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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2293W—continued

Equality and Diversity

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Department has spent promoting equality and diversity in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [14670]

Mr. Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has spent the following amounts on promoting diversity in the last three years (the only years for which figures are available).
 
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£

Amount spent
2005–06(15)5,464
2004–0556,272
2003–04139,930


(15)2005–06 amount is to date


Licensing Act 2003

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the implications for his Department of the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 after 7 November. [14117]

James Purnell: Ministers and officials from DCMS and the Home Office continue to work together, with particular regard to crime and disorder, to ensure a smooth and successful implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, which comes into force on 24 November.

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she will expect from police forces regarding those who have neither a premises licence nor a personal licence under the Licensing Act 2003 after 7 November. [14118]

James Purnell: The Licensing Act 2003 comes into force on 24 November. Any person carrying on licensable activities after that date without the relevant permission under the 2003 Act would be liable to prosecution. Proceedings for an offence of this kind may be instituted by a licensing authority or by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Enforcement would be a matter for the police and licensing officers. It would be inappropriate for the executive to seek to influence decisions made in respect of prosecutions.

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will change the way in which charges are apportioned to licensed premises so that they are based on the rateable value of only the area that is serving alcohol, rather than the club or premises as a whole; [13760]

(2) what assessment her Department has made of the impact that the Licensing Act 2003 will have on garden centres who sell small amounts of alcohol in their cafe"s. [13763]

James Purnell: My Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on garden centres which sell small amounts of alcohol. However, Regulatory Impact Assessments were provided to Parliament with the Bill and the fees regulations, which considered the impact of the 2003 Act more broadly, including on small businesses. These are available in the Library of the House.

Fees were set which recognised the various sizes of businesses engaged in licensable activities. However, Ministers agreed to establish an Independent Fees Panel to review the impact of the fees. This has now been established under the chairmanship of Sir Les Elton. We expect the panel to consider a range of business concerns about the fees regime and draw on evidence and expertise provided during the course of the review
 
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process, including the issue where the premises to be licensed only forms a small part of a larger hereditament and does not, itself, have a separate rateable value.

National Lottery

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Health on possible use of Lottery funding in schemes within the health service. [14096]

Mr. Caborn: Discussions took place between the two Departments in relation to some of the New Opportunities Fund's health programmes, for example Healthy Living Centres and cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care. Lottery funding for these programmes was quite separate from and additional to any money spent by the national health service in these areas. We have not discussed any future funding schemes within the health service.

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has given directions to the Big Lottery Fund to reduce balances held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund. [14097]

Mr. Caborn: My Department is working with all Lottery distributors, including the Big Lottery Fund, to ensure that lottery money is spent quickly, so that the public sees the benefits as soon as possible. As part of this process, guidance on managing lottery balances was issued to distributors in August 2003. No directions to reduce balances have been issued.

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her intention that the Big Lottery Fund should be responsible for the distribution of more than 50 per cent. of lottery good cause funding. [14098]

Mr. Caborn: It is not our intention that the Big Lottery Fund should be responsible for the distribution of more than 50 per cent. of lottery good cause funding.

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Education and Skills on the use of Lottery funding for projects in schools. [14099]

Mr. Caborn: We have regular discussions with colleagues at the Department for Education and Skills about joint programmes, such as those that receive funding from the Big Lottery fund and the Arts and Sports Councils. For example, this includes the £750 million New Opportunities for PE and Sport (NOPES) programme which is bringing about a step change in the provision of sporting facilities for young people and the community more generally.

Olympics 2012

Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of employment opportunities that will become available as a result of the 2012 Olympics being hosted in London, broken down by (a) skill area and (b) borough. [13834]


 
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Mr. Caborn: We know from the experience of past host cities that the Olympic games and Paralympic games can deliver thousands of jobs.

The socio-economic assessment produced to support the Olympic and Olympic legacy planning applications concluded that after the games, the Olympic park area alone will accommodate 11,270 permanent jobs as a direct result of the games, spread across the London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. This estimate comprises:

For the construction of the Olympic park, venues and legacy facilities, the assessment estimated that 7,000 full time equivalent construction jobs will be created.

These estimates do not take into account the other jobs that will be created as a result of the games in sectors such as tourism, hospitality and food across the rest of London and the UK.

In addition, up to 70,000 volunteers and an estimated 3,500 operation staff will be needed to deliver the games.

Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the road infrastructure in East London for the Olympic games; and what discussions she has had with (a) Transport for London and (b) the Department for Transport concerning improvements, with particular reference to the A406. [14077]

Mr. Caborn: In preparing the London Olympic bid, London 2012 and Transport for London carried out detailed assessments of Olympic transport needs and the capacity of London's transport infrastructure, including roads, to meet them.

The plans for Olympic transport were based on these assessments; the Government were fully involved in developing them. They are set out in the Candidature File submitted to the International Olympic Committee in November 2004, and are based on making the best use of existing infrastructure and planned improvements. We are confident that, with these plans, London's road infrastructure will be adequate for meeting the needs of the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what opportunities there are for cities other than London, with particular reference to Scottish cities, to be venues for the training camps of (a) British and (b) other Olympic teams in the run up to 2012. [13505]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 19 July 2005]: Visiting teams will want time to prepare their athletes for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012, accessing sporting facilities, acclimatising to weather conditions and assimilating themselves into British culture.

We expect that a number of visiting teams will want to stage training and preparation camps right across the UK. These camps offer a significant opportunity to
 
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nations and regions to benefit economically from the Games and to be involved in the excitement being at close quarters to a visiting team, their culture and their language.

The London Organising Committee is working with the British Olympic Association, and others to produce central guidance that will assist partners in the devolved Administrations and the English regions to develop their plans to secure these training camps. However, ultimately, it will be the choice of each National Olympic Committee as to where they stage their training camps.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total financial support provided to date from (a) the Government and (b) Lottery funding for the London bid for the 2012 Olympics has been. [14896]

Mr. Caborn: The Government and the London Development Agency (LDA) have provided, in equal part, up to £30 million in support of London's bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Lottery funds have not been used to support the London bid.

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will site an (a) Olympic event and (b) Olympic-related cultural event in (i) the constituency of Houghton and Washington East, (ii) the area covered by Sunderland city council and (iii) the North East of England in 2012. [13239]

Mr. Caborn: The Candidature File, submitted to the IOC on 15 November 2004, contains detailed proposals for all sports venues that will be used in the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012, including St.James' Park in Newcastle, which will host part of the Olympic football competition. The venues were selected using the technical guidelines provided by the IOC and have been agreed by the International Sports Federations.

Over the coming months, the London Organising Committee of the Games (LOCOG) culture and education team will establish a framework that will allow for the broadest levels of inclusion and engagement across the UK in the delivery of our Olympic culture and education programmes. They will build on the strong relationships London 2012 have already established with the Regional Cultural Consortia.


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