lottery Distribution Fund has already been committed. The Government and Lottery distributors are, however, working to ensure children and young people have access to high-quality sports and arts education. In sport, for example, Sport England and the New Opportunities Fund are using Lottery funds to establish a network of 1,000 co-ordinators across the country to facilitate better PE and sporting opportunities within schools. In the arts, the Government are working with partners on a range of policies, including Creative Partnerships, Artsmark, the National Foundation for Music and the Department for Education and Employment's Music Standards Fund, to deliver high quality arts education.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the fees paid by (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applicants for lottery funding to consultants in each of the last three years. [150540]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 15 February 2001]: None. I have, however, asked the Quality, Efficiency and Standards Team (QUEST) to investigate the costs of applying for lottery grants. Their first report, published in August 2000, investigated these costs in relation to grants of up to £100,000 and concluded that the main difficulties for these applicants related to administrative burden rather than cost. QUEST is currently carrying out an examination of the costs to applicants of applying for grants over £100,000. This study will establish how feasible it is to quantify the costs incurred by recent applicants (both successful and unsuccessful), including any fees paid for consultants and other professional services. If this study, which will conclude in May, demonstrates that such a quantification of costs is feasible, QUEST may undertake a full-scale investigation.

National Minimum Wage

15. Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Department of Trade and Industry regarding abatements to the national minimum wage to take account of board and lodging in the tourist trade. [149401]

Janet Anderson: My Department maintains a regular dialogue with the Department of Trade and Industry over the application of the national minimum wage to the tourism industry. For example, we discussed the Government's recent evidence to the Low Pay Commission. Our discussions have included the level of the weekly offset allowed to recognise the benefit of the provision of accommodation. The Government have asked the Low Pay Commission to consider whether there is a case for making any change to the maximum accommodation offset.

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Museums and Galleries

16. Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to strengthen collaboration between the national museums and galleries and the museums and galleries funded by his Department. [149402]

Mr. Alan Howarth: The national museums and galleries sponsored by my Department already have a good record for assisting their regional counterparts through, for example, tours and loans of their works and the provision of curatorial advice.

In recent years the national museums and galleries have established direct liaison with their regional counterparts involving closer interaction. We will be encouraging the further development of such interaction.

Currently, a number of directors of our national museums and galleries are involved with a task group created by the Secretary of State and chaired by Lord Evans, Chairman of Resource, which is looking at issues facing regional museums and galleries and ways to help maximise their contributions to our cultural life.

Sport and Arts (Participation)

18. Mr. Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures the Government have taken to encourage participation in sport and the arts in areas of deprivation. [149404]

Mr. Chris Smith: The opportunity to participate in the arts, sport and other culture and leisure activities is vital to building a decent quality of life in areas of deprivation. Promoting participation among those who may not have had their fair share in the past is central to the work of my Department. We are ensuring a better deal from the lottery for deprived communities through simplified application procedures and more small grants. Recently I have been able to announce proposals to invest £580 million in sport for deprived areas, and that the initial programme of Sport Action Zones will be extended to other deprived areas. In addition to the creative partnerships initiative outlined today in the answer to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), Official Report, column 571, the National Foundation for Youth Music is working to provide opportunities for young people to make music in areas where least opportunity exists. We are also providing £130 million to provide space for sport and arts in primary schools in areas of multiple deprivation and we will be announcing details of the schools shortly.

Football Facilities

19. Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to increase investment in grass-roots football facilities. [149405]

Kate Hoey: The creation of the Football Foundation--which uses 5 per cent. of money from TV rights--will make a significant difference to grass-roots football in England. The foundation has some £18 million to invest in grass-roots football this year.

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Millennium Dome

21. Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the sponsorship of the millennium dome. [149407]

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the sponsorship of the millennium dome. [149387]

Janet Anderson: The New Millennium Experience Company achieved a total sponsorship and donation income, including cash and value in kind, of £119.7 million. This figure excludes the direct funding by BT and Ford of the costs of their zones and the extra funding for marketing and promotion spent by a number of sponsors over and above the requirements of their contracts. Taken together the overall sponsorship and donations relevant to the dome is estimated at £150 million--the most ever raised for a single event in the UK.

26. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average monthly running costs of the millennium dome at Greenwich have been since its closure. [149412]

Janet Anderson: The current monthly running costs of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) are between £2.5 million and £3.5 million excluding physical decommissioning costs. Monthly running costs are intended to reduce as the company moves towards solvent liquidation.

School Sports

22. Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if funding from the new opportunities fund's sport in schools initiative will be targeted on schools with greatest need of new sports facilities. [149408]

Kate Hoey: New opportunities fund money under the Opportunities for Young People--PE and sport strand will be invested in strengthening the foundation of sport across England by building and refurbishing PE and sports facilities in and for schools.

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