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Recycling
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of (a) paper and (b) other goods purchased by her Department was recycled paper in each year since 1997; what the annual total cost of these purchases was; what plans there are to increase these proportions; and if she will make a statement. [65765]
Dr. Howells: All paper purchased for use in photocopiers, printers and Fax machines is recycled paper. Where the quality of the end product allows, all print orders also specify recycled paper is to be used. Paper is purchased as part of general stationery and that commodity before 2000–2001 was not recorded as a separate cost. In year 2000–2001 expenditure on paper was £27,450. In it 2001–2002 it was £29,363. The DCMS has in place, an Environmental Management System, one aspect of which is sustainable procurement, and central to which is the requirement for continuous improvement in environmental performance.
Swimming Pools
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) indoor and (b) outdoor Olympic standard swimming pools there are in England. [65466]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 1 July 2002]: We have contacted Sport England to request this information and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
School Sport
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will implement plans to invest in school sports as announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2001 and 9 June. [65598]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS/DfES are working together to deliver the PE school sport and club links project outlined by the PM in his announcements. Already 1.8 million primary pupils are benefiting from our investment in the school sports coordinators (SSCo) programme. Where SSCo partnerships have been established,
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pupils are enjoying increased: extra-curricular provision; opportunities for competitive sport; links with secondary schools easing the transition between Key Stages Two and Three; access to qualified sports coaches; and opportunities to access training in sports leadership. By September this year there will be 142 specialist sports colleges supporting 742 SSCos and 3,576 primary link teachers. SSCOs will be key in delivering the entitlement for all 5 to 16-year-olds to two hours a week of high quality school sport and physical education within and beyond the curriculum. We will extend the SSCo programme to reach all primary pupils by 2006 (subject to spending review decisions).
Tennis Courts
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) indoor, (b) outdoor with lighting and (c) outdoor without lighting tennis courts there are in England. [65465]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 1 July 2002]: We have contacted Sport England to request the information, and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
PFI Projects
Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which PFI projects fall under the responsibility of the Department's NDPBs. [65070]
Dr. Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave her on 10 June 2002, Official Report, columns 1014–15W, which refers to the PFI projects under the responsibility of the Department's NDPBs.
Tourism
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) if she will make a statement on the impact on the English Tourism Council of her plans to change the marketing of tourism in England; [65457]
- (2) what effect her plans to change the marketing of tourism in England would have on visitengland.org.uk; [65454]
(3) if she will make a statement on her plans to change the marketing of tourism in England; and what progress has been made; [65462]
(4) if she will make a statement on the long-term future of the English Tourism Council; [65456]
(5) if her plans to change the marketing of tourism in England would transfer functions of the English Tourism Council to (a) her Department, (b) the regional tourist boards, (c) the regional development agencies and (d) other companies or organisations; [65455]
(6) if she will list those who were consulted about her plans to change the marketing of tourism in England prior to their announcement; [65461]
(7) if she will make a statement on the marketing of tourism in England. [65453]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 1 July 2002]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's announcement on 13 May of a programme of modernisation and radical change followed a full day seminar in October 2001,
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discussion at the Tourism Summit of Ministers in March 2002 and a Tourism Forum meeting in April 2002. In addition, there has been close consultation with Alan Britten (chairman of the English Tourism Council) and with chairs of regional development agencies as well as informal discussion with many people in the tourism industry over the last year.
Since that announcement, good progress has been made in developing plans for the domestic marketing of English tourism. I have chaired two meetings of a small steering group, comprising senior representatives of the English Tourism Council, British Tourist Authority, Tourism Alliance, regional development agencies, regional tourist boards, Local Government Association and the private sector. We have considered a model for public-private coalition for domestic marketing and made an initial assessment of priorities for strategic delivery of other support to the industry, including considering the roles to be played by the regional development agencies, regional tourist boards and local government.
