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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Gambling

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many meetings (a) officials and (b) Ministers in her Department have held with foreign based casino operators in the last 18 months; what the date of each meeting was; and who the attendees were. [219805]

Mr. Caborn: Since the publication of the report of the Gambling Review Body (Cm 5206) in July 2001, the Department has undertaken a very extensive programme of consultations with interested bodies about options and proposals for changes to gambling law in Great Britain. There have been two formal public consultations, the first on the Review Body's report and the second on the draft clauses published for pre-legislative scrutiny in November 2003.

In addition to these consultations the relevant Government Departments have corresponded with and met individual companies (including those who have expressed an interest in trading in Great Britain as well as those already doing so), trade associations, charities and other bodies concerned with problem gambling or who benefit from lotteries, local authorities, trade unions, law enforcement agencies, academics and many other bodies and individuals, including members of the
 
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public, with an interest. These contacts, designed to ensure that the Government's policy proposals are sound and take full account of all relevant benefits, costs and risks, have involved both Ministers and officials. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code.

Departmental Policies

Geraint Davies: 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 Croydon, Central, the effects of the Department's policies and actions on Croydon, Central constituency since 1997. [220384]

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 Croydon, Central since 2 May 1997.

In order 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. In 2002 we launched the first ever comprehensive national physical education, school sport and club links strategy with an investment of £459 million. Two school sport partnerships involving eight School Sport Co-ordinators and 36 Primary Link teachers is based in Croydon, Central. They have received two Sport England grants totalling £678,454. 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 Croydon, Central have benefited from three Sport England Lottery grants totalling £3,018,850.

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 Arts Council England, London grants increased from £13.6 million to £133.8 million, including from 1 April 2003 funding to major national arts organisations in London. In 2005–06 the total Arts Council England investment in London will be £151.6 million. Croydon, Central has benefited from grants to arts projects, organisations and individuals, including the Croydon Clocktower.

Young people in Croydon, Central benefit from the London Youth Music Action Zone, known as Sound Connections. Since 2000, the Action Zone has been awarded three grants totalling £1,245,000, and so far it has successfully engaged over 2,000 young people in music-making opportunities.

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 Croydon, Central will be
 
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among those who benefit from Culture Online. Between 2002 and 2004, £13 million was allocated to fund 20 Culture Online projects.

Croydon, Central also benefits from the Renaissance in the regions museums initiative. The London Museums Hub in partnership with several museums, including Croydon Museum, is working with local refugee groups on an exhibition to be displayed in the museum or a local community centre.

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 Croydon area. FilmLondon have funded a number of film related activities in the Croydon, Central constituency including £1,000 towards the Croydon Film Festival in 2001–02 and £7,000 to the Croydon Film Fund between 2001–03.

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 Croydon, Central 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 Croydon, Central, a greater say in the regulation of gambling in their area.
 
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Tourism in Croydon, Central 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 the London Development Agency. 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 Croydon, Central.

English Heritage has awarded grants worth £217,367 to Croydon, Central since 2 May 1997, including £100,637 to the Church of St John the Baptist from 2002 to 2004 and £81,000 to St Peter's Church from 2003 to 2004.

In common with all those in the United Kingdom, the public library branches in Croydon, Central constituency 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. Croydon Council has recognised this value and took part in an initiative called the Croydon Online Community Network. This enabled some libraries—two of them in Croydon, Central—to be connected to the Croydon Online Network and the creation of a Croydon Job Mart website and a Croydon Health Information Network. Housebound users were also enabled to connect to the internet. The project received a total award of £128,000 from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund in 1998–99. A proportion of this was of benefit to libraries in the Croydon, Central constituency.

In 2003 the London Borough of Croydon were successful at stage one of the application process for PFI credits, and were allocated £4.6 million on a provisional basis for the Ashburton Learning Village project, which incorporated a new branch library, support for an improved household library service, and music service. This will be of direct benefit to residents within the Croydon, Central Constituency.

Information from the National Lottery distributors indicates that since 2 May 1997 Croydon, Central has benefited from 221 awards totalling just under £13 million. Of these, 47 awards worth over £5.6 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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