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13 May 2009 : Column 844W—continued
I have accepted the recommendations set out in the Gambling Commission’s final report on its review of research, education and treatment, published last October, and the industry have made good progress in meeting the minimum £5 million per annum commitments needed to fund three year research, education and treatment programmes. However, I want to make absolutely sure that the right levels of funding have been made available and there is also agreement to the improved voluntary arrangements before I make a formal statement.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will request that the Gambling Commission publish its (a) assessment of the regulatory risks relevant to each sector of the gambling industry and (b) methodology for (i) analysis of regulatory risk and (ii) prioritising its allocation of resources to gambling activities in relation to the level of regulatory risk posed by each such activity. [274293]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission has advised that details of its approach to risk have already been published. The Gambling Commission is currently consulting on revisions of its statement of principles and its licensing, compliance and enforcement policy statement. Details of the approach to risk and the consultation are available at:
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) which of the recommendations of the Hampton implementation review of the Gambling Commission he plans to accept; and what steps he plans to take to implement those recommendations; [274294]
(2) what discussions has he had with the Gambling Commission on the implementation of recommendations of the Hampton implementation review of the commission. [274295]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission has welcomed the final report and accepted its recommendations. My Department will work with the Gambling Commission on these recommendations, where appropriate, and will monitor its progress as part of the usual process of non-departmental public bodies sponsorship.
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to ensure that the Gambling Commission (a) takes further steps to prioritise its activity according to the regulatory risks relevant to the gambling sector and (b) adjusts the level of fees it obtains through licensing and certification of the gambling industry to take account of regulatory risks. [274296]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Gambling Commission keeps the regulatory risks related to each gambling sector under regular review in order to assess and update its regulatory priorities. The Secretary of State sets licence fees in order to reflect the regulatory costs of different gambling activities to the Commission and issued a consultation on 7 April 2009, seeking views on proposed changes to the regime which reflect the Gambling Commission’s latest assessment of regulatory risks and costs.
Gaming Machines
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effect on the gaming machine industry of (a) the proposed increase in stakes and prizes for category C and D machines and (b) the increase in amusement machine licence duty in the 2009 Budget. [274763]
Mr. Sutcliffe: As part of the second public consultation on proposed increases in stake and prizes for category C and D gaming machines, an impact assessment was published on the DCMS website on 22 December 2008. The Department has not made any assessment of the effect on the gaming machine industry of the increase in amusement machine licence duty in the 2009 budget.
Sports: Equality
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many sporting organisations have applied for recognition under the equality standard for sport since November 2004. [272943]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has supported 26 English national governing bodies, all 49 of the county sports partnerships and five national sport organisations including itself to achieve a level of the equality standard since 2004.
Sports: Young People
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to increase access to sport for young people in (a) Warrington and (b) the north-west; and if he will make a statement. [272884]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 6 May 2009]: The PE and School Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP) has seen 90 per cent. of children and young people do at
least two hours of sport a week. By 2011 it is the aim to offer five hours of PE and sport for five to 16-year-olds and three hours for those 16-19.
One of the strategy’s workstrands, Sport Unlimited, aims to increase the variety of sporting opportunities for 900,000 semi sporty young people. It is delivered through the network of county sports partnerships and aims to reach 124,350 young people in the north- west, including Warrington, by 2011.
In addition Sport England has a target of getting one million people doing more sport by 2012-13, which includes those aged 16-25.
National governing bodies of sport (NGBs) are placed at the heart of Sport England’s strategy as it is their networks of community clubs, coaches, officials and volunteers that will drive delivery. The NGBs will define what they need for their sport at a national, regional and sub-regional level to ensure more people play and enjoy their sport. NGBs are currently planning and taking decisions on where best to invest their money, and this includes the north-west.
In addition to investing in NGBs and other key partners, Sport England has other open funding programmes, worth a maximum of £45 million, to which a wide range of organisations from across England are able to apply. Some of this investment will address particular areas of need; for example the first of a series of themed funding rounds is targeted at rural communities.
Tourism
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to meet boards of regional development agencies to discuss his Department's joint working with Visit England. [271319]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 27 April 2009]: On 29 April 2009 I chaired the inaugural meeting of the Regional Development Agency tourism leads group and discussed regional tourism strategies and economic conditions; sub-regional engagement; skills development; sustainable tourism; and cross-regional policy and resource co-ordination, as well as the role of VisitEngland in co-ordinating and driving progress on tourism development and promotion with them.
Tourism: Standards
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will assess the (a) case for and (b) merits of a standardised national classification system for tourist accommodation providers. [274410]
Barbara Follett: VisitEngland have advised that research in the enjoy England brand tracking study 2007 showed that over three quarters of consumers (77 per cent.) believe quality schemes are important when choosing accommodation. The established visitor accommodation grading schemes (the “star rating schemes”) are therefore central to improving the quality of England’s tourism product.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport supported work by the cross-Britain quality review group, which included VisitBritain , the Automobile Association, and the devolved national tourist boards, VisitScotland and
VisitWales. This review group agreed to adopt uniform common inspection standards across Great Britain in May 2005.
Implementation of this work began in January 2006 and was completed in 2008. A range of tourist accommodation is assessed and marketed under the national quality accreditation schemes. Since April 2009 VisitEngland have been responsible for this work.
