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20 Jan 2009 : Column 1251Wcontinued
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) buildings and (b) land Sport England owns; and what estimate he has made of the value of such assets. [248891]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 19 January 2009]: Sport England does not own any land or buildings outright. The Sports Council Trust Company, of which Sport England is a member and controlling share holder, owns the following land and buildings:
National centres: Bisham Abbey; Lilleshall and Plas y Brenin.
Regional offices: Ashland House, Crewkerene, Somerset; Caversham lake and boathouse facility and the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The approximate net book value of land and buildings owned by the Sports Council Trust Company, as shown in the Sport England 31 March 2008 financial statements, is £107 million.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the organisational changes within Sport England to be implemented. [249408]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England have advised that they are planning to complete their organisational change process by the end of March 2009, and they are currently on schedule to do so. However, some posts will be externally advertised and depending on their notice periods successful candidates may not all be in place.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to increase participation amongst under-16 year olds in (a) athletics, (b) badminton, (c) basketball, (d) cricket, (e) cycling, (f) gymnastics, (g) hockey, (h) netball, (i) rugby league, (j) rugby union, (k) squash, (l) tennis and (m) volleyball. [248592]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government's investment in PE and sport in schools has had significant success in increasing participation in these sports.
Schools were asked to indicate the range of sports provided by their school during the academic year. Details of the percentages of schools which provided the indicated sports are provided in the following table, highlighting the progression of school participation annually (academic year).
Percentage | |||||
2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |
(1) Surveys prior to 2006/07 did not include tag rugby in definition. Base: All schools (2003/046,574; 2004/0511,498; 2005/0616,898; 2006/0721,745; 2007/0821,631). |
The following table shows the sports or activities which schools had club links to during the academic year.
Percentage | |||||
2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |
(1) Surveys prior to 2006/07 did not include tag rugby in definition. Base: All schools (2003/046,574; 2004/0511,498; 2005/0616,898; 2006/0721,745; 2007/0821,631) |
Our PE and Sport Strategy for Young People will continue that success story, and we are investing over £780 million to 2010-11 to offer five hours of sport a week. The National Governing Bodies of Sport will receive ring-fenced funding as part of their Whole Sport Plan budgets, aimed at developing further links between schools and clubs, and increasing the number of young people involved in volunteering and leadership in sport.
Badminton and volleyball are also among the four sports which will benefit from Premier League 4 Sport, a new scheme launched this month, which will drive participation among young people in partnership with the 20 Premier League football clubs.
The challenge for all these sports is to make themselves attractive to young people, so that young people choose to take them up.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when UK Sport's annual athlete survey will be carried out; and when it will report; [249357]
(2) when UK Sport's annual athlete survey will be carried out; when it will report; and for what reason it has been delayed. [249795]
Mr. Sutcliffe: UK Sport have advised that they will next carry out an athlete survey in the autumn of 2009 and would expect to report the headline findings by the end of the year. Although they had previously planned to conduct a survey early this year for March publication, UK Sport are now seeking to strategically align their athlete survey with the end of year reviews of sport that are conducted as part of Mission 2012after the summer competition season. In addition UK Sport are now seeking to supplement findings with focus groups and other data gathering across the year.
The decision not to carry out a survey in 2008 was taken by UK Sport as a result of the uncertainty about the number and range of athletes that would be available
to survey at that time. UK Sport will of course be able to benefit from the post-Games athlete survey carried out by the British Athlete Commission and they are confident that the other activity planned will inform Mission 2012 up to and until the next survey in 2009.
Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if he will discuss with United Utilities the effect on (a) Darwen Cricket Club and (b) other sports clubs of recent increases in water charges; [249164]
(2) what representations he has received on the increases in water charges being imposed by United Utilities on (a) sports and (b) other clubs in the north-west; and if he will make a statement. [249203]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I am aware of this issue and willalong with my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who is responsible for the natural and marine environment be seeking a meeting with Ofwat to establish what options are available to ensure community sports clubs are not disproportionately affected by these charges.
I have also asked Sport England to see whether there is any systematic help they can provide to ensure community sports clubs' water charges have been calculated correctly.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much has been spent on (a) maintaining, (b) decorating and (c) otherwise improving her Offices buildings since its inception; how much has been spent on wallpaper since 2001; and what plans there are for further spending on departmental decoration. [248049]
Tessa Jowell: My office in 26 Whitehall was redecorated as part of the redecoration programme covering the whole of the building (26 Whitehall). Further additional costs specifically relating to the relocation into the building by the Office of the Minster for the Olympics were incurred to a value of £8,485 plus VAT.
Since then, my office has moved to co-locate with officials from the Government Olympic Executive in 2-4 Cockspur Street to enable more integrated and efficient work. Here a new office was constructed and furnished between July and September 2008, at a cost of £40,625 plus VAT. These costs cover both my own ministerial office and that occupied by my private office and special advisers.
No money has been spent on wallpaper in any of my offices since the inception of the Minister for the Olympics role.
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