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10 Feb 2009 : Column 1886W—continued
Flood Control
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps his Department has taken to determine which agency takes the lead role in responding to national flood emergencies since the publication of the Pitt Report on flooding. [253761]
Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
Planning for, and responding to, the challenges of a predicted or actual flooding event requires the combined and co-ordinated effort, experience and expertise of all levels of government, public authorities or agencies and a wide range of private and voluntary organisations. During a national flood emergency, DEFRA will be the lead Government Department in England. The Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Executive will take the lead role in their respective devolved Administrations. The National Flood Emergency Framework, currently out for consultation, will look at whether there is a need to further clarify roles and responsibilities.
Culture, Media and Sport
Bingo: Government Assistance
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will introduce measures to assist the bingo industry through regulation; and if he will make a statement. [253926]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I signed The Gambling Act 2005 (Gaming Machines in Bingo Premises) Order 2009 on 3 February 2009 and this came into force on 4 February 2009. The Order increases the number of category B3 gaming machines that a bingo hall can offer from four to eight.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on official entertainment in each year since 1997-98. [241209]
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what expenditure his Department has incurred on hospitality in each year since 1997; [248897]
(2) how much his Department has spent on entertainment for its staff in each of the last five years. [250492]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested by the hon. Members is not readily available from the Department’s accounting system. To provide the information would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; and how much was spent on such bonuses in each of those years. [249858]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Non-consolidated performance payments to the SCS are based on the recommendations of the independent Senior Salaries Review Board. The total SCS pay bill for 2008 was £2,416,714 of which 8.6 per cent. was used for non- consolidated performance payments. The SCS pay bill for 2007 was £2,659,835 of which 7.6 per cent. was used for non-consolidated performance payments.
The figures in the following table are the performance bonuses awarded to senior civil servants in each of the years requested. Figures include bonuses made by our agency, the Royal Parks.
| Number of SCS performance bonuses awarded | Total amount of SCS performance bonuses awarded (£) | |
Departmental Plants
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2009, Official Report, column 1090W, on departmental plants, which organisations provided services to his Department related to the provision of (a) plants and (b) flowers. [254801]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following organisations provided services to the Department via its facilities management contractor MITIE Managed Services.
| (a) Plants | |
| Organisation | |
| (1) Contract terminated November 2008 | |
| (b) Flowers | |
| Organisation | |
| (1) Contract terminated November 2008 (2) Contract started December 2008 | |
Departmental Training
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 10 November 2008, Official Report, column 815W, on departmental training, what personal training courses at public expense other Ministers in his Department have undertaken since 1 January 2008. [251327]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 10 November 2008, Official Report, column 815W.
Other Ministers have taken the following courses at public expense since 1 January 2008: Action Learning Set.
Football Association
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions in the last five years he and his predecessors have met the Football Association to discuss (a) alleged irregularities in and (b) unusual betting activity on football matches; and if he will make a statement. [254701]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Ministers at the Department meet with the Football Association, as well as a wide variety of other sports bodies, on a regular basis to discuss a number of issues. In the last five years the general subject of integrity in sports betting has been discussed during those meetings, but the Secretary of State has not met the Football Association to specifically discuss irregularities in, or unusual betting activity on, football matches.
The Government take any allegations relating to the integrity of sport seriously. The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) introduced tough new penalties to ensure gambling is free from crime and corruption. In particular the Act established the offence of cheating at gambling where any person found guilty faces a maximum prison sentence of two years.
Legacy Trust UK
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Legacy Trust UK has awarded in grants since its establishment. [254433]
Andy Burnham: The Legacy Trust UK was established with a £40 million endowment from the Big Lottery Fund, the Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to support a wide range of innovative cultural and sporting activities for all, which celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games and leave a lasting legacy in communities throughout the United Kingdom.
Since LTUK was established, a total of £22,433,000 has been awarded in grants. This is split between UK school games, an annual sporting competition based on an Olympic games model with multiple sports events held across an intensive four-day period for elite school age athletes, and the UK regions and nations.
Licensed Premises
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many premises authorising the sale or supply of alcohol by means of a premises licence or a club premises certificate closed during each of the last five years. [255048]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department does not hold the information in the format requested, but can provide information on the number of premises licences which were surrendered, lapsed or suspended since April 2006. Some of these may relate to premises which are not authorised to sell or supply alcohol, because under the Licensing Act 2003, premises licences and club premises certificates are not confined to authorising the sale or supply of alcohol; they can also provide regulated entertainment and/or late night refreshment.
Since the implementation of the Act, DCMS has been collecting alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment statistics on an annual basis by financial year from licensing authorities. During the period April 2006 to March 2007, 2,630 premises licences were surrendered, 232 lapsed, and 70 were suspended, based on returns from around 76 per cent. of licensing authorities. For the same period, 210 club premises certificates were surrendered, two lapsed and 13 were withdrawn.
The April 2007 to March 2008 bulletin reported 3,786 premises licences were surrendered, 423 lapsed, 18 were suspended by a court, and 44 were subject to a closure notice (based on returns from around 93 per cent. of licensing authorities). For the same period, 255 club premises licences were surrendered, seven lapsed and 13 were withdrawn.
Prior to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, data on the number of alcohol licences revoked in England and Wales were collected by petty sessional division (magistrates court areas), on a triennial basis. Between July 2003 and June 2004, there was a total of 354 revocations of on and off-licences, 11 of which related to licensed clubs.
Olympic Games 2012: Transport
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he has taken or will be taking to ensure that hon. and right hon. Members will not be delayed in travelling to the House during the period of the London 2012 Olympic Games; and if he will make a statement. [255394]
Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply as Minister for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The Olympic Delivery Authority's transport planning is well under way and aims to minimise disruption immediately before and during the Games for all of London's visitors, residents and commuters, including Members of Parliament.
The detailed planning now commencing will take this principle into account and will include detailed consideration of the central London area of Westminster and its environs.
Serco
Mr. Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value was of his Department's contracts held with Serco in each of the last five financial years. [253254]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department has held no contracts with Serco in the last five years.
Sports Council Trust
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the Sports Council Trust Company is owned by Sport England; and which other organisations have a share in the company. [254381]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has advised that the Sports Council Trust Company is a company limited by guarantee and is a registered charity. As such it is not ‘owned’ and does not have any share capital. It has two members which are the English Sports Council (trading as Sport England) and Tim Marshall, whose membership is held in trust on behalf of the English Sports Council. Further information is available from Companies House. No other organisations are members or have shares in the company.
Sports: Schools
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many competition managers were in post in each of the last five years; [254355]
(2) what the average salary of a competition manager was in each of the last three years; [254356]
(3) how much has been spent on employing competition managers in each of the last five years; [254431]
(4) how many competition managers (a) were appointed and (b) left their posts in each of the last five years; and how many competition managers were employed in each region on the latest date for which figures are available. [254432]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Competition Manager programme was piloted in 2005, with 20 Competition Managers deployed in five county areas and working on a one to one ratio with 20 targeted school sport partnerships. There were no formal Competition Manager posts prior to 2005. The programme has expanded over the last four years and there are now 226 Competition Managers in post.
Table 1 contains a breakdown of the number of Competition Managers who were funded by awards made by the Department of Children, Schools and Families for Competition Manager posts during the last four years as part of the National School Sport strategy. We do not have data available on Competition Managers who have left their posts.
| Table 1 | ||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Table 2 contains current data on how many competition managers are employed in each Government region:
| Table 2 | |||
| Region | Number of senior competition managers in post | Number of competition managers in post | Total |
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