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Village Halls

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding streams are available for village hall facility improvements; and if she will make a statement. [218609]

Alun Michael: Funding for village halls has traditionally come from local and charitable sources, with only a relatively small amount of support from central Government. Indeed, the amount of central funding assisting village halls now is very much higher than it was in the seventies, eighties and nineties. Since its inception in 1995, the Community Fund of the National Lottery has provided grants to the value of more than £138 million to around 4,500 village hall projects and the Millennium Fund supported over 500 village halls and urban community centres to the value of nearly £100 million. National funding sources including the Big Lottery Fund will continue to make an important contribution; but this must supplement and not be seen as a substitute for local leadership and fund-raising.

The variety of public funding includes the following:

Defra: Rural Enterprise Scheme; Village Halls Loan Fund; Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund; Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

National Lottery Funds: Big Lottery Fund; Awards for All.

Local authorities provide grants in addition to the Parish Council precept and the access available from Parish Council to the Public Works Loan Board.

The above information refers only to the public funding which is available to supplement local fund-raising and donations which have always been the main source of finance for village halls.
 
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Indirect sources of public funds to supplement private donations include Gift Aid, and some limited VAT reduction.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Betting Terminals

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what legal advice the Government have received on the legality of fixed odds betting terminals in high street locations; [220194]

(2) what legal advice the Gaming Board has received on the legality of fixed odds betting terminals in high street locations. [220195]

Mr. Caborn: Legal advice given to the Department on this matter will be subject to legal professional privilege, and confidential as a result. I believe the same would be true for any advice received by the Gaming Board.

I would, however, refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 1.24–1.25 of the Board's Report for 2003–04, which noted the uncertainty about the legal status of fixed odds betting terminals, as a matter of public record. The Report was laid in the House on 14 July 2004 and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate (a) the number of fixed odds betting terminals in operation and (b) the number of locations in town centres where fixed odds betting terminals are operating. [220196]

Mr. Caborn: We estimate that there are currently about 24,000 fixed odds betting terminals in operation, but are not in a position to estimate the number of betting shops located in town centres rather than elsewhere.

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the average amount of money lost per head on fixed odds betting terminals each week. [220197]

Mr. Caborn: We have made no such estimate. The only information available is included in the draft report prepared for the Association of British Bookmakers by Europe Economics, which indicates, on the basis of interviews with a sample of betting shop customers, that their average weekly spend on all forms of gambling (including using fixed odds betting terminals) is between £50 and £60.

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the total amount spent in the last week for which figures are available on (a) fixed odds betting terminals and (b) the national lottery. [220198]

Mr. Caborn: Information about total weekly spend on fixed odds betting terminals is not available. National lottery sales for the week 20–26 February were £93,135,739.
 
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Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of problem gamblers who attribute their problems mainly to fixed odds betting terminals. [220199]

Mr. Caborn: The information so far available on the relationship between problem gambling and use of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) is contained in the draft of an independent report undertaken for the Association of British Bookmakers by Europe Economics, who are currently considering comments on it by two independent experts who reviewed it at the Department's request. The report does not provide a firm basis for estimating the percentage sought, but it indicates that, on the basis of a sample of 7,845 people who bet or gamed (excluding bingo) at least once a month, 48 used FOBTs at least once a month. It also notes that 29 people (0.4 per cent. of the total sample) could be classified as problem gamblers, but concludes that while nearly all participated in more than one form of gambling the numbers involved were too small to permit meaningful further analysis.

Departmental Policies

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Coventry, South constituency, the effects in the constituency of changes to her Department's policies since 1997. [219820]

Mr. Caborn: The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on Coventry, South since 2 May 1997.

In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. One school sport partnership involving three School Sport Co-ordinators and 15 Primary Link teachers is based in Coventry, South. It has received a Sport England grant of £327,310. To achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities. Sports facilities in Coventry, South have benefited from two Sport England Community Capital Lottery grants totalling £562,787, two Sport England Active Sports Lottery grants totalling £1,665,612 and a further two awards worth £905,655 in total from the £108 million investment in innovative sports facilities through the Active England programme.

We have increased our national funding to the arts in real terms by 60 per cent. from £199 million in 1998–99 to £367 million in 2004–05. Between 1998–99 and 2003–04 funding to Arts Council England, West Midlands increased from £5.6 million to £32.5 million, including from 1 April 2003, funding to major national arts organisations in the West Midlands.

In 2005–06 the total Arts Council England, West Midlands investment in regularly funded organisations will be £35.4 million. Coventry, South has benefited
 
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from grants to arts organisations and individuals, including the Belgrade Theatre and Arts and Media Training which is based in Coventry.

