Mr. Caborn: We have not decided what the fees will be, so I do not know how people can make such assessments. We are bringing six regulatory regimes into one, and we will have to see how that plays out. A number of sports clubs could gain from the new regime that is coming in, and we will wait and see. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave a commitment that we will revisit the issue three years after the implementation, and we will do so. It is our intention to invest in sports clubs in the way that I have just indicated, not to make things more difficult for them. I believe that, when the new licensing provisions come into operation, we could find a very different picture to that portrayed by the hon. Gentleman.

15 Sept 2003
2012 Olympics (Regional Sports)

Mr. Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the extent to which the Olympic bid will enhance regional sports facilities.

Tessa Jowell: My Department has assessed that should the UK win the right to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games they will provide the opportunity for a lasting legacy for communities through the investment by visiting teams in enhanced sporting facilities for training and preparing for the Games.

In addition I announced in July that during the bidding phase, community facilities across the UK will be improved through further funding of £100 million from the New Opportunities Fund. In England this will be joined with £31 million from Sport England to provide a fund for community sports facilities in each region.

This investment will be used together with the Olympic Bid to galvanise enthusiasm and encourage and sustain increased participation in sport in our communities.

15 Sept 2003
Licensing Fees

Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire): Conservative Members obviously welcome the rate relief, which we have requested for many years. Does not the Under-Secretary believe that perhaps its advantages will be nullified by the decision of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport not to give any relief to sports clubs for the licensing fees that the Licensing Act 2003 will introduce, despite the assurance that the then Minister gave me in Committee that he would take a positive view of the amendments that we tabled?

Phil Hope: Having stood beside the hon. Gentleman on a tennis court—regrettably not very successfully—in another kind of amateur sports club, I am very pleased to hear his enthusiasm for this measure today. It is a matter of regret, of course, that the previous Conservative Administration did not see fit to offer these rate reliefs to community amateur sports clubs.

In terms of the holistic picture of community amateur sports clubs having greater flexibility and more resources, and being able to grow as a result of this measure, I am confident that the complete package—which will include this rate relief and others—will provide a huge incentive for local clubs to develop, to recruit and to provide better sporting facilities for people of all ages in the community. I am not persuaded by the case briefly put by the hon. Gentleman today that other measures might hinder that. There is an across-the-board position in government to promote community amateur sports clubs effectively because of the wider benefits that they bring, not just in terms of sport and of raising performance and participation, but in terms of what that means for the community and for the health of the individuals who get involved.

Amendment No. 18 would amend the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and provide mandatory rate relief at both the occupied and unoccupied rates for registered community amateur sports clubs, under schedule 18 to the Finance Act 2002. Registered community amateur sports clubs can also have this relief increased at the discretion of local authorities. Sports clubs that do not meet the requirements for community amateur sports club registration—and, therefore, for mandatory rate relief—will still remain eligible for discretionary rate relief. Of course, the decisions on the award of discretionary rate relief are, and will remain, a matter for individual local authorities.

I hope that this provision demonstrates to hon. Members that we have listened carefully to the representations of the many people, both inside and outside the House, who support this important measure. I am very pleased to announce that we are introducing this relief. It represents a great opportunity for small community sports clubs, which I know that my colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have strongly welcomed. It has also been widely welcomed by the sports bodies and, in particular, by the Central Council of Physical Recreation, which has, along with many other bodies, sought support for this measure for some time.

30 June 2003
Licensing Bill
Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire): In last Tuesday's debate on the Licensing Bill, and again a few moments ago, the Minister denied having received any representation from the Association of Chief Police Officers regarding their wish to license the showing of televised sporting events on wide screens in pubs. ACPO has now confirmed to us that an exchange of e-mails with the Minister's officials took place on this issue last year. Was the Minister told about this? If not, will he question his officials? If he was, does he wish at this late stage to put the record straight?

Mr. Caborn: I did not know that those representations had been made, but I take the hon. Gentleman's word. I have not seen those representations and I will ask my officials to let me see them.

19 May 2003
Licensed Premises (Children)

Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire): In the Licensing Bill as it stands, and as the Secretary of State has said, the presumption is in favour of allowing children of any age unaccompanied access to licensed premises unless the licensee is either unwilling or unable to guarantee their protection from harm. Should it not be the other way round?

Tessa Jowell: The hon. Gentleman must understand that in the licence application the licensee must make it clear how he will protect children if they come into his pub or other licensed premises. In the statutory guidance, as I have already stated, we have proposed four different sorts of premises, ranging from those where there should be a presumption by the licensing authority that unsupervised children will not be allowed access, to those where there is an expectation that children will be welcome. It is precisely that sort of flexible approach that will ensure that children are properly protected.

20 Mar 2003
Museum Funding

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects that funding will be available for Hubs allocated phase two status in the Renaissance in the Region Museum Funding Initiative; how much funding is available for the (a) phase two Hubs and (b) the phase one Hubs; what process the phase two Hubs will be required to undertake in order to receive their funding; and whether this process repeats the initial competition for phase one status and funding. [102534]

Dr. Howells: We will be providing £70 million for regional museums from this year until 2005–06, which will represent a 200 per cent. increase in central Government funding by the end of the spending review period. Extra funding will also be made available to the national museums to enable them to work in partnership with regional museums. Additionally, there will be funds from the Department for Education and Skills to support museums' education.

The funds will be distributed through nine Regional Hubs led by major regional museums. The Regional Hubs selected for priority funding are the North East, South West and West Midlands Hubs, but Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries will continue to provide a level of support to all nine Regional Hubs.

Resource will put its recommendations to Ministers on funding allocations for all nine Regional Hubs ready for announcement in April. All Regional Hubs will then be asked to submit a detailed Business Plan by January 2004, setting out their programme of work for 2004–06. This will not be a competitive process and will build on information previously submitted.

10 March 2003
Rural Libraries
Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire): Since they came to power, the Government have systematically rigged the funding of local authorities to shift resources from the rural shire counties to Labour metropolitan areas. It is hardly surprising that rural libraries are all too often the first casualties of Government-induced pressure on resources. Given that rural library closures are on the increase, is the Minister content for his Department to preside over this diminishing but none the less priceless resource?

Mr. Caborn: That is not the case. The present Administration have now brought about fairness in local government financing. We inherited an unfair system of distribution, and now there is fairness. [Laughter.] Conservative Members are disagreeing with that. There has been investment in libraries, and the constructive dialogue with the library service has produced the 10-year vision in "Framework for the Future". That has been accepted by all of them as the right way forward; it will bring the library service into the 21st century. If the authorities to which my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Wright) referred put booze before books, that is a matter for them, and the electorate will make their own decision.

3 Feb 2003
West End Theatres
Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire): Is it any surprise that west end theatre is currently going through one of its worst financial downturns, what with the failing tube system, dramatically rising street crime, uncertainty about the implications of the Licensing Bill, central London becoming inaccessible because of roadworks and the preparations for congestion charging? How are theatregoers supposed to get to the theatre and home without hassle and in safety? Is it not time that the Government addressed the crucial issues for inner London—decaying transport infrastructure, rising crime and antisocial behaviour?

Dr. Howells: That was a wonderful piece of fiction. The situation is not as bad as the hon. Gentleman suggests. I know that he has a political point to make and that he has to talk down whatever success there is in the economy but this year is likely to be the first year in British history in which more than 12 million people will pay to go to London theatres. That is a great achievement. He should not talk them down. He should celebrate that fact.