8 Feb 2005 : Column 1359W
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 8 February 2005
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Big Lottery Fund
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Big Lottery Fund. [214828]
Estelle Morris: The Big Lottery Fund was launched on 1 June 2004 following the administrative merger of the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) and the Community Fund. The National Lottery Bill, currently before Parliament, will establish one new body, which will replace the two existing Funds and the Millennium Commission and have responsibility for distributing half the money for good causes from the National Lottery. The Big Lottery Fund will build on the achievements of NOF and the Community Fund, but will be a genuinely new body. There will be much more opportunity to involve the public in priority setting, getting local people actively involved in improving life in their communities.
Departmental Spending
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07, and (c) 2007–08; and if she will make a statement. [213258]
Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng) on 2 February 2005, Official Report, column 910W.
Lottery Money (Chorley)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery money has been granted to Derian House Children's Hospice in Chorley. [214000]
Estelle Morris: In 2003 Derian House Children's Hospice in Chorley received two awards from the then New Opportunities Fund, £380,914 and the other of £649,971.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery money has been granted in the Chorley constituency in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2004–05; and to which schemes. [213999]
Estelle Morris:
The table shows how much money the constituency of Chorley was awarded in the following years.
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This information is freely available from the Department's searchable Lottery award database at www.lottery.culture.gsi.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors. The figures for 2004 are not yet final due to lags in the reporting process.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many lottery applications from the Chorley constituency are awaiting decision. [214001]
Estelle Morris: Applications from the constituency of Chorley are awaiting decision from the following distributing bodies:
| Distributing body | Application |
|---|---|
| Awards for All | 10 |
| Big Lottery Fund | 6 |
| Sport England | 3 |
| UK Film Council | 2 |
| Heritage Lottery Fund | 2 |
Swimming Baths (Parental Supervision)
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received on the rules for parental supervision of children in public swimming baths. [215279]
Mr. Caborn: The Department has received a number of letters from members of the public and from hon. Members of Parliament, who have been contacted by their constituents, asking the Government to examine this issue.
The guidance has been introduced by the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM) to improve safety at swimming pools. The degree to which it is applied is ultimately a decision for the owners and operators of individual swimming pools to make. However, it is clear that the guidance is being rigidly applied in many cases and that some pool operators are not recognising the flexibility contained within it.
The Department will host a meeting on Friday 11 February 2005 with the ISRM and other interested parties to explore how we can encourage the adoption of a common sense approach when applying the guidance.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who has been invited to the meeting promised by the Prime Minister during his visit to Kent to Ms Carolyn Warner of the Right to Swim Pressure Group; and when the meeting is scheduled to take place. [215280]
Mr. Caborn:
The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on Friday 11 February 2005.
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Representatives from the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, the Health and Safety Executive, the Local Government Association the Amateur Swimming Association and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents will attend the meeting along with Carolyn Warner and officials from the DCMS.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many children have drowned in public swimming pools in each of the last five years. [215281]
Mr. Caborn: According to latest available statistics provided by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the following number of children (16-years of age or under) have died in the past five years:
| Number of children | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 3 |
| 2000 | 5 |
| 2001 | 5 |
| 2002 | 5 |
| 2003 | 4 |
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Angling
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with interested parties in respect of the use of rivers by anglers and cormorants. [213248]
Mr. Bradshaw: I regularly meet and have ad hoc discussions with interested parties with regard to the use of rivers by anglers and cormorants. Most recently I met with anglers representatives at the 4th National Angling Summit on 2 February, when the issue of cormorants was discussed.
Biodiversity
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on biodiversity in the UK of allowing free trade in agricultural products. [212128]
Mr. Bradshaw:
The impacts of free trade in agricultural products on biodiversity will be largely determined by the subsequent business decisions made by farmers. Prior to reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, production decisions were influenced by the subsidy regime. To monitor and evaluate the impacts of changes in farmers' production decisions, Defra will establish a range of improved monitoring processes including an 'observatory' function. This will look at the environmental impacts of the reforms as a result of changes in farm practices and production levels. We have commissioned a scoping study to help us define this function and are currently considering options for delivering it.
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Bovine TB
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the change in incidence of bovine TB in cattle has been since 1999. [211906]
Mr. Bradshaw: The incidence of TB in cattle herds in Great Britain is measured as the percentage of tests on unrestricted herds resulting in a confirmed breakdown. The latest figures for the change in incidence is given in the following table.
(1)In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were 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 tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak.
(2)The data for 2002 are therefore, also not comparable with other years.
(3)Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service Data Warehouse on 17–21 January 2005. Subject to change as more data become available.
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