Treasury
Banks: Finance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his Department’s press notice of 19 January 2009, on the asset protection scheme, (1) what progress has been made on selecting eligible securities; and what amount of guarantees has been issued; [274281]
(2) what criteria will be used to determine what proportion of the value of the security will be guaranteed. [274282]
Ian Pearson: As announced on 26 February, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) agreed in principle to protect £325 billion of assets in the asset protection scheme; and on 7 March Lloyds banking group (Lloyds) agreed in principle to protect £260 billion of assets in the scheme. After the deduction of the first loss (£42.2 billion and £35.2 billion respectively) that falls to the participating banks, the Treasury will guarantee 90 per cent. of the remaining value (at 31 December 2008) of the covered assets.
The Treasury and its advisers are continuing to work with participating banks to conduct due diligence on the assets intended for inclusion in the scheme.
Further detailed information will be provided after the final contracts are signed.
Business: Finance
Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps the Government has taken to encourage banks recapitalised from the public purse to pass on recent reductions in the Bank of England base rate when lending to small and medium-sized businesses; [275240]
(2) what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that the terms and conditions placed on loans to small and medium-sized businesses by banks recapitalised from the public purse are reasonable. [275241]
Ian Pearson: Decisions concerning products and pricing remain commercial decisions for firms. Where there is public sector investment in financial institutions these stakes are being managed on an arm’s length and independent basis.
The Government are taking action to ensure competitively priced loans continue to be available. On 19 January, the Government announced measures to reinforce the stability of the financial system, increase confidence and capacity to lend, and support the recovery of the economy. These measures build on those announced
on 8 October 2008. The Government have agreed lending commitments with Lloyds and RBS that will see Lloyds lend an additional £14 billion, and RBS an additional £25 billion, on commercial terms and subject to market demand, over the 12 months from March 2009. The commitments are specific, quantified and legally binding. HM Treasury will report annually to Parliament on the delivery of these agreements.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 19 January 2009, Official Report, column 1072, on council tax: valuation, when the sub-locations were last updated by the Valuation Office Agency. [274713]
Mr. Timms: Sub-location codes were last reviewed between April and December 2007, in preparation for the 2010 revaluation of non-domestic properties. Otherwise routine updates are made on a continuing basis.
Departmental Buildings
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on building maintenance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [274565]
Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply my hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott) on 20 January 2009, Official Report, column 1292W.
Departmental Dismissal
Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff in his Department and its agencies were dismissed (a) for under-performance and (b) in total in each of the last 10 years. [274312]
Mr. Timms: Treasury systems do not record the reasons for dismissals centrally. It is the Treasury’s policy not to release data on staff where to do so could lead to the identification of individuals, including aggregated data relating to fewer than five staff members. Data for HM Treasury is not available for years prior to 2000.
HM Treasury has a policy in place to manage under-performance and, where necessary, take disciplinary action, which can lead to dismissal.
In each of the years for which data is available:
HM Treasury dismissed fewer than five staff;
The Office of Government Commerce (including Buying Solutions) dismissed fewer than five staff;
The UK Debt Management Office did not dismiss any staff.
Departmental ICT
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the (a) energy consumed by, (b) energy cost of and (c) carbon dioxide emissions from each category of IT device in each division of his Department in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [269545]
(2) what steps his Department has taken to address the effect on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from
his Department of its ICT purchases since the publication of the Greening Government ICT strategy; and if he will make a statement; [269560]
(3) what the average server capacity utilisation by each division of his Department was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [269591]
(4) how many (a) printers and (b) multi-function devices with printing functions were in use in each division of his Department in each of the last five years; how many such devices had a function enabling two-sided printing; and if he will make a statement; [269614]
(5) how many and what proportion of IT products in each category procured for each division of his Department were compliant with the Government’s Buy Sustainable-Quick Win standard in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [269638]
John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide emissions arising from the operation of ICT systems in his Department under the Greening Government ICT strategy. [273558]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury is committed to reducing emissions arising from operations and aims to deliver year-on-year reductions. Its chief information officer (CIO), in line with all other members of the CIO Council, has produced a “CIO Green ICT Roadmap” which the Treasury will be following to deliver against the 18 target improvement areas outlined in the “Greening Government ICT” strategy in July 2008.
A full report of the CIO Council Green ICT Roadmaps will be made available shortly featuring the action plans of all Departments involved in the Council against the 18 steps. A final “one year on” report will be issued by the Cabinet Office in July. The CIO/CTO Council Green ICT delivery unit will refresh its annual CIO key objectives against the latest developments in technology and advances in carbon measurement which will be circulated for comment to all CIOs and relevant Departments this summer.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) BlackBerry devices and (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005. [274459]
Ian Pearson: For the data on lost BlackBerry devices and mobile telephones, I refer the hon. Member to some previous answers provided as follows:
17 March 2009, Official Report, column 984W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason).
5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2580W, to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr. Weir).
5 March 2008, Official Report, column 2578W, to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather).
Disaggregated information relating to Ministers, special advisers and civil servants is not available.
Prior to 2008, data for BlackBerry devices were included within the data shown as “PDAs” or “Personal Organisers”, and cannot now be identified separately other than at disproportionate cost.
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