Hansard - United Kingdom Parliament

11W
Written Answers
20 JUNE 2011
Written Answers
12W
John Penrose: The effect of removing eligibility of
organ repairs, bells, clocks and pews from the Listed
Places of Worship Grant Scheme will be to return it to
its original scope before it was widened to include these
items in 2006. We estimate that the overall effect on
money claimed under the scheme will be to reduce it
closer to the available budget of £12 million. We have
not made an individual estimate of the specific impact
on organ repairs, but it is worth noting that they took
place continuously and successfully before being included
in the scheme in 2006, so we do not expect a serious
permanent reduction.
Local Broadcasting
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for
Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions
he has had with the BBC Trust on the maintenance of
BBC provision of local television and radio. [59770]
Mr Vaizey: There have been no recent discussions
with the BBC Trust on the maintenance of the BBC’s
existing provision of local television and radio.
Olympic Games 2012
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture,
Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department
has for the future of the Olympic legacy in all parts of
the UK after 2012. [60017]
Hugh Robertson: The Government published their
plans for the legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games in December 2010 focusing on four key areas:
Harnessing the United Kingdom’s passion for sport to increase
grass roots participation, particularly by young people—and
to encourage the whole population to be more physically
active;
Exploiting to the full opportunities for economic growth offered
by hosting the Games;
Promoting community engagement and achieving participation
across all groups in society through the Games; and
Ensuring that the Olympic Park can be developed after the
Games as one of the principle drivers of regeneration in east
London.
This plan was produced by the UK Government.
However the Games’ legacy is being driven across the
UK by a rich variety of organisations, communities and
individuals. These include the Nations and Regions
Group established by the Government and the London
Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games (LOCOG) to ensure UK-wide engagement and
to make the most of the opportunities London 2012
brings now, and to maximise the potential benefits that
will be realised locally post Games. This group works
directly with representatives from each of the nations
and English regions to realise the sporting, economic,
and cultural benefits of the 2012 Games.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture,
Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he
has made of the potential effect of the London 2012
Olympics on levels of participation in sport. [60019]
Hugh Robertson: No recent assessment has been made
of the potential effect of London 2012 on levels of
participation in sport. However, we will be measuring
the number of young people taking part in competitive
sport through the Taking Part Survey, and Sport England
will continue to measure participation in community
sport through the Active People Survey. Both ‘Places
People Play’, the Government’s sports legacy from London
2012, and the School Games will be evaluated to measure
the impact.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture,
Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on
including all parts of the UK in preparatory events for
the London 2012 Olympics. [60020]
Hugh Robertson: The Nations and Regions Group,
established by the Government Olympic Executive (GOE)
and the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG),
works directly with each UK nation and region to help
them realise and maximise the benefits from the economic,
sporting and cultural opportunities offered by the games.
One of the most significant events taking place before
the beginning of the games is the Olympic Torch Relay.
The Olympic Flame will travel to within an hour of
95% of people in the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey and
Jersey during the 70-day Olympic Torch Relay. On
18 May LOCOG announced the 66 evening celebrations
and six of the island visits and will now proceed with
the detailed planning of the route for the morning and
afternoons of each day. This is being done in consultation
with stakeholders across the UK in every region. The
route will be finalised and announced later this year,
LOCOG recently published a booklet on London
2012 which provides a summary of projects and events
that have taken place across the UK. This can be found
at the following link:
http://www.london2012.com/publications/london-2012-
across-the-uk.php
In addition, the London 2012 cultural, educational
and sporting projects the Inspire Programme, the Get
Set Network and the School Games are inclusive of the
whole of the UK.
Tourism
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture,
Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to
help regions increase the size of their tourist economy.
[60018]
John Penrose: The Government’s plans for promoting
the growth of the visitor economy are set out in detail in
the paper, “Government Tourism Policy” published in
March 2011, and available at:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/7896.aspx
Over the next four years VisitBritain will be running
the “You’re Invited” programme, which will capitalise
on the international interest in the recent Royal Wedding,
as well as next year’s Diamond Jubilee and Olympic
and Paralympic Games, and showcase Britain to the
world. The programme aims to attract 4 million extra
visitors, spending £2 billion in the UK economy, which
will support businesses, jobs and growth. The programme
is backed by a £100 million marketing fund, match
funded by the public and private sectors.
VisitEngland is working closely with local areas and
destinations, in line with Government’s localism agenda,
to grow the value of local tourism economies. This is