Appendix 2
PAPER SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Part
I
I refer to your letter of 15 August 2000 and I attach
the information that you requested where it is available. Unfortunately
we are not yet in a position to provide all the information requested
by the Committee for the reasons outlined below.
Preservation of Historic Ships
We are currently awaiting a report on the outcome
of Phase II of the National Historic Ships Project (NHSP) which
aims to provide vital management information to assist in developing
national policy on the preservation of historic ships.
Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and driven by
the National Historic Ships Committee (NHSC), Phase II aims to
deliver a Core Collection of Historic Ships of the United Kingdom.
The Core Collection lists vessels of pre-eminent significance
in terms of maritime heritage, historic association and technological
innovation for which efforts need to be made to ensure their survival.
The draft list has been the subject of an extensive public consultation
exercise which ended in July and the NHSC is now concluding its
deliberations and will promulgate a final list later this year.
We expect the NHSC to highlight the most pressing problems facing
the preservation of historic vessels which will need to inform
any statement on Government policy.
We are discussing the implications of Phase II with
interested parties including the NHSC, the HLF and the National
Maritime Museum which has responsibility for maintaining the National
Register of Historic Vessels, and shall respond to the Committee
as soon as these discussions have been completed. We expect this
to be towards the end of the year but we will keep the Committee
informed of progress.
The Multi-Media Revolution, the BBC and other
Broadcasting Issues
I am unable to give you a firm indication of the
likely timing of the Communications White Paper. I have been informed
that the position remains as follows:
"On 3 February Chris
Smith and Stephen Byers announced that a Communications White
Paper would be published later this year putting forward proposals
for reforming telecommunications and broadcasting regulation to
take account of the convergence of the communications industries.
That remains the Government's intention."
I will let you know when more details emerge.
Heritage Lottery Fund
Memorandum attached.
Objectives and Performance of the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport
Memorandum attached.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and
its Quangos
Memorandum attached.
The Future of Professional Rugby
Memorandum attached.
Public Libraries
Publication of the final public library standards
document, together with supplementary information (possibly including
further explanation, revised guidance for completing Annual Library
Plans which incorporate monitoring procedures and an inspection/intervention
protocol), is not now likely until the end of the year. The Department
is therefore unable to make its additional response to the Committee
until then.
I will keep the Committee informed of progress and
let you know if there will be problems in getting the memorandum
to you in the week following publication.
You should by now have also received the Government
responses on the Committee's Eighth (Marking the Millennium) and
Ninth (Report and Accounts of the BBC for 1999-2000) Reports and
its interim response on the Seventh Report (Cultural Property:
Return and Illicit Trade) for this session.
Please let me know if you require any further information.
30 October 2000
Part
II
MEMORANDUM FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT ON THE FIRST REPORT, SESSION 1998-99:
THE HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND
This memorandum responds to the Committee's request
to the Department for a report on progress in taking forward the
recommendations in the Committee's First Report of 1998-99, concerning
the Heritage Lottery Fund. A progress report has also been prepared
by the Fund itself; the Department has seen this in draft and
fully endorses it.
The Department welcomes the considerable progress
achieved by the Heritage Lottery Fund over the period since the
Committee's original Report was published. It notes the very positive
developments recorded in the Fund's memorandum, in particular
the publication of the Fund's first Strategic Plan, as required
under the terms of the National Lottery Act 1998. This has proved
a helpful document in making clear the Fund's priorities for the
allocation of resources across the broad field encompassed within
its funding remit. The Plan also confirms the Fund's positive
response to the Policy Directions issued by the Secretary of State
in June 1998. The Department further welcomes the Fund's decision
to enhance its presence in the English regions by establishing
regional committees with a responsibility for deciding grant awards
up to a significant level.
The remainder of this memorandum addresses the six
recommendations in the Committee's original Report on which the
Department has been specifically requested to comment.
(ii) Preparation of a comprehensive
audit of the heritage sector and its needs should be a high priority
but it is a responsibility of all relevant statutory agencies,
as well as voluntary bodies and local government, not just the
Heritage Lottery Fund.
(iii) That the Government should now
accept its central role as formulator of a national heritage strategy.
