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25 May 2005 : Column 118W—continued
Gospel Choirs
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the Arts Council England's budget was spent on financial support for gospel choirs in the last year for which figures are available. [566]
Mr. Lammy: Arts Council England's total funding for gospel music for the financial year 2004–05 was £879,956 and was allocated through the Grants for the Arts programme. This accounted for 0.76 per cent. of the total amount spent through Grants for the Arts. While the final figure for total Arts Council England spend in 2004–05 has yet to be confirmed officially, we expect it to be around £367 million.
In addition to this, Youth Music, the national music charity funded by Arts Lottery money, has awarded £2,896,640 to projects that incorporate a gospel singing element since it was launched in 1999.
Licensing Act
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on (a) travelling circuses, (b) village halls and (c) village shops. [61]
James Purnell: The Licensing Act 2003 does not fully come into effect until November 2005. My Department has been working closely with a wide range of stakeholder groups and representatives including:
(a) The Association of Circus Proprietors of Great Britain, Circus Arts Forum and the Arts Council of England;
We are continuing discussions with these organisations so they can help their sectors adapt to the new licensing system.
The deregulatory nature of the Act will significantly reduce bureaucracy by combining six existing licensing regimes into one integrated scheme. It is estimated that a total of £1.97 billion will be saved by those affected by the new regime over its first 10 years of operation.
My Department will continue to discuss relevant issues with affected stakeholder groups as implementation proceeds.
Norfolk Sport
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money has been given to Norfolk Sport in the last five years. [471]
Mr. Caborn:
The information requested is shown in the following table:
25 May 2005 : Column 119W
| Exchequer | Lottery | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | — | — | 0 |
| 2001–02 | — | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| 2002–03 | — | 1,026,265 | 1,026,265 |
| 2003–04 | 10,000 | — | 10,000 |
| 2004–05 | (1)112,675 | 20,000 | 132,675 |
| Grand total | 122,675 | 1,066,265 | 1,188,940 |
(1) The figure £112,675 consisted of grants as follows: £21,775 for Step into Sport, £87,000 for Community Sports Coach Scheme and £3,900 for Club.
Sport UK
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money has been given to Sport UK in the last five years. [472]
Mr. Caborn: The information requested in shown in the following table:
| Exchequer | Lottery | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 12.8 | (2)24.0 | 38.1 |
| 2001–02 | 16.8 | 25.6 | 42.4 |
| 2002–03 | 16.3 | 21.4 | 37.7 |
| 2003–04 | 23.2 | 20.0 | 43.2 |
| 2004–05 | 23.1 | (3)21.0 | 49.3 |
| Grand total | 92.2 | 118.5 | 210.7 |
(2) £1.3 million relates to additional lottery funding to UK Sport from Sport England.
(3) £5.2 million relates to additional lottery funding to UK Sport from Sport England.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million and include investment earnings on the NLDF balance. The 2004–05 figures is unaudited.
CABINET OFFICE
Office of Public Sector Information
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the (a) role, (b) function and (c) budget of the Office of Public Sector Information. [870]
Mr. Murphy: The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) provides a wide range of services to the public, information industry, government and the wider public sector relating to finding, using, sharing and trading information. OPSI has been formed from the resource of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). It has an extended remit to advise on and regulate the operation of the re-use of public sector information. HMSO continues to exist and fulfil its core activities including responsibility for the publication of legislation and the management of Crown copyright operating from within OPSI.
The OPSI handles a range of information management policy:
leads on the UK implementation of the European Directive on the re-use of Public Sector Information which will be implemented into UK law on 1 July 2005
provides an Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS) founded on the principles of openness, transparency, fairness, compliance and challenge. This helps re-users of public sector information to know that they will be treated reasonably and fairly by public sector information providers
provides the Click-Use system for obtaining a licence to re-use Crown copyright material through an online licensing process
manages the Information Asset Register (IAR) that lists information assets held by the UK Government with a focus on unpublished material
provides a secretariat to the Advisory Panel On Public Sector Information (APPSI), which advises Ministers on how best to encourage the re-use of public sector information
The net budget for OPSI for 2005–06 is £2,014,616 which represents an increase of 3 per cent. over the costs of HMSO during 2004–05.
NORTHERN IRELAND
"A Shared Future"
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the implementation of the document "A Shared Future". [452]
Angela E. Smith: "A Shared Future—The Policy and Strategic Framework for Good Relations in Northern Ireland", was launched on 21 March 2005 by way of a Written Ministerial Statement.
My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Lord Rooker, will be taking forward the implementation of the policy through the publication of the triennial action plan. This is scheduled to be launched in the autumn.
Costello Report
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters (a) supporting and (b) opposing the findings of the Costello Report have been received by his Department; how many can be identified as pro forma letters in each case; and whether each pro forma letter received by his Department is treated as a single letter of support or opposition. [324]
Angela E. Smith: The Department has received over 200 letters on the new Post-Primary arrangements since the publication of the Report of the Post-Primary Review Working Group on 26 January 2004. It would not be appropriate to record these letters on the basis of whether they are supportive of or opposed to the new arrangements, due to the complexity of the various issues involved. The Department is aware of a number of letter writing campaigns. However, each letter is dealt with and responded to individually.
Domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Government will publish their recommendations on domestic rates reform. [369]
Angela E. Smith:
A report was published on 23 March setting out the consultation outcomes and next steps for reform of the domestic rating system in Northern Ireland. A copy of this report is available in the Library.
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