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15 Jan 2008 : Column 1116W—continued
Throughout the period 22 November to 10 December, I had various meetings in London and Scotland, including with ministerial colleagues and officials from the MOD
and Scotland Office. On Thursday 22 November, I had a meeting with the Columbian Defence Minister and a meeting with the Turkish Chief of Defence Staff. On Friday 23 November, I addressed the State of the City Economy Conference in Glasgow. On Wednesday 28 November, I answered oral questions for the Scotland Office in the House of Commons. On Thursday 29 November, I attended a reception to mark the homecoming of 12 Brigade from Iraq. On Saturday 1 December, I visited the Longannet Power Station in Alloa and participated in the Scottish Interfaith Week Come and Play the Diversity Game event in Edinburgh. On Monday 3 December, I answered oral Defence questions in the House of Commons. On Tuesday 4 December, I met service families about the Board of Inquiry findings into the crash of the RAF Nimrod XV230 before attending the House to make a statement about the same. On Wednesday 6 December, I gave oral evidence to the AFPRB and in the evening I attended a Sailor, Soldier, Airmen and Families Association carol service at the Guards’ Chapel, Wellington Barracks. On Thursday 8 December, I met representatives from the services charity “Forward Edge Battle Area”. Between December 7 and December 10, I was overseas visiting service personnel in Afghanistan.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his official engagements were from 22 November to 10 December 2007. [173736]
Des Browne: Throughout the period 22 November to 10 December, I had various meetings in London and Scotland, including with ministerial colleagues and officials from the MOD and Scotland Office. On Thursday 22 November, I had a meeting with the Columbian Defence Minister and a meeting with the Turkish Chief of Defence Staff. On Friday 23 November, I addressed the State of the City Economy conference in Glasgow. On Wednesday 28 November, I answered oral questions for the Scotland Office in the House of Commons. On Thursday 29 November, I attended a reception to mark the homecoming of 12 Brigade from Iraq. On Saturday 1 December, I visited the Longannet Power Station in Alloa and participated in the Scottish Interfaith Week Come and Play the Diversity Game event in Edinburgh. On Monday 3 December, I answered oral Defence questions in the House of Commons. On Tuesday 4 December, I met with service families about the Board of Inquiry findings into the crash of the RAF Nimrod XV230 before attending the House to make a statement about the same. On Wednesday 6 December, I gave oral evidence to the AFPRB and in the evening I attended a Sailor, Soldier, Airmen and Families Association carol service at the Guards’ Chapel, Wellington Barracks. On Thursday 8 December, I met representatives from the services charity “Forward Edge Battle Area”. Between December 7 and December 10, I was overseas visiting service personnel in Afghanistan.
Culture, Media and Sport
Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many small businesses had their licences to sell alcohol revoked in 2007 where sales to underage drinkers were cited as the reason. [179361]
Mr. Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally.
Statistical bulletins on licences to sell alcohol include the number of licences revoked, but do not indicate the reason for revocation, nor the size of premises affected. Licences may be revoked on review for one or more reasons relating to the four licensing objectives, including sales of alcohol to children.
The latest DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment, was published on 8 November 2007 and shows that, between April 2006 and March 2007, there were 695 reviews which resulted in 92 licences being revoked and 91 being suspended.
Definition of Sport
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) why recreational (a) horse riding and (b) swimming were included in the new definition of sport; [177107]
(2) why recreational cycling was excluded from the new definition of sport. [177108]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The definition of sport for the local and national government measurement framework from April 2008 will be largely based on the definition of sport currently used for the Comprehensive Performance Assessment framework. This is set out in the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport’s letter to the Local Government Association of 21 December 2007, a copy of which has been placed in the House Library.
The Secretary of State has asked Sport England to develop a new strategy for how it will deliver a world class community sport infrastructure of clubs, coaches, volunteers and facilities.
This new focus will deliver the provision of excellent sport opportunities from the grassroots up, sustaining and increasing participation and allowing everyone to develop their sporting talents at every level.
Sport England’s tighter focus on sport will mean that some activities may fall outside Sport England’s remit and funding. Decisions have not yet been taken on what activities fall within or outside of Sport England’s remit.
To ensure that gaps do not appear, Her Majesty’s Treasury is leading wider cross-Government work on creating a physical strategy for all, which should be completed by the end of March 2008.
DCMS has a clear Government lead on delivering sport and believes a tighter definition of sport will ensure Lottery and Exchequer funding through Sport England will more effectively deliver an excellent sporting infrastructure. Investment in wider physical activity falls to other Government Departments and agencies who have the policy and funding lead.
