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4 Feb 2009 : Column 1224W—continued
Gambling: Regulation
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many inspections have been carried out by the Gambling Commission in each year since the development of the annual visit programme; [252804]
(2) how many follow-up visits have been made by the Gambling Commission in each year since the development of the annual visit programme; [252805]
(3) how many (a) warnings have been issued and (b) licences revoked under the Gambling Commission’s compliance process in each year; and what the (i) reason for the action taken and (ii) type of operation was in each case; [252806]
(4) how many compliance officers the Gambling Commission employs; [252807]
(5) how many visits made by Gambling Commission compliance officers under the compliance process to each type of operator were (a) programmed, (b) advisory, (c) complaint, (d) revisit, (e) survey and (f) other in each year since the process began; [252808]
(6) how on many visits by Gambling Commission compliance officers to each type of operator evidence was found of (a) operational risk, (b) crime and disorder risk, (c) fair and open risk, (d) risk to children, (e) risk to other vulnerable people and (f) external risk in each year since the compliance process began. [252809]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission has advised that it carried out a total of 5,545 visits and 620 follow-up visits between 1 September 2007, when the Gambling Act 2005 came into force, and 31 December 2008.
The Gambling Commission has advised that a list of revocations and formal warnings issued under the Compliance process, including the type of licence holder and details of the decision, is available on its website at:
The Gambling Commission has also advised that an additional 50 licensed operators have had their licence revoked following the non-payment of their annual licence fee.
The Gambling Commission has advised that it intends to publish details of its annual visit programme for 2008-09 in its next Annual Report.
The Gambling Commission currently employs 59 compliance managers.
Gaming Machines
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to review the number of Category B3 machines in adult gaming centres. [253232]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 2 February 2009]: The Department has no plans to review the number of Category B3 machines in adult gaming centres.
Homecoming Scotland
David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what role his Department is playing in relation to the Homecoming Scotland 2009 initiative. [253089]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 2 February 2009]: VisitBritain have advised that they are working closely with VisitScotland to support Homecoming Scotland 2009. VisitBritain have planned online and public relations activities incorporating the Americas, Asia and Europe.
Legal Opinion
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost was of external legal services provided to his Department in each of the last five years. [251348]
Mr. Sutcliffe: On the basis of available records, the total cost to the Department of external legal advice in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
| Cost to Department of Culture, Media and Sport of external legal advice | |
| Financial year | £ |
Music: Young People
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to encourage the learning of musical instruments by young people. [253140]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with the Department for Children, Schools and Families to promote music for young people through the package of funding for music education, which was announced in November 2007. This totals £332 million over three years and includes investment in singing, new instruments and free music lessons.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport provides financial support for the arts through Arts Council England, which makes funding decisions independently of Government.
The Arts Council provides funding of £10 million per year to Youth Music so that it can continue its work of complementing music in the national curriculum by supporting activities outside of school hours. Youth Music works alongside formal and community-based sectors to support music-making and training. This includes helping young people with the fewest opportunities to learn musical instruments.
Take It Away is an Arts Council initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing music. The scheme allows individuals to apply for an interest-free loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument. Children and young people are a particular priority for the scheme and over a quarter (26 per cent.) of all customers have purchased an instrument for a young person under 18 ears of age.
Official Cars
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what cars of what engine cubic capacity are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department. [250028]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 26 January 2009, Official Report, column 10W about cars provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.
Public Houses
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to respond to the findings of the Community Pubs Inquiry. [254590]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The recommendations in the Community Pubs Inquiry Report cover the policy interests of several Government departments. DCMS is collating a Government response and we hope to respond shortly.
Public Libraries
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department's policy is on the development of community libraries. [253760]
Barbara Follett: It is right that authorities take a fresh look at how to deliver their services, and they remain accountable to their communities for the changes they make.
Some authorities have found that the best way to manage limited resources is to provide basic library services in community facilities, or to hand smaller libraries over to their communities. Authorities that have done so often report positive additional outcomes for communities.
Community libraries can be very successful and offer a full range of services, when the relationship between the community involved and the various partners is handled responsibly. DCMS encourages any authority considering the ‘community run’ option to carry out extensive consultation with the communities affected.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what definition his Department uses of “comprehensive and efficient” in relation to library services. [253786]
Barbara Follett: Local library authorities have duties under the Public Libraries and Museums Act (1964) to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” library service, and it is predominantly this duty that the Secretary of State is tasked with superintending under section 1 of the Act.