In due course, we will make a further statement on the marketing of English tourism within the UK, a role which is not currently carried out at national level. However, the events of 2001 illustrated its huge potential and we intend to respond to that opportunity, since it will increase the long-term growth potential and sustainability of the industry. The industry is fully in support of this strategic change and key areas that the new organisation (a radically reformed English Tourism Council) is likely to consider are: the development of a national marketing strategy (including e-tourism and the usefulness and appropriateness of websites such as visitengland.org.uk); thematic marketing of England within the UK along the lines of what the British Tourist Authority does successfully abroad; engagement of the private sector (including match funding); and more efficient coordination of the huge expenditure on tourism marketing that already takes place at regional, sub-regional and local level.
The English Tourism Council has worked effectively to take forward much of what was set out in the Government's 1999 strategy, Tomorrow's Tourism; it has also engaged the regional tourist boards to work efficiently together, including piloting new ideas and disseminating the results of those projects. I am pleased with this progress and we now want to increase the emphasis on delivery and results. The regional development agencies are best placed, working in partnership with the regional tourist boards, to do much of this. Accordingly, we will radically change the English Tourism Council into a body that focuses on marketing and associated activities such as e-tourism and relevant research. We have not yet decided on any transfer of functions to the bodies referred to in the question and no changes are planned to visitengland.org.uk. We will make a fuller announcement once we have completed our deliberations.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Retail Crime
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the annual cost of retail crime to (a) business, (b) local authorities and (c) the police has been in the past three years. [54564]
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Mr. Denham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Weston-Super- Mare (Brian Cotter) on 14 May 2002, Official Report, column 606W.
European Legislation
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2002, Official Report, column 1100W, on European Documents, if he will make a statement on the nature of legislation under discussion in the fields of (a) visa policy, (b) information exchange and analysis, (c) pre-frontier measures, (d) border management, (e) improvement and co-ordination at operational level, (f) work of Europol and (g) aliens and criminals law and readmission and return. [57887]
Beverley Hughes: The Action Plan on illegal immigration was adopted at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 28 February 2002. Measures within the plan are to be implemented in the short and medium term, with short-term measures to be implemented as soon as possible and in principle within one year of adoption of the Action Plan. Outlined below are the short term measures—both legislative and operative—in the six areas of the plan:
- Visa policy
- To improve document security on the basis of new technologies.
- To run a pilot project on using joint infrastructures and to strengthen consular co-operation.
- To conduct a feasibility study to determine the main features of the common visa identification system.
- Information Exchange and Analysis
- To draft an annual report consisting of a statistical overview and data analysis.
- To conduct a feasibility study with a view to developing a European system for exchanging information.
- To implement and appraise the existing Early Warning System.
- Pre-frontier Measures
- To step up co-operation via the liaison officer network.
- To continue to implement the action of the High Level Working Group on Asylum and Migration.
- Measures relating to Border Management
- To put into practice a risk assessment.
- To conduct a feasibility study on improving sea border controls.
- To analyse the possible contribution from police college (CEPOL) towards improving training.
- To step up co-operation with the operational services in the member states.
- To analyse the feasibility of a joint external borders service.
- Readmission and Return Policy
- To improve practical co-operation between the competent services.
- To determine appropriate criteria and practical arrangements for the compensation between member states of costs resulting from the enforcement of expulsion decisions.
- To analyse the actions and measures that may be envisaged on the basis of the Commission's Green Paper on return.
- To conclude outstanding readmission agreements with third countries.
- To further identify third countries with which readmission agreements need to be negotiated.
- To establish standards for the transit of returnees.
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- Europol
- No short term measures.
- Penalties
- To put into practise the new Community instruments aimed at combating illegal trafficking of human beings.
- To determine the possibility of granting certain benefits/assistance to victims of trafficking of human beings.
- To conduct a study of the laws of the member states.
- To analyse the possibility of adopting provisions on confiscation of financial gains and on confiscation of means, in particular means of transport used in criminal activities relating to illegal immigration.
- To consider follow up to the Directive on carrier liability.
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