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School Playing Fields

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Education on protecting school playing fields. [124880]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State discussed school playing fields issues with her right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on 24 June 2003.

In addition, DCMS officials and those from the Department for Education and Skills have had regular discussions on playing field matters.

These discussions have informed the Government's strategy for protecting school playing fields.

Sports Funding

Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) ministerial colleagues in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) the Local Government Association about the provision of sporting facilities run by local authorities; and if she will make a statement. [125259]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State discussed the provision of local authority sporting facilities with representatives from the Local Government Association (LGA) on 11 June.

A number of recommendations to improve delivery of sport by local government were put forward in Game Plan, the Government's strategy for delivering sport and physical activity objectives. This Department is committed to working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the LGA towards achieving these objectives.

Tourism

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance is available to develop areas of sustainable tourism; and if she will make a statement. [124753]

Mr. Caborn: Sustainable tourism is relevant to all tourism areas, including coastal resorts, historic and modern cities, rural areas and man-made visitor attractions. We set out the policy framework necessary to achieve progress in the Tomorrow's Tourism strategy. To implement sustainable tourism requires action by a wide range of partners, including Government Departments and their agencies, Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), local authorities, the tourism industry and organisations with environmental, conservation or social exclusion remits. Actions initiated by DCMS include giving VisitBritain a remit to market England to encourage domestic tourism and the 'Fitness for Purpose' initiative to provide customers with a firmer assurance that hotels, and the restaurants within them, are fit for trading. RDAs are promoting sustainable tourism as part of their enhanced role in the

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strategic leadership of tourism, which links with their statutory remit for sustainable development. Local authorities can help promote sustainable tourism through spatial planning and approaches to visitor management and Business Links provide practical guidance to tourism businesses on matters such as energy efficiency and reducing waste. Everyone has something to contribute towards achieving sustainable tourism in every part of the country and it is in everyone's interest to do so.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Access All Areas programme is being promoted in all tourist areas. [124762]

Mr. Caborn: Access All Areas is a nation-wide award scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Launched in May 2003, the scheme runs until September, and aims to recognise and congratulate small businesses and organisations, of all types, which offer accessible and innovative services for disabled people. Through DWP's efforts the scheme has been promoted by VisitBritain, both on its web site and in an e-mail newsletter sent to 200,000 tourism businesses, and by the Tourism Skills Network, who advertised the award on its web site. DCMS sponsors VisitBritain as the lead body for tourism, and has communicated Access All Areas to those responsible for accessible tourism in England's regional tourist boards.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what type of marketing procedures have been used to promote VisitBritain to local communities. [124765]

Mr. Caborn: VisitBritain uses a range of corporate communication tools to inform local tourism communities about its activities, including e-mail, a dedicated trade website, press releases, a quarterly corporate newsletter, press and trade-dedicated information leaflets and brochures. It also provides regional tourist boards, and other destination marketing organizations, with feature articles for use in their own communications.

VisitBritain's representatives regularly meet tourism businesses at regional events and hold trade surgeries throughout the country.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much she estimates will be spent by her Department on funding the e-commerce impact assessment on the UK tourism sector. [124771]

Mr. Caborn: The e-commerce impact assessment on the tourism industry was commissioned and managed jointly by this Department and UK Online for Business. This study was one of a series assessing the impact of e-commerce on more than 50 key sectors, all of which were funded by UK Online for Business. The costs for this study, including consultancy, printing, dissemination and publicity were approximately £68,000.

Tourism (Disability Access)

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to introduce an indicator for disability access friendly services within the tourism sector. [124767]

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Mr. Caborn: The Tourism For All National Accessibility Standard was agreed in 1993 as a mechanism for assessing the accessibility of tourist accommodation, both serviced and self-catering, and to help operators promote these facilities. It was reviewed, expanded and relaunched as the National Accessible Scheme in 2002.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what types of incentives are available for tourism-related small businesses that are renovating their premises to improve access for people with disabilities. [124768]

Mr. Caborn: In October 2004 the final phase of Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 comes into force. Organisations that provide a service to the public, which includes most small businesses in the tourism sector, are required to tackle physical features that make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled customer to use their service.

However, the DDA only requires service providers to make "reasonable" adjustments. The Act allows flexibility for service providers in considering how to make their services accessible to disabled people. All circumstances would be considered when interpreting what is "reasonable", including the cost of an adjustment, its practicality, and the extent of a service provider's resources. What might be considered reasonable for a national hotel chain may not be so for a small guesthouse. Financial incentives should not therefore be needed, apart from the clear business case for providing good service for disabled people and their family and friends, whose overall annual spending power is estimated at £45 billion.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine TB

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered owing to bovine TB in each year since 1997 (a) in Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) in Shropshire. [123694]

Mr. Bradshaw: The data requested are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Shrewsbury and Atcham. However, the number of cattle slaughtered under bovine TB measures in Shropshire, from 1997 to 2002, is given in the following table:

Number of cattle slaughtered in Shropshire under bovine TB control measures 1997–2002⁽³⁾

	Number of cattle slaughtered
1997	28
1998	40
1999	36
2000	221
2001	120
2002	48

⁽³⁾ TB Reactors plus direct contacts.

Note:

In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests, which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also, the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of TB reactors identified and slaughtered in 2002 is not comparable to those identified and slaughtered in previous years.

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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of cattle herds in (a) the south-west region and (b) England and Wales suffered an incidence of bovine TB in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001 and (iv) 2002. [124314]

Mr. Bradshaw: The table provides information on the incidence of bovine TB in (a) State Veterinary Service (SVS) west region and (b) England and Wales between 1999 and 2002. There is no SVS south-west region, but west region, which includes the counties listed, covers the south-west of England.

Area TB herd incidence 1999–2002⁽⁴⁾Percentage

	1999	2000	2001	2002
(a) West region	4.04	4.82	5.96	7.35
Avon	2.58	3.70	7.41	5.97
Cornwall	3.67	4.70	5.55	7.97
Devon	2.93	3.49	5.79	5.50
Dorset	2.31	1.18	3.74	4.27
Gloucestershire	8.82	10.85	9.47	14.64
Hereford and Worcester	6.40	7.65	9.17	11.70
Shropshire	0.22	1.72	2.37	3.29
Somerset	2.71	4.35	3.45	4.88
Wiltshire	6.77	5.20	6.02	8.55
(b) England and Wales	2.55	3.14	4.19	4.52
England	2.63	3.29	3.94	4.78
Wales	2.15	2.47	5.10	3.61

⁽⁴⁾ Confirmed new herd incidents as a percentage of tests on unrestricted herds.

Note:

In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests, which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also, the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, herd incidence in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress in respect of the TB Forum; and when it is expected to reach conclusions. [124316]

Mr. Bradshaw: The remit of the TB Forum is 'to consider new measures which might be taken to control TB in cattle'. The Forum is a consultative group, with no formal advisory or decision making role. It is the main vehicle for informing key interest groups on developments on policy in bovine TB and it provides a sounding board for exploring new policy options. The Forum met last on 23 June 2003.

The EFRA Committee in its report on Badgers and Bovine TB, Seventh Report of Session 2002–03, recommended that members of the Forum should reassess what role it should play and that Defra should consider redefining its remit. In its response, published on 24 June 2003, by the Committee as the Eighth Special Report of Session 2002–03, the Government explain that relationships between the Government and

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stakeholders will be addressed in light of the Animal Health and Welfare Interim Strategy and in the development of a new TB Strategy.

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