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24 Jun 2009 : Column 955W—continued
Sports: Finance
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department made available to maintain and improve sporting facilities in (a) the borough of Test Valley and (b) Southampton in each of the last five years. [281452]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department has 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 1 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. Test Valley and Southampton 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 Test Valley and Southampton.
Southampton Unitary Authority has opted in to the Under 16 and Over 60 Free Swimming Programme and has received £173,211. The local authorities that have opted to offer the scheme to both age groups have also received a share of a £10 million capital fund to spend on modernising or improving pool provision. Southampton has received £69,290 in this regard.
There have been two awards in the Test Valley area totalling £13,580 under the Sportsmatch scheme which aims to support the development of grassroots sport in England.
Southampton Amateur Rowing Club
Two payments in the last five years totalling £179,487 have been made for renovation and refurbishment work.
Three payments in the last five years totalling £258,414 have been made for renovation and refurbishment work.
Tourism: Economic Situation
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the tourism industry towards economic recovery. [280255]
Barbara Follett [holding answer 16 June 2009]: Tourism is the United Kingdom’s fifth largest industry. It contributes over £86 billion a year to the national economy and supports, both directly and indirectly, over 2.7 million jobs.
However, the number of overseas visitors to these shores has fallen this year compared with previous ones. But outbound visits by UK residents have also fallen, and these were 6 per cent. lower in January to February 2009 than they were in the same period last year. This offers a potentially good prospect for domestic tourism at a time when current projections show employment in the tourism and hospitality industry will grow by almost 10 per cent. by 2017, creating over 200,000 additional jobs.
Other opportunities the industry is well placed to exploit include: favourable currency exchange rates; the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; the unprecedented number of high level sports events in the UK in the decade between 2009 and 2019; the Cultural Olympiad and, potentially, the UK City of Culture Competition.
These opportunities, combined with the UK’s enviable heritage and attractions, mean that the contribution that the tourism industry would make to the UK’s economic recovery could be considerable.
Communities and Local Government
Asylum
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the implications of the recent Slough and Coventry court judgements for the provision of emergency support for vulnerable refused asylum seekers by local authorities. [281573]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Department for Communities and Local Government has made no formal assessment of the court judgments. Refused asylum seekers are the responsibility of the UK Border Agency.
Council Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much revenue was collected in (a) rent and (b) right to buy receipts in each local authority in each of the last 10 years. [280175]
Mr. Ian Austin: I have placed in the Library of the House the available information for the last 10 years on (a) rents collected in respect of dwellings held in each local authority’s housing revenue account and (b) receipts.
Information on receipts arising from the sale of dwellings under right to buy is available from the Department’s website on:
Council Housing: Finance
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the report of the Review of Council Housing Finance will be published. [281493]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Review of Council Housing Finance will report to Ministers soon. We do not intend to publish the report but will hold a public consultation on our proposals later in the year.
Demos
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos. [279515]
Mr. Malik: The Department has no contracts for supplies or services with the think-tank Demos.
Departmental Correspondence
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of letters to his Department from hon. Members’ Parliamentary offices were answered within 30 days of the date of receipt in each quarter from January 2008 to March 2009. [280460]
Mr. Malik: The following proportion of MP correspondence cases were answered within 30 working days:
| Percentage | |
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) electricity and (b) gas was used (i) on his Department’s and its predecessor’s estate and (ii) by his Department’s and its predecessor’s agencies in each year from 2004-05 to 2008-09. [280517]
Mr. Malik: The Department for Communities and Local Government, its predecessors and its Executive agencies used the following quantities of electricity and gas each year from 2004-05:
| Electricity consumption | ||
| CLG estate | Executive agencies | |
| Gas consumption | ||
| CLG estate | Executive agencies | |
Data collation for 2008-09 is still in progress. The Department expects to complete and verify this process by September 2009.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which official is responsible for the energy efficiency of his Department’s estate. [280567]
Mr. Malik: The official responsible for the energy efficiency of the Department for Communities and Local Government’s estate is Andy Mills, Deputy Director Working Environment Division.
Home Information Packs
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many inspections local authority trading standards officers had carried out in relation to the accuracy and completeness of personal search information contained in a home information pack on the latest date for which figures are available; [282030]
(2) what steps his Department has taken to monitor the level of enforcement action taken by trading standards officers in each local authority in relation to the accuracy and completeness of personal search information contained in home information packs. [282031]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 10 November 2008, Official Report, column 860W.
Housing
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the number of (a) homes and (b) second homes in each district. [281981]
Mr. Ian Austin: I have placed in the Library of the House a table giving details of the total number of dwellings, and the number of dwellings registered as second homes for council tax purposes, in each billing authority in England.
Housing: Construction
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Homes and Communities Agency debt is to be repaid as a priority under the terms of the Kickstart Housing Delivery programme. [281211]
John Healey: The HCA loan would be repayable to the HCA after senior debt is repaid.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of unsold new build properties. [282027]
Mr. Ian Austin: Information on the total number of unsold new build properties is not held centrally.
Where the Homes and Communities Agency has allocated grant for the purchase of unsold stock through its Affordable Housing Programme these figures have been provided to the hon. Member on 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1115W.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of housing developments in England on which construction (a) has not started and (b) is not progressing; and if he will make a statement. [282028]
Mr. Ian Austin: There has been no estimate made of the number of housing developments in England on which construction has not started or is not progressing.
Housing: Low Incomes
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether tenants who have purchased equity in their houses under the Social HomeBuy scheme are liable for the maintenance costs of their houses; and what guidance is issued to purchasers in relation to liability for service charges for their property. [281646]
John Healey: If a social tenant buys a share in their home under Social HomeBuy, he or she is generally responsible for all the costs of maintaining it. The extent of their liability for maintenance and for service charges will be set out in their shared ownership lease prior to completion of the sale, and local authority and housing association landlords may decide to share the costs of maintaining properties sold under Social HomeBuy.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes have been bought through the National Clearing House scheme in each local authority area in the South West region since the scheme’s inception. [281838]
Mr. Ian Austin: The table shows the number of affordable homes by local authority in the South West for which allocations of grant were given by the Homes and Communities Agency to registered social landlords to purchase unsold developer stock in 2008-09:
| Sponsor local authority | Number of units |
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