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Swimming
24. Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to promote swimming lessons. [149410]
Kate Hoey: Swimming and water safety are an important part of the National Curriculum for Physical Education. Swimming remained compulsory when the non-core subjects were temporarily suspended to allow for the establishment of the national literacy and numeracy strategies. The Government want to ensure that, by Key Stage 2, children are able to swim unaided for 25 m. We are aware that, currently some children are not meeting this standard.
Outdoor Activities (Children)
25. Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to give schoolchildren greater opportunities to take part in outdoor activities, with particular reference to walking, climbing and canoeing. [149411]
26 Feb 2001 : Column: 395W
Mr. Chris Smith: £50 million from the new opportunities fund will be devoted to programmes of activity for young people, based around challenging activities, aimed at those most at risk of losing contact with education and training opportunities. We also expect that up to £50 million of the £750 million of new opportunities fund money for school sport will fund the refurbishment of outdoor activity centres for use by school.
Space for Sport and Arts Scheme
27. Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many primary schools will receive new facilities under the space for sport and arts scheme. [149413]
Kate Hoey: Having considered around 500 outline proposals submitted in December by the 65 LEAs allocated funding under the Space for Sport and Arts (SSA) scheme, the project board recommended detailed applications should be developed on nearly 300 projects. Each LEA has been asked to confirm by 7 March 2001 its final portfolio of projects for which applications will be submitted by the end of October 2001. A final list of schools for which applications are being developed will be published in due course.
Access Radio
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the development of Access Radio on the revenues of existing commercial radio broadcasters; [150730]
- (2) what plans he has to ensure that Access Radio does not compete unfairly with existing commercial radio broadcasters. [150731]
Mr. Chris Smith: The White Paper "A New Future for Communications" invited views on whether the benefits of community radio would justify greater public intervention, and, if so, on possible sources of funding. We are now considering the many responses on this issue, including those from commercial broadcasters.
"Seeing Salvation" Exhibition
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to his answer of 9 February 2001, Official Report, column 706W, on the "Seeing Salvation" Exhibition, what representations were made by his Department to the National Gallery regarding the content of the "Seeing Salvation" Exhibition, prior to its opening. [150878]
Mr. Chris Smith: None. The choice of theme and content of the exhibitions staged by DCMS's sponsored museums and galleries is entirely a matter for their trustees.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list all overseas visits made by ministers in his Department, together with the purpose of each visit and the cost to the public purse in each case, since 1 May 1997. [151520]
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Mr. Chris Smith: This Government have given a commitment to publish an annual list of visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing more than £500 as well as an annual figure on spend by all Ministers on overseas visits. The list for the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 1999 was published on 17 June 1999, Official Report, column 196W, and the list for 1999-2000 was published on 28 July 2000, Official Report, column 969W. The list for 2000-2001 will be published in due course.
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the Ministers in his Department who visited any of the constituencies which are in the Peterborough Unitary Authority area between 1 January 2000 and 14 February 2001, indicating in each case (a) the date of the visit, (b) the constituencies included in the visit and (c) if the local hon. Member met the Minister. [151021]
Janet Anderson: I visited Peterborough on 6 December 2000 and met my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mrs. Brinton). We had a number of engagements including a visit to Peterborough Football Club which, I understand, is located in the North-West Cambridgeshire constituency. I was unaware of this at the time and I was therefore unable to give the right hon. Member advance notice of this visit. I have apologised to him since.
No other Ministers in this Department have visited the Peterborough unitary authority area in this period.
Television Licences
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2001, Official Report, column 133W, on television licences, how many prosecutions for licence evasion were brought in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) England in each of the last four years; and what action is being taken to reduce the evasion rate in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. [151448]
Janet Anderson: Figures for England and Wales cannot readily be disaggregated because, in border areas, courts in Wales may try cases where the defendant's address is in England and vice versa. The number of prosecutions in each of the last four years was:
| Northern Ireland | Scotland | England and Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 2,966 | 2,120 | 94,714 |
| 1998-99 | 2,495 | 499 | 94,566 |
| 1999-2000 | 2,107 | 992 | 86,133 |
| 2000-01(44) | 2,363 | 3,733 | 123,755 |
(44) Year to date
Statutory responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the television licensing system rests with the BBC. The BBC and its agent, TV Licensing, have adopted a range of measures to reduce evasion, including advertisements, correspondence and occasional telephone reminders to remind people of the television licensing requirements, followed up if necessary by visits from TV Licensing inquiry officers.
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Serco Contracts
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the contracts that exist between SERCo and the Department, its executive agencies and associated public bodies; and if he will list those which have existed in the last three years. [151341]
Mr. Chris Smith: No contract exists directly between SERCO and my Department. We have contacted the non-departmental public bodies and the Royal Parks Agency to request the information required in relation to their activities, and I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
Tourism
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists he estimates visited the north-west in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000. [151304]
Janet Anderson: Estimates for the number of tourists visiting the North West Tourist Board region from the UK, staying at least one night, and from overseas in 1998 and 1999 are shown in the table. Estimates for tourists visiting the North West Tourist Board region in 2000 are not yet available. Figures for the number of day visits by UK residents to the North West Tourist Board region are available only for 1998 and show an estimated 118 million visits in that year.
- Source:
- Leisure Day Visits Survey
| Million | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | UK residents | Overseas visitors |
| 1998 | 8.4 | 1.2 |
| 1999 | 10.8 | 1.3 |
Sources:
UK Tourism Survey (domestic tourism) and International Passenger Survey (tourism from overseas)
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) single parents and (b) people over the age of 50 are employed in the tourism industry in the North-West. [151305]
Janet Anderson: Estimates from the Labour Force Survey for the quarter September to November 2000 show that 13,000 single parents and 27,000 people aged 50 and over were employed in tourism related industries in the North-West Tourist Board region.
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Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to encourage the tourism industry to develop training programmes for employees. [151306]
Janet Anderson: Our tourism strategy, Tomorrow's Tourism, contains several recommendations for action to develop a trained and motivated workforce. In particular, we are working with those National Training Organisations (NTOs) which cover the tourism industry to develop training products and qualifications which are of high quality and meet the training needs of the industry. The NTOs in turn work closely with employers in the industry and training providers to identify skills gaps and provide the training to fill those gaps. We also plan to work closely with the new local Learning and Skills Councils to ensure that tourism's training needs are provided for at the regional level.
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the average annual wage paid to (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees in the tourism industry was during (i) 1998, (ii) 1999 and (iii) 2000. [151296]
Janet Anderson: Estimates for the average annual wage paid to full-time and part-time employees in tourism related industries during 1999 and 2000 are shown in the table. For 1998, only full-time employees' earnings are shown, as a reliable figure for part-time employees is not available.
| Full-time | Part-time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 15,056 | not available |
| 1999 | 15,960 | 4,489 |
| 2000 | 17,219 | 5,080 |
Source:
New Earnings Survey, National Statistics
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