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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Licensing Act
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when she will next meet representatives of local government to discuss the fee arrangements for the licensing system; [141629]
- (2) whether full cost recovery through the Government's designated licence fee structure will include the cost of enforcement and administration of the new licensing regime; [141630]
(3) how her commitment to ensure the costs of the new licensing system are fully covered by fees will be achieved; [141631]
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(4) if she will make a statement on the underlying analysis and financial models which provided the basis for the fee structure for the new licensing arrangements; [141632]
(5) what discussions she has had with other Government Departments about the costs of the Licensing Act 2003; [141633]
(6) if she will make a statement on the effect of the full cost of recovery on local authorities under the new licensing arrangements. [141634]
Mr. Caborn: A regulatory impact assessment setting out our estimates of the fee levels and the underlying analysis was published with the Licensing Bill in November 2002 and placed in the Library of the House. No final decisions have been made about the fees to be prescribed under the Licensing Act 2003, and we are presently considering carefully information and material provided by representatives of local authorities before making those decisions. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met representatives of local authorities to discuss fees, among other things, and my predecessor with responsibility for licensing reform, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells), also met representatives on several occasions to discuss these matters. My officials have been discussing fees, among other things, with representatives of local authorities since November 1999. These discussions have now been completed and we hope to announce shortly the fees that the Secretary of State intends to prescribe under the 2003 Act, though we will continue to meet representatives of local authorities to discuss other matters relating to the implementation of the new legislation. We have repeatedly given assurances both in the House and to representatives of local authorities that the fees will be set at a level which permits recovery of the full costs of administration, inspection and enforcement to local authorities associated with the licensing functions under the 2003 Act. The Secretary of State has also agreed with representatives of the local authorities to allow an independent review of the costs of the new licensing regime and the fee levels after the end of the transitional period, and if any changes are necessary, they will be made. All interested Government Departments were involved in discussions with my Department about the preparation of the regulatory impact assessment and my officials have more recently had discussions about fees with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Before making final decisions on the fee levels, we intend to have further discussions with all interested Government Departments.
National Lottery
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money was spent per capita on playing the National Lottery (a) in each of the regions of England and Wales and (b) in the Vale of York in each of the past three years. [140570]
Estelle Morris: This information is not available. However, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Morley and Rothwell (Mr. Challen) on 22 October 2002, Official Report, columns 182–83, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport and Tourism placed in the Library a table listing sales by postcode
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area since the Lottery's launch. I will provide an update of the table to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, and place a copy in the Libraries of both Houses.
Rugby
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has invested in promotion of rugby in the UK since 1997. [141067]
Mr. Caborn: Since 1997, the Department has invested a total of £48.7 million in the promotion of rugby. Rugby Union will also receive £9.4 million over 2003–04 to 2005–06 as part of the Community Club Development Programme.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Lottery money has been awarded (a) to rugby clubs and (b) to promote rugby in each of the last six years; and if she will list the projects which have benefited. [141069]
Mr. Caborn: Since 1997, the Department has invested a total of £48.7 in rugby. Over £30 million of this went to supporting amateur clubs. Rugby Union will also receive £9.4 million over 2003–04 to 2005–06 as part of Sport England's Community Club Development Programme for capital facilities work at amateur clubs.
I will arrange for a list of projects for the last six years to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Sea Angling
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will provide support for the sport of sea angling. [140462]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS recognises angling as a sport, supports the interests of anglers, and provides funding for the sport via Sport England. Since 1995 angling has received in excess of £2.1 million in Lottery Awards, in addition to over £280,000 in Awards for All grants.
The three governing bodies for angling—including the National Federation of Sea Anglers—receive Exchequer funding in the form of annual development grants.
I attended the World Junior/Youth Shore Angling Championships held in Bridlington earlier this year.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason he has not yet replied to the letter sent to him dated 25th September by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mrs. Safdar. [140782]
Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend in my letter of 1 December 2003.
Metropolitan Police
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Metropolitan Police officers were licensed to carry firearms in each year since 1997. [140855]
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Beverley Hughes: The number of Metropolitan Police officers authorised to carry firearms in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table:
| Number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 6,738 |
| 1997–98 | 6,585 |
| 1998–99 | 6,308 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,262 |
| 2000–01 | 6,064 |
| 2001–02 | 5,776 |
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the written answers given by his Department on 19 November in response to questions from hon. Members included a promise to write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library; how many such letters have so far been sent; and by what date the remainder will be sent. [141547]
Mr. Blunkett: The number of Parliamentary questions replied to on 19 and 20 November, which gave the answer of promising to write to the hon. Member and placing a copy of that letter in the Library was 340. Of these, 184 were tabled in the last four days available for tabling. Replies have so far been sent to 50 and the remainder are in the process of being answered.
Speed Cameras
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the European standards for speed cameras. [141515]
Caroline Flint: I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Recycling
Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance the Government are giving local authorities regarding the purchase of recycled paper. [140594]
Phil Hope: Local authorities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for making their own decision about procurement matters.
The National Procurement Strategy for Local Government, prepared jointly by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Local Government Association (LGA), emphasises the importance of environmental objectives as part of the procurement process in local government. The strategy specifically advises that every council should build sustainability into its procurement strategy, processes and contracts.
The Improvement and Development Agency (IdeA) have recently published their guide "Sustainability and Local Government Procurement" which sets out how local authorities can develop and implement a sustainable procurement policy and a risk-based strategy designed to tackle the categories of spending that have the greatest environmental and social impacts. The
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guidance contains the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) buying solutions "Quick Wins" on certain product specifications, which include targets on recycled paper. The guidance notes that the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have recommended the wider adoption of these "Quick Wins" across the public sector, including local government.
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