Departmental Contracts
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) objective and (b) value was of each contract placed with (i) Deloitte and Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iii) KPMG, (iv) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (v) PA Consulting by his Department and its agencies in each year since 2004-05. [179031]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following contracts are those awarded over the stated time period:
| Contract | Date | £ |
|
Accountancy advice on fees to be charged through Licensing Act 2003 | ||
|
Delivery of strategic framework to respond to priorities of local communities. | ||
The return includes Royal Parks Agency.
Departmental Correspondence
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which section in his Department is responsible for answering correspondence from hon. Members and peers; and how many staff work in that section. [177237]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS have a central team—the Central Information and Briefing Unit—that drafts the majority of responses to correspondence from hon. Members and peers and the general public. This team is currently staffed at just under 17 full-time equivalents (FTE), but has a variety of other non-correspondence duties. In addition, some responses (roughly a quarter of the overall volume) are drafted in full by officials working directly on the policy area in question.
DCMS aims to provide a comprehensive and responsive service to its inquiries, and the central team have contributed significantly toward this aim. From 1 January 2007 to 31 October 2007 (the last date where data is currently available) the Department responded to 74.35 per cent. of hon. Members and peers letters within 20 working days of receipt, and 90.58 per cent. of correspondence from the general public to the same timescale.
Gambling
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the use of fixed odds betting terminals remains under review following publication of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007; and what evidence his Department is gathering on these machines to evaluate their impact on gambling behaviour. [177058]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The 2005 Gambling Act regulates fixed odds betting terminals for the first time and allows a maximum of four machines per licensed betting premises. However, if there is evidence of harm from particular forms of gambling, including individual categories of gaming machines, the Government have the power to place further restrictions on operators.
The Gambling Commission is also planning a programme of secondary analysis of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007 data which will look more closely at the risk factors associated with problem gambling. The risks associated with gaming machines will be considered within this context.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from (a) the Responsibility in Gambling Trust and (b) GamCare on the impact of the Gambling Act 2005 on problem gambling. [177059]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Following the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 on 1 September 2007, Ministers and officials continue to hold meetings with key stakeholders including the RiGT and GamCare and which have included representations on a range of issues, including problem gambling.
The Gambling Commission has also recently launched a first consultation paper on the Review of Research, Education and Treatment for problem gambling and has invited views from a broad range of stakeholders including GamCare and RiGT.
Mr. Ellwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Gambling Commission has to undertake further research into
problem gambling following the publication of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007, with particular reference to problem gambling associated with fixed odds betting terminals. [177060]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Following publication of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007, the Gambling Commission is planning a programme of secondary research which will look at a range of risk factors associated with problem gambling. The risks associated with gaming machines will be considered within this context. The research will be commissioned shortly.
Gyms: Finance
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has allocated to mobile gymnasia in each year since 2005-06; and how much is likely to be allocated to such facilities in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2011-12. [177105]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There is no national funding programme specifically set up to support the provision of mobile gymnasia. Each Sport England region has an open application process to consider both capital and revenue projects and provides funding based on individual merit.
In the period 2005 to 2008, Sport England committed £896,007 to two mobile gymnasia projects. The first of these projects was completed in 2005 at a total cost to Sport England of £641,635. The project attracted an additional £483,906 in partnership funding. The second project was allocated funding of £254,372 to be spent over the three year period 2005 to 2008.
The allocation of funding by Sport England for the provision of mobile gymnasia in the period 2008 to 2012 will be subject to the consideration and merit of all submitted projects.
National Lottery: Community Development
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of National Lottery funding for good causes, excluding resources for the 2012 Olympic Games, will be available for community projects in each of the next 10 years. [177109]
James Purnell: All non-Olympic Lottery funding is essentially available to community projects in all the non-Olympic good cause sectors, namely the arts, sport, heritage and the areas supported by the Big Lottery Fund. There is no clear distinction between community projects and those with wider national or regional significance, or grants to individuals for public benefit. Decisions on which Lottery applications to support are made at arm’s length by the independent distributing bodies.
On current projections, even before these are revised to take account of likely returns under the third licence, over £5 billion of fresh Lottery income will be raised
for the non-Olympic good causes in the five years from 2008-09 to 2012-13. This, together with further income raised until at least 2019, will be shared half for Big Lottery Fund causes, and a sixth each for sport, art and heritage.
Sports: National Lottery
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what account will be taken of the new definition of sport in considering national lottery funding applications for community projects. [177106]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England is currently developing a new strategy to build a world class community sports infrastructure for 2008 to 2011. As part of this work, it is considering what activities should fall within its remit to fund sport.
Lottery distributing bodies operate at arm's length from Government, therefore Sport England will continue to take decisions independently on which community project applications receive lottery funding.
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