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16 Mar 2006 : Column 2438W—continued
Royal Navy
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the (a) actual strength and (b) establishment of (i) engineering technicians, (ii) operator mechanics and (iii) communication technicians in the Royal Navy. [57484]
Mr. Touhig:
The information requested is shown in the following table.
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(39) Less than five.
Notes:
Engineering Technicians are new branches which are being formed by the merger of the old artificer and mechanics branches. This process is still in transition, so to get a clear picture of strengths against requirement it is necessary to look at all three groups together.
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest even multiple of 10
The trained strength and the FTRS (full-time Reserve Service) are both used to fill trained requirement posts.
Veterans Day
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what preparations have been made for Veterans Day on 27 June. [58090]
Mr. Touhig [holding answer 13 March 2006]: The decision to hold an annual Veterans Day was announced on 13 February, and I wrote to hon. Members on 23 February to advise them that this would be on 27 June each year. Detailed planning is now well advanced and I will make a further statement shortly setting out our intentions.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department made the decision to hold a Veterans Day on 27 June. [58092]
Mr. Touhig [holding answer 13 March 2006]: The decision to hold an annual Veterans Day was announced on 13 February, and I wrote to hon. Members on 23 February to advise them that this would be on 27 June each year. There will be a free event in London linked to the celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of the Victoria Cross, which we hope will attract school children, veterans and other members of the public. It is hoped that events will also be held in other parts of the country on or around 27 June celebrating the contribution that veterans of all ages have made to our Nation. Further details will be published shortly.
SCOTLAND
Energy/Water Efficiency
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the Department's building programme budget was allocated to (a) energy self-generation and (b) water recycling measures in the 2004–05 financial year. [58755]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not have a building programme.
Lockerbie
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive regarding the implications of the actions of the Scottish Criminal Records Office in the case of the Shirley McKie case for the Lockerbie convictions; and if he will make a statement. [57646]
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David Cairns: The work of the Scottish Criminal Records Office is a matter for the Scottish Executive.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Casinos (Manchester)
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations have been received by her Department (a) in favour of and (b) opposed to a Destination Casino for the City of Manchester. [58859]
Mr. Caborn: A number of representations have been received in support of a regional casino in East Manchester. These include representations from New East Manchester Ltd. and the hon. Members for Manchester, Central and Manchester, Blackley.
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions (a) she and (b) her officials have had with Manchester City Council regarding their proposals for a Destination Casino in East Manchester. [58862]
Mr. Caborn: We have no record of any discussions with Manchester City Council about a regional casino in East Manchester.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has established an independent Casino Advisory Panel to advise her on the areas where the 17 new casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 should be located.
The deadline for local authorities to submit their proposals to the Panel is 31 March. Any local authority that wishes to make its case to the Panel, for one or more casinos in their area, may do so. The Panel will make its recommendations by the end of 2006.
English Heritage
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many properties (a) owned and (b) managed by English Heritage she has visited as part of her official duties in each of the past five years. [58887]
Mr. Lammy:
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2659W. I and my predecessors have regularly visited English Heritage and other heritage sites in the last five years.
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Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the consultants' reports prepared in the development of the forthcoming Heritage White Paper; and if she will make a statement. [59080]
Mr. Lammy: Two independent studies have been commissioned as part of the ongoing heritage protection review. An evaluation of eight of the English Heritage pilot projects set up to test out review recommendations, and an evaluation of the likely impact of proposals on local authorities based on a literature review and 16 case studies. Neither is yet complete. When they are, it is intended that the final reports will be sent to all those who participated and made publicly available but not formally published. The findings from both reports will be reflected when my Department publishes detailed policy proposals for reforming the heritage protection system later this year.
Gambling
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Treasury and (b) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005. [59042]
Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly discusses a range of issues with colleagues in other Departments.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of problem gamblers. [59094]
Mr. Caborn: The current estimate is that 0.6 per cent. of the adult population are problem gamblers. This figure is drawn from the most recent authoritative research: Kerry Sproston, Bob Erens and Jim Orford (2000): Gambling Behaviour in Britain: Results from the British Gambling Prevalence Study" (National Centre for Social Research, June 2000). During the coming year, and before the Gambling Act 2005 is implemented, the Gambling Commission will be conducting new research into the prevalence of problem gambling.
Junk Food Advertising
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Office of Communications (Ofcom) on the publication of the Ofcom consultation on junk food advertising aimed at children. [58874]
James Purnell: Ministers and officials have had a number of discussions with Ofcom about the publication of its consultation on broadcast food promotion to children.
Swimming Pools
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many local authority (a) 50, (b) 25 and (c) under 25 metre swimming pools were (i) opened and (ii) closed in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [58718]
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Mr. Caborn: Access to good quality sporting provision, including swimming pools, is an essential part of enabling people to lead healthier lives and to participate in sport. There are currently over 4,400 swimming facilities across England which are open to the public.
The table sets out the numbers of 50 metre, 25 metre and below-25 metre local authority owned swimming pools which have opened in each year since 1997. Information has been derived from the Active Places database. In addition, a further five local authority pools are planned to open in 2006.
Information on closures of pools is not available for each year since 1997. However, in 2004, 10 local authority owned swimming pools closed—four of 25 metres' length and six of less than 25 metres. 18 pools closed in 2005—seven of 25 metres' length and 11 of less than 25 metres. As the following table shows, in the same period 41 local authority owned pools across 27 sites were opened, demonstrating a net increase in provision over the two years.
| 50m pools | 25m pools | <25m pools | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | — | 11 | 20 |
| 1998 | — | 8 | 16 |
| 1999 | — | 5 | 10 |
| 2000 | 2 | 7 | 15 |
| 2001 | — | 9 | 17 |
| 2002 | — | 18 | 35 |
| 2003 | — | 15 | 24 |
| 2004 | — | 9 | 16 |
| 2005 | — | 6 | 10 |
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