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12 Jan 2010 : Column 859W—continued
Arts Council England: Occupational Pensions
Mr. Watson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2009, Official Report, column 665W, on
Arts Council England: finance, whether Arts Council England may (a) use proceeds from the National Lottery and (b) grant-in-aid funding from his Department to reduce its pension fund deficit; and if he will make a statement. [308368]
Margaret Hodge: Issues such as pay and pensions are operational matters for Arts Council England.
However, as part of the administrative costs associated with its role as a national lottery distributor, and in accordance with the National Lottery Act, Arts Council England (ACE) may use proceeds from the national lottery to defray any expenses incurred by it, provided such expenses have been incurred as a result of ACE's national lottery work.
ACE may use grant in aid funding to reduce its pension fund deficit.
Bell Towers: Expenditure
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what bell towers have received grants from public funds in the last 12 months. [308850]
Margaret Hodge: Funds are available from public sources to support repairs to bell towers where they are part of listed church buildings.
English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund jointly operate a grant scheme to support repairs to listed places of worship. Additionally, the Government operates a Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme that makes grants equivalent to the VAT incurred in making repairs to listed buildings primarily in use as places of worship.
However data are not available under either scheme about the amounts disbursed for works to bell towers, or the locations of bell towers that have benefited.
Casinos
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the proposed new and large casinos to be opened. [310084]
Mr. Sutcliffe: This is not a matter for central Government. It is the responsibility of the 16 local authorities permitted to offer new casino premises licences under the Gambling Act 2005 to determine the timetable for the opening of the proposed new small and large casinos.
Departmental Computers
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which websites his Department's staff are blocked from accessing on departmental networked computers. [310053]
Mr. Simon: My Department uses SmartFilter to block access to web sites which are deemed unsuitable. The following categories of sites are blocked.
Anonymizers
Criminal Activities
Game/Cartoon Violence
Drugs
Extreme
Hate/Discrimination
Illegal Software
Malicious Sites
Nudity
Provocative Attire
Phishing
P2P/File Sharing
Spam URLs
Pornography
Spyware/Adware
Tobacco
Gruesome Content
Violence
Two sites blocked that do not fall into these categories are:
internationallottobv.net
My Department blocks certain sites based on central guidance about potential threats, as is standard practice on security matters we do not publish this list.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expenditure his Department incurred on external consultancy fees in each of the last five years. [309742]
Mr. Simon [holding answer 11 January 2010]: The table shows the total expenditure incurred on external consultancy fees in each of the last five years.
| £ | |
| (1) To date only | |
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many press officers are employed by his Department; and what the staffing cost for press officers has been in each of the last five years. [309740]
Mr. Simon [holding answer 11 January 2010]: The number of press officers currently employed by the Department is 11.
The cost for press officers in each of the last five years were:
| Cost of press officers (£) | |
| (1 )This includes press officers working on the Olympics. | |
Departmental Surveys
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of his Department's most recent staff survey; which organisation carried out the survey; and what the cost of the survey was. [309839]
Margaret Hodge: DCMS will be publishing its October 2009 staff survey results on the DCMS website in April 2010. Following publication we will place a copy of the results in the Library.
The supplier for the DCMS staff survey in October 2009 was ORC International who were procured by Cabinet Office to deliver the first cross-civil service People Survey.
The People Survey replaced all existing staff surveys in the civil service with a single questionnaire.
The cost of the 2009-10 People Survey for DCMS was £8,796.56. By procuring a single supplier for staff surveys in 2009-10 the civil service has saved 35 per cent. on the total cost of staff surveys in 2008-09.
Gambling
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps the Gambling Commission is taking to seek to ensure that the licensing objectives are not adversely affected by the use by UK customers of online gambling companies operating in non-EEA white listed countries; [310114]
(2) what factors are taken into account by the Government in deciding whether to permit a gambling operator based outside the EEA to apply for a place on the white list; [310118]
(3) what recent assessment has been made of the effects on the regulation of operators of online gambling services who are located outside the United Kingdom of the operation of the white list system; [310138]
(4) what recent steps the Gambling Commission has taken to increase the effectiveness of the regulation of online gambling; [310139]
(5) what steps he is taking to ensure that UK-registered online gambling operators which are located outside the UK contribute to the cost of research, education and treatment in respect of problem gambling; [310151]
(6) what recent steps the Gambling Commission has taken to assess the effects on the promotion of the licensing objectives of online gambling; and how much funding has been allocated to the Gambling Commission for the purpose of making such assessments in the last five years; [310152]
(7) what powers the Gambling Commission have to (a) regulate and (b) sanction an operator of online gambling services in circumstances where the operator is located outside the United Kingdom. [310255]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I laid a written statement before the House on 7 January outlining proposals, and announcing a consultation, for the future regulation of remote gambling in Great Britain.
The Statement, which can be found online at:
recognises that whilst there are protections in place for British consumers gambling online with operators based outside Britain, there are differences in the approach of other regulators in respect of regulatory standards and requirements when compared to those required by the Gambling Commission.
I have therefore decided to consult on changing the existing system, so that all operators who want to target British consumers have to adhere to the provisions of the Gambling Act, its secondary legislation and the Gambling Commission's standards. This would include a requirement for operators to set out how they will contribute towards research, education and treatment of problem gambling in the UK. I expect the consultation to include consideration of issues relating to the white list, which has been temporarily closed to new applications since 30 April 2009 when my Department began to look in detail at these issues.
I shall ask the chief executive of the Gambling Commission to write to the hon. Member about the steps the Commission has already taken to increase the effectiveness of the regulation of online gambling; the allocation of funding to assess the effect of online gambling on the promotion of the licensing objectives; and the powers it has available to regulate and sanction online operators based outside of Britain. Copies of the response will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Gambling Act 2005
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many prosecutions have been made as a result of complaints made to his Department under the chain-gifting provisions of the Gambling Act 2005. [309483]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My Department has not received any complaints under the chain-gifting sections in the Gambling Act 2005. The Ministry of Justice advise that from 2005 to 2007, the years for which information is available, no court proceedings at the magistrates court in England and Wales were recorded on this issue.
Gambling: Crime
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps the Gambling Commission has taken to (a) estimate the monetary value of the illegal gambling market and (b) reduce the incidence of illegal gambling. [310115]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is a matter for the Gambling Commission. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster). Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations he has received on the performance of the Gambling Commission on tackling illegal gambling. [310117]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I regularly receive representations, both verbal and written, from trade associations and individual businesses within the gambling industry about a range of issues relating to gambling regulation, including the Gambling Commission's role in relation to tackling illegal gambling.
Gaming Machines: Taxation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Gambling Commission on the tax status of category B3A gaming machines. [309855]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have not had any discussions with HM Treasury or the Gambling Commission about category B3A gaming machines. I am aware that representations have been made to the Government in relation to the tax status of these machines. However, issues regarding taxation are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Horse Racing: Betting
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had on the long-term future of the horserace betting levy. [309615]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I meet regularly with chair and chief executive of the Horserace Betting Levy Board, most recently on 28 October 2009, and I will do so again later this month. A modernised and appropriate funding mechanism is important for the purpose of securing the long-term future of British horse racing. However, my view is also that the levy must continue until there is a viable alternative to replace it.
Licensed Premises
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licensed premises there were per 1,000 of population in each London borough in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [310291]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Statistical Bulletin collects the number of premises licences and club premises certificates issued under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003.
The following table shows this by individual London borough (licensing authority) as at 31 March 2007, 2008 and 2009 per 1,000 total population.
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