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10 Mar 2004 : Column 1502W—continued
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how her Department's £150 million of PFI credits for the spending review period 2003–04 to 2005–06 are being allocated. [159951]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS is using its allocation of £150 million PFI credits for the spending review of 2003–04 to 2005–06 to support 16 PFI schemes in the following areas:
| Nature of scheme | PFI credits allocated | Recipient authorities |
|---|---|---|
| Community facilities (as part of wider schools projects, e.g. leisure facilities, theatre, library) | (3)26.594 | Sheffield borough council, Liverpool City council, Telford and Wrekin borough council, Croydon (London borough), South Tyneside council |
| Sports/Leisure | 60.097 | Brent council, Wolverhampton City council, Redbridge (London borough), Shepway district council, Rotherham borough council |
| Libraries/Archives | 67.277 | Oldham borough council, Cambridgeshire district council, Newcastle City council, Liverpool City council, Rochdale borough council |
| Theatre | 9.8 | Bournemouth borough council |
| Total | (4)163.768 | 16 PFI schemes |
(3) All joint funded with DfES.
(4) This figure is higher than £150 million PFI credits allocated within the 2003–04 to 2005–06 spending review as some additional credits were rolled over from the previous financial year. These were not allocated to one scheme in particular but were added to the overall sum available for allocation to new schemes during the 2003–04 to 2005–06 spending review.
School Sports
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to issue joint guidance with the Department for Education and Skills on the ideal specification for sports facilities for a secondary school. [159952]
Mr. Caborn: At present, Sport England publishes detailed guidance on developing sports facilities on school sites. The guidance deals with the inception, construction, and management of these facilities.
The Department will continue to work closely with the Department for Education and Skills and Sport England to consider what further steps should be taken to ensure that secondary schools are given appropriate guidance on the provision of sports facilities.
Village Halls
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding was given to village halls by the National Lottery in each year since its inception. [159676]
Estelle Morris: Since the introduction of the 1998 Lottery Act and changes to policy directions, we have encouraged distributors to work together to make Lottery funding more accessible and to support projects aimed at developing communities. Village halls and other community buildings encourage community spirit and help ensure the survival of many local interest groups.
There is currently no specific funding strand for village halls although many community buildings have benefited from National Lottery grants. The Community Fund is the main Lottery funder of community buildings and the following table shows the awards it has granted to community buildings since the start of the Lottery. In a stand alone programme, the Millennium Commission also awarded over £65.8 million to village halls and a breakdown is shown in the second table below. (This figure does not include urban community centres and includes the monies given to village halls as enhancement grants in 2003.) Other Lottery distributors have also awarded grants to village halls although these figures cannot be separately identified and displayed.
| Applications | Amount requested (£) | Awards | Amount awarded (£) | Success rate (Percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | 250 | 11,983,973.00 | 31 | 1,194,336.00 | 12 |
| 1996–97 | 230 | 11,552,453.00 | 23 | 1,013,664.00 | 10 |
| 1997–98 | 702 | 60,412,623.00 | 175 | 9,266,546.00 | 25 |
| 1998–99 | 503 | 42,409,794.00 | 314 | 23,993,258.00 | 62 |
| 1999–2000 | 523 | 56,379,485.00 | 306 | 27,828,022.00 | 59 |
| 2000–01 | 497 | 66,603,473.00 | 196 | 21,292,221.00 | 39 |
| 2001–02 | 435 | 59,909,111.00 | 158 | 17,085,082.00 | 36 |
| 2002–03 | 457 | 58,776,770.00 | 142 | 14,420,027.00 | 31 |
| 2003- | 179 | 39,278,168.00 | 64 | 5,850,851 .00 | 36 |
| Total | 3,776 | 407,305,850.00 | 1,409 | 121,944,007.00 | 37 |
| Awards for all | 4,510 | 17,202,623.00 | 3,100 | 11,763,805.00 | 69 |
| Grand total | 8,286 | 424,508,473.00 | 4,509 | 133,707,812.00 | 54 |
10 Mar 2004 : Column 1503W
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 6,583,774 |
| 1996 | 35,390,498 |
| 1997 | 21,046,235 |
| 1998 | 1,431 ,924 |
| Subtotal | 64,452,431 |
| 2003 | 1,426,648 |
| Grand total | 65,879,079 |
Websites
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total annual cost of her Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [159517]
Mr. Caborn: The total annual cost in 2003–04, covering all 12 of the Department's websites and that of the Royal Parks Agency, was £62,000 including VAT.
Westminster Hall
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall. [159612]
Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Business Link
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 588W, on Business Link, what the value is of the contracts offered by the Small Business Service to (a) BL Derbyshire, (b) BL Tees Valley and (c) BL Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [158878]
Mr. Timms: The value of the Business Link Operator (BLO) Core Service funding allocation for 2003–04 is as follows.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| BL Derbyshire | 2,502,742 |
| BL Tees Valley | 1,460,480 |
| BL Bedfordshire | 1,515,800 |
10 Mar 2004 : Column 1504W
I have nothing further to add to my hon. Friend's answer of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 588W.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to make available the independent audit reports of Business Link operators. [157225]
Nigel Griffiths: The independent audit reports of Business Link Operators are commercially restricted.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Business Link Operators have been required to undergo a business performance review. [157226]
Nigel Griffiths: Further to the five Business Link Operators named given to the hon. Member on 27 February 2004, Official Report, columns 588–89W, the following Business Link Operators have also been required to undergo a Business Performance Review:
- BL Leicestershire
- BL Northamptonshire Chamber Business Enterprise (Manchester)
- BL South Yorkshire.
Business Statistics
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have been registered in (a) London and (b) Wales, broken down by local authority, in each of the past three years. [158037]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 3 March 2004]: The official measure of business start-up activity in the UK is VAT registrations. However, businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold which has risen in each year since 1997. Only 1.8 million out of the estimated 3.8 million enterprises in the UK were registered for VAT in 2002.
Value Added Tax (VAT) registration data are available up to 2002. Data for 2003 will not be available until autumn 2004.
VAT registration rates per 10,000 resident adults (aged 16 and over) are shown to allow fair comparisons between areas. The numbers and rates of businesses registering for VAT in each London borough and Welsh unitary authority, in each calendar year are as follows:
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service.
10 Mar 2004 : Column 1505W
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