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28 Feb 2007 : Column 1384W—continued
In addition £276 million has been provisionally allocated to Lancashire as a Building Schools for the Future (BSF) wave 1 authority. This funding is supported through a mix of capital grant, supported borrowing, and the private finance initiative.
The figures exclude provisional LSC allocations, which at this stage of the planning process have been made at regional level only. The provisional allocation for North West region for 2007-08 is £1.262 billion, excluding LSC budgets such as capital grants and education maintenance allowances which are held nationally.
Faith Schools: Islam
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which Islamic schools have been inspected by Ofsted in each of the last five years; and what the result was of each inspection. [122122]
Jim Knight [holding answer 22 February 2007]: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Gentleman and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 22 February 2007:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
You asked which Islamic schools have been inspected by Ofsted in each of the last five years and the result of each inspection.
I attach the list of the Islamic schools inspected over the last five years. Inspections of non-association independent schools are undertaken by Ofsted at the request of the DfES, which is the registration authority for independent schools. Since September 2003, inspections have been undertaken in accordance with section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (as amended by the Education Act 2005). Those that provide a full assessment of the school’s compliance with the statutory regulations for independent schools (made under the provisions of the 2002 Act) are published. Other visits made at the request of the DfES result in advice notes to the DfES which are not published; you would need to contact the DfES if you require these, or details of the action taken as a result of them. Unlike inspections of maintained schools, inspections of independent schools do not result in grades for the school’s overall effectiveness, and so we cannot provide such outcomes to you.
The published reports can be found on our website (www.ofsted.gov.uk) under the section ‘Inspection reports’, then ‘Independent Schools’.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Pre-school Education: Finance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources were made available to early years foundation stage in each of the last three years. [122270]
Beverley Hughes: Government invest some £3 billion each year in the delivery of the free entitlement to nursery education for three and four-year-olds. Funding is provided to local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and covers provision delivered in accordance with the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the National Daycare Standards by providers in the maintained, private, voluntary and independent sectors.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) comes into effect from September 2008, replacing the Foundation Stage Curriculum, Birth to Three Matters and the National Daycare Standards. The Department is working through the Primary National Strategy advisers to support implementation of the EYFS and a range of EYFS training materials for both local authorities and early years providers will be disseminated this year.
Culture, Media and Sport
Departments: Consultants
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on consultants in each of the last five years. [123967]
Mr. Lammy:
The Department's accounting system records total cost to the Department of using all
consultancy services in each of the last five years as shown in the following table.
| £ | |
Departments: Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in (i) her Department and (ii) each agency of the Department in each year since 1997-98; how much is planned to be spent for 2007-08; and if she will make a statement. [123923]
Mr. Lammy: In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport there have been no involuntary or voluntary staff exit schemes since 1997-98 and none are currently planned.
However individual staff have taken voluntary early retirement in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Management Code and the Principle Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Digital Broadcasting
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to finalise the contractual arrangements for the delivery of the digital help scheme. [124253]
Mr. Woodward: Discussions with the BBC are ongoing and we expect to reach a conclusion before any contracts are awarded.
Film: Finance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Government funding has been given to the Film Club further to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on 15 February. [123109]
Mr. Woodward: The Film Club project has been developed as a partnership between film industry professionals and the UK Film Council. As the Government's strategic agency for film, the Film Council invested £100,000 in the pilot stage, matched by 100,000 from the film industry through All Industry Marketing (AIM).
Casinos
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether (a) recordings and (b) transcripts were made of the public evidence sessions held by the Casino Advisory Panel with casino licence bidders. [123641]
Mr. Caborn: Yes. Audio recordings were made of all seven of the Casino Advisory Panel’s examinations in public. Transcripts of these recordings are currently being prepared.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the evidential basis was for the Casino Advisory Panel’s assessment of the effect of regional casinos on urban areas. [123643]
Mr. Caborn: We are committed to making a full assessment of the social and economic impact of the one regional, eight large and eight small casinos permitted by the Act no earlier than three years after the award of the first premises licence. The Casino Advisory Panel did not make any assessment of the effect of regional casinos on urban areas as this was not part of its remit. The panel was asked to identify areas which would facilitate the best possible test of the social impact of the new casinos.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library copies of the Casino Advisory Panel’s (a) conflict of interest and (b) hospitality registers. [123644]
Mr. Caborn: The Casino Advisory Panel’s conflict of interest and hospitality registers have been available on request from the panel secretariat. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the House Library.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it would be permissible for a casino to be located in Manchester in a location other than that in East Manchester considered by the Casino Advisory Panel. [123645]
Mr. Caborn: Section 175(4) of the Gambling Act 2005 requires the Secretary of State to make an order specifying which licensing authorities may issue the one regional, eight large and eight small casino premises licences permitted by the Act. No final decision has been taken on which licensing authorities should be specified in the order, and the order will be subject to parliamentary approval by the affirmative resolution procedure.
The Government are aware that a number of licensing authorities may have made applications to the Casino Advisory Panel having earmarked a single location as being suitable for a new casino. This would not override the responsibility of licensing authorities to give all applications for the casino premises licence equal consideration on their own merits, even if they relate to other potential locations in their licensing area.
When developing the criteria against which they will assess the competing applications, licensing authorities may quite legitimately come to the view that the development of a casino in a broad location in their licensing area would be of the greatest benefit to that area.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which people were informed of the Casino Advisory Panel’s (CAP) decision to nominate Manchester as a location for a regional casino prior to the publication of CAP’s final report. [123647]
Mr. Caborn: Those who were privy to the Casino Advisory Panel’s recommendations prior to 29 January were members of the Casino Advisory Panel, its secretariat, their legal advisers and personnel from the company that printed the panel’s report.
A team of eight DCMS officials and lawyers, with responsibility for gambling policy, were informed of the panel’s recommendations at 6 pm on the evening before the panel’s announcement on 30 January to enable them to prepare briefing for Ministers on the panel’s recommendations.
Ministers, and other relevant officials, were informed of the panel’s recommendations at 9 am on the morning of the announcement.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what visits the Casino Advisory Panel members made to casinos in other countries in each of the last two years; and which of those visits were to casinos which operated machines classified in the UK as category A machines. [123657]
Mr. Caborn: In February 2006, Professor Stephen Crow, the chairman of the Casino Advisory Panel, visited the Hohensyburg Casino in Dortmund while already on a Cardiff University students’ field trip in the area.
No other visits were made to overseas casinos by members of the panel during the period in question.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library the minutes of the Casino Advisory Panel meeting of 19 January 2007. [123658]
Mr. Caborn: The minutes of the Casino Advisory Panel's meetings are available on its website, which can be accessed at: www.culture.gov.uk/cap
I am arranging for copies of the minutes of the panel's meeting of 19 January 2007 to be placed in the House Library.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expertise regarding the social impact of casinos members of the Casino Advisory Panel were required to demonstrate before appointment to the Panel. [123659]
Mr. Caborn: The skills and experience required by the chair and members of the Casino Advisory Panel were set out in the role specification that formed part of the recruitment pack. Ministers were seeking people with skills and experience at a senior, strategic level in one or more of the following areas: the local or regional planning system; regeneration of disadvantaged areas; the leisure and tourism industries; and the evaluation of economic change and its social impact.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what international examples were drawn on by the Casino Advisory Panel in the process of making their decision on proposed casino locations. [123660]
Mr. Caborn:
The Casino Advisory Panel was asked to recommend areas in Britain which would provide
the best possible test of the social impact of the new categories of casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005. Subject to that, the panel was also asked to recommend areas that would benefit most in terms of regeneration from a new casino, and which would be willing to license a new casino.
The panel commissioned a desk study of existing international research into the social and regeneration impact of casinos as background to its work.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the purpose was of the Casino Advisory Panel's commissioning of a research paper. [123661]
Mr. Caborn: The chair of the Casino Advisory Panel explained the purpose of the research in his foreword to the report on the Casino Advisory Panel's website. The intention was that the research work would provide background that would assist in the scoping phase of the Panel's work. While the report was not received in time for this, the report contributed to the background information available to the Panel, but as the Panel made clear they did not rely on it in reaching their conclusions.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) first asked for its budget for 2006 to be determined; and on what date she informed CAP of its 2006 budget. [123662]
Mr. Caborn: The Casino Advisory Panel discussed its budget for 2005-06 with DCMS officials during late 2005 and early 2006, as part of the Department's wider budgeting round.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) requested money specifically for research on the social impact of gambling; and whether CAP's budget determined by the Secretary of State included an element for such research. [123663]
Mr. Caborn: The Casino Advisory Panel did not request any money specifically for research, and the Panel's budget did not contain any contingency for research.
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) on what dates (a) she and (b) officials in her Department held meetings with representatives from the UK casino industry on a possible increase in the number of category B1 machines allowed in casinos licensed under the Gambling Act 1968 since the enactment of the Gambling Act 2005; who attended such meetings; and if she will make a statement; [124088]
(2) on what dates (a) she and (b) her officials met (i) representatives of the gambling industry and (ii) others to discuss the number of gaming machines in casinos licensed under the Gambling Act 1968; who attended such meetings; and if she will make a statement. [124105]
Mr. Caborn:
The Government increased the number of jackpot gaming machines which casinos licensed
under the Gaming Act 1968 are entitled to offer in October 2005. This fulfilled a commitment made in Parliament by Lord McIntosh on 6 April 2005 during the passage of the Gambling Bill, now the Gambling Act 2005. The Government have no plans to increase this number again, and would not have entertained the possibility had anyone raised it with them in any meeting in the period since then.
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