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24 Jun 2008 : Column 177W—continued
The Mobility Index figures used by SCE are based on the Dobson-Henthorn formula which calculates mobility percentages based on the overall impact to the school roll by children either arriving or leaving each school at a non-standard time, i.e. prior to the normal school leaving age. This can on first sight cause some confusion, e.g. if a School roll is 100 and 50 children leave and are replaced by a different 50 children then the Index would show a percentage score of 100.
I hope this explains the situation.
Olympic Games
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department plan to attend the Beijing Olympic games; to what purpose in each case; and what estimate he has made of the cost. [212107]
Derek Twigg: No Defence Ministers or officials will be attending the Beijing Olympic games in an official capacity.
Trident: Finance
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which budget lines in the tables published in section IV of his Department's Defence Plan 2008-2012, Cm 7385, include expenditure dedicated to the Trident nuclear weapons programme; and what the relevant disaggregated allocations to the Trident programme are in each case. [212607]
Des Browne: Budgetary allocations dedicated to the strategic deterrent are present in a number of budget lines in the tables in Section IV of the Defence Plan, reflecting the diverse nature of the expenditure, covering research, capital investment, manpower, estate and other running costs. Expenditure in such areas cuts across a range of Activities and Budget Holders, and as such it is not possible to provide disaggregated allocations by Budget line as set out in the tables in Section IV of the Defence Plan 2008-2012.
Veterans Day
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many grants were awarded to (a) local authorities, (b) Royal British Legions, (c) independent bodies and (d) individuals for the 2007 Veterans' Day celebrations; and what average grant was awarded to applications in each category. [213005]
Derek Twigg: 105 grants were awarded for 2007 Veterans Day celebrations. Grants were awarded as follows:
| Awarded to | Number of grants awarded | Average grant awarded |
The differences in average value reflect the different nature of events typically organised by each group.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average grant awarded for the 2007 Veterans' Day was; and if he will make a statement. [213006]
Derek Twigg: The average grant awarded for Veterans Day 2007 was £3,463.
Funding totalling £363,586.17 was awarded to 105 successful bidders.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Bassetlaw
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Arts Council Own Art loans were made in Bassetlaw constituency in each of the last four years. [212636]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 20 June 2008]: The information requested is not available for years prior to 2007-08.
In 2007-08, Arts Council England made 134 Own Art loans in the East Midlands region; three of these loans were made to people with postcodes in the constituency of Bassetlaw.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Arts Council Take it Away loans were made in Bassetlaw constituency in each of the last four years. [212643]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 20 June 2008]: Arts Council England's Take It Away loan scheme has been operating since July 2007, during which time 749 loans have been made in the East Midlands region; seven of these loans were made to people with postcodes in the constituency of Bassetlaw.
Digital Broadcasting: Radio
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has for rolling out digital radio nationally. [212577]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 23 June 2008]: Yesterday I placed in the Libraries of both Houses the interim report from the Digital Radio Working Group. This report sets out a clear path for radio's migration from analogue to digital.
The Group will now consider further the potential barriers to this proposed digital migration, including the need to increase the coverage of DAB. The Group
has also stated that it will be looking closely at each of the nations and the impact on consumers that digital radio migration might have.
I look forward to the Group's final report at the end of this year.
National Lottery Commission: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding the National Lottery Commission received from (a) his Department, (b) the National Lottery Distribution Fund account, (c) the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund account and (d) other organisations in each year since 1994. [210235]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) pays the running expenses of the National Lottery Commission (NLC) and recovers the net costs from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) and the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund (OLDF). The net costs are defined as the grant in aid paid to the NLC less licence fee income received. (In practice, the licence fee income is collected by the NLC from the lottery operator and must be paid to the DCMS before being passed out as part of the DCMS payment to the NLC.)
The net costs recovered from each fund since 1994 are shown in the following table.
| £000 | ||
| NLDF | OLDF (from 2005-06) | |
The payments by the NLDF and the OLDF relating to 2007-08 will appear in the annual accounts for the two funds, which are due to be laid before Parliament in October.
The National Lottery Commission has received no funding from other organisations.
Physical Activity: Elderly
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps the Government have taken to encourage pensioners to take more physical exercise; [212266]
(2) what steps the Government have taken to encourage leisure centres to provide sports facilities aimed at pensioners. [212267]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 19 June 2008]: The Government are committed to increasing participation in sport and physical activity.
On 6 June this year, we announced a package designed to extend opportunities to swim and to maximise the health benefits of wider participation in swimming—particularly for those aged over 60.
The many benefits swimming can bring are reflected in the cross-Government nature of the initiative, with contributions from the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Over the summer, we will work in close consultation with the Local Government Association, the Amateur Swimming Association, Sport England and others to develop the details of the scheme.
Strip Clubs
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on the licensing of lap dancing clubs. [212460]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have received a number of letters from hon. Members on behalf of constituents who are concerned about the growth of lap dancing establishments in their area, and have received representations from campaign groups and local authorities seeking greater control of such activities. The Government take these concerns seriously and have agreed to look at whether we need to do more to support local communities in controlling these establishments.
Theatre
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to increase access to theatres in the English regions, with particular reference to rural areas. [212163]
Margaret Hodge: The Department's support for the theatre is channelled through Arts Council England. In recognition of their work in giving people in rural areas access to high-quality performing arts, the Arts Council will provide above-inflation increases in grants for 2008-09 to 2010-11 to a number of local authorities and touring companies. Several arts centres serving rural areas and offering high-quality performing arts programmes also received increases in the Arts Council's last investment strategy. The Arts Council has also increased its funding to the National Rural Touring Forum, the umbrella body for rural touring circuits, by 50 per cent. in 2008-09.
Through its Thrive! programme, the Arts Council has allocated over £1.7 million of lottery funds to support better collaboration within the sector to improve understanding of existing audiences and access for new audiences; and over 25 per cent. of local strategic partnerships (many of them rural) have prioritised increasing engagement in the arts in their new local area agreements.
Wales
Departmental Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the average pay per hour worked by (a) permanent and (b) temporary staff in his Department in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band. [212508]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I have not made any estimates of average pay for Wales Office staff.
The Wales Office draws its staff from other Government Departments, mainly the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Welsh Assembly Government. The home employer sets the level of pay and the method of progression through the pay band.
Staff on temporary fixed term contracts receive salaries in line with the MoJ pay band applicable for the role.
Departmental Trade Unions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which trades unions represent members of staff in his Department. [212472]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Members of Wales Office staff are represented by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Construction: Standards
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the number of (i) incompetent builders and (ii) rogue traders; and if he will make a statement. [207194]
Malcolm Wicks: None. The Office of Fair Trading has however carried out research into consumer detriment very broadly defined: in April of this year they published an assessment of the frequency and impact of consumer problems with goods and services. It has also separately researched the prevalence and impact of scams on UK consumers (report published in December 2006). These and other related reports and consumer information are available on the OFT website
To raise standards in the domestic home repair, maintenance and improvement sector, the Government have, in collaboration with industry and consumer stakeholders, developed the Trust Mark Scheme for builders, which commits its members to good standards of customer service and to appropriate redress where these standards are not met.
Estate Agents: Complaints
Lembit Öpik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2008, Official Report, column
782W, on estate agents, when he expects the Office of Fair Trading to announce who they have approved to run an approved estate agent redress scheme from October 2008; how many responses were received in total to the recent estate agent consultation; and if he will make a statement. [209610]
Mr. Thomas: The Office of Fair Trading announced on 19 June 2008 it had approved the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) to run an estate agents redress scheme.
There were 12 responses to the estate agents consultation.
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