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1 May 2007 : Column 1537W—continued
Local Government: Reorganisation
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what legal advice she took on whether the current local government restructuring process conformed with the Local Government Act 1992. [134876]
Mr. Woolas: It is not the usual practice for Governments to disclose whether or not they have sought legal advice, or the content of such advice, and it would not be appropriate for me to do so in this case.
Unitary Councils: North Yorkshire
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for consideration by her Department of North Yorkshire County Council’s bid for a unitary authority in North Yorkshire; what recent representations she has received on the bid; what public consultations have been undertaken on the matter; and if she will make a statement. [135007]
Mr. Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 27 March 2007, Official Report, columns 71-73WS.
Unitary Councils: Referendums
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will assess the merits of referenda as a suitable gauge of public opinion in the stakeholder consultation for suitability of bids for unitary authority status. [134874]
Mr. Woolas: As our invitation makes clear, after the stakeholder consultation we will reassess the proposals against the five criteria, having regard to all the representations and information we receive during the consultation, including information about the results of any local referendums.
Valuation Office Agency
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Valuation Office Agency document Dwellinghouse coding: An illustrated guide was (a) first published and (b) last amended. [128545]
Mr. Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government under what legislation the Valuation Office Agency have the right to retain photographs of the interiors of people's homes; and if she will make a statement. [124814]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 13 March 2007]: The Local Government Finance Act 1992 gives listing officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) the statutory responsibility to compile valuation lists in England and Wales for council tax purposes. Information is necessarily retained in order that the VOA can carry out its functions.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures her Department has in place to ensure that photographs taken by the Valuation Office Agency do not infringe on personal privacy rights; and if she will make a statement. [124815]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 13 March 2007]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2007, Official Report, columns 1596-97W.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2007 to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar, Official Report, column 1328W, on the Valuation Office Agency, whether the Information Commissioner has provided advice or guidance on the contract with Rightmove. [127113]
Valuation Office: Contracts
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the contract between the Valuation Office Agency and Rightmove. [124472]
Mr. Woolas: The contract is between HMRC, as parent department of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and Rightmove.co.uk plc. This document is commercially confidential and cannot be placed in the public domain.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason the Valuation Office Agency decided to sign the contract with Rightmove for a specific period of 34 months with the 12 month option to extend. [124473]
Mr. Woolas: Information connected with the contract between HMRC, parent department of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and Rightmove.co.uk plc is commercially confidential and cannot be placed in the public domain.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Valuation Office Agency paid to Rightmove.co.uk plc in each year since 2004-05. [124477]
Mr. Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the Valuation Office Agency’s published Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, available on the VOA’s website. Total payments for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06 are shown at page 62 under ‘Other Operating Costs’ against the cost head of ‘Data capture’. Information for the year 2006-07 is not yet available.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what area of the UK Rightmove is supplying the Valuation Office Agency with property information. [124478]
Mr. Woolas: Information accessible by the Valuation Office Agency on Rightmove.co.uk’s archive database covers England only.
Valuation Office: Electronic Equipment
Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the
Valuation Office Agency spent on digital cameras and related electronic equipment in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07 to date; and how many cameras were purchased in each of those years. [127062]
Mr. Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the earlier answer, 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 587W. No further expenditure took place in that year. Expenditure in 2006-07 will be available once the accounts are finalised.
Culture, Media and Sport
Culture: Havering
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what cultural events her Department is (a) organising and (b) helping to fund in the London borough of Havering in the next 12 months. [134590]
Mr. Lammy: The DCMS is helping to fund cultural events in Havering through its NDPBs. Arts Council England (ACE) funds the Queens Theatre and a number of poetry events through the Spread The Word Literature Development Agency. ACE is also supporting the development of the Thames Gateway Dance Partnership, the Thames Gateway Arts Framework and 2012 planning for the Gateway boroughs.
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council are supporting the Libraries for Learners project and are working with the London borough of Havering on the Thames Gateway Cultural Strategy and advising on the establishment of a new museum service for the borough.
The UK Film Council operates two funds, the London Borough Film Fund Challenge and Film London's EAST project, which Havering could directly benefit from, dependent on successful application.
In addition, Havering has received £200,113 in Lottery funding from Arts Council England and £505,265 from the Heritage Lottery Fund since the Lottery began in 1995.
Gambling: Licensing
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications have been received by the Gambling Commission for remote operating licences under the Gambling Act 2005. [134843]
Mr. Caborn: At 27 April, the Gambling Commission had received and classified 95 remote operating licence applications.
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assumptions her Department has made in calculating the Gambling Commission's forecast cost and revenues on the number of remote operating licence applications it expects to be made under the Gambling Act 2005. [134844]
Mr. Caborn:
In line with HM Treasury Fees and Charges Guide, the costs of the Gambling Commission undertaking its regulatory activities would include the
full direct and allocated costs (including depreciation) of the regulatory and licensing regime allocated appropriately to avoid any cross-subsidisation between categories and types of fees and all costs of enforcement.
Estimates of costs and revenues were generated from the Commission's independently created model which reflected the assumptions used to establish the Commission's initial budget based on the limited information available at that time. These assumptions will be kept under review in the light of actual experience of the operation of the new regulatory and licensing regime.
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assumptions her Department has made on the number of applications for remote operating licences under the Gambling Act 2005 that will be made before 1 September. [134845]
Mr. Caborn: Based on the information available and set out in the consultation document on Gambling Commission fees published in July 2006, the Commission estimated that the average number of operators in each type and category of licensable activity requiring a remote operating licence from 1 September 2007 was 57.
At 27 April 2007, the Gambling Commission had received and classified 95 remote operating licence applications including a larger than expected number of applications for licences from telephone betting operators.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department plans to take to strengthen its use of evidence to inform policy making as recommended in its Capability Review; and what assessment has been made of the use of evidence in developing the regulatory order to implement the Gambling Act 2005. [134853]
Mr. Caborn: The Department’s plan for responding to the Capability Review is outlined in the Permanent Secretary’s response to the Capability Review (pages 5-8) and in “Transforming DCMS”, the transformation action plan. Both are published on the DCMS website:
Implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 is based on evidence, including that generated by extensive consultation with stakeholders on a wide range of issues.
Gaming Machines
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 April 2007, Official Report, column 713W, if she will publish the proposals that have already been drafted to ensure that gaming machines comply with sections 240 and 241 of the Gambling Act 2005. [135074]
Mr. Caborn: The Department’s draft proposals under sections 240 and 241 of the Gambling Act 2005 were set out in a formal consultation paper. I am arranging for copies of the consultation paper to be deposited in the Libraries of the House.
Sport
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the diversion of funding from the Big Lottery Fund to the 2012 Olympics upon (a) the efforts of statutory agencies to promote physical activity and (b) the Government’s target of 50 per cent. of adults meeting the recommended minimum level of physical activity by 2011; and if she will make a statement. [134783]
Mr. Caborn: The Big Lottery Fund will be contributing just over £638 million to the £1,085 million to be transferred, subject to Parliamentary approval, from non-Olympic Lottery proceeds to the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund (OLDF) between 2009 and 2012. Naturally, this will affect the rate at which the Fund is able to commit and spend money in all the areas it supports. The Department has made no assessment of the likely impact on any particular area, as future programmes are for the Big Lottery Fund to design. However, the Government’s intention is that no existing lottery project will be affected, and we have also agreed with the Big Lottery Fund that resources for the voluntary sector will be protected. On the basis of the Department’s current income projections, the Fund should still receive approximately £2 billion in fresh Lottery income during the four financial years in which the proposed transfers to the OLDF will be made.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she plans to monitor the level of change in participation in sports and physical activity resulting from London’s hosting of the Olympics (a) before, (b) during and (c) after the event takes place; whether the Government have made any predictions of the likely level of changes; and if she will make a statement. [134784]
Mr. Caborn: We currently use the Taking Part survey to monitor sports participation at the national level and to report on our public service agreement (PSA) on sport participation. Sport England’s Active People survey is used to monitor participation at the local level We will continue to use surveys such as these to monitor the level of change in participation before, during and after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
We have not made predictions about the likely level of change in participation; however the Government have set a very stretching PSA target to increase by 3 per cent. by 2008 the number of people from priority groups who participate in sport. PSA targets beyond 2008 have not yet been set.
Sports: Grants
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from (a) the Big Lottery Fund and (b) other lottery distributors, including sports councils, was spent on grassroots sport and other schemes which promote physical activity among adults in each of the last five years. [134757]
Mr. Caborn: Lottery money has always paid for a very wide range of projects from kit for local teams to investments in major stadia and sports halls. There is no accepted definition of what constitutes “grass roots” investment or otherwise in this range.
However total Lottery funds spent by the Big Lottery Fund and the Sports Councils on sport (excluding UK Sport which has a clear high performance remit) in each of the last five years is as follows:
| £ million | ||||||
| Lottery funding | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | Grand total |
| (1)( )Figures from the Big Lottery Fund were only available to 28 February 2007 because of technical problems with accessing the month of March 2007 data. Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest pound. Figures shown are ‘drawdown’ which most accurately represents spend on sport in that year. Figures for ‘Income’ (to distributors from the NLDF) or ‘awards’ (made to projects in that year) would give a slightly different picture as, for example, cash would not always flow against awards in that same year. Figures for Sports Councils include contributions to Awards for All. BLF figures include: New Opportunities for PE and Sport (NOPES) Community Sport Initiative (from 2004-05)—A UK wide initiative tailored for each country, for example, in England the Active England programme is a joint initiative with Sport England. Big Lottery Fund contributed £77.5 million and Sport England contributed £31 million. School Sports Co-ordinators funding (from 2003-04) Big Lottery Fund figures do not include Awards for All or other Lottery programmes which may have funded sport or physical activity indirectly. | ||||||
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