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7 July 2008 : Column 1204W—continued
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much each regional development agency has allocated from the Regional Development Programme for England to specific projects since 1 January 2007; and how many such allocations were for (a) up to £5,000, (b) £5,001 to £100,000, (c) £100,001 to £1,000,000 and (d) over £1,000,000. [215412]
Jonathan Shaw: The regional development agencies have only been able to commit funding to projects under the Rural Development Programme for England since 1 January 2008.
The total amounts each agency has committed are shown in the following table.
| Agency | Total (£ million) | Up to £5,000 | £5,001 to £100,000 | £100,001 to £1,000,000 | Over £1,000,000 |
Rural Areas: Environment Protection
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the recommendations made by the Commission for Rural Communities in its report, England's rural areas: steps to release their economic potential, his Department intends to implement; and what timetable has been set for implementation. [215413]
Jonathan Shaw: This report, commissioned from the Rural Advocate by the Prime Minister, demonstrates the huge contribution made by businesses in rural areas to the national economy. It highlights the relevance of activity across all levels of Government and by the private sector. The recommendations within the report are, therefore, very broadly targeted. DEFRA is working with others across Government to reflect upon the report and how best to respond to its recommendations.
Whales: Japan
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the compliance of the Japanese Government with the regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC); and what recent representations he has made to it on its observance of IWC regulations. [216782]
Jonathan Shaw: The right of Governments to issue permits for the killing of whales for scientific purposes is enshrined in Article VIII of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), the parent treaty of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). We doubt that the authors of the ICRW envisaged that parties would seek to conduct research on the scale now practised by Japan, but whether Japan's activities in this regard can be said to constitute an abuse of the rights granted by Article VIII of the ICRW is a matter which only the courts could determine—were anyone prepared to stand the cost of asking.
Whether or not ‘scientific’ whaling is legal, we certainly regard it as undesirable since it undermines the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling and contributes little or nothing to our knowledge of the size and structure of whale populations.
The UK takes every appropriate opportunity to make its opposition to Japan's ‘scientific’ whaling operations clear to the Japanese Government. We have participated in a number of high level diplomatic protests in recent years and on 8 January this year I called in officials from the Japanese embassy in London to express the UK's outrage over Japan's whaling activities. At this year's IWC meeting in June the UK Commissioner to the IWC made it clear that we saw no justification for lethal scientific research on whales and called for Special Permit whaling to be brought within IWC control and phased out as quickly as possible.
Culture, Media and Sport
Departmental ICT
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of his Department's staff have access to the Department's IT infrastructure at home. [216370]
Margaret Hodge: My Department currently has 50 members of staff authorised to work from home. They all have limited access to my Department's IT infrastructure. Additionally, my Department has a further 35 staff with remote access on the same basis.
Departmental Official Hospitality
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2007, Official Report, column 9W, on departmental official hospitality, when he expects the list of hospitality received by senior civil servants in his Department in 2007 to be published. [215248]
Margaret Hodge: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave him on 7 May 2008, Official Report, column 885W.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in his Department in each of the last 10 years. [215230]
Margaret Hodge: The reimbursable expenses claimed by the Department's special advisers in each of the last 10 years are set out in the table.
| Financial year | Amounts claimed (£) |
Education, Youth and Culture Council
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 18 June 2008, Official Report, column 50WS, on Education, Youth and Culture Council, for what reasons a Welsh Assembly Government Minister represented the UK. [215059]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 1 July 2008]: According to the concordat agreed between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations, decisions on ministerial attendance at Council meetings are taken on a case by case basis by the lead UK Minister. It was agreed that a Welsh Assembly Government Minister could represent the UK to support and advance the UK negotiating line on this occasion.
English Sports Council
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library (a) an organogram of Sport England's key responsibilities under its new strategy and (b) a list of the delivery agencies who will carry them out. [214527]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 30 June 2008]: Sport England's role will be to build the foundations of sporting success through the creation of a world-leading sports development system. The organisational structure which
will deliver the Sport England 2008 to 2011 strategy is being finalised and will be announced shortly. I have therefore asked Sport England to write to the hon. Member to provide the information requested once their new structure has been announced. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
English Sports Council: Expenditure
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by Sport England on specialist national facilities, excluding those on UK Sports Institute sites, in each year since 1999. [213792]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
Sport England allocates funding for specialist national facilities through the English Institute
of Sport (EIS) programme. All EIS facilities are also classed as part of the UK Sports Institute (UKSI).
Other facilities funded by Sport England are funded on the basis of the benefit to community sport, and while they may be used for specialist national purposes, information on the amount spent on non-UKSI community facilities which also have specialist national purpose could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
English Sports Council: Finance
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Sport England has received in (a) grant-in-aid and (b) lottery funding in each year since 1999. [213783] [Official Report, 10 September 2008, Vol. 479, c. 10MC.]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information is tabled as follows:
| £000 | |||
| Sport England grant in aid | SE lottery funding | ||
| (1 )The accounts for Sport England have not yet been audited. | |||
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