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18 Oct 2007 : Column 1213W—continued
Bookmakers: Licensing
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much revenue was collected from fees for bookmakers' premises licences in the UK in 2006-07; and what percentage of this came from independent bookmakers. [159031]
James Purnell:
For 2006-07, and until 1 September 2007 when the Gambling Act 2005 was implemented,
bookmakers required both a bookmaker's permit and a betting office licence. These were issued and charged for by local magistrates, under the Gaming Act 1968. Since 1 September local licensing authorities have issued premises licences. Information on revenue from this source raised by local licensing authorities, and previously by magistrates, is not held centrally. Data could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many independent bookmakers there are in the UK; and what the cost to them of (a) licence fees charged, (b) the operating licence charged and (c) the premises licence charged was in 2006-07. [159032]
James Purnell: Bookmakers have been able to apply to the Gambling Commission for operating licences under the Gambling Act 2005 from 1 January 2007. There is no defined category of “independent bookmaker”. Total numbers of off-course bookmakers to which the Commission has issued operating licences to date are:
| Category | Operators |
Both application fees and annual fees are charged by the Commission, in accordance with the table. In the period to 31 March 2007 it collected £56,318 in application fees from off-course bookmakers. Premises licence fees are a matter for local licensing authorities, and data are not collected centrally.
| Application fees | ||||||||
| £ | ||||||||
| Category | ||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
| Annual fees | |||||||||
| £ | |||||||||
| Category | |||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | ||
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to review the system of betting licences, operating licences and premise licences issued to British bookmakers. [159033]
James Purnell: The Gambling Act 2005, which came fully into effect on 1 September 2007, places the protection of children and vulnerable people at the heart of the gambling licensing system for the first time. We have no plans to review this new framework.
British Bob Skeleton Association: Legal Costs
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much and what proportion of the cost of the British Bob Skeleton Association's legal action against the British Bobsleigh Association was met from the public purse or National Lottery funds via UK Sport. [158847]
Mr. Sutcliffe: UK Sport is not aware of any legal action by the British Bob Skeleton Association (BBSKA) against the British Bobsleigh Association.
UK Sport is aware of legal action taken earlier this year by the BBSKA against the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT). This was in the form of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the FIBT's decision to change the rules over race licensing arrangements for skeleton athletes, without prior consultation. BBSKA used £17,000 of funding received from UK Sport to meet the costs of this successful action.
UK Sport agreed to meet this proportion of the costs because of the direct impact the decision was having on the athletes' ability to train and compete, and therefore the BBSKA's ability to deliver its performance programme. UK Sport did, however, make clear to the BBSKA that further costs associated with this legal action would need to be met from other sources of income. UK Sport is not aware of the total cost to the BBSKA of undertaking this legal action.
Casinos
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the written statement of 16 July 2007, Official Report, column 2WS, on casinos, what the Government's policy is on the establishment of a supercasino in the UK. [159171]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Prime Minister has asked the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to consider, with other Departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, whether deprived areas can be equally well served by other forms of regeneration than a regional casino.
That work is now well under way, and the Prime Minister has asked the Secretary of State to report to him later in the autumn.
Casinos: Licensing
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to review the rollout of premises licences issued by local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [159099]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We see no necessity to review the way in which premises licences have been introduced under the Gambling Act 2005. Applications by existing businesses could be made from 21 May 2007 and any businesses whose applications had not been determined by 1 September 2007, when the Act came into force are being permitted to operate until their applications are determined. The Department issued guidance to both the industry and licensing authorities for the transitional period. The Gambling Commission have published guidance to licensing authorities on the premises licence regime as a whole.
Gambling: EU Legislation
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he last met his French, Spanish and German counterparts to discuss EU gambling legislation. [159105]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS Ministers have not had any meetings with their French, Spanish and German counterparts specifically to discuss EU gambling legislation over the past year. I am scheduled to meet with them at the next EU Sports Ministers meeting on 25 October.
However, officials from my Department keep in close contact with officials in the European Commission on developments affecting gambling.
Gaming Machines
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to review the number of category B1 machines permitted in adult amusement centres. [159098]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Adult gaming centres are permitted a maximum of four category B3 machines, which have a maximum stake of one and a maximum prize of £500. There are no plans to review the number of category B3 machines that adult gaming centres can make available.
Category B1 machines have a maximum stake of two and a maximum prize of £4,000 and can only be made available in casinos.
National Lottery
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on national lottery ticket sales in (a) Wirral South, (b) Wirral, (c) Merseyside, (d) the North West and (e) England in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was distributed to good causes in those areas in the same period. [158016]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The national lottery operator, Camelot, does not collect ticket sales information on a constituency, district, county or regional basis, nor do they routinely collect ticket sales data based on postcodes. The most up-to-date sales data by postcode area is available in the Libraries of both Houses and provides information up to 2004.
QUEST
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the Quality, Efficiency and Standards Team is still in operation in his Department. [158844]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Quality, Efficiency and Standards Team in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was disbanded in 2002.
Rugby
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who regularly take part in rugby union games and training, including tag and touch rugby; and if he will make a statement. [159035]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Data from the 2005-06 Sport England ‘Active People’ survey showed that 267,817 adults (16 years and over) regularly participated in rugby union games and training. ‘Active People’ regards participating at least once in the last four weeks as regular participation.
Rugby League
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to attend any of the rugby league test matches between Great Britain and New Zealand in an official capacity. [158665]
James Purnell: I will be attending the rugby league test match between Great Britain and New Zealand on 27 October in Huddersfield. I am looking forward to this unique test series which will celebrate the centenary of international rugby league competition.
Sports: Finance
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of progress in tackling the inequality of sports funding between men and women; what plans he has to reduce such inequality; and if he will make a statement. [158426]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Figures from the Taking Part survey show that on average women have lower rates of participation in sport than men. We therefore have a public service agreement to increase participation in sport by 3 per cent. by 2008, with a specific focus on priority groups with lower than average rates of participation—one of which is women.
As part of this focus to increase participation in sport by women, since 2006 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through Sport England has funded 770 projects where women are one of the target beneficiaries. Sport England also grant aids the Women’s Sport Foundation and in 2007-08 it is providing £326,148. The Sport England application process is open to all and does not discriminate by gender or any other group.
UK Sport
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many overseas conferences and events UK Sport has been involved with since 2005; how many it is due to be involved with in the future; and what the cost of such involvement was in 2006-07. [158845]
Mr. Sutcliffe: UK Sport has financially supported or helped organise six international conferences between 2005 and 2007. In addition, individual UK Sport employees have attended various overseas conferences and events as delegates or speakers since 2005.
It currently has plans to support two future events in partnership with the British Council: a PE and School Sport seminar in Brazil in February 2008 and a Dreams and Teams Young Leaders event in India in 2010 to coincide with the Commonwealth games in New Delhi.
The cost of UK Sport’s involvement in 2006-07 was approximately £35,500.
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