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5 Jun 2006 : Column 137W—continued
Mr. Caborn:
My Department held a public consultation between 25 November 2005 and 28 February 2006 about Lottery funding for the good causes of arts and film, heritage and sport after 2009. The consultation could be accessed online through the Department's website and respondents could also reply
by postage-paid questionnaire. The consultation received 11,476 responses. The same consultation was also carried out by Camelot, on its players' website, for the two weeks to 28 February 2006, receiving 175 responses. My Department also commissioned a series of focus groups across the UK.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what amount of National Lottery prize money remains unclaimed; and if she will make a statement. [74565]
Mr. Caborn: Amounts in respect of unclaimed prize money are paid to the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF)180 days after the relevant draw, or 180 days after the end of the relevant scratchcard game.
From the launch in 1994 to 28 April 2006, £824.4 million in unclaimed prize money has been paid to the NLDF.
During the 180-day period, unclaimed prize money is held in Player Trust Accounts. The figure for unclaimed prize money held in Player Trust Accounts is calculated on the last Friday of every month. The figure on 28 April 2006 was £54.5 million.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the total amount (a) allocated and (b) distributed by each of the lottery distribution bodies in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006. [73872]
Mr. Caborn: The table shows the value of grants awarded and how much has been spent by each lottery distributor, using the financial years closest to those in the question.
The information in table (a) is derived from the Department’s lottery award database, searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors. The 2006 figures are the latest available, but will exclude awards yet to be reported to the Department and included on the database.
It often takes time for projects that are awarded lottery money to start spending on a project; consequently awards are often spent wholly or partly in different years from those in which they are made.
The expenditure figures are the sum drawn down from the National Lottery Distribution Fund by each distributor for the years in question, and include operating costs.
| Table (b) | ||
| £ | ||
| Spent: | ||
| Distributing body | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
National Sports Foundation
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the progress of the work of the National Sports Foundation. [75001]
Mr. Caborn: I am very pleased that the National Sports Foundation has made its first award. This was to the Lords Taverners for £177,500, to support their excellent work to promote the growth of grass roots cricket through the provision of cricket equipment bags to junior cricketers. This funding, which will help ensure that we capitalise on the explosion of interest in cricket among our young people following last summer’s Ashes series, was matched by a donation from the England and Wales Cricket Trust.
I understand that the Foundation is in continuing discussions with potential sponsors as well as sporting organisations and they are hopeful that further awards will be announced shortly.
Paddington Station
Mr. Swire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans have been made for the
conservation of the fourth span at Paddington station; and if she will make a statement on the station's future as a Grade I listed building. [73858]
Mr. Lammy: Paddington station was listed at Grade I in 1961. In March English Heritage received an application to amend the list entry in relation to Span Four. Once we have received English Heritage's advice, the Secretary of State will determine whether the list entry for Paddington should be revised.
Shrewsbury (Sports Village)
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will visit the new sports village in Shrewsbury to see the facilities provided by the borough council. [74185]
Mr. Caborn: I am always keen to visit new sports facilities—especially those that have received significant Government and Lottery investment such as the new sports village in Shrewsbury. I would be delighted to pay a visit if my diary allows.
Small Change Big Difference
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department and its agencies have taken following the launch of the Government's Small Change Big Difference Campaign. [72010]
Mr. Caborn: The Department has not yet taken specific steps as a direct result of the launch of the Small Change Big Difference campaign. However, working largely through Sport England, the lead national body for promoting grassroots participation in sport, we are supporting a range of initiatives to help increase participation in sport and active recreation which reflect and support the campaign's advice.
As the programme of work develops, the Department of Health will be working across all of government to ensure the programme joins up to promote maximum impact. DOH is leading the implementation for this initiative as part of its cross-government commitment to deliver the public health White Paper Choosing Health.
Television (Wales)
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure access to (a) BBC Wales, (b) ITV Wales and (c) S4C in north-east Wales after digital switchover. [72673]
Mr. Woodward: Digital Switchover will enable digital terrestrial coverage to match the current 98.5 per cent. analogue level. Switchover for the HTV Wales region will happen in the second half of 2009.
After switchover, viewers in Wales who currently receive BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C in analogue terrestrial form, will continue to receive those services
in digital form. But these services are also available on satellite to the whole country.
Television Advertising
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations Ofcom has met to discuss restrictions on television advertising of food products targeting children since she asked Ofcom to examine the issue on 1 December 2003; and on what dates. [73193]
Mr. Woodward: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to my hon. Friend. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Television Licence (Second Homes)
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the BBC raised in licence fees from second homes in each of the last five years. [73548]
Mr. Woodward [holding answer 25 May 2006]: The information requested is not collected centrally. The fact that a property is a second home is not relevant to the television licensing requirements, except for people aged 75 or over, who receive free licences for their main address only.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Commission
25. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the total cost of the Electoral Commission has been in each financial year since its inception. [74912]
Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission estimates its net resource out-turn expenditure in 2005-06 to be £21.924 million. The corresponding figures for earlier years are given in the Commission's annual reports and accounts for the years concerned. These have been laid before the House and may be viewed in the Library.
Boundary Proposals (Election Periods)
Paul Rowen: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether it is the policy of the Electoral Commission not to issue Boundary Committee proposals during an election period. [74911]
Peter Viggers:
The Electoral Commission's responsibilities in relation to boundary matters extend only to local authority ward boundaries in England. I
am informed that its statutory committee, the Boundary Committee for England, has not issued proposals for new local authority electoral arrangements during an election period since April 2002.
Electoral Registration
Mr. Heald: To ask my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what research the Commission has undertaken of the number of (a) failed asylum seekers and (b) foreign nationals not from the Commonwealth or Irish Republic who are fraudulently on the electoral register. [73920]
Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has undertaken no research into these issues.
Where it appears to an Electoral Registration Officer that an attempt has been made by any individual to register fraudulently, it would be for them to make inquiries and, if appropriate, alert the police.
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