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18 Dec 2006 : Column 1600W—continued
Land Sales
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to page 107 of her Department's annual report, what the (a) value and (b) previous use was of (i) the land due to be sold off to the north of the British Library and (ii) the five residential properties in Windsor; and if she will make a statement. [109356]
Mr. Lammy: The information is as follows:
(i) The land to the north of the British Library St. Pancras was professionally revalued at £26.6million as at 31 March 2006.
The whole of the site of the former Somers Town goods yard was acquired for the original 1970s design of the British Library. The revised design of the Library completed in 1997 left the land to the north undeveloped.
The southern part of the site is currently leased to the British Library Board for car parking. The northern part of this site has been subject to a planning block under the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996, and has been under temporary possession by CTRL as a working site for construction of the adjacent St. Pancras International terminal. The valuation takes account of this planning block.
(ii) The freeholds of five properties in Windsor are held in the name of the Secretary of State. The leases are owned by private individuals who have long-term leaseholds for each property. Negotiations are continuing with the leaseholders over individual sales. One freehold was sold in May 2006 for £44,000.
Leak Inquiries
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions her Department has conducted a leak inquiry since May 1997; what the subjects of those leak inquiries were; and who authorised each inquiry. [106482]
Mr. Lammy: The Department has conducted two inquiries since May 1997.
It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on the subject or outcome of leak inquiries as there is a continued necessity to safeguard security and investigative arrangements.
National Lottery
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of National Lottery grants awarded since May 1997 have funded areas outside the original remit of the Lottery. [109571]
Mr. Caborn: The remit of the Lottery is to raise money for the good causes. Originally there were four good causes of sports, arts, heritage and celebration of the third millennium.
In 1998 a fifth good cause of ‘health, education and the environment’ was created. Until its dissolution into the Big Lottery Fund on 1 December, the New Opportunities Fund was the only organisation that could distribute Lottery money under this good cause.
Since its inception, the New Opportunities Fund has awarded 37,000 grants, or 15 per cent. of the 252,000 National Lottery grants made by all distributors.
This information is derived from the Department’s Lottery award database, searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the uncommitted balance is of (a) the Lottery Fund and (b) the New Opportunities Fund. [109361]
Mr. Caborn:
At the end of September 2006, the National Lottery Distribution Fund's balance was £1,942 million, and commitments totalled £2,823 million, £881 million more than the balance.
Within that overall total, there was £58 million of uncommitted funds from five of the 15 distributors existing at that time.
On 1 December, the New Opportunities Fund, the Community Fund and the Millennium Commission were dissolved to form the Big Lottery Fund.
At the end of September 2006, the New Opportunities Fund's balance was £477 million and its commitments totalled £531 million, so it was overcommitted by £53 million.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the lottery provides funds to organisations seeking to promote non-violence and peace to young people; and if she will make a statement. [109408]
Mr. Caborn: The distributing bodies for lottery grants make their funding decisions independently of Government and consider each application on its own merits and against their published criteria.
More than £9 billion of national lottery funding has been awarded to projects benefiting children and young people—half of the total raised for good causes to date. Many of these grants have gone to groups promoting non-violence and peace to young people. Beneficiaries include Youth Action for Peace UK and the Mission for Peace Group.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost has been of the National Lottery Promotions Unit since 1997. [109585]
Mr. Caborn: The National Lottery Promotions Unit was established in September 2003. The current lottery licence holder has provided half the funding for the unit with the other half coming from the lottery distributing bodies.
The total cost of the unit since its inception has been £9,402,000.
National Sports Foundation
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent progress has been made by the National Sports Foundation in developing new sports facilities; and if she will make a statement. [109134]
Mr. Caborn: The National Sports Foundation was established in April 2006 with three key priorities: getting more children and young people into sport, involving more women playing sport, and investment into clubs, coaches and volunteers in local communities. Within these priorities, the NSF has provisionally awarded £1,588,000 towards developing new sports facilities.
Obesity
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to tackle obesity through sport. [109136]
Tessa Jowell: As part of my Department’s ongoing work to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity for the under-11s by 2010, we have been working closely with the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills.
The National School Sport Strategy, jointly implemented by DCMS and DfES, is a key component of a ‘whole school’ programme for addressing obesity. The 2005-06 school sport survey found that overall 80 per cent. of pupils participate in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport a week. This exceeded the target of 75 per cent. for 2006 and demonstrates a considerable increase from the estimated 25 per cent. in 2002. This target will rise to 85 per cent. by 2008. By 2010 we will offer all children an additional two to three hours beyond the school day.
