To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the diversion of funding from the Big Lottery Fund to the 2012 Olympics upon (a) the efforts of statutory agencies to promote physical activity and (b) the Government’s target of 50 per cent. of adults meeting the recommended minimum level of physical activity by 2011; and if she will make a statement. (134783)

The Big Lottery Fund will be contributing just over £638 million to the £1,085 million to be transferred, subject to Parliamentary approval, from non-Olympic Lottery proceeds to the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund (OLDF) between 2009 and 2012. Naturally, this will affect the rate at which the Fund is able to commit and spend money in all the areas it supports. The Department has made no assessment of the likely impact on any particular area, as future programmes are for the Big Lottery Fund to design. However, the Government’s intention is that no existing lottery project will be affected, and we have also agreed with the Big Lottery Fund that resources for the voluntary sector will be protected. On the basis of the Department’s current income projections, the Fund should still receive approximately £2 billion in fresh Lottery income during the four financial years in which the proposed transfers to the OLDF will be made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she plans to monitor the level of change in participation in sports and physical activity resulting from London’s hosting of the Olympics (a) before, (b) during and (c) after the event takes place; whether the Government have made any predictions of the likely level of changes; and if she will make a statement. (134784)

We currently use the Taking Part survey to monitor sports participation at the national level and to report on our public service agreement (PSA) on sport participation. Sport England’s Active People survey is used to monitor participation at the local level We will continue to use surveys such as these to monitor the level of change in participation before, during and after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

We have not made predictions about the likely level of change in participation; however the Government have set a very stretching PSA target to increase by 3 per cent. by 2008 the number of people from priority groups who participate in sport. PSA targets beyond 2008 have not yet been set.