However, the Department acknowledges that what constitutes a “comprehensive and efficient” library service will vary significantly between local authority areas given the nature and needs of their particular communities.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effects of the Big Lottery Fund's scheme for libraries on the development of community libraries since October 2006. [253914]
Barbara Follett: The majority of the funded projects have only recently started on their capital elements, so the Big Lottery fund have informed the Department that it is too early to make an assessment of the impact of the programme. However, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council are conducting an evaluation, which is expected to report in 2010, and Big Lottery Fund will also be commissioning its own evaluation in due course.
Public Libraries: Closures
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on procedures for public consultation on proposals to close a public library; [253673]
(2) how many local authorities have informed his Department that they have closed one or more public libraries in the last (a) six months, (b) 12 months and (c) two years; [253674]
(3) what proportion of public library closures were preceded by a consultation period longer than six weeks in the last two years; [253742]
(4) what estimate he has made of the proportion of public library closures reported to his Department before the closure takes place; [253747]
(5) whether his Department has established (a) minimum consultation periods and (b) processes for public library closures by local authorities; [253912]
(6) what estimate he has made of the proportion of public library closures which was preceded by effective consultation in the last two years; [253913]
(7) what steps his Department takes when it considers that a library has been closed without an effective consultation process. [253915]
Barbara Follett: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not provide local authorities with guidance on procedures for public consultation on proposals to close a public library. The processes by which consultation is undertaken are a matter for local authorities and they are accountable to the communities they serve for the decisions taken.
There are no official national guidelines on consultation or periods of consultation which apply to local authorities. However the Consultation Institute and the code of practice adhered to by central Government outline that a 12-week period represents best practice for consultation. While it is expected that most local authorities would also adhere to this standard, under exceptional circumstances this might not be appropriate.
There is no duty on local authorities to inform central Government about plans to close public libraries. However, we have been informed of plans to permanently or temporarily close libraries in approximately 34 local authorities in the last two years.
We have not been informed how many or what proportion of the library closures implemented in the last two years were preceded by a consultation period of longer than six weeks.
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has reviewed (a) the legal duties on and (b) guidance for local authorities on the closure of public libraries by local authorities in the last (i) 12 months, (ii) two years and (iii) five years. [253762]
Barbara Follett: Library authorities have a legal duty to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” library service under the terms of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has a duty to superintend library services and intervene if a library service is no longer meeting the requirements of the Act. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not reviewed these requirements in the last five years.
The Public Library Service Standards, introduced in April 2001, defined our expectations of library service provision but were not legally binding. The standards
which fed into comprehensive performance assessment were removed in March 2008, when it was replaced with comprehensive area assessment.
International Development
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 103W, on departmental personnel, how many of his Department's staff are (a) without posts and (b) subject to the internal market-based system; how many of the staff without posts were classified as such upon return from maternity leave; and how many of the staff without posts have been classified for at least (i) six and (ii) 12 months. [250039]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: With the exception of the senior civil service, all 1,552 of DFID civil service staff can apply for jobs through our market based internal posting system. While DFID sometimes has people between posts for short periods of time, we do not currently have any permanent members of staff classed as surplus.
Departmental Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make it his policy that temporary and permanent employees of his Department employed at the same grade receive the same hourly rate of pay. [248416]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The policy at the Department for International Development (DFID) is for all employees whether they are on permanent or temporary contracts to be treated the same in terms of pay. However, as each grade has an associated pay range with minimum and maximum pay points, all employees in the same grade, whatever their contractual status, will not necessarily be paid at the same hourly rate.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent by his Department on staff reward and recognition schemes in each of the last three years. [248708]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not operate staff award and recognition schemes outside of performance related pay.
Legal Opinion
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of external legal services provided to his Department in each of the last five years. [251353]
Mr. Michael Foster: The costs of external legal services over the last five years are:
| Total (£) | |
These figures include amounts previously reported as internal legal costs, on Office of Government Commerce advice.
Our overseas offices may obtain advice from local legal advisers on a range of foreign domestic issues, from foreign accommodation leases to local employment law. Information on these costs could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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