The Government takes very seriously its overall responsibility
for assessing needs and framing strategy across the whole of the
heritage. There have been a number of recent developments in this
context which it may be helpful to draw to the Committee's attention.
Within the historic environment sector the
Government announced in November last year its intention to undertake
a comprehensive review of policies relating to the historic environment.
Overall responsibility for this exercise rests jointly with the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of
the Environment, Transport and the Regions. As the first phase
the Departments have invited English Heritage, as the lead agency
in this sector, to examine a range of key policy issues and submit
a report to Government. The issues which English Heritage has
been asked to address include inter alia the physical condition
of the historic environment and how it can be maintained and enhanced;
the interaction of historic environment policies with policies
in other areas, including the natural environment; and the promotion
of closer working between bodies, both inside and outside the
historic environment sector. As requested by the Departments,
English Heritage has consulted widely, both within the sector
and more generally, in fulfilling its remit. English Heritage
will submit its report to Government at the end of November 2000.
This will pave the way for a major Government statement in early
2001 on future policy towards the historic environment.
In the museums and archives sector, the Government
earlier this year created a new body—Resource—with
UKwide responsibility for museums, archives and libraries.
Resource published its manifesto in July and identified, as one
aspect of its leadership role for the three sectors, the determination
of strategic needs and priorities, both across the sectors and
within specific domains. Resource will pursue this objective both
by drawing on statistical evidence, and by commissioning supporting
research as necessary.
In the transport field, valuable work has
been done by the British Aviation Preservation Council to identify
conservation needs of historic aircraft, and to establish funding
priorities. In the maritime heritage sector, the HLF has
supported similar work by the National Historic Ships Committee,
who have carried out a comprehensive survey of pre1940 historic
ships and have sought to identify a "core" of historic
vessels most deserving of preservation: the outcome of that work
will be published shortly.
The Government's forthcoming Rural White Paper will
set the overall strategy for the countryside, in which
the heritage plays an integral part. The holistic approach sees
landscape as encompassing wildlife, historic and scenic elements,
and places value on what is locally important as well as nationally
protected. In parallel with the White Paper, the Countryside Agency
has prepared a comprehensive audit with indicators of change to
measure what is happening in the countryside over time. English
Nature has undertaken an audit of the country's Natural Areas
and identified the chief threats to and opportunities for nature
conservation. Published at a local, regional and national levels,
the audit will provide a framework for action to protect and manage
biodiversity and geological assets, and to deliver the Biodiversity
Action Plan. Additionally, English Nature has produced sustainable
development and regional biodiversity indicators for each Region.
A further approach—'Lifescape'—is being piloted to
take account of socio-economic aspects, which will inform HLF
of local community needs and locally sustainable solutions to
land management.
(iv) A fundamental factor in determining
the extent of the positive impact of the Heritage Lottery Fund
is the success of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
in ensuring that the grant-in-aid for other heritage bodies is
not reduced in consequence of the availability of Lottery money.
This is a matter about which this Committee will remain vigilant,
not least to seek to ensure that the recent experience of the
National Heritage Memorial Fund is not repeated and that the belated
upward trend in that body's grant-in-aid is
maintained in future settlements.
The Government has fulfilled its commitment to restore
grant-in-aid for the National Heritage Memorial Fund to £5million
in the financial year 2001-02. An announcement confirming the
level of grant-in-aid for the next two financial years will be
made very shortly.
(vi) Once the Heritage Lottery
Fund has established a Strategic Plan in the light of consultation,
including the conclusions and recommendations of this Committee,
it should seek to adhere to that Plan with clarity and consistency
over a period of years. Once the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport is satisfied that the Strategic Plan reflects the requirements
of its Policy Directions and the recommendations of this Report,
we recommend that it exercises great restraint in policy changes
and amendments to Policy Directions for England until at least
2001.
The Department welcomed the publication of the Heritage
Lottery Fund Strategic Plan 1999-2002, and the more recent Strategic
Frameworks for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2000-02.
These plans provide applicants with a clear context in which to
develop projects without finding the goal posts have moved. The
Heritage Lottery Fund has produced an excellent Strategic Plan
which has been taken forward within the framework of Policy Directions
issued in 1998. The Government accepts the need for stability
and has no plans to change the policy directions during the period
of the current strategic plans.
