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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 23 March 2006

CABINET OFFICE

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the costs were of having the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the right hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn), as an additional Cabinet Member between 8 September 2004 and 6 May 2005. [60587]

Mr. Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office annual report and resource accounts 2004–05, a copy of which is available in the Library and on the Cabinet Office website at:

www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reports/annualreport/resourceaccounts0405.pdf

Gas Storage (Duchy of Lancaster Land)

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with farm tenants about proposals for gas storage in and around Duchy lands. [59688]

Mr. Jim Murphy: Neither I nor the Duchy of Lancaster office have had any discussions or requests for discussions with farm tenants about proposals for gas storage in and around Duchy lands.

Lords Appointments

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister without Portfolio whether a civil servant (a) attended on the Minister without Portfolio on the occasion when he signed statements for the Lords Appointments Committee from hospital and (b) carried such documents to or from the hospital. [60953]

Mr McCartney: During my stay in hospital I continued to receive and work on ministerial boxes. The boxes contained various items of correspondence addressed to me at the Cabinet Office including the certificates from the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Ministerial Engagements

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2006, Official Report, column 1646W, on engagements, if he will list the public events the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster attended during the period. [59638]

Mr. Jim Murphy: During his period in office, the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made regional visits to Monmouth, Northampton, Manchester and Birmingham; contributed to seminars on Active Citizenship, The Opportunity Society, Equality Diversity and Choice, Social Mobility and Personalisation in Public
 
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Services; and attended the Guardian Public Service Awards, the ACEVO Surer Funding Report Launch and the Duchy of Lancaster Christmas Carol Service.

IT Systems (Public Services)

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what recent discussions he has had with Health Ministers on progress with the implementation of the NHS choose and book system; [60162]

(2) what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the frequency with which the UK worldheritage.org.uk website is used. [60164]

Mr. Jim Murphy: The Government's strategy for the use of technology to improve public services is set out in Transformational Government: Enabled by Technology (CM6683).

I regularly discuss these issues with ministerial colleagues.

No. 10 Downing Street

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2005 to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws), Official Report, column 302W, on Downing Street (refurbishment), when he expects final decisions to be taken on upgrading the Cabinet Office estate; and who is responsible for taking such decisions. [59636]

Mr. Jim Murphy: Officials continue to develop design and procurement options for the refurbishment of the heritage Cabinet Office estate. Any decision will be subject to acceptance of a strong business case, both internally within the Cabinet Office and by Her Majesty's Treasury.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

2012 Olympics

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the KPMG contract for London 2012 Olympics has cost her Department to date. [60763]

Mr. Caborn: To date, the Department has paid £422,162 to KPMG for work on the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. This figure is higher than the original cost estimate, which reflects an extension of KPMG's work to provide ongoing analysis of the various elements of the costs of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Commonwealth Games

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contributions from the public purse have been spent on the participation at the Commonwealth Games of those representing (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [59526]

 
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Mr. Caborn: Sport in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including Commonwealth Games teams is a devolved matter. However, with regard to the funding provided to athletes from Northern Ireland competing in the Commonwealth Games, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, on 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 317W.

Funding to our elite and aspiring athletes to help them train and compete at international sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games, is provided through the World Class Programmes administered by UK Sport and Sport England, as well as the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS).

The World Class Programme administered by UK Sport supports UK governing bodies and includes athletes from all parts of the UK. It targets funding at the UK's top athletes—both able bodied and disabled—to help them achieve consistent success in international competition and ultimately to bring home medals, usually in major competitions at European, World and Olympic/Paralympic level.

Sport England's World Class Programme is for English athletes primarily within English governing bodies and aims to assist the development of talented athletes with the potential to win medals, or equivalent, in significant future international competitions.

TASS funding is primarily used to support UK athletes aged between 18 and 25 studying in English educational institutions.

The total world class programme investment from 2002 until March 2006 in the 116 sports comprising the Commonwealth Games is in the region of £36 million by UK Sport and £70 million by Sport England. TASS investment across over 40 sports (including Commonwealth Games sports) during this period totals £7 million.

Additionally Sport England has invested £1.5 million in five sports (basketball, bowls, shooting, table tennis and weightlifting) specifically to support their preparation and attendance at the Games. Furthermore, Sport England has invested £1.8 million into this Commonwealth Games cycle through the Commonwealth Games Council for England which will have helped the preparation and attendance of athletes and officials in Melbourne.

Fininvest

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) representations she has received from and (b) discussions she and Ministers in her Department have held with companies owned by Fininvest. [59074]

James Purnell: DCMS Ministers have not received representations nor had discussions with companies owned by Fininvest.

Gambling

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of problem gamblers in Coventry, South. [60433]

 
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Mr. Caborn: The current estimate is that 0.6 per cent. of the adult population of Great Britain 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). This research was conducted using a sample of addresses selected at random. As such, it is not possible to provide results on a geographical basis.

Intergovernmental Accords

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the intergovernmental accords she has signed with the Italian Government. [59073]

James Purnell: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has entered into one accord with the Italian Government; a memorandum of understanding on digital switchover in 2004.

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