16. To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding was awarded to village halls in North Yorkshire in (a) 1997 and (b) each of the last three years for which figures are available. (137943)

Lottery distributors made grants to village and community halls in North Yorkshire of £346,000 in 1997; £136,000 in 2004; £134,000 in 2005 and £277,000 in 2006. Other Lottery grants will have benefited halls with shared community use.

17. To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received from the Big Lottery Fund on the impact of Olympic funding proposals on resources available to the BLF. (137944)

Prior to the Secretary of State's announcement on 15 March, she and DCMS officials held discussions with representatives from the Big Lottery Fund including its chair. These were informed by a detailed exchange of information. This dialogue is on-going and the Big Lottery Fund, along with other lottery distributors, will soon be consulted formally on the draft statutory instrument required to enable the transfer of funds.