(viii) In view of the importance
which we attach to social and economic benefits and the past under-funding
of coalfield areas, we recommend that the Heritage Lottery Fund
treat the Coalfields initiative as a high priority among the potential
new initiatives listed in its draft Strategic Plan.
While it is clearly a matter for the Heritage Lottery
Fund Trustees to set priorities for new initiatives, based on
their own research and understanding of need, the Government has
been active in taking forward its own response. In collaboration
with the Lottery distributing bodies, the Department commissioned
a research study on Coalfields and the Lottery, which was published
in June 2000. An action group of DCMS representatives, Lottery
distributors and coalfields agencies was established to take forward
the report's recommendations. Attention has so far focused on
auditing need in coalfield areas, together with looking at successful
approaches to targeting, greater flexibility in partnership funding,
closer integration of different funding streams, and the active
encouragement of applications. The group will also keep in touch
with distributors' plans to take forward the recommendations of
the recent QUEST report on simplifying the application process.
(xxxi) Final decisions on grants
should remain a matter for Trustees (or Country or Regional Committees
as appropriate). However, it is important that the Government
should seek to ensure that future appointments of Trustees provide
an appropriate balance of regional, national and sectoral interests.
Future appointments should aim to make Trustees more representative
of the United Kingdom as a whole, as well as reflecting the merit
of individual Trustees. Although what is claimed to be a more
open system of appointment has been introduced, beneficial results
of this change are not yet apparent. As the terms of existing
Trustees expire, we expect to see substantial change.
The Government is committed to broadening the diversity
of people represented on the Board of NHMF, as with all its other
public bodies. Appointments to the NHMF Board require a high level
of expertise or specialist knowledge, and the Board itself must
show sectoral balance. The representation of women on the Board
at 35 per cent is in line with the current DCMS target, and every
effort will be made to ensure that the Board meets the longer
term target of equal representation by 2004. We have endeavoured
to recruit Trustees with regional standing, and four out of five
new members in 2000 have regional roots (including one each from
Scotland and Northern Ireland). These appointments have reduced
the average age of Trustees by nearly five years. In September
1999, advertisements were placed for Trustees, attracting 194
replies, and more recently the forthcoming vacancy for NHMF Chairman
was advertised nationally. NHMF is currently recruiting members
for new Regional Committees for nine English Regions—seeking
five members for each—through a process of public advertising.
Opening up decision making on applications for grants up to £1
million to Committee members will provide an opportunity for much
wider participation by local people. In the longer term the Department
is striving to widen representation on the Board, particularly
of minority ethnic and disabled people.
Part
III
MEMORANDUM FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT ON THE FIFTH REPORT, SESSION 1997-98:
OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE,
MEDIA AND SPORT
(i) We are deeply concerned that,
in policy statements by the Department and in public statements
by Ministers, tourism is subordinated in favour of more glamorous
and trivial matters. We recommend that the Department's economic
objective should be to foster the tourism, creative and sports
industries. The Department's Annual Report should provide specific
information on how its sponsorship results in enhanced economic
performance year-on-year in each of its sectors. Clearly, the
economic objective that we recommend must have repercussions not
only upon the work of the Department, but also upon its title.
We consider the latter issue later in the Report.
The new tourism strategy mentioned in the Government
response was published in February 1999 as Tomorrow's Tourism.
The strategy has three overall objectives —
— to provide the right framework for
tourism to flourish;
— to develop and spread quality; and
— to encourage the wise growth of
tourism.
Progress in implementing the strategy was considered
at the Government's first Tourism Summit on 1 March 2000. The
Secretary of State chaired a meeting of Ministers from eight Government
Departments which agreed over 30 actions to support the tourism
industry. These actions will be followed up at a second Summit
in March 2001. The Secretary of State also chairs twice-yearly
meetings of the Tourism Forum, which was reconstituted by the
English Tourism Council as a body of over 90 representatives of
the tourism industry. The Forum considers and advises on the industry's
progress in implementing Tomorrow's Tourism and reports
to the annual Tourism Summit.
In September 2000 DCMS co-ordinated and published
the Government's response to the report by the Better Regulation
Task Force on Tackling the impact of increasing regulation—a
case study of hotels and restaurants. The response underlined
the Government's determination to improve the regulatory environment
for hotels and restaurants and for tourism and business in general.
