| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
16 Oct 2009 : Column 1142W—continued
Working Conditions
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines given to staff of his Department on the flexi-desk environment in operation in his Department. [292755]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government adopted a core brief for all staff moving to flexible desking and applied small modifications to this if a Directorate should have any particular needs.
Briefings material issued to the Human Resources Directorate have been lodged in the Library of the House as an example.
Culture, Media and Sport
Casinos
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of progress in establishing a casino in each of the local authority areas where (a) a large and (b) a small casino is permitted. [293853]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Officials attend regular meetings with the 16 licensing authorities permitted to issue large and small casino premises licences in order to provide advice and support where it is requested by them. It remains up to the individual licensing authorities to decide when to announce their process and timetable for applications for the new premises licences.
Horse Racing: Betting
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent progress has been made in relation to the modernisation of the Horse Race Betting Levy; what progress he expects to be made in the next three months; and if he will make a statement. [293749]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The recently ratified 49th Levy scheme will bring some much needed stability and certainty for the racing and bookmaking industries. They must now build on this momentum to work together for the benefit of racing and come to their own agreements rather than relying on Government to adjudicate. I am very pleased Paul Lee has taken on the role of Levy Board chair as I believe he will provide the kind of leadership needed to proceed with modernising the Levy. I am meeting him shortly and look forward to hearing his thoughts on the next steps.
Horserace Totalisator Board
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what recent representations he has received from organisations interested in buying the Tote; and if he will make a statement; [293745]
(2) how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in relation to the sale of the Tote; how much he expects to spend on such fees; and if he will make a statement; [293746]
(3) whether he plans to guarantee the jobs of Tote staff on the sale of the Tote; and if he will make a statement; [293747]
(4) if he will take steps to ensure that the internet services provided by the Tote are not transferred abroad on the sale of the Tote; and if he will make a statement. [293748]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The arrangements for the sale of the Tote are yet to be determined and discussions are continuing with all the relevant parties. The present intention is that the sale process itself will not start until summer 2010 with a latest completion date of March 2011. We expect to be able to give further details on the process in the next few months.
The Government's position remains that we will honour our commitment to return half of the net proceeds of any market sale to racing subject to the requirements of European state aid and competition rules. I am unable to disclose commercially confidential or sensitive information about the valuation of the tote or prospective Government payments to agents.
Mr. Ellwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when (a) he and (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Bradford
South, were first informed of the recent announcement of proposals for the sale of the Tote. [293845]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Discussions on possible plans to realise the full value of various assets, including the Tote, have been taking place over the last few weeks. A decision in principle was made by Ministers to include the Tote in the list of assets to be sold on 23 September 2009, subject to agreement by colleagues.
Licensing Laws: Languages
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on the number of languages in which tests related to obtaining a personal licence for the retail sale of alcohol are administered. [293854]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department's criteria for accredited personal licence course providers do not stipulate that examinations must be taken in languages other than English. Course providers are free to make a commercial decision to allow the examination to be taken in other languages if there is a demand for such a service.
Defence
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate has been made of the number of (a) direct and (b) indirect jobs in the supply chain which would be created as a result of the construction of the two proposed new aircraft carriers; what information his Department holds on the number of such jobs which would be created in each constituency; and if he will make a statement. [293221]
Mr. Quentin Davies: It is anticipated that work on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers will create or sustain between 7-8000 jobs at the Tier 1 shipyards in Glasgow, Rosyth, Portsmouth and Devon. We do not hold information relating to the number of indirect jobs or the breakdown of jobs in each constituency. Throughout the supply chain we expect companies to employ local people thereby boosting local economies across the UK.
Cyprus: Military Bases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what green technologies have been installed in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. [293299]
Mr. Kevan Jones: All Service family accommodation built in the last 15 years and all new single living accommodation in Cyprus includes green technology in the form of solar panels to provide supplementary heating of hot water. These panels are also fitted into older properties where it is cost effective to do so.
A number of other environmental initiatives are in place within the Sovereign Base Area, including the installation of showers in all new-builds to conserve water, designing buildings to maximise thermal efficiency thereby minimising the requirement for air conditioning, and a recycling service.
Israel: Military Aid
Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what official links there are between UK and Israeli armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [293011]
Bill Rammell: Our defence relationship with Israel is in line with HMG's policy in support of the Middle East Peace Process of having a balanced relationship with the Israelis and the Palestinians. We periodically have formal strategic level dialogue and engagement with Israeli military and civilian defence staff counterparts, including some direct contact in support of our equipment procurement programmes.
Radar: Wind Power
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2008, Official Report, column 797W, on radar: wind power, how many pre-planning applications his Department had objected to on the grounds of interference with defence equipment on the latest date for which figures are available; how many such applications related to sites in Scotland; and how many such applications in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland were subsequently withdrawn. [293446]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Between January 2006 and 7 October 2009, the Ministry of Defence has been consulted on 3,502 pre-planning applications and has expressed concerns to 1,054 of the pre-planning applications on the grounds of interference with defence equipment and or operations. Of those concerns, 233 are related to onshore sites in Scotland. Information appertaining to applications that have been withdrawn is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The following table provided illustrates each years total number of pre-planning applications.
| Total number of pre-applications | Concerns | |
Typically assessments take several months to complete due to the complexity of each individual assessment and the volume of pre-planning applications consulted on. As a result 846 pre-planning applications submitted in 2008-09 are currently undergoing assessment. It is likely that concerns will be raised for some of these outstanding pre-applications. However, where concerns are raised, mitigation options will be suggested to the developer where possible.
University Officer Training Corps
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the operation of the University Officer Training Corps in the next six months. [293150]
Mr. Kevan Jones: The Army has taken a number of savings measures in order to stay within agreed funding allocation for this financial year. As part of these savings, all University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) cadet and volunteer instructor pay will cease until April 2010. This will generate savings of £3 million.
It is hoped that the majority of core training activity, specifically the Military Leadership and Development Programme, will continue on a voluntary basis. Undergraduates and volunteer instructors will continue to be reimbursed for travel and subsistence costs.
Non-core training activities may also continue on a voluntary basis at the discretion of Commanding Officers subject to the availability of volunteer instructors.
Wind Power
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 11 March 2008, Official Report, column 296W, on wind power, to which wind farm proposals his Department has objected since January 2008; and for what reasons in each case. [293342]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Since January 2008 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has objected to 52 wind farm planning applications, the details of which are recorded in the following table.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |