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14 Jun 2007 : Column 1178W—continued
Tessa Jowell: The cost review group chaired by the Minister for Sport assessed opportunities for reducing costs. This included the consideration of alternative options for the configuration of the Olympic park, alternative locations for venues, and for rationalising the design of supporting infrastructure. The group did not produce a report, although the output of its work informed decisions on the new Olympic park master plan announced on 7 June 2006.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007, Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games: Greater London, on what date discussions of VAT with HM Treasury in relation to the proposed Olympic Delivery Authority (a) commenced and (b) concluded. [141376]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006, reported in paragraphs 48 to 50 of the Committee's report, published on 24 January 2007, where I stated that it was known at the time of the bid that the bid did not include VAT. The basis for that was the understood and agreed assumption that it was not possible to sort out the tax treatment until the delivery structures were in place, and that matter could not be known before the bid was won. This issue was taken forward as part of the cost review work, and I announced the VAT position in respect of the Olympic Delivery Authority in my statement to the House on 15 March 2007.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department received representations before 15 March 2007 from (a) the Olympic Delivery Authority and (b) other bodies involved in the delivery of the 2012 Olympics on the need for swift agreement on a revised Olympics budget in order to avoid increased costs. [141902]
Tessa Jowell: Following London winning the bid, I instituted a thorough review of costs and provisions for the Olympic games. This included consultations and discussions within Government, with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and with other delivery partners. This also incorporated consideration of what funds needed to be available, and by when. Following the conclusion of this cost review, I announced on 15 March 2007, Official Report, column 450, a budget for the ODA and on a number of issues including wider security, tax and contingency provision.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to publish the Memorandum of Understanding on profit-sharing arrangements in respect of the 2012 Olympics agreed between her Department and the Mayor of London. [142164]
Tessa Jowell: The work to develop the revised Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the Mayor of London is progressing well. The revised Memorandum will be published as soon as possible, following its agreement.
Pete Wishart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what consideration was
given to matters of specifically Scottish interest when drafting the terms of reference of the Olympic cost review steering group; [142342]
(2) what provision is made for consideration of impacts on Scotland in the contractual specification and terms of reference governing KPMG's provision of on-going advice on the cost of the Olympic games in 2012. [142344]
Tessa Jowell: After winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympic games, I instituted a thorough cost review. This cost review, to which KPMG provided advice, was overseen by the Olympic cost review steering group.
No specific assessment of the interests or impact to Scotland formed part of the drafting of the terms of reference of the Olympic cost review steering group, or the contractual specification and terms of reference governing KPMG's provision of on-going advice on the cost of the Olympic and Paralympic games.
The Government are committed to ensuring that people across the UK, including Scotland can benefit from, and participate in, the 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games. We are working closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic games and Paralympic games (LOCOG) and the Nations and Regions Group (NRG), chaired by Charles Allen, which brings together representatives from every Nation and region. Each Nation and region is finalising its own plan to maximise the impact of the games in their area, as well as the wider opportunities to deliver a sustainable legacy from the games.
Further detailed information regarding Scotland’s plan can be provided by the relevant NRG Coordinator, Ian Campbell (Scottish Executive, Sports Division, Room 1-B(N), Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ).
In addition, Hampden Park in Glasgow will host group stages of the Olympic football competition. This will add significant strength to Scotland’s potential to benefit from the games.
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date her Department became aware that the budget for the 2012 Olympics would have to include VAT. [142420]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent (Hugh Robertson) on 6 November 2006, Official Report, column 565W and in my evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006. My response sets out the basis on which VAT was dealt with in the candidature file prepared in 2004, and the action I took to initiate a review of costs and funding following the success of the bid in autumn 2005. This is also summarised in paragraphs 48 to 50 of the Committee's report published on 24 January.
Tourism: Greater London
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the UK's ability to encourage overseas visitors visiting London to visit the rest of the UK; and if she will make a statement. [141838]
Mr. Woodward: DCMS provides funding of around £50 million per annum to VisitBritain, which promotes Britain as a whole. The Department's funding agreement with VisitBritain includes a target that, of the additional expenditure by inbound visitors generated by VisitBritain, a specified percentage should be achieved outside London. For 2005-06, the target was 55 per cent. and VisitBritain exceeded this by achieving a regional spread of 61 per cent.
Campaigns run by VisitBritain and enjoyEngland highlight attractions across the country to both inbound and domestic visitors. They target, for example, the growing demand for city breaks and the lifestyle market (including the appeal of food, sport, culture and family friendly attractions).
VisitBritain also co-funds (with Visit London) the Britain and London Visitor Centre. This acts as a gateway for visitors to learn about, and set out to explore, the rest of the country. VisitBritain’s quality assessment schemes for accommodation and visitor attractions ensure uniform national standards for visitors.
The Department, along with our partners, will shortly publish a strategy to ensure that the tourism sector makes the most of the opportunities provided by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. One of the principles of this will be that the benefits of the games are felt as widely as possible throughout the UK.
VisitBritain
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007, Official Report, column 1180W, on VisitBritain, how the changes referred to will improve VisitBritain's ability (a) to promote Britain to overseas visitors and (b) to support the tourism industry's progress towards the target of £100 billion turnover. [141626]
Mr. Woodward: VisitBritain has restructured to meet the challenges posed by market trends, such as the move away from printed consumer literature and towards online marketing. VisitBritain will focus its activities on developing new and growing markets, including proposed increases in staffing levels in the Asia-Pacific region.
Duchy of Lancaster
Departments: Advertising
Mr. Heath: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much revenue her Department received from advertisements on her Department’s (a) public information leaflets and (b) public websites in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [142728]
Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office does not keep central records of such revenue. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Departments: Manpower
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff funded by the public purse in the Central Office of Information are classified as people without posts. [141636]
Hilary Armstrong: The Central Office of Information has no staff classified as people without posts.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2007, Official Report, column 1122W, on Departments: manpower, what the estimated annual cost is to the public purse of employing the members of staff without posts. [141726]
Hilary Armstrong: All members of staff in the Department’s Priority Talent Pool are engaged in work to deliver the Department’s business objectives to ensure that there is no additional cost to the public purse.
Departments: Official Cars
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister without Portfolio what visits she has made involving a mix of political and official engagements where Government car service vehicles were used in 2007; and whether the Government was reimbursed a proportion of the cost in each case. [142661]
The Minister without Portfolio: All travel is undertaken in accordance with Travel by Ministers and the Ministerial Code, copies of which are available in the House Library.
Energy: Environment Protection
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will post each of the policy papers drafted for the Energy and Environment strand of the policy reviews, as referred to in paragraph 9.3 of the Prime Minister’s strategy unit report on building on progress: energy and environment, dated 5 June, on the Cabinet Office website. [142443]
Mr. McFadden: Information relating to the policy review is available on the Cabinet Office website http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/policy_review/index.asp. Papers were drafted for working group meetings of each strand of the policy review. However, these were working papers prepared for internal discussion by Ministers and have not been disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussions in future.
Voluntary Work: Young People
Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people have been assisted through the National Youth Volunteering Service; how many regional outlets have been set up; and what proportion of the £100 million budget has been spent. [142596]
Edward Miliband: The independent youth-led charity v has created nearly 120,000 volunteering opportunities for young people.
In addition to the grant funded and match funded projects, v has commissioned 20 teams based within local communities with the aim of creating a further 22,800 local opportunities over the next two years.
A detailed breakdown of expenditure will be in v’s annual report which will be published later this year.
Education and Skills
Advertising
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on (a) print and (b) online campaign advertising and sponsorship related to The Guardian newspaper Side by Side supplement. [129955]
Alan Johnson: Sponsorship costs for running the supplement were £50,000. There were no additional costs for print or online advertising to promote the supplement.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how much his Department has spent on (a) sponsoring newspaper and publication supplements and (b) funding advertorials in newspapers or publications in the last year for which figures are available; and what the topic of each was; [129957]
(2) when he expects to answer Questions (a) 129957 on publications tabled on 22 March 2007 and (b) 129955 on advertising and sponsorship tabled on 21 March 2007 by the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire. [142390]
Alan Johnson: In financial year 2006-07, the following activity was placed:
(a) Sponsorship of supplements in newspapers and publications.
| £000 | |
| (1) Covers two supplements in Guardian Education and Guardian Society | |
(b) Advertorials in newspapers and magazines.
| £000 | |
Animal Experiments
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what official information is distributed to schools regarding vivisection. [141926]
Jim Knight: The Department has not distributed any information to schools regarding vivisection.
Building Schools for the Future Programme: Leicester
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when his Department was informed that the company Centerprise had made the decision not to provide computer equipment in Leicester under the Building Schools for the Future projects. [138152]
Jim Knight: The DFES was informed of Centerprise's voluntary withdrawal from providing ICT equipment as part of Leicester's BSF programme on 12 March 2007.
Children: Protection
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on training on multi-agency safeguarding for all services working with parents and children in 2006-07. [141004]
Beverley Hughes: The core statutory guidance document ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ sets out the way in which the training and development of staff and volunteers should be undertaken to help them safeguard and promote the welfare of children effectively. The guidance states that it is the responsibility of employers to identify adequate resources and support for multi-agency training. It is the responsibility of the local authorities (LAs), with their partners in children’s trusts, and in discussion with the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) to decide, which bodies should commission or deliver the training. In some local areas it is the LSCB themselves who are commissioned to deliver the multi-agency training.
The Department only has data on this final type of training—delivered by LSCBs themselves. LSCBs were invited to take part in a voluntary survey in December 2006. In those survey returns, planned expenditure on the delivery of training in 2006-07 across those LSCBs for which we have data—around two thirds of all LSCBs in England—totalled around £2 million. If this is representative of all LSCBs then across the whole of England we could expect LSCBs to have spent around £3 million on safeguarding training in 2006-07. However this LSCB expenditure will be only part of the overall expenditure on multi-agency safeguarding training.
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