The Department's Annual Report now contains selected
indicators of tourism's economic performance, e.g., in working
towards PSA targets.
(ii) We do not doubt the enthusiasm
of Mr Banks on relations with the Department for Education and
Employment. Nevertheless, simply noting the influence of the Department
for Education and Employment is not enough. There ought to be
co-ordination between Departments in which the knowledge and experience
of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in sporting matters
is fed into decisions by the Department for Education and Employment.
December 1999 saw the secondment to DCMS and Department
for Education and Employment of Sue Campbell, Chief Executive
of the Youth Sport Trust, as adviser on physical education and
school sport with a remit to improve communications between DCMS
and the DfEE. As a result, relations between the Departments have
improved enormously with much closer liaison between officials
and a number of joint projects—the School Sports Co-ordinator
programme and Spaces for Sport and Arts being two examples. DCMS
and DfEE worked closely on the drafting of the Government's sport
strategy, A Sporting Future For All, published in April
1999, the launch of which was attended by the Secretary of State
for Education and Employment as well as the Secretary of State
for Culture, Media and Sport. To co-ordinate the new money both
from the Exchequer and the National Lottery which is to be targeted
at school sport, DCMS and DfEE are setting up a strategic alliance
of the organisations with an interest—Sport England, the
Youth Sport Trust, the New Opportunities Fund and the two Departments.
The first meeting of this Alliance will take place in November
2000.
(iv) We note the Department's
commitment to enhance its influence within Whitehall and to highlight
the economic and cultural importance of the sectors which it sponsors.
However, a commitment is not an achievement and unfortunately
the Department has not enhanced its influence in the way it says
it would like to do. The Secretary of State should now make it
his highest priority to advance the Department both within Cabinet
and by taking a much tougher attitude in his negotiations with
the Treasury which has certainly not been achieved and may not
even have been attempted. There is considerable potential benefit
to the sectors which the Department sponsors from being at the
heart of one Department's objectives rather than at the periphery
of several. Nevertheless, we are concerned that "creative
Britain" provides an inadequate label for what should be
the Department's focus. In our most recent Report we judged that
the intertwining of technological and cultural factors in the
media and information technology sectors justified the establishment
of a separate Department of Communications. Concentration on "creativity"
also leads to a perceived undervaluing of tourism. The switch
from a symbolic to a descriptive title for the Department, while
understandable, has led to the omission of tourism from the title.
Although the Department has only recently been re-named, we believe
that a new name should be found for it which combines euphony
with a more comprehensive description of its responsibilities.
Since we are awaiting a response to our recommendation in our
most recent Report that parts of the responsibility of the Department
should be transferred to a new Department of Communications, we
do not regard it as appropriate in this Report to suggest a new
name for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. However,
depending upon the Government's response to that recommendation,
we recommend that this Committee should be consulted prior to
any decision being made about a new name.
The Department has developed its links with the DTI
on communications matters. DTI and DCMS Ministers are jointly
working on a Communications White Paper to cover the converging
telecommunications and broadcasting industries. They are supported
by a team of officials drawn from both Departments. The White
Paper is planned for later this year.
(xiii) Valuation of non-operational
heritage assets and consequential charging might create the impression
that assets held in trust for the nation were seen as potentially
disposable. We regard the notion of valuing non-operational heritage
assets as simply absurd. While we accept that the definition of
a non-operational heritage asset might need to be tightly drawn,
we can see no justification for the valuation of such assets and
consequent notional capital charging following the introduction
of Resource Accounting. Such a methodology, if adopted, could
weaken still further the financial resources of the Department
and the bodies which it funds or sponsors.
The Treasury's Resource Accounting Manual, which
the Department complies with, recognises that there may be instances
where valuation of non-operational heritage assets may not be
practicable or appropriate because:
- the cost of obtaining the valuation is not warranted
in terms of the benefits valuation would deliver; and
- it is impossible to obtain a sufficiently reliable
valuation.
As a consequence, the following categories of non-operational
heritage assets need not be valued:
- museum and gallery and other collections, including
national archives; and
- archaeological sites, burial mounds, ruins, monuments
and statues.
