1. What role the arts will play in the London 2012 Olympics, with particular reference to community arts. (144644)

2. What plans she has for the cultural Olympiad; and if she will make a statement. (144645)

Last Thursday, the London 2012 organising committee announced ambitious plans for a cultural Olympiad to showcase our arts and cultural sectors to the world. Based on our bid to the International Olympic Committee, the UK’s cultural Olympiad will be bigger than any other before it, and there will be many opportunities for individuals and communities to be involved.

I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. I am sure that he will want to join me in congratulating the South Bank centre and the Royal Festival hall on their magnificent reopening overture weekend, which really brought in the community. Events included every primary school child in Lambeth singing gospel, gospel choirs from all over the south-east singing with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and an outdoor ballroom dance, in which I participated with my young son. Does my hon. Friend share my disappointment, however, and that of the chief executive, Michael Lynch, that, in a city in which more than 4,000 people received bonuses of more than £1 million last year, it has been so hard for the centre to fund-raise for the refurbishment from the City boys and girls?

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the South Bank centre on the most fantastic of openings. It was really inclusive to the wider London community and resulted in record numbers of people participating, including many who had never visited the centre before. She raises a serious question, however, and she is right to suggest that, at its heart, our arts ecology is based not only on public subsidy and the self-revenue that many of our institutions raise themselves, but on private and commercial giving. There is new money in the City, and all those in the arts community, working particularly with Arts & Business and similar organisations, want to find ways of tapping the money that has come into the City in the past few years.

Last week, the Secretary of State described the cultural Olympiad as

“absolutely central to our vision”.

Her views happily coincided with those of Dr. William Penney Brookes of Much Wenlock who is, I am happy to say, at last gaining recognition as the true inspiration for the modern Olympics. Apart from the funding for the opening and closing ceremonies, how much funding are the Government providing, and for which activities, to celebrate the cultural Olympiad?

This is the biggest cultural Olympiad that has ever been proposed in an IOC bid, and I ask the hon. Gentleman to look at the proposals. Obviously, over the next few years, we will expect to see proposals coming forward from different parts of the regions. We have also said that there will be an international Shakespeare festival and an exhibition for which all our museums will join up. We have also said that there will be a legacy trust to provide up to £40 million of funding for events over the period. We also want to see private investment coming in.

Notwithstanding the £40 million legacy trust, which is welcome, the organising committee is clearly saying in its document that there will be only start-up and limited funds for the second and third tier events, and that it expects existing arts bodies to fund those events. However, the Arts Council is facing a cut of £112 million over the next few years, and Grants for the Arts is also being cut. I find it difficult to understand how these two proposals sit together; perhaps the Minister will explain that to me.

The cut in funding is from 2009. My hon. Friend should also remember that most arts organisations are receiving funds from the core grant, which has gone up 75 per cent. over the last period. We should be proud of that. I am sure that he would agree, given that his constituency is in the east end of London, that it is absolutely right that the young people in one of the poorest areas of London should benefit from lottery money in this way. We all have to play our part in ensuring that the Olympics are a success.

May I help the Minister to answer the question from the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard)? He has referred to the £40 million legacy trust, which is welcome, but will he acknowledge that the figures from his own Department illustrate that the cut to the budgets of those lottery projects responsible for culture, the arts and heritage amount to more than £470 million up to 2012?

Rubbish.

The Minister says, “Rubbish”, but those are figures from his own Department showing the total cuts. Is it not surprising, therefore, that we read in the document launching the cultural Olympiad that one of the projects, Artists Taking the Lead—

Order.

That is an example of the Liberal Democrats not being able to add up. Let me take the hon. Gentleman through this. In the first tier, the money for the opening and closing ceremony will come from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games budget, which is now £2 billion. We have also announced the legacy trust. We hope to see private and commercial investment, so I am pleased that Lloyds TSB has announced that it wants to sponsor the “live sites”, and that Youth Music has announced a £9 million investment in a music extravaganza involving young people. That is notwithstanding core funding. The hon. Gentleman knows that, and he ought not to persist with making up numbers as he goes along.

I am sure that my hon. Friend is as pleased as I am about the successful opening in Greenwich yesterday of one of the principal Olympic venues: the O2, which will host both the gymnastics and basketball finals and provide a remarkable entertainment complex with music and other artistic activities. Is not that a symbol of the success of this Government in driving forward projects that will enrich the capital’s cultural and sporting future, in contrast to the negative views of the Olympics from the Opposition?

I thank my right hon. Friend for that contribution. Our capacity to develop and take forward venues in the way that we are demonstrating was precisely what impressed the International Olympic Committee.

