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13 Jun 2005 : Column 57W—continued
Faith Awareness Training
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many civil servants in theDepartment received faith awareness training in 2004. [3809]
Mr. Caborn: All DCMS staff receive mandatory equal opportunities training which covers religion and belief. We have also issued detailed guidance to all staff.
Faith Communities
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent consultations have been carried out by her Department with representatives of faith communities; and if she will make a statement. [3228]
Mr. Caborn: One of the four Strategic Priorities of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is to
increase and broaden the impact of culture and sport, to enrich individual lives, strengthen communities and improve the places where people live, now and for future generations".
Implicit in this is a commitment to ensure that all of our sectors, be it arts, sport, heritage, museums, libraries and archives reflect and are accessible by the wide range of communities in the UK including people of all faiths and none. Also one of the 10 commitments in our Five-Year Plan published this year is that we will consult the public on an unprecedented scale ensuring that we are open and accountable.
Faith communities have been an explicit key part of recent public consultations including the Lottery, BBC Royal Charter review, the Ecclesiastical Exemption Review and the Olympics.
DCMS Ministers and officials met with representatives of faith communities on a number of occasions in 2003–05 to discuss their views about the Gambling Bill.
DCMS also worked closely with the faith community in developing policies for the Communications Act, notably in relation to allowing religious groups to hold broadcasting licences.
The Central Religious Advisory Committee has been established to advise the BBC and Ofcom on religious broadcasting policy and comment on programmes once broadcast. Ofcom have also recently conducted research among people of different faiths about their perceptions of broadcast media.
12 of the 132 responses to our recent Culture at the Heart of Regeneration consultation were from faith based organisations.
Bodies such as the British Library have also been careful to consult faith representatives in the appropriate display of objects from those faiths.
Gambling Act
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has for secondary legislation under the Gambling Act 2005. [3372]
Mr. Caborn: We plan to bring forward subordinate legislation over the next two years with a view to bringing the Act fully into force in September 2007.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from what date local authorities will be able to make a resolution not to issue licences for casinos under the Gambling Act 2005. [3373]
Mr. Caborn: This date has yet to be determined. But any resolution will only apply to casino premises licences issued under the Act. The target date for such licences having effect is September 2007.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the role of the South East Regional Assembly is with regards to the Gambling Act 2005. [3374]
Mr. Caborn: The Act provides for the Secretary of State to designate areas in which local authorities may issue premises licences for new-style regional, large or small casinos. The Secretary of State will designate areas in the first phase on the basis of advice from an independent advisory panel. In respect of possible locations in the South East the panel will have the opportunity to consider the views of the Assembly.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what criteria casino licences will be allocated under the Gambling Act 2005. [3375]
Mr. Caborn: Casino operating and premises licences will be awarded by the Gambling Commission and licensing authorities on the basis of the principles set out in sections 70 and 153 of the 2005 Act respectively. Where there are more premises licence applications which meet the criteria than available licences, the authority will make its decision on the basis of which of the competing applications would in its opinion be likely to result in the greatest benefits to its area.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department plans to produce guidance for local authorities on their powers under the Gambling Act 2005 to pass a resolution not to issue a casino licence. [3376]
Mr. Caborn:
We shall be discussing the need for guidance with the local authority associations.
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Laptop Computers
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if she will make a statement. [4129]
Mr. Caborn: The information is as follows.
(a) No laptops have ever been issued to Ministers by my Department.
(b) Special advisers have used two laptops in the last two years. Prior to that no departmental laptops were used by special advisers.
(c) Due to the turnover of staff and equipment, we do not hold records of laptop loans back to 1995. Our records show that DCMS currently has 109 laptops. Since 1998, the number of laptops lost by staff or stolen from staff is:
No laptops have been stolen by staff.
Records of cost of use of equipment could not be collated without disproportionate cost.
Licensing (London)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) pubs and (b) night clubs have had their licences removed in each London borough in each year since 1997. [2472]
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James Purnell: Data on licence revocations is collected every three years. This is collated by Court or Petty Session Division, rather than by borough or other local authority area. The data also relates to public houses only.
The total numbers of licences revoked in England and Wales, and in Greater London, were as follows for the years in which data has been collected since 1997 (all figures refer to the year ended 30 June):
| 1998 | 2001 | 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 165 | 99 | 186 |
| Of which: | |||
| Greater London | Not available | 5 | 8 |
The figures for Greater London are analysed as follows:
2004 (by Petty Session Division):
Lottery (London)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many National Lottery grants were given in each London borough in the last five years; and what the total value was. [2474]
Mr. Caborn: The figures are shown in the following tables.
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The 'location' of the project is based on the postcode given by the applicant, which is not necessarily where the benefit of the award will be felt. For example no single London borough would describe where a theatre tour took place.
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