The only exception is additions to collections where
the collection itself is not capitalised. This follows a recent
clarification of the public sector accounting treatment of additions
to collections by the Financial Reporting Advisory Board to the
Treasury in the light of the revised Charities Statement of Recommended
Practice.
Non-operational heritage assets which are not valued
do not attract a capital charge. Additions to collections where
the main collection is not capitalised will be charged at a nil
rate. Capital charges will however apply to operational heritage
assets. Discussions continue between the Department and the Treasury
on this principle.
Part
IV
MEMORANDUM FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT ON THE SIXTH REPORT, SESSION 1998-99:
THE DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT AND ITS QUANGOS
(v) We recommend that the Secretary
of State for Culture, Media and Sport inform all senior officials
in the Department that he and other Ministers attach the highest
priority to making appointments to quangos both as rapidly as
fair procedures permit and in a way which ensures that quangos
are more representative of the nation as a whole. We further recommend
that Ministers act accordingly.
Since the Report the Department has taken a number
of steps to underline the importance of making appointments to
quangos as rapidly and fairly as possible, and in a way that promotes
the participation of under-represented groups in public life.
A meeting between Ministers and Chairs of quangos was held in
May to discuss these and other public appointments issues. A guide
on the role of Chairs of DCMS bodies in the appointments process
was published in April.
The 2000-03 Equal Opportunities Plan was published
in May. This is updated every year and includes progress towards
targets on representation of women and people from ethnic minorities.
Revised targets have been set, including for the first time a
target for representation of people with disabilities.
Departmental guidance on appointments procedures
was revised in March. This re-emphasises the importance of balancing
timeliness and courtesy. In the case of advisory NDPBs we are
applying the modified procedures set out in guidance from the
Commissioner for Public Appointments, and are participating in
working groups set up by the Commissioner to discuss extending
the modified procedures to smaller executive NDPBs.
(x) We consider that more should
be done to promote links between the tourism quangos and other
sectors for which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
is responsible, such as the arts, heritage and sport. We recommend
that measurable progress in developing such links form part of
future Funding Agreements for the English Tourism Council and
the British Tourist Authority.
Following the Secretary of State's review last year
of the BTA's performance against the targets in the three-year
funding agreement, revised targets were set for the period from
2000-01 to 2001-02. A key target for the BTA is to support
cross-DCMS initiatives that contribute to the development of inbound
tourism to Britain. These include partnerships between sport
and tourism, as well as cultural tourism. Specific milestones
for the BTA under this target include the launch of a sporting
venues map and the integration of the London Film Festival within
its Movie Map web-site. Another key BTA target is to develop
effective partnerships with relevant British organisations and
support cross-DCMS and cross-Government initiatives that contribute
to the development of inbound tourism. Specific milestones
here include a review of progress towards achieving a Memorandum
of Understanding with the Mayor for London and the development
of a formal Milestones Agreement with the Northern Ireland Tourist
Board. The BTA has been making good progress in all of these areas.
A key target in ETC's current Funding Agreement is
to support and monitor the effectiveness of Regional Tourist Boards
in collaborating with Regional Development Agencies, Regional
Cultural Consortiums and other regional DCMS bodies. The ETC has
been developing communications with other DCMS NDPBs, for example
English Heritage and the English Sports Council, and intends to
continue this process. We will consider the appropriateness of
including something about this in the new Funding Agreement.
(xi) We recommend that the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport undertake and publish a thorough
analysis of the benefits which could arise from additional investment
in the English Tourism Council, linked to performance indicators
and measures of outcome, well in advance of the next Comprehensive
Spending Review.
Following DCMS' Spending Review 2000 settlement,
the ETC will be allocated an additional £2m in 2002/03 and
£2.5m in 2003/04 to assist it to deliver its strategic remit.
This increase is likely to cover both central programmes, particularly
to improve quality in English tourism and provide market intelligence,
and key regional initiatives. In accordance with the framework
recommended in the QUEST report on "A New Approach to Funding
Agreements", ETC's current 3-year Funding Agreement is currently
being reviewed with the aim of including key performance indicators
to show to what degree outcomes have been delivered.
