| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
29 Mar 2006 : Column 1007W—continued
Veterans
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2006 to question 59698, on veterans, if he will place in the Library the minutes of the (a) Veterans' Executive Steering Group meeting on (i) 11 October 2005 and (ii) 17 January 2006 and (b) the Veterans' Forum on 6 December 2005. [61492]
Mr. Touhig [holding answer 27 March 2006]: I have arranged for copies of the minutes of these meetings to be placed in the Library of the House.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
2012 Olympics
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 201W, on the 2012 Olympics, what analysis has been undertaken of (a) the nature of the contamination and (b) the (i) type and (ii) concentrations of pollutants; what involvement local authorities have had under Part IIA of the 1990 Environment Protection Act 1985; and what soil guideline values have been used. [61510]
Mr. Caborn:
Site investigations are currently being carried out to characterise the nature of the ground conditions and the level of contamination. These investigations will be carried out in accordance with current industry best practice to identify the exact type and concentrations. The investigations are following the principles set out in the Intrusive Investigation Method Statement approved by the London boroughs of
29 Mar 2006 : Column 1008W
Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, the Environment Agency and British Waterways. I am arranging to have copies of the statement placed in the Libraries of the House.
The London Development Agency has been informed by the London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest that there are no part IIA designated contaminated sites within the Olympic Park boundary. The boroughs have been consulted throughout the preparation of the environmental impact assessment, during the site investigation phase and will continue to be consulted throughout the development of the remediation and validation works.
Generic site specific soil target values have been generated and are detailed in a Global Remediation Strategy which has been reviewed and approved by the same regulators noted above. Once the site investigation is complete, detailed remediation strategies, including generation of site specific clean up targets, will be prepared and agreed with the regulators as appropriate prior to implementation and validation. All of the sites to be remediated will be subject to detailed planning applications.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the decontamination process to contaminated land on the London 2012 Olympic Site will (a) delay building work and (b) increase the costs; and if she will make a statement. [61779]
Mr. Caborn: A time allowance for land remediation has been built into the overall project timetable, as has a budget to cover such work. There is no reason at present to expect the cost of such work to exceed the budget.
Casinos
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of the applications for casino licences under the Gambling Act 1968 in the last 10 years were made under a D2 leisure planning re-classification. [61547]
Mr. Caborn: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) on 20 March 2006, Official Report, columns 14–15W, on gambling, if she will break down the number of applications by location. [61548]
Mr. Caborn: Further to the answer to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire) 20 March 2006, Official Report, columns 14–15W, the table sets out the locations of the applications for certificates of consent in respect of new casinos and substituted, extended or altered premises that were received by the Gambling Commission from 1997–98 until the present.
Two minor adjustments have been made to the figures given in the previous answer. The Gambling Commission has revised downwards the figure for applications for certificates of consent for new casinos in 2000–01 from 7 to 6. The total number of applications for new casinos in 2004–05 was 23, not 25, and the number of applications for substitute, extended or altered premises in 2004–05 was 6, not 4.
29 Mar 2006 : Column 1009W
29 Mar 2006 : Column 1010W
Dance
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action her Department is taking to promote and invest in dance; and if she will make a statement. [61767]
Mr. Lammy: DCMS sponsors Arts Council England to promote and invest in the arts, including dance. Since 2002–03 there has been an increase in Government funding for dance of 22.4 per cent.
In 2006–07 the Arts Council will invest £33 million in dance. This funding will support dance companies and organisations across the country to deliver and promote dance. The Arts Council provides a further £26 million for combined dance and other art, organisations and projects.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of (a) staff and (b) new staff employed in (i) her Department and (ii) each of the agencies for which she has responsibility were registered as disabled in each of the last three years for which data is available. [61374]
Mr. Lammy: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the Civil Service by Department. These include data on the number of staff in departments who have declared a disability. Declaration of a disability is voluntary.
The latest available information at April 2004 is available in the Library and on the Civil Service website and the following addresses. http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/publications/xls/disability_apr04_4nov04.xls for data relating to 1 April 2004, and http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/index.asp for previous reporting periods.
The number of new staff employed in each of these years was fewer than five and is protected from disclosure under the DCMS Code of Practice on equal opportunities monitoring.
29 Mar 2006 : Column 1011W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |