Mr Iain Sproat: I beg to move, That the Treasure Act 1996 draft Code of Practice (England and Wales), which was laid before this House on 13th March, be approved.
Mr Iain Sproat: I apologise to the House for the fact that, because the statutory instruments are complex, I may have to take slightly longer than has been taken on the previous measures. The instruments seek the approval of the House for two draft codes of practice on the Treasure Act 1996. It may be useful if I briefly remind the House of the scope and purpose of the Treasure Act 1996. The Act was...
Mr Iain Sproat: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton) for initiating this debate on a subject that the House seems particularly and rightly fond of discussing. I know that he has a great interest in the lottery, having been involved in its introduction at an early stage. The lottery has been enormously or, as my right hon. Friend would say, howlingly successful in its...
Mr Iain Sproat: That is certainly an argument. The primary aim of the lottery is of course to raise money for good causes. A successful lottery bid brings a number of benefits for communities, including, for example, regeneration, job creation, new opportunities for businesses and tourism, and new and improved cultural and sporting facilities. We want to ensure that everyone derives reasonable benefits from...
Mr Iain Sproat: The hon. Gentleman has taken a long and admirable interest in the matter and, indeed, in the effect on charities. I will try to remember to send him a special copy of the leaflet. If he wishes, we could discuss how best to ensure that those who can benefit from the advice therein can be helped by him to make their applications so that his area gets its fair share of lottery awards. In its...
Mr Iain Sproat: My Department, principally through the Historic Royal Palaces agency and English Heritage, is continually striving to develop its historic properties to make them more attractive and accessible to visitors.
Mr Iain Sproat: My hon. Friend kindly invites me to visit the museum at St. Augustine's abbey, which is to be opened on 25 May by the Archbishop of Canterbury. I should very much like to be present on that day, if that is possible. My hon. Friend asks me to make sure that the Christian element of cathedrals, churches and so on is well demonstrated. He makes an important point, which I shall draw to the...
Mr Iain Sproat: The hon. Gentleman takes an admirable interest in defence matters and defence heritage matters. I shall certainly look at the two places that he mentions; if he would like to talk to me about how we might best promote them, I shall gladly meet him.
Mr Iain Sproat: The Government's sports policy document "Sport: Raising the Game", which was published in July 1995, sets out our strategy for encouraging young people to participate in sport. It particularly emphasises the importance of maximising sporting opportunities for young people within and outside formal education. Significant progress has been made in taking forward the various initiatives in the...
Mr Iain Sproat: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The award for a multi-game complex was welcome, and I hope that many other schools, local authorities and communities will take encouragement from the success of that application and apply. The Sports Council for England now has a £2 million bid fund to which schools and local sports clubs can apply to improve the links between local sports clubs and local...
Mr Iain Sproat: I am aware of that concern. It is an important issue. The Sports Council is looking this minute at how best to solve the problem so that that part of England does not lack the sort of facility that Crystal Palace provides.
Mr Iain Sproat: I strongly agree with my hon. Friend, not least because one particular sport that we have in common, cricket, is still played in only 50 per cent. of state schools in England—a poor percentage, which I wish to see increase. My hon. Friend should draw the attention of all the schools and local clubs in his area to the benefits of the lottery for such schemes, and in particular to the £2...
Mr Iain Sproat: I am happy to congratulate the Scottish Rugby Football Union, not only on its decision, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, but on the tremendous result on Saturday in the match against Ireland. I also congratulate the Irish and Welsh rugby football unions on a decision that showed that they had the interests of the sport at heart. None the less, I would not criticise the English Rugby...
Mr Iain Sproat: The National Rivers Authority commissioned a national angling survey in 1994 which concluded that there were 3.3 million freshwater and sea anglers aged 12 and over in Great Britain.
Mr Iain Sproat: The amount that the Sports Council gives in grant to angling or any other sport is a matter for the Sports Council. However, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that £500,000 from the national lottery and £100,000 from sportsmatch have gone to angling. He will be further aware of the Government's record of improving river quality, ending the problems caused by saboteurs through the Criminal...
Mr Iain Sproat: They quite like Government money from time to time. None the less, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the most pleasing aspects of the past few months has been that the three bodies representing game, coarse and sea angling have come together for the first time, and the Sports Council will be keen to help.
Mr Iain Sproat: In anticipation of some major exaggeration of the contents of Labour's so-called charter for angling, I reread its few pages this morning, and I was surprised by how little it said. I mentioned earlier some measures that the Government have undertaken. We have also abolished non-domestic rates for angling riparian owners—a measure that was welcomed by the angling community. That underlines...
Mr Iain Sproat: My hon. Friend is right: the Labour party poses a serious threat to angling, and he has mentioned one aspect of that threat.
Mr Iain Sproat: The Government's national heritage arts sponsorship scheme, otherwise known as the pairing scheme, was established in 1984 to bring new sponsors into the arts. It continues to be a great success. To date, it has brought more than £115 million of new money into the arts and more than £37 million of awards matching more than £77 million of business sponsorship.
Mr Iain Sproat: Yes, I shall certainly join my hon. Friend in doing that. This year in Wales there have been 39 awards totalling £125,000, leading to a total injection into artistic schemes of well over £250,000.
