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Sports Clubs
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Home Office and what assessment she has made of the constitutional, administrative and financial implications for community amateur sports clubs seeking charitable status under the terms outlined in the Treasury consultation paper, "Promoting Sport in the Community". [34512]
Mr. Caborn: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have discussed these issues with the Home Office. However, I am fully aware of the concerns of many sports clubs about the possible implications of applying for charitable status under the Charity Commission's proposals (as outlined in "Promoting Sport in the Community"). These issues have been considered in detail by the DCMS Tax Working Group, which includes representatives of my Department, Sport England, the Central Council of Physical Recreation and other interested bodies, and I shall be discussing them with John Stoker of the Charity Commission when I meet him on 12 February.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer from the Minister for Sport of 17 January 2001, Official Report, column 473W, on sports clubs, if she will publish evidence to support his statement that the majority of local authorities grant 100 per cent. rate relief. [35190]
Mr. Caborn: No detailed figures exist for the numbers of clubs currently receiving discretionary rates relief from local authorities. My answer of 17 January to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) was based on general information provided to DCMS by sport's representative bodies in the course of discussions before, and since, the issue of the Treasury's consultation document, "Promoting Sport in the Community", in November 2001.
Sport Funding
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will provide an analysis for the money provided to sport in the UK since 1977, broken down by source; and what her plans for future expenditure are. [34479]
Mr. Caborn: The main Exchequer and lottery funding provided to sport in England is as follows. Funding for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a devolved matter and is an issue for those Administrations.
(14) Figures for 2002–03 onwards are estimates
Notes:
GBSC = Great Britain Sports Council
ESC = English Sports Council
UKSC = United Kingdom Sports Council (established in September 1996 and became fully operational in January 1997)
SM(E) = Sportsmatch(England) (Established in November 1992 Sportsmatch allocation paid by Sport England from 1999–2000)
GBSC funding directed towards England and GB-wide issues
FLA = Football Licensing Authority
Other Exchequer includes Commonwealth Games, the Football Licensing Authority, the Volunteering in Sport initiative, funding for the British Chess Foundation, and funding towards children's play.
1. Additional funding includes £14.2 million in 2001–02, £24.3 million in 2002–03 and £34.7 million in 2003–04, which will be distributed to Specialist Sports Colleges. Funds will be distributed by DFES to individual sports colleges. This scheme was announced July 2000.
2. In addition there are also a number of sport funding programmes which are funded through the New Opportunities Fund:
£581 million in England will be provided through the PE and Sport
Programme. All funding will be committed by 2005. Announced by Prime Minister in September 2000. Local education authorities will act as lead organisations in submitting applications to the New Opportunities Fund;
£30 million for England to be administered by Sport England via the
Playing Fields and Community Green Spaces scheme. It is planned that all funding will be committed by 2005. Scheme commenced in April 2001;
£9 million is to be delivered by Barnardo's and Children's Play
Council through the Better Play Grant programme. Planned that all
funding will be committed by 2003;
£38.75 million to be committed by 2003 through the Activities for
Young People programme. Distributed by NOF to lead organisations in 47 Connexions areas. Launched in August 2001;
£25.5 million to be committed by 2004 through the Out of School Hours Sport Activities scheme. This will be distributed through partnership between NOF and Sports Councils;
£130 million to be distributed through the Space for Sport and Arts
scheme 2003–04. Grants paid to local education authorities by Sport
England which is administering the scheme. The scheme was announced in March 2001.
13 Feb 2002 : Column 410W
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value was of the (a) National Lottery and (b) Treasury contribution to (i) Sport England, (ii) UK Sport and (iii) other such funded sporting bodies in (A) 1997–98, (B) 1998–99, (C) 1999–2000 and (D) 2000–01. [34768]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 8 February 2002]: The information requested is set out in the table.
13 Feb 2002 : Column 411W
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) National Lottery | ||||
| Sport England | 268,223,735 | 211,013,692 | 188,916,494 | 195,066,428 |
| UK Sport | 0 | 0 | 16,496,000 | 20,123,262 |
| (b) Treasury | ||||
| Sport England | 33,725,000 | 33,289,000 | 33,873,000 | 37,973,000 |
| UK sport | 11,800,000 | 11,600,000 | 12,600,000 | 12,600,000 |
| The FLA | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 925,000 |
Lottery Funding (Distribution)
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will announce the names of the 50 areas to be targeted in the effort to ensure equitable regional distribution of lottery funding; and what criteria her Department is using to determine the areas. [35433]
Mr. Caborn: The initiative will target deprived areas which have fared relatively badly from lottery funding. The decision on which areas the initiative will support is a matter for the Community Fund and New Opportunities Fund. The full list of areas to benefit has yet to be finalised but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to be in a position to make an announcement shortly.
Libraries
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many libraries have (a) opened and (b) closed since 1997. [34921]
Dr. Howells: The number of library openings and closures is not held centrally. However, the total number of libraries in England between 1996–97 and 1999–2000 was:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 3,083 |
| 1997–98 | 3,053 |
| 1998–99 | 3,037 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,031 |
Note:
The figures reflect branch and central libraries only. They do not include mobile libraries or special services provided by English library authorities to senior citizens' homes and others in sheltered housing schemes. In 1999–2000 the figures for these two types of provision were, respectively, 440 mobiles and 14,617 outlets in institutions.
13 Feb 2002 : Column 412W
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding was given to libraries to increase the range of their services in the last 12 months. [34922]
Dr. Howells: Core funding for public libraries is provided through the Environmental Protection and Cultural Services (EPCS) Block. In the latest Local Government Financial Settlement (for 2002–03) the funds for this block were increased by 4.2 per cent., a real terms increase of 1.7 per cent.
It is for local authorities to decide how much of their EPCS funding to allocate to their libraries in line with their statutory duty to provide library services that are comprehensive and efficient.
Specific project funding of over £2.3 million has been made available in 2000–01 through the joint DCMS/ Wolfson Foundation Public Libraries Challenge Fund.
Through the New Opportunities Fund Community Access to Lifelong Learning Programme £120 million of lottery funding is being made available to enable all public libraries to offer public internet access and ICT learning facilities by December 2002.
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