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23 Jan 2006 : Column 1757W—continued

Gambling

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information her Department collects on internet-related problem gambling. [44290]

Mr. Caborn: In 1999, the National Centre for Social Research conducted a study into the prevalence of problem gambling in Britain. It did not include the online gambling sector which was not of sufficient size or maturity to make a statistical impact.

This summer, the Gambling Commission will be conducting a baseline study into the prevalence of problem gambling in all gambling sectors, including online gambling. This study will be repeated at three-yearly intervals once the Gambling Act 2005 is fully implemented in September 2007.

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research she has commissioned on the effects of internet gambling. [44291]

Mr. Caborn: My Department has commissioned research into attitudes towards gambling, gambling spend and participation in gambling activities. This includes, but is not specific to, online gambling.
 
23 Jan 2006 : Column 1758W
 

This summer, the Gambling Commission will be conducting a study into the prevalence of problem gambling in all gambling sectors, including online gambling, which will be published before the Gambling Act 2005 is fully implemented in September 2007.

Inter-ministerial Meetings (Scottish Executive)

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many inter-ministerial meetings her Department has held with the Scottish Executive since May 1999; and what the (a) Scottish Executive department concerned, (b) subject and (c) date was of each such meeting. [39939]

Mr. Lammy: I am sorry for not replying sooner to the hon. Member's question, tabled on 19 December 2005.

Ministers have regular dialogues with ministerial colleagues in the Scottish Executive, discussing a wide range of issues of mutual interest. It is not our practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Licensing Act 2003

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effects of the Licensing Act 2003 on levels of crime and disorder in (a) Gravesham and (b) England and Wales. [43280]

Mr. Caborn: It is too early to draw any firm conclusions about the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on the level of crime and disorder. However, there are anecdotal signs of some positive impact from the new flexibility in closing times to reduce flash points at 11pm, and we have received no evidence that licensing law changes have had an adverse impact on accident and emergency facilities.

The Government will continue to monitor the impact of the new legislation closely, including a programme of evaluation being conducted by the Home Office into the impact of the licensing reforms on crime and disorder.

Olympic Games

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what level of funding has been made available to support youth sport up to the 2012 London Olympics. [44296]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 20 January 2006]: In the five years leading up to 2008, DCMS, DfES and lottery investment in PE and school sport will total over £1.5billion. This is being invested in schemes benefiting children and young people through PE, School Sport, Club Links and Coaching.

In addition, Sport England is funding a number of programmes up to 2009 ¹ , which will help support and deliver youth sport.

Examples of these programmes include £100 million Exchequer funding up to 2008 in England for the Community Club Development Programme, to assist National Governing Bodies in developing community sports clubs which increase participation and widen access to sport for groups including young people.
 
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A further example is the £17 million Exchequer funding allocated to the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme up to 2008 and the £2 million Lottery funding allocated to 2012 scholarships, to support our young medal hopefuls ² .

¹ DCMS has a three year commitment until 2008 to provide SportEngland and UK Sport with Exchequer funding. Lottery distribution shares within the Sport good cause are fixed until 2009 to allow Sport England and UK Sport to distribute Lottery funding. As such, details of funding commitments beyond 2009 are currently not available.

² From 1 April 2006, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme and 2012 scholarships will be funded by UK Sport.

Poetry

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Arts Council is planning to take to promote poetry in the 2005 to 2008 period; what funding has been allocated for this purpose in the budget for that period; and if she will make a statement. [44435]

Mr. Lammy: Poetry is promoted throughout the 2005 to 2008 period through the 24 Arts Council England (ACE) poetry Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs). ACE is funding organisations and activity that encourage both writing and reading across all age groups and right across society.

The following table shows the amount ACE has given to literature RFOs, and within this amount those which focus on poetry. Many literature organisations which may not be poetry specific, do also have a poetry remit.
£

	Funding
Art form	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
Literature	5,419,289	5,529,656	5,782,567
Poetry	1,759,165	1,617,152	1,612,683

TV Licence

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will end the practice of charging TV licence payers a separate fee for holiday homes and other permanent structures where it is evident that the television could not be viewed simultaneously at both properties. [43953]

Mr. Caborn: No. The Government have no plans for any changes to the existing licensing requirements for permanent structure second homes.

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total amount raised by the television licence fee has been since it was last reviewed. [44873]

Mr. Caborn: The current television licence fee settlement was announced in February 2000. Total television licence fee revenue for the financial years 2000–01 to 2004–05 inclusive, as recorded in the BBC annual reports and accounts, was £13,301 million. This includes payments to the BBC by the Department for Work and Pensions for free licences issued to people aged 75 or over.
 
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Air Routes (Price Fixing)

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to create a more competitive market on air routes between Heathrow and the USA; whether he has made any assessment of price fixing on such routes; and if he will make a statement. [43101]

Ms Buck: I have been asked to reply.

The UK Government is actively engaged, alongside our EU partners, in negotiations towards an EU-wide Air Services Agreement with the US. Such an agreement could remove existing limitations on services between Heathrow and the US, enabling an unlimited number of services to be operated by any EU or US airline, subject to the availability of appropriate slots. However, no agreement has yet been reached.

The Department is not aware of any evidence of price fixing on Heathrow-USA routes. It would be for the UK's competition regulator, the Office of Fair Trading, to investigate such matters.

Artists Resale Levy

Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria were used in setting the level of sales in relation to the artists' resale levy below €3,000; what assessment has been made of the administrative costs of setting the level at this rate; and if he will make a statement. [44409]

Barry Gardiner: [holding answer 20 January 2006]: The Government considered all evidence and opinion submitted during consultation and in subsequent discussions with key interests. This included submissions from artists and the art market, the report of House of Commons Select Committee and the most up to date independent economic research. Setting the threshold at €1,000 would allow a large number of UK artists to receive royalties. Below €1,000 the administrative costs do become disproportionate to the benefit to the artist. We have balanced the need to protect our art market with the need to reward artists for their creativity. The draft regulations were laid before this House on 15 December and will be debated in due course.

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