Since September 2004, schools in Coventry, South have been included in the second phase of the Creative Partnerships programme which began in 2002. Creative Partnerships aims to give school children and their teachers the opportunity to explore their creativity by working on sustained projects with creative organisations and individuals, including artists, theatre companies, dance studios, museums, orchestras, film-makers and historic buildings. Funding of £65 million was allocated for the period 2002–05 to develop Creative Partnerships, and the programme will receive at least a further £86 million in 2005–08.

Culture Online was launched in 2002 to increase access to, and participation in, arts and culture. Many of its projects are aimed at children of school age and at audiences that might not otherwise participate in arts and culture, including those who do not easily have access to arts and culture, people from deprived communities and people with particular educational or physical needs. People in Coventry, South will be among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.

Coventry, South also benefits in the museum sector from Renaissance in the Regions.

Coventry Arts and Heritage is a partner in the West Midlands regional hub, which, as a Phase 1 hub, received priority funding; it received £0.8 million in the 2003–04 financial year for Renaissance, with a further £0.62 million from the Education Strategy Fund. The total grant for the period 2003–06 will be £7.11 million from Renaissance and £3.14 million from the Education Strategy Fund, totalling £10.25 million. Of this money, Coventry Arts and Heritage has been allocated £1,068,075 to deliver Coventry's contribution to the West Midlands Hub's two-year plan.

In addition, the collections of the Coventry Transport Museum have been designated by Museums, Libraries and Archives Council as being a pre-eminent collection of national or international importance. The museum has received £445,000 through the Designated Challenge Fund, which is financed by DCMS, to improve interpretation and displays levering a substantial amount of investment from European funds and a huge commitment from the council to support the museum's work.

Through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.
 
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Our support for, and promotion of, the film and broadcasting industries have contributed to the general success of film-making and television activity in the Coventry, South area. Screen West Midlands has provided lottery funding to a number of film-related activities in the constituency including the Warwick Arts Centre and the Blink Film Festival Coventry.

In November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in the Coventry, South constituency with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 5,715.

We have changed the licensing laws to allow people to hold and attend commercial dances on Sunday, to make it easier for restaurants to open an hour later, and to relax the alcohol licensing hours from 11 pm on new year's eve to 11 am on new year's day in all future years; and we have given the police greater powers to take action against under-age drinking and disorderly and noisy licensed premises. The Licensing Act 2003, when fully implemented, will introduce a streamlined, consistent and fair licensing regime for the provision of alcohol, public entertainment and late night refreshment. It will provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration and increased employment opportunities and protect local residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and antisocial behaviour.

The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Coventry, South, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.

Tourism in Coventry, South has benefited from Government-funded marketing activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and we gave strategic responsibility for tourism development to the Regional Development Agencies, including Advantage West Midlands. These changes, together with VisitBritain's successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including Coventry, South.

English Heritage has awarded grants worth £265,168 to Coventry, South since May 1997, including £100,000 to 119–123 Spon Street and £97,414 to 123a/123b Upper Spon Street in 2001.

In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Coventry, South are connected to the internet through the People's Network which was funded through a £120 million lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council with £5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage improvement across the public libraries sector in England.
 
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The Department has been an energetic advocate of the community and informal learning value of public libraries. Councils within the West Midlands area including Coventry city council have recognised this value and as part of a consortium took part in an initiative called Multinet, the result of which was to enable the participating public library authorities to enjoy the benefits of high bandwidth networking technology. Coventry's central library, which resides in the Coventry, South constituency, was one of the beneficiaries of the project's overall award of £324,439 from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund in 1999–2000.

The DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund has also supplied an award of £124,761 in 2001–02 towards the Caring with Books initiative in the West Midlands. This entailed building relationships with books and reading between foster families, public care institutes and many of the 7,000 children currently in public care across the West Midlands, including the Coventry area.

Information from the national lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Coventry, South has benefited from over 347 awards totalling over £55 million. Of these, 43 awards worth just under £5 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999. The New Opportunities Fund merged with the Community Fund in June 2004 to form the Big Lottery Fund.

Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency, the effect of her Department's policies and actions on the constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001. [219786]

Mr. Caborn: The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on Blackpool, North and Fleetwood since 2 May 1997.

In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. One school sport partnership involving eight School Sport Co-ordinators and 35 Primary Link teachers is based in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood. It has received a Sport England grant of £327,570. To achieve our challenging targets for increased participation in sport and physical activity, we have invested in thousands of new and refurbished public sports facilities since 1997. Sports facilities in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood have benefited from two Sport England Community Capital Lottery grants totalling £514,330.