(xii) We
recommend that the Department for Culture Media and Sport establish
a Heritage Forum to develop a new heritage strategy. This body
should be established in close cooperation with the Department
of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to ensure that integrated
consideration is given to the relationship of heritage policy
to urban and rural regeneration and to environmental sustainability.
We would expect the Heritage Forum to contribute to the early
establishment of objectives for the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport which make explicit reference to the conservation of
cultural assets inherited from the past.
(xiii) The formulation of clearly
identified goals for the Government in the heritage field and
a statement of the role of English Heritage in meeting those goals
should form part of the outcome of the work of the Heritage Forum
the establishment of which we have recommended.
On 18 November 1999, the Government announced that
it would undertake a review of policies relating to the historic
environment. Overall responsibility for this review rests jointly
with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department
of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, but as a first
phase, the Departments have commissioned English Heritage (EH)
to address a number of specific policy issues and submit a report.
The detailed terms of reference and timetable for EH's report
were set out in letters from the Minister for the Arts to the
Chairman of EH dated 31 January 2000 and 17 May 2000. Copies of
both letters were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and
made available to the Chairman of the Committee.
In accordance with a request by Government, EH has
consulted exhaustively in preparing its report, which it will
submit at the end of November. The Government has indicated that
EH is free to make recommendations as to how heritage policy might
develop over the longer term (i.e., 10-20 years ahead) provided
that the report also formulates a clear strategy and action programme
for the more immediate future which can go ahead within the existing
policy and legislative framework. Following completion of the
review the Government will aim to publish a policy statement by
the end of March 2001.
(xiv) We recommend that, in advance
of the next Comprehensive Spending Review, the Department for
Culture, Media and Sport, the Department of the Environment, Transport
and the Regions and English Heritage undertake a joint study on
the factors affecting the effectiveness of the maintenance of
Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings and of the enforcement
of listed building regulations, with particular reference to buildings
at risk, to inform future funding and target setting.
The Buildings at Risk Register continues to be a
valuable tool in identifying the most vulnerable of England's
built heritage and in ensuring that available funding is targeted
towards where it is most urgently needed. Removal of "at
risk" buildings from the register now forms part of the three-year
funding agreement between DCMS and EH, and EH's effectiveness
in this area is closely monitored throughout the year. Approximately
7 per cent of buildings have been removed from the 1999 Buildings
at Risk Register as a consequence of this strategy.
(xv) We recommend that the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport consider the advantages and disadvantages
of establishing a National Cultural Consortium and set out its
view on the proposal in its reply to this Report.
A New Cultural Framework,
the document which detailed the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending
Review for DCMS, contained a proposal for a National Forum, which
would bring together the Department's sponsored bodies at national
level. The Forum is a mechanism for informing all participants
of policy developments, exchanging ideas and best practice, and
encouraging cooperative working.
The first meeting of the Forum was held in September
1999 to discuss the development of regional structures and a DCMS
regional agenda. Two further meetings have since taken place to
discuss access and excellence and visitor attractions. Those attending
have included chairmen and chief executives of DCMS-sponsored
bodies, representatives from the Regional Cultural Consortiums,
the Local Government Association as well as other organisations
such as Arts & Business and the Association of Leading Visitor
Attractions. Participants have welcomed the development of the
Forum and in light of its success so far, we have agreed to host
three meetings per year from 2001 onwards.
Part
IV
MEMORANDUM FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT ON THE SECOND REPORT, SESSION 1999-2000
THE FUTURE OF PROFESSIONAL RUGBY
(i) We recommend that the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education
and Employment look carefully at the 'Chalk and Talk' schemes
to see if this good practice can be replicated in other sports.
As we indicated in our response to the Committee's
Report, the DfEE has used the Saracens Community Programme, of
which Chalk and Talk is a part, as an example of best practice
in using sport as a means to raise educational standards. The
DfEE's Playing for Success scheme—where football clubs offer
study support provision to local schoolchildren—is based
on this premise. Earlier this year, it was announced that Playing
for Success would be extended to a number of other sports, including
rugby league and union, and cricket. DfEE also has fifteen Innovation
Pilots, where the Department and LEA offer 80 per cent of project
funding (rather than 50 per cent in the Playing for Success model)
in hockey, basketball, gymnastics and athletics clubs, as well
as some multi-sport projects.
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