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24 Jun 2009 : Column 949W—continued
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which official is responsible for the energy efficiency of his Department’s estate. [280568]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Director of Corporate Services is responsible for energy efficiency for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s estate.
Departmental Finance
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies on administration of the making of grants as a proportion of the amount of grants made in 2008-09. [281237]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not hold this data. To provide this information would incur disproportionate costs. However, a report by the National Audit Office entitled “Making grants efficiently in the culture, media and sports sector” was published in May 2008. Please see the following link.
Departmental Food
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of the (a) meat, (b) fruit and (c) vegetables procured by his Department in the last 12 months was produced in the UK. [281947]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department procures the following percentage of domestic produce:
(a) Meat: 96 per cent.
(b) Fruit: 70 per cent.
(c) Vegetables: 86 per cent.
Departmental Press: Subscriptions
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which (a) magazines, (b) journals and (c) newspapers his Department subscribes; and what the cost of such subscriptions has been in each of the last three years. [280763]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information in the following table represents expenditure incurred by the Department on subscriptions for hard copy and online magazines, newspapers, books and other publications, access to specific research databases, the Stationery Office and other parliamentary information sources as well as legal online and hard copy updating services.
| £ | |
| Notes: 1. All figures given to nearest whole figure. 2. The 2008-09 figures have yet to be audited and are therefore subject to change. | |
The way our financial information has been recorded does not allow us to disaggregate newspapers, magazines and journals from the overall expenditure. To provide a list of individual titles to which the Department subscribes would incur a disproportionate cost in excess of £750.
Gambling: Internet
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by the online gambling industry to identify and prevent fraud in relation to bets taken on sport. [280146]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Licensed betting operators are required by the Gambling Commission to provide information in relation to bets they suspect may relate to an offence under the Act. The Commission is working with all licensed betting operators to ensure the identification and prevention of fraud in relation to sports betting is effective.
In addition, the expert panel on sports integrity I am establishing will look at, consider and report on, a range of issues including the identification and prevention of online fraud in relation to betting integrity.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will submit to the European Commission a paper giving the Government’s opinion on the legislation proposed by the French government on the operation of its domestic online gambling market; and if he will discuss with the government of Malta the likely effects of its policy on that matter on UK leisure and gaming businesses. [280147]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The UK Government have submitted comments to the European Commission under the technical notification procedure on the French legislative proposals in relation to online gambling. We are concerned that some of the measures contained in the notification may constitute restrictions to trade and our comments have emphasised the need for any restrictions to be justified by imperative reasons in the general interest; to be suitable for achieving the objectives in question; to be necessary and proportionate; and to be applied in a non-discriminatory manner, as interpreted by decisions of the European Court of Justice.
I have no plans to conduct formal discussions with the Government of Malta over this matter although my officials found the detailed opinions submitted by the Government of Malta and the European Commission helpful when considering this issue.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from UK leisure and gaming businesses on the likely effects on them of (a) provisions relating to a sports rights levy and (b) other provisions proposed by the French government in draft legislation on its domestic online gambling market. [280148]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Officials from the Department recently met with representatives from the remote gambling industry to discuss the French legislative proposals on online gambling. During that meeting, the industry set out their concerns over the impact some of the proposals might have on UK gambling businesses, including in respect of the provisions relating to a sports rights levy.
Licensed Premises: Gambling
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to publish the outcomes of the consultations on premises licence regulations (section 172(6)) (gaming tables). [281595]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 22 June 2009]: The Consultation on Casino Premises Licence Regulations under section 172(6) of the Gambling Act 2005 closed on 15 May 2009. I am considering all responses and will make an announcement shortly.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent members of staff in (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies are working on projects relating to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; how many of them are working on (i) project management, (ii) legacy planning, (iii) project oversight and (iv) financial oversight; and what plans he has for future staffing levels in each case. [279814]
Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply.
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a key priority across Government. The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) was set up within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to oversee the delivery of Government objectives for the Games.
As of 15 June, the GOE consisted of 93.7 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. Of this total, no members of staff are working in roles defined as project management roles, 21.5 are working in roles mainly relating to legacy planning, 14 on roles mainly relating to project oversight, and six on roles mainly relating to financial control/oversight. The remainder of staff work mainly on programme assurance and risk management, staging, strategic communications and parliamentary matters.
In terms of further specific posts relating to Olympic projects within DCMS, 7.5 FTE staff are employed on Olympic Programme Management, the Cultural Olympiad and in the Press Office. Of these, approximately 3.4 FTE are in roles relating to project management and approximately 1.1 FTE in roles relating to project oversight. The purpose of these posts is to manage the wider DCMS interests in relation to staging the Games such as elite sport, sport participation, tourism and culture. The remaining three FTE staff are full time press officers.
As of 31 May 2009, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) employed 245 members of staff. This consists of permanent staff, fixed term contract staff, and secondments. Contained within the fixed term contract staff category there are a number of graduates that have been recruited for a 10 month placement as part of the ODA’s graduate placement scheme.
Of the 245 members of staff employed by the ODA, 136 are currently working in project management roles across a number of ODA teams.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of those staff that are exclusively working on legacy planning roles as every project within the programme is considered with legacy in mind ensuring that legacy requirements are incorporated into design briefs, specifications and
business plans. This approach is designed to ensure that the London 2012 Games will be the catalyst for the regeneration of one of the most underdeveloped areas of the UK.
The ODA currently has nine members of staff with overall project oversight responsibilities, and 19 employees who work closely with its Delivery Partner on the financial oversight of the programme. In addition the ODA has engaged Ernst and Young to provide an Internal Audit service.
The ODA expect overall staffing levels within the organisation to reduce over time as construction progresses on the big five venues for the London 2012 Games although in the transportation area staffing levels will increase as we move closer to Games operations.
Information relating to DCMS’s other non-departmental public bodies who are working on projects relating to the London 2012 Olympics could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Future staffing levels in the GOE will remain under review, within the overall budgetary settlement agreed with HM Treasury.
Playing Fields
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to (a) enable and (b) encourage local authorities to increase their provision of sports pitches. [280269]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England have advised that local authorities are encouraged to develop strategies for the provision of playing fields in their area under Planning Policy Guidance Note 17(2002). Sport England provides further advice on how to do this in its document—Towards a Level Playing Field.
This clearly states that local authorities should ensure that they have an adequate supply of pitches to meet current and future needs within their area. The Department for Communities and Local Government are committed to updating Planning Policy Guidance Note 17(2002) in the near future.
Sport: Norwich
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department allocated to sport-related groups in Norwich in each of the last five years. [282036]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department allocated Sport England over £480 million of Exchequer funding in the last five years, to invest in community sport both through National Governing Bodies and more specific local initiatives.
In addition, in 2009-10, the Department has allocated Sport England £135.7 million of Exchequer funding. Sport England has targets to get one million people doing more sport by 2012-13, and to make a major contribution to the delivery of the five hour sports offer for children and young people. Norwich will benefit, alongside every area of England, from Exchequer and lottery investment by Sport England in 2009-10 in support of these targets.
Specifically, Sport England have advised that the following initiatives have received funding to support participation in sport in Norwich in each of the last financial years.
| Financial year | Parliamentary constituency | Recipient | Project description | Total award (£) |
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