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Non-Olympic Sports

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what safeguards she intends to put in place to ensure that the bid for the Olympics does not restrict the resources available to non-Olympic sports; and what plans she has to support such sports and promote participation in them. [114900]

Tessa Jowell: The Sports Councils: UK Sport and Sport England, are responsible for the distribution of exchequer and lottery funding according to their own policies and priorities. Funding is prioritised to both Olympic and non-Olympic sports to ensure the most effective use of both exchequer and lottery funds, it is not expected that the Olympic bid will affect these.

The Sports Councils will be working to ensure funding from all sources supports grassroots development, club system, talent development and high level performance in all these sports.

Olympic Games

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the financial implications of a British Olympic bid for the London Borough of Havering. [115332]

Mr. Caborn: We have made no assessment of the financial implications for the London Borough of Havering of a British Olympic Bid. However, the Mayor has said that if a bid were successful, London's

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contribution towards the games from council tax will be produced from up to £20 a year for a band D property. This would start in the financial year 2006–07, after it is known whether we will host the games. As for the financial implications of the bidding process, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in her statement to the House, business, the London development agency and Government will bear the cost.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from the London Borough of Havering regarding the British Olympic bid. [115333]

Mr. Caborn: I have no record of any representations from the London Borough of Havering.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with Transport for London regarding the public transport infrastructure in East London in relation to the British Olympic bid. [115334]

Mr. Caborn: Officials from this department have held a number of discussions with Transport for London to review the transport elements of Arup's cost benefit analysis of an Olympic bid centred on the lower Lea Valley and consider the possible cost of a robust transport solution for a London Olympics.

These discussions also included other transport groups, for example the Strategic Rail Authority and Highways Agency as well as the Metropolitan Police and Department for Transport.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London regarding the financial implications of a British Olympic bid for the London boroughs. [115335]

Tessa Jowell: The agreement reached between Government and the Mayor of London on the public funding package for a London 2012 Olympics followed extensive and detailed discussions with the Mayor for London and his advisers at official and ministerial level.

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the lottery contribution to the cost of hosting the Olympic Games will come from existing lottery distributors. [114825]

Tessa Jowell: The total amount of Lottery funding required for the Olympics will depend on the eventual costs. With good management, which the Government is determined to see in place, I expect the maximum level of Lottery funding to be £1.5 billion.

Of this contribution it is estimated that £750 million will be raised through hypothecated Olympic Games. £340 million would be sought from planned expenditure by the established Lottery sport distributors.

The remaining contribution, if any is needed, would be derived by changing the shares of Lottery income passing to distributors after 2009.

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made on the impact of existing sports lottery funded projects of hosting the Olympic Games in 2012; and if she will make a statement. [114826]

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Tessa Jowell: Preliminary assessments of the impact of Olympic Lottery Games have been provided by Camelot, and reviewed by the National Lottery Commission. There is no expectation that hosting the Olympic Games in 2012 would impact on existing sports lottery funded projects.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has identified all the land needed for an Olympic Games bid. [116137]

Mr. Caborn: It will be for the Bid Company to identify its overall land requirements and the precise location of each of the sporting venues. The Bid Company will be supported in this work by the London Development Agency which is commissioning a master planning exercise for the Lower Lea Valley which encompasses the proposed Olympic zone. The master planning exercise will help to co-ordinate Olympic plans with those currently being developed locally so that the Olympics will complement and reinforce existing regeneration plans in the area.

Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's estimate is of the cost of acquiring sites needed for a London Olympic Games bid. [116138]

Mr. Caborn: An independent cost benefit analysis carried out by Arup for Government, the British Olympic Association and Greater London Authority estimated that costs of acquiring land for a specimen Olympic Games based primarily in the Lower Lea Valley at close to £400 million. The costs of land assembly should be recovered through the subsequent sale or rent of the land.

The LDA has already begun assembling land in the area as part of its wider strategy for regeneration and economic development in the Thames Gateway—an area that has been identified as a priority for development by the Government and the Greater London Authority with or without a successful Olympic bid. During the bid period the LDA will only acquire land which could be used for regeneration purposes should the bid not be successful.

Playing Fields

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list playing field sites, by local authority, indicating which are managed by the local authority on behalf of the National Playing Field Association; and if she will make statement. [113653]

Mr. Caborn: The central collation of information listing playing field sites by local authority would incur disproportionate costs.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has held with (a) the Civil Service Sports Council and (b) Civil Service Sports Council Properties Ltd. on the disposal of playing fields. [115660]

Mr. Caborn: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have had discussions with either organisation.

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Royal Parks

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the budget was and how much was spent on pesticides by the Royal Parks Agency in each year since 1997. [115077]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 22 May 2003]: Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency and I have asked its Chief Executive, William Weston to reply.

Letter from William Weston to Mr. Nick Harvey, dated 3 June 2003:

I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to answer your Parliamentary Question about the amount spent by the Royal Parks on pesticides as this is an operational matter which is the responsibility of the Royal Parks.

We do not budget specifically for pesticides because horticultural and other ground maintenance work in the Royal Parks has been contracted out since 1992. We specify what work we require and how we want it done. The contractors then carry the work out using whatever equipment and materials, including pesticides, are necessary in the circumstances and we pay according to a scale of charges for the work, as laid down in the contract.

Sickness Absence

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in the Department have been on long-term sick leave in each of the last two years. [115865]

Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 May 2003, Official Report, column 444W.

Sport and Exercise (Participation)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what actions she has taken to encourage adults in Crosby constituency to participate in sport and regular exercise. [116283]

Mr. Caborn: It is the Government's policy to encourage greater participation in sport and physical activity in all areas of the country and among all groups. Lottery funding both through the Lottery Sports Fund and the New Opportunities Fund has been made available for the provision of new sports facilities in Crosby. Sport England has awarded three community lottery awards in the Crosby constituency totalling £519,229 towards total project costs of £703,181, and 35 awards for all grants totalling £130,481. In addition Sefton LEA's allocation under the New Opportunities Fund PE and sport programme is £3,331,000 towards facilities that will be available to the wider community. Sport England also provided advice in the project to secure the recently opened replacement for Crosby Baths, and will be providing advice on design and planning issues for a second public pool in the Crosby constituency.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what actions she has taken to encourage school children in the Sefton LEA area to participate in sport. [116284]

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Mr. Caborn: The Government are committed to increasing and improving opportunities for all young people to participate in sporting activities both within and beyond the curriculum. For this reason, the joint DCMS/DfES national strategy for PE, school sport and club links is investing a total of £459 million over three years (from April 2003). Since April 2001 Sefton has been involved in the School Sport Co-ordinator programme with Chesterfield High School being designated as a Specialist Sports College and acting as a hub site for a partnership of local schools. Stanley High School is in the process of being similarly designated and all schools in Sefton will eventually be involved in the programme. In addition, the New Opportunities PE and Sport programme aims to bring about a step change in the provision of sports facilities for young people. Sefton LEA has been allocated £3,331,000 for this.

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