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12 Jan 2009 : Column 438W—continued
A final assessment of progress against the Department's SR04 PSA3 target was published on 11 December 2008. Full details can be found at:
Football: World Cup
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for what reasons the 2018 World Cup bid team has had no contact with Opposition parties. [246868]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Further to my answer of 17 December 2008, Official Report column 766W, England 2018 Ltd. is in the process of recruiting a director of government liaison, whose key responsibilities include one to, “Ensure all relevant Party Leaders ... are regularly briefed on the progress of the Bid.”
Horserace Totalisator Board: EC Action
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what grounds his Department’s plans to sell the Tote met objection from the EU; what response he has made to such objections; and if he will make a statement. [244678]
Mr. Sutcliffe: On 1 June 2005 the European Commission initiated a formal investigation under the state aid provisions of the Treaty of Rome into the then proposed terms of the sale of the Tote, which involved a sale at less than the market price. The Government’s view was that the investigation was likely to conclude that such a sale would constitute unlawful state aid, and accordingly notified the Commission on 3 May 2006 that it did not intend to proceed with a sale on those terms and was looking at alternative models.
Offenders
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many former prisoners are employed by his Department; and what his Department’s policy is on employing former prisoners. [246349]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are no former prisoners employed in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. A criminal record is not an automatic bar disqualifying an individual from appointment.
Olympic Games 2012
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the follow-up reports from the (a) Athens and (b) Sydney Olympics; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that the 2012 London Olympics has no detrimental effect on sporting participation in the UK. [246952]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS officials have looked closely at what happened in previous Olympic and Paralympic games to support preparation for London 2012, which will be the first Olympic and Paralympic games to feature a planned national legacy.
The Olympics represents a once in a generation opportunity to drive up activity and performance in all levels of sport. This is reflected in the creation of Sport England’s new strategy, with the Olympics providing a focal point for the development of a world-leading community sport system. The strategy will deliver one million more people playing sport in contribution to the Legacy Action Plan’s commitment to getting two million people more active by 2012.
Sight Impaired
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidelines his Department follows in respect of making printed materials and forms accessible to people suffering red/green colour blindness. [245712]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS printed materials and forms are available in alternative formats upon request, to meet specific requirements of people with disabilities.
Standish Hospital
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the outcome was of the application to list Block C of the Standish Hospital site; on what basis the decision was taken; for what reasons the hon. Member for Stroud was not informed of the decision; and if he will make a statement. [244332]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 17 December 2008]: After careful consideration of all the evidence, including taking account of advice from English Heritage, and representations by others, I have decided that Block C (former Women’s Ward), Standish Hospital is not of sufficient architectural or historic interest to merit listing. The decision was taken on 29 October 2008. My hon. Friend should have been informed of this decision by letter and I regret that this did not happen.
Swimming
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how his Department plans to monitor the effectiveness of the free swimming programme. [246764]
Andy Burnham: My Department will monitor and evaluate the Free Swimming Programme to determine future funding and delivery arrangements. As part of this, we will require regular data returns from local authorities. Further details on these requests will be sent to local authorities in due course.
Swimming Advisory Group
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) who the members of the Swimming Advisory Group are; what work they have undertaken to date; and if he will make a statement; [245727]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all children under 14 are educated about water safety. [245728]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I have been asked to reply.
The Swimming Advisory Group has ceased to exist since early 2002, when it submitted its final report on swimming to the then Department for Education and Skills, which was considered by Ministers in April of that year. Its membership was made up of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES); the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted); the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA); the Youth Sport Trust (YST); Sport England; the Amateur Swimming Association (asa); the Institute for Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM); the English Schools Swimming Association (ESSA); the Royal Life-Saving Society (RLSS); the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom (PEAUK); and the British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education (BAALPE).
Swimming activities and water safety are a compulsory part of the physical education curriculum for all primary pupils.
Swimming: Elderly
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations his Department consulted on the initiative to give free access to swimming for over 60s in the 12 months prior to announcing this programme. [245725]
Andy Burnham: My Department designed the Free Swimming Programme in close consultation with a range of stakeholders including the Local Government Association, the Chief Cultural and Leisure Officers’ Association, the Amateur Swimming Association and Sport England.
Television and Film
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support the Government plans to provide to ensure that British production of television drama and film will not be disadvantaged in the current economic climate. [245806]
Barbara Follett: The Government continue to support British film through the funding schemes provided by the UK Film Council and the Regional Screen agencies, as well as the Film Tax Relief. For example, the UK Film Council’s Premiere Fund is £8 million a year and on average the Fund invests in eight to nine films per annum. Also, the Skills Investment Fund raises close to £1 million per annum and is used, alongside Film Council lottery funding, by Skillset to provide film skills training.
The six-year funding settlement for the BBC announced in January 2007 provides for an annual increase in the TV licence fee which is either above or in line with the Treasury’s inflation forecast at that time for each year of the settlement (with the exception of the increase in year six, which will depend on a further review nearer the time). Within the framework of the Charter and Agreement, it is for the BBC to decide the allocation of the funding to drama and film.
Investment in content is a core workstream of the Digital Britain project, with the aim of maintaining and enhancing the funding of high quality, professional UK audiovisual and interactive content.
Television: Licensing
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the campaign to boycott the BBC licence fee on BBC revenues. [245200]
Andy Burnham: No assessment has been made. Under the Communications Act, however, it is a criminal offence for a person who uses or installs a television receiver not to have a television licence.
Theatre: Finance
Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much National Lottery funding Arts Council England has distributed for use on theatre projects in each year since its inception. [245909]
Barbara Follett: Arts Council England has advised that since its establishment in 1994 the following National Lottery funding has been distributed for use on theatre projects:
| National lottery funding to theatre projects | |
| £ | |
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much revenue funding there was for theatre in England in each year since 1980. [246418]
Barbara Follett: The information requested has been received from Arts Council England and is set out in the table. Prior to 2002-03, the Regional Arts Boards were independent bodies and maintained records according to their own systems and requirements. Consequently, compatible figures for the regularly funded organisations portfolio are not available for earlier years.
| Arts Council England grant in aid to regularly funded theatre organisations | |
| £000 | |
Tourism
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which holiday destinations in England were most frequently visited by domestic tourists in each of the last 10 years, calculated according to the number of visitors per 10,000 of local population. [244862]
Barbara Follett: The way in which VisitBritain captured tourist statistics changed in 2005 and as such comparable information on the most frequently visited holiday destinations is only available for 2006 and 2007.
| Destination | Holiday visits | Population | Visits per 10,000 population | Rank |
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