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Written Answers
Tuesday, 22nd October 2002.
Rural Poverty
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which Cabinet committees and government policy and advisory units or bodies have consideration of rural poverty specifically within their remit.[HL5799]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): The Government are committed to reducing poverty in both rural and urban areas.
Besides the Government's general anti-poverty policies, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has an objective to enhance opportunity and tackle social exclusion in rural areas. The Government's recent spending review also set a PSA target to reduce the gap in productivity between the least well-performing quartile of rural areas and the English median by 2006, and to improve the accessibility of services for rural people. It is the Government's objective to cater for the needs of individuals, families and communities in both rural and urban areas.
The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Rural Renewal (DA(RR)) has a remit to oversee the development and implementation of the Government's policies on the rural economy and rural communities, while the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Social Exclusion and Regeneration (DA(SER)) has a remit to oversee the development and implementation of the Government's policies on social exclusion, neighbourhood renewal, and area-based initiatives.
The Countryside Agency is a statutory body which has within its remit the responsibility to conserve and enhance the countryside and to promote social equity and economic opportunity for the people who live there.
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What policy initiatives they have taken since 1997 to alleviate rural poverty in England and Wales.[HL5800]
Lord Whitty: Policy towards rural poverty is a part of the Government's overall strategy to tackle deprivation and social exclusion and deliver high quality services for everyone. Initiatives to tackle poverty, deprivation and social exclusion, such as the Connexions service or Sure Start, are piloted in rural as well as urban areas so that in developing policies and disseminating best practice, rural impacts are fully taken into account.
It must be pointed out that poverty levels are generally lower in rural areas and tend to be hidden within largely prosperous areas. This makes it difficult
to quantify and target those who need help. Defra is undertaking work on this with partners.The Government have introduced a series of initiatives specifically to develop rural areas with a dynamic and inclusive economy, strong rural communities and fair access to services:
- (i) A new policy framework to provide a fair deal on services, help in regenerating the rural economy, and a strong voice for rural communities, set out in the Rural White Paper, accompanied by £1 billion of additional funding in 2001–04 and underpinned by Defra's target for increased productivity and improved access to vital public services for all rural people.
- (ii) Increased opportunities for access and enjoyment of the countryside through a comprehensive overhaul of legislation on access, rights of way and protection of biodiversity set out in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
- (iii) Creation of the role of Rural Advocate—currently Ewen Cameron, also Chairman of the Countryside Agency—who attends meetings of the new Cabinet sub-committee and acts as a voice for rural concerns within and outside government.
- (iv) Setting up the Rural Affairs Forum for England to ensure that key rural stakeholders are involved throughout the policy-making process.
Age Discrimination
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have a policy against ageism in employment.[HL5923]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): We have made a pledge to tackle age discrimination and we are committed to introducing age legislation covering employment, vocational training and guidance by 2006.
We are already encouraging employers to adopt non-ageist employment practices through our Age Positive Campaign. The campaign raises employers' awareness of the business benefits of an age diverse workforce and encourages a flexible approach to retirement to open up choice and opportunity for individuals to stay in work longer.
In 1999 we published the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment which sets out the standards for non-ageist approaches to recruitment, training, promotion, redundancy and retirement. The code was developed with leading organisations, including the CBI, TUC, the Employers Forum on Age and Age Concern. Evaluation shows that from 1999 to 2001 the
number of companies using age in recruitment had already fallen from 27 per cent to 13 per cent and the number of companies having a policy against employing older workers had dropped from 14 per cent to 7 per cent.Older workers have a wealth of skills and experience that can benefit individual businesses and the economy as a whole. Our policies will help to improve further the employment rate of people over 50, which has risen considerably since 1997.
Service Families: Children's Education
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are content with the rules relating to the admission of children of services families to maintained schools in England when the parents return to England from duty abroad; and, in particular, whether they are content with the requirement that the family should have been back in England for six weeks before places can be reserved for their children.[HL5916]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): There are no rules about admission to maintained schools that relate specifically to service families. Nor is there a requirement for service families to be back in England for six weeks before places can be reserved for their children.
All parents have the right to express a preference for the school they wish their child to attend. But service families, in common with all parents who apply for school places outside the normal time of admission, may find it difficult to obtain places in their preferred schools, as popular schools will already have filled all their places.
Admission authorities are not allowed to reserve places for blocks of children from service families but may allocate places to such children in advance of their families return to the UK if the Ministry of Defence can supply details of where the family will be living. The statutory Code of Practice on School Admissions, currently being revised following the new Education Act 2002, also advises local education authorities and school admission authorities to ensure that the needs of service families are taken into account.
Physical Activity for Older People
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What conclusions were reached by the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Physical Activity for Older People; whether those conclusions have been discussed by Ministers; which departments will implement those proposals; what progress has been made in implementing those proposals; and what funding has been made available for the purpose. [HL5878]
The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): The working group made the following recommendations which were presented to the Cabinet Committee on Older People: a national focus point to oversee the promotion of physical activity for older people; education and training to reduce the shortfall in trained individuals to deliver physical activity for older people; and investment in activity for people in residential and day centre settings. Ministers will be looking at these recommendations alongside other initiatives.
In addition, the Department of Health is providing funding for a programme of local exercise action pilots (LEAP) with £2.5 million. The programme is being developed with Sport England and the Countryside Agency, with support from my department, the Local Government Association, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Transport. There will be one pilot in each of the nine regions in England, led by primary care trusts. Its aim is to test out different community approaches to increasing access to physical activity. One of the target groups will be older people.
Angling: Lottery Sports Fund Grants
Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What sums have been invested in the activities of coarse fishing and game fishing from the lottery money of the Sports Council for each year since 1997. [HL5895]
Baroness Blackstone: Figures for the sum of Lottery Sports Fund grants invested in coarse and game fishing are not available. The Lottery Sports Fund has awarded the following grants to the sport of angling since 1997 which will include grants towards coarse and game fishing:
| Financial year | Number of grants | Grant amount |
| 1999–2000 | 15 | £59,547 |
| 2000–01 | 31 | £111,570 |
| 2001–02 | 31 | £116,519 |
| 2002–03 | 15 | £53,076 |
| Total | 92 | £340,712 |
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