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Air Ambulance
38. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure 24-hour air ambulance cover for emergency journeys from islands to mainland hospitals. [34739]
Ms Blears: There are currently 12 charitably funded air ambulance services operating in England. The charities are responsible for the number of aircraft provided. These charitably funded air ambulances are called out to emergencies by national health service ambulance trusts and generally staffed by NHS staff.
Air ambulances have a role in delivering emergency care especially in rural areas and where road access is a problem. This can be an effective way of getting better and faster access to hospitals and valuable in supporting inter-hospital transfers. In 1995, the Department commissioned the Medical Research Unit at Sheffield university to report on air ambulances. The report failed to show benefits that would justify NHS investment.
In recognition of the growing public interest in air ambulances and the fact that circumstances may have changed since research was last undertaken, the Department has commissioned a wide-ranging piece of primary research that is examining the role and effectiveness of air ambulance services in a modern NHS.
Sure Start
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the expenditure to date on each Sure Start Scheme in London, broken down by ward and borough. [32293]
Yvette Cooper: The table gives information on the expenditure of Sure Start programmes broken down by borough in London for 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Information is not available by ward. Figures for 2001–02 will not be available until after the end of the financial year.
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1101W
| Programme name/borough | Claimed revenue | Claimed capital |
|---|---|---|
| Programmes announced in January 1999 | ||
| Aylesbury Plus—Southwark | 1,330,847 | 89,231 |
| Central Brent—Brent | 280,284 | 0 |
| Edmonton—Enfield | 844,406 | 109,357 |
| Euston—Camden | 461,512 | 110,965 |
| Greenwich—Greenwich | 370,536 | 116,258 |
| North Canning Town—Newham | 186,791 | 0 |
| Ocean Estate—Tower Hamlets | 272,036 | 0 |
| Queensbridge—Hackney | 435,834 | 188,707 |
| St. James Street—Waltham Forest | 255,988 | 0 |
| Tulse Hill—Lambeth | 452,212 | 0 |
| West Green—Haringey | 675,151 | 1,113,647 |
| Programmes announced in November 1999 | ||
| Bellingham—Lewisham | 157,834 | 0 |
| Broad Green—Croydon | 41,580 | 0 |
| Coningham—Hammersmith and Fulham | 186,044 | 0 |
| Copenhagen—Islington | 1,711 | 0 |
| Hounslow—Hounslow | 111,001 | 19,418 |
| North West Kensington—Kensington and Chelsea | 36,129 | 0 |
| Penge—Bromley | 153,668 | 0 |
| South Northolt—Ealing | 93,771 | 17,067 |
| Thames View—Barking and Dagenham | 56,590 | 0 |
| Battersea—Wandsworth | 111,042 | 14,210 |
| Westminster—Westminster | 107,398 | 43,400 |
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Battle of Trafalgar
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar; and if she will make a statement. [36555]
Dr. Howells: My Department has no plans to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. However, plans for a series of events to mark
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1102W
the bicentenary of Trafalgar in 2005 and to celebrate Britain's unique relationship with the sea are currently being prepared by the Official Nelson Commemoration Committee. The Committee has been established by the National Maritime Museum, which is funded by my Department, in conjunction with the Royal Naval Museum. The Committee brings together the interests of a wide range of maritime associations connected with the Nelson Heritage and is currently considering a number of events with a special emphasis on ways of involving young people.
Film Council
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she uses to determine grants to the Film Council; and what proportion has been allocated to (a) independent film makers and (b) television shows and soap operas. [36923]
Dr. Howells: Levels of grant to the Film Council are determined by the Secretary of State, taking account of the overall level of allocation from the Treasury, departmental spending priorities and the Film Council's performance in meeting targets set out in its Funding Agreement. It is not within the Film Council's remit to provide funding for television programmes.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the amount was of each award made by the Film Council since 1 April 2000 to organisations in which members of the Board of the Film Council had an interest. [36965]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: The following list details the amount of each Lottery award made by the Film Council between 1 April 2000 to 31 December 2001 to organisations in which members of the Board of the Film Council have an interest.
(4) To 31 December 2001
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1103W
(5) To 31 December 2001
Note:
1. This list includes sums provided to the three Lottery Film Franchises. The legal contracts committing the Franchise funds were signed in 1997–98 when the Lottery franchises were awarded by the Arts Council of England and are not new awards. The Franchisees are therefore contractually entitled to the funding irrespective of current Board membership.
2. Awards made to the Franchisees as soft commitments before 1 April 2000 are disclosed here as hard commitments. This disclosure follows the accounting treatment in the 2001 accounts.
3. Paul Webster is a Director of Film Four. Film Four acts as co-producer or co-funder on a number of projects also supported by the Film Council. However, the awards are made to third party organisations and any benefits accruing to Film Four will be derived from its own investment in the project and not through the Film Council. In the financial year 2000–01 the total amount of awards to such organisations was £4,468,072.
4. Other applications have been received from organisations in which Board members have an interest which are either pending a decision or have already been rejected.
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1105W
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the practice of the Film Council in relation to awards to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest. [36967]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: Evaluation of lottery funding applications has been delegated by the Film Council board through the Chief Executive Officer, as Accounting Officer, to fund or scheme managers. This ensures that members of the board do not participate in the discussion or determination of individual awards whether or not individual board members hold an interest in the application.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the awards made by the Film Council since 1 April 2000 to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest. [36966]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: The Film Council acknowledges that with a board which includes industry practitioners, there will be occasions when board members or organisations employing board members will apply for Film Council funding. The procedures adopted by the council for handling potential conflicts of interest provide that board members do not exert any influence in the determination of applications for lottery awards.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the awards made by the Film Council since 1 April 2000 were made to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest. [36964]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: The proportion of new awards made to organisations in which board members have an interest, since 1 April 2000, and where no pre-existing commitments exist, is 9 per cent. However, awards honoured since 1 April 2000, including prior contractual commitments inherited by the Film Council from the Arts Council of England in respect of the three lottery film franchises, increased the proportion to 55 per cent.
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1106W
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been paid in awards by the Film Council since 1 April 2000. [36849]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: Between 1 April 2000 and 31 December 2001 the Film Council committed new lottery awards for projects to a total of £47.6 million.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the dates of the meetings of the board of the Film Council since 1 April 2000, stating for each meeting the (a) members of the board present and (b) awards agreed on. [36848]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: The following list sets out the dates of Film Council board meetings and the members of the board present for each. Minutes of the meetings are publicly available on request or through the library of the British Film Institute. Lottery awards are made outside of Film Council board meetings by fund or scheme managers.
- Film Council board meetings: dates and attendees—April 2000 to present.
- Sir Alan Parker is the chairman of the Film Council.
- Board members are:
- Stewart Till (Deputy chair)
- Dawn Airey
- Joan Bakewell CBE
- Charles Denton
- James Lee
- Colin Leventhal
- Parminder Vir
- Iain Smith
- Chris Auty
- Tim Bevan
- John Hill
- Duncan Kenworthy OBE
- Sarah Radclyffe
- Paul Webster
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1107W
- 18 April 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Paul Webster.
- 30 May 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- There was no meeting in June 2000.
- 25 July 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Dawn Airey, Joan Bakewell, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 22 August 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Paul Webster.
- 26 September 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, James Lee, Coin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 31 October 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 28 November 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Tim Bevan, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir.
- 19 December 2000
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 30 January 2001
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 27 February 2001
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Duncan Kenworthy, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 27 March 2001
- Attendees: Stewart Till, Chris Auty, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir.
- 24 April 2001
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Dawn Airey, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir.
- There was no meeting in May 2001.
- 26 June 2001
- Attendees: Alan Parker, Chris Auty, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Stewart Till, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 31 July 2001
- Attendees: Stewart Till, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- There was no meeting in August 2001.
26 Feb 2002 : Column 1108W
- 25 September 2001
- Attendees: Stewart Till, Dawn Airey, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir.
- 30 October 2001
- Attendees: Stewart Till, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Charles Denton, John Hill, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 27 November 2001
- Attendees: Stewart Till, Chris Auty, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir, Paul Webster.
- 19 December 2001
- Attendees: Stewart Till, Joan Bakewell, Tim Bevan, Charles Denton, John Hill, Duncan Kenworthy, James Lee, Colin Leventhal, Sarah Radclyffe, Iain Smith, Parminder Vir.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the steps taken by the Film Council to ensure that no conflict of interest existed when decisions to make awards to organisations in which members of the board of the Film Council had an interest were taken. [36968]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 25 February 2002]: Decisions on Lottery funding applications have been delegated to individual fund or scheme managers. This ensures that members of the board do not participate in the discussion or determination of matters in which they might have a direct interest. There is an onus on both the board member and on the Film Council to identify at an early stage any new interest a board member, their spouse or close family member or any person with whom they have a close personal relationship, whether or not living in the same household, has in projects or in activities resulting in an application to the Film Council for funding. A register of board members' interests is maintained and is updated annually.
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