We have increased our national funding to the arts in real terms by 60 per cent. from £199 million in 1998–99 to £67 million in 2004–50. Between 1998–99 and 2003–04 funding to Arts Council England, North West increased from £7.6 million to £19.6 million including from 1 April 2003, funding to major national arts organisations in the North West. In 2005–06, the total Arts Council England North West investment in the
 
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region will be £28.4 million. Blackpool, North and Fleetwood has benefited from grants to arts organisations and individuals in the North West, including the Blackpool Grand and the North West Disability Arts Forum.

Culture Online was launched in 2002 to increase access to, and participation in, arts and culture. Many of its projects are aimed at children of school age and at audiences that might not otherwise participate in arts and culture, including those who do not easily have access to arts and culture, people from deprived communities and people with particular educational or physical needs. People in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood will be among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.

Through our commitment to public service broadcasting we have helped to foster an environment in which a creative, commercially successful broadcasting industry provides a wide range of UK-made, high quality original programmes catering for all viewers and listeners. We have ensured a secure funding base for the BBC and Channel 4, while giving them the freedom to develop commercial operations which complement and support their public service remit. The Communications Act 2003 includes provisions to ensure that public service broadcasting will continue to have a key role to play in the digital future.

Our support for, and promotion of, the film and broadcasting industries have contributed to the general success of film-making and television activity in the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood area. A considerable amount of television has been filmed in and around Blackpool since 1997, including the forthcoming television drama Blackpool" and the comedy series Max and Paddy". The film Frozen" was filmed in Fleetwood at the end of 2003 and beginning of 2004. This film was launched at the London Film Festival last November and has just won the prize for best cinematography and the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival in the US.

In November 2000 we introduced free television licences for people aged 75 or over. Information on the number of beneficiaries by constituency is not available. However, according to Department for Work and Pensions records, the number of households in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 7,800.

We have changed the licensing laws to allow people to hold and attend commercial dances on Sunday, to make it easier for restaurants to open an hour later, and to relax the alcohol licensing hours from 11pm on new year's eve to 11am on new year's day in all future years; and we have given the police greater powers to take action against under-age drinking and disorderly and noisy licensed premises. The Licensing Act 2003, when fully implemented, will introduce a streamlined, consistent and fair licensing regime for the provision of alcohol, public entertainment and late night refreshment. It will provide greater choice for consumers, bring regeneration and increased employment opportunities and protect local residents whose lives have been blighted by disturbance and antisocial behaviour.
 
7 Mar 2005 : Column 1506W
 

The Gambling Bill will, when implemented, transfer responsibility for licensing gambling premises to local authorities. Local people and businesses will be able to make representations about applications for licenses and local authorities will be able to decide not to issue licenses for casino premises. These changes will give local communities, including those in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.

Tourism across the country has benefited from Government-funded marketing and development activity. In April 2003 we established VisitBritain with a new domestic marketing remit for England, and its successful marketing activities in promoting Britain abroad as an attractive tourist destination, benefit all parts of the country, including Blackpool and Fleetwood. In April 2003, the Regional Development Agencies were given strategic responsibility for tourism in the regions, from which Blackpool and Fleetwood have benefited. In 2003, Blackpool borough council was one of six local authorities to participate in a pilot scheme to promote the Fitness for Purpose initiative to help drive up tourism accommodation standards.

English Heritage has awarded grants worth £505,500 to Blackpool, North and Fleetwood since 2 May 1997, including £379,000 to North Shore Methodist Church, Blackpool from 2002 to 2004 and £126,500 to Wyre borough council for the Fleetwood Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme from 2002 to 2004.

In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood are connected to the internet through the People's Network which was funded through a £120 million Lottery grant and which has put all the United Kingdom's public libraries on-line. In addition, the Department is funding the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council with £5 million over three years to implement the Framework for the Future Action Plan and Library Improvement Programme, which is designed to encourage improvement across the public libraries sector in England.

The Department has been an energetic advocate of the community and informal learning value of public libraries. Councils in the Northwest area including Blackpool borough council have recognised this value and took part in an initiative called Blackpool Community Network, the result of which was to enable the participating public library service to give public access to a large range of IT facilities in 12 libraries, including Internet Access and MS Office applications. Public libraries in Blackpool North and Fleetwood constituency were among those benefiting from the overall project award of £52,000.

The DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund has also supplied an award of £178,297 in 2001–02, towards the Smile initiative in Lancashire. This entailed setting up reader development activities aimed at children and young people who have learning difficulties and their families. These activities were supported by the development of 15 multi-media collections and a specially designed website. A proportion of this award was of benefit to the library service in Fleetwood.
 
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Information from the National Lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Blackpool, North and Fleetwood has benefited from 177 awards totalling over £5.2 million. Of these, 45 awards worth over £2 million were made by the New Opportunities Fund which was established by the Government in 1999. The New Opportunities Fund merged with the Community Fund in June 2004 to form the Big Lottery Fund.

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