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15 Dec 2008 : Column 349W—continued
St Helena: Airports
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what provisions his Department has made for funding the construction of an airport on the island of Saint Helena; and if he will make a statement. [240862]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the financial cost of constructing an airport on St Helena. [240867]
(3) what recent discussions his Department has had with officials from St Helena on the construction of an airport on the island. [240868]
Mr. Michael Foster: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made on 8 December 2008, Official Report, column 40WS.
Zimbabwe: Cholera
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with representatives of humanitarian organisations operating in Zimbabwe on the cholera outbreak in that country; and if he will make a statement. [242792]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's (DFID) officials in Harare are in daily contact with organisations responding to the current humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. We are pressing hard for a well coordinated and effective response. The cholera outbreak has come on top of a protracted food crisis and has revealed the full extent to which basic services in Zimbabwe have now collapsed.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who have died in Zimbabwe as a result of the cholera outbreak; and if he will make a statement. [242805]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: According to the United Nations (UN), by 8 December there had been 13,960 cases of cholera with 589 deaths reported in Zimbabwe. These figures account for those who report at treatment centres or whose deaths are reported to the authorities, and can be assumed to be an underestimate of the real number of people affected.
Culture, Media and Sport
Amusement Arcades: Coastal Areas
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps he is taking in response to recent job losses within the seaside arcade sector; and if he will make a statement; [241435]
(2) how many seaside arcades have closed since September 2007; [241487]
(3) what steps he is planning to take in response to the downturn in seaside arcades since the introduction of the Gambling Act on 1 September 2007; [241488]
(4) what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of regulatory costs of the Gambling Act 2005 on seaside arcades. [241489]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We recognise that for a variety of reasons, seaside arcades are facing a challenging operating environment. The Gambling Commission has advised that whilst up to date figures on the number of arcade closures in seaside resorts are not available, it estimates that around 170 arcade premises in seaside or other locations have stopped trading since September 2007.
The Department has also received representations from the British Amusement and Catering Trade Association (BACTA) which suggest that an estimated 853 jobs in the wider arcade sector have been lost since July 2007.
That is why we brought forward the stakes and prize review for category C and D gaming machines—to assist family entertainment centres, pubs and machine manufacturers. We have taken account of the industry’s responses to our recent consultation which proposed increases in stakes and prize limits for certain categories of C and D machines and will shortly announce how we intend to proceed.
Increasing stakes and prizes is not the sole answer to the problems seaside attractions are currently facing—seaside resorts need to develop their own imaginative ideas to attract visitors. The Government can also play their part and are helping our seaside resorts, as we have shown through our £45 million Sea: Change regeneration programme.
We have made no assessment of the regulatory costs of the Gambling Act 2005 specifically in relation to seaside arcades. However, we estimate that, overall, the new regime has reduced total administrative burdens by around £57 million annually.
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what factors underlay the decisions on the treatment of (a) bingo halls and (b) seaside arcades in respect of entitlement to Category B3 machines; [242400]
(2) what the evidential basis was for the decisions regarding the gaming relief provided for (a) the bingo sector and (b) seaside arcades; and if he will make a statement. [242401]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department received representations from a number of trade bodies, including the Bingo Association and the British Amusement and Catering Trade Association (BACTA), seeking changes to the regulatory regime for gaming machines established by the Gambling Act 2005 and implemented by secondary legislation from 1 September 2007.
I concluded that there was strong evidence that the economic situation facing the bingo industry is particularly acute with a significant number of club closures in recent months and years. I was also persuaded that a number of special circumstances apply to bingo, including the fact that there is often a high demand for machines during short periods of the day. That is why my Department consulted on a proposal to increase to eight the number of Category B3 gaming machines in bingo halls. The order to implement is subject to affirmative approval in both Houses.
The Government also received strong representations in respect of the challenging economic environment faced by seaside arcades. That is why we brought forward on an exceptional basis the stakes and prize review for Category C and D gaming machines—to assist family entertainment centres, pubs and machine manufacturers. We have taken account of the industry's responses to our recent consultation which proposed increases in
stakes and prize limits for certain categories of C and D machines and will shortly announce how we intend to proceed.
Arts Council of England: Finance
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant in aid was allocated for Arts Council England in 2007-08; and how much has been allocated in each year for which projections have been made, broken down by budget subheading. [240337]
Barbara Follett: The grant in aid allocated to Arts Council England (ACE) from DCMS in the period in question is set out in the table, together with allocations by ACE budget subheads. ACE decides its own budget subhead allocations, not DCMS.
| Grant in aid funding | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| Original DCMS funding (£000) | £411,455 (Actual) | £430,905 | £445,005 | £468,505 |
Additional funding has also been allocated to ACE from other funding sources, which accounts for the difference between DCMS allocation and planned expenditure in each of the financial years set out in the table.
Arts Council of England: Grants
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the Arts Council's funding for regularly funded organisations was provided in grants of more than (a) £10 million, (b) £15 million and (c) £20 million in each year since 1997. [242397]
Barbara Follett: The information requested has been provided by Arts Council England and is set out in the table. All Arts Council England funding to regularly funded organisations is grant in aid. The information is only available for the years since Arts Council England's merger in 2002-03; before that year, the Regional Arts Boards were independent bodies and maintained records according to their own systems and requirements.
| Proportion of funding to regularly funded organisations in grants of: | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
Betting Shops
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the percentage of visitors to betting shops who visited for the purpose of playing on fixed odds betting terminals in the latest period for which figures are available. [243399]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are no such figures available.
Big Lottery Fund: Public Relations
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Big Lottery Fund has paid to Cake for public relations services in 2008-09; and how much has been paid for services relating to the Big Thinking consultation. [242420]
Barbara Follett: The Big Lottery Fund has advised that £45,760.38 has been spent on public relations services provided by Cake in the current financial year (up until 9 December 2008). This includes £19,211.25 for services related to the Big Think consultation.
Charities
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which charities his Department has provided funding of more than £100,000 in each of the last three years; and how much was provided to each. [242424]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 11 December 2008]: The Department provides funding to charities through grant in aid, specific grants, strategic commissioning and procurement of services. Payments to charities in the last three years, where the charity received more than £100,000 in any one year, are set out in the following table.
| £000 | |||
| Charity n ame | 2008-09( 1) | 2007-08 | 2006-07 |
| (1) To 30 November 2008. Notes: 1. The Department changed its accounting system at the end of 2005-06. Comparative information for 2005-06 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We have provided year to date figures for 2008-09. 2. For grant programmes that are jointly funded by DCMS and other organisations, only DCMS’s share of the funding to the charity is included. | |||
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