Many school sport partnerships already work to tackle obesity and they will do more to focus action on those children most at risk.
Physical Activity
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what definitions of moderate physical activity were used in (a) the Government's Game Plan 2002 and (b) Sport England's Active People survey 2006; and if she will make a statement. [109261]
Mr. Caborn: The definition of ‘moderate intensity’ used in both Game Plan and Sport England's Active People survey is the same and refers to activity which is enough to cause an increase in breathing rate. The Active People survey measures ‘activity’ in sport and active recreation as defined in the Department's public service agreement (PSA) target. The Game Plan definition of ‘activity’ is broader and includes, for example, gardening, household work and DIY.
Private Finance Initiatives
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2006, Official Report, columns 809-10W, on private finance initiatives (PFI), what the time scale is over which her Department will pay PFI credits for each project; and what the total estimated cost is of contributions by her Department to repayments for each project over the length of the contract. [110052]
Mr. Lammy: The following table lists each of the Department’s 12 projects, the time scale over which the Department will pay PFI credits for each project and the total estimated cost of contributions by DCMS to repayments over the length of the contract.
Procurement Projects
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 597W, on procurement projects, what facilities management services provision she is referring to. [109436]
Mr. Lammy: This entry refers to the re-tendering of the facilities management service for the DCMS office estate. The contract to provide FM services to DCMS for five years was awarded to MITIE Managed Services.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 597W, on procurement projects, who the recipients were of the funding for the (a) Olympic Games Impact Study of Ceremonial Requirements, (b) non-departmental public bodies’ programmes, (c) validation of Olympic Games costs study, (d) culture online feasibility study, (e) project management training, (f) BBC consultancy requirement, (g) study to identify the priorities of local communities, (h) the provision of a skills audit solution and (i) management of a 360-degree feedback system; and what the purpose of each project was. [109485]
Mr. Lammy: Please note that pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 597W, on procurement projects, this was printed incorrectly and that part (a) of the question relates to two separate projects.
(a) The contract for an Olympic Games impact study was awarded to Economics for the Environment Consultancy Ltd. The purpose of the project was to assess the likely economic, social and environmental benefits of hosting the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in London 2012, and to develop strategies to achieve and maximise benefits across the UK.
The contract for the management of ceremonial requirements was awarded to EC Harris. The purpose of this contract was to provide work management services for state visits, Remembrance Sunday and other ceremonial events.
(b) Contracts for the review of non-departmental public bodies programmes were awarded to Capita Business Services Ltd., Lorien Consulting, and
Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF). The purpose of the project was to ensure that NDPBs were delivering maximum value for public money.
(c) The contract for the validation of Olympic Games costs was awarded to KPMG. The purpose of this contract was to provide advice on the cost of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
(d) The contract for a feasibility study into formation of Culture Online was awarded to McKinsey & Company. The purpose of the project was to provide an assessment of the need for Culture Online.
(e) The contract for project management training was awarded to the National School for Government. The purpose of the project was to develop and deliver a major programme of project-based working training for all DCMS staff.
(f) The contract for a BBC consultancy was awarded to Pannell Kerr Forster (PKF). The purpose of the project was to examine the current and potential efficiencies of the BBC and to analyse the BBC’s licence fee bid.
(g) The contract for the study to identify priorities of local communities was awarded to PA Consulting. The purpose of the project was to deliver a new strategic framework to maximise the way in which DCMS identifies, and responds to, the priorities of local communities.
(h) The contract for the provision of a skills audit was awarded to Hay Group. The purpose of the project was to identify the skill and knowledge base of the Department, in order to inform future learning and development strategies and facilitate the sharing of knowledge and good practice.
(i) The contract for the management of a 360- degree feedback system was awarded to ASK Europe plc. The purpose of the project was to develop and deliver a reporting mechanism for 360-degree feedback that would improve management performance across the Department.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 597W, on procurement projects, for which projects funding to Touchstone change management consultancy was made. [109527]
Mr. Lammy: The contract for the Touchstone change management consultancy was awarded to Stanton Marris. The purpose of the project was to develop and deliver a cultural change strategy for DCMS.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2006, Official Report, column 597W, on procurement projects, who the recipients were of the funding for the evaluation of National Regional Museums. [109528]
Mr. Lammy: The contract to evaluate National Regional Museums was awarded to the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries at the University of Leicester.
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