The Minister may be aware that part of the Dundee city art collection was recently on display at the Fleming galleries in London. He will also be aware that there are a large number of high quality civic and municipal collections around the country. As part of a value-for-money exercise, are there any plans to bring parts of those collections to London for display during the Olympic games, not only so that they can come out of storage and stop being a secret, but to promote all the areas from which those collections come?

That is a good idea, and I hope that the international museums exhibition proposed by our national museums might include it. Discussions have taken place with the Scottish Arts Council, and I shall refer the hon. Gentleman’s proposal to it. That is precisely the kind of grass-roots proposal that we would hope to see the legacy trust and others fund.

3. What recent discussions she has had with the football authorities on governance. (144646)

I have met representatives of the Football Association to discuss governance of football on a number of occasions, most recently on 7 March. The broad proposals outlined by Lord Burns in his review of the FA were approved by FA shareholders on 29 May. I welcome those reforms, which will make the FA more representative of 21st century football, putting it in a much stronger position to govern the game.

The Stevens inquiry into corruption has shrunk to investigating just 17 transfer deals while wide concerns about the vulnerability of clubs to takeover by international moguls and politicians remain unaddressed. Do Manchester City supporters, for instance, have any protections against the attentions of the unsavoury Thaksin Shinawatra, or is it for ever the fate of football fans to be fleeced by flaky foreign financiers?

My hon. Friend’s question reflects a little feeling, which I understand. Let us make no mistake: commercialisation and foreign investment have helped the premier league; it is the best in the world, and is watched by just under 1.5 billion people around the world every weekend; it is a great product. My hon. Friend is adding his voice to the concern expressed, with some reason, because we must make sure that the premier league does not turn into a billionaire’s playground. The grass-roots communities from which those clubs came must be respected. I hope that it is not just lip service that is paid to the fans’ organisations, to which he refers, but that clubs consider their views when making decisions.

Will the Minister confirm that the sport is brought into disrepute when clubs go into rather phoney receivership—like Mr. Ken Bates and Leeds United—after they have been relegated and do not have their 10 points deducted the following season? What can he do to put that right?

I am meeting the Football Association, the Football League and the premier league later this week to discuss ownership and some concerns, which the right hon. Gentleman rightly raises. There is a meeting in the Treasury tomorrow with a number of my hon. Friends and Treasury officials to consider share ownership and how certain actions have been taken. I do not want to comment on any individual action or club, but I do want to respond by saying that many share his concern and we are giving that issue serious consideration.

Will my right hon. Friend join me in condemning football clubs that are charging above-inflation increases for tickets? Only last week, Heart of Midlothian announced a 50 per cent. increase in ticket prices for some of its games. Does he agree that that reinforces the need to have supporters trusts and representatives of football fans on the boards of football clubs?

Again, I have a lot of sympathy with the question. Football trusts are developing up and down the land. However, it is important that club owners take ticket pricing into consideration. Because of the fairly hefty increase in television fees, in particular in the premier division, I have appealed to football clubs in England to consider their fans by at least freezing, if not reducing, some ticket prices. Some clubs have done that, especially in the north-west.

Surely the Sports Minister does not believe that football is squeaky clean. With football having proved itself incapable of looking after its interests fairly, is it not time that we had a royal commission on professional football?

I do not think so. Let us keep things in proportion. As I said, we are running the most professional league in the world. There are 40,000 football clubs in England. It is by far the largest participation sport. It is governed by the Football Association, which has brought new governance into play. The conduct of clubs is being scrutinised more closely than ever. In July, the European Union will produce a White Paper on sport, which will address some of the issues at a European level, where they have to be considered if action is to be taken to curtail some of those excesses that have emerged in the game.

4. What the legacy plans are for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (144647)

Legacy is one of the central reasons why we bid for the 2012 Olympics. Last week, to coincide with the visit of the international Olympic evaluation commission, I published our legacy promises document, which is not of itself new policy, but brings together existing policy in relation to sport, regeneration, young people, the environment, and the wider benefits to the United Kingdom of hosting the Olympic games.

As soon as I leave the House today, I will be going to the west midlands. There tonight, with Seb Coe, in the first of a series of public meetings around the country, we will be setting out our vision for an enduring legacy from 2012 from which the whole country will benefit.

I thank the Secretary of State for that. There are five rings in the Olympic flag, representing the five continents. Only two and a half continents have yet had an Olympics. If by 2024 or 2028 the games have not gone to Africa, south America, India or the middle east, what is the point of them? I wonder whether she could widen the remit of the legacy to include what legacy we will give back to the IOC for the games.

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. It is important. It is crucial that major global sporting events, such as the Olympics, should not be affordable only by rich cities in the developed countries. As part of our commitment to the IOC, in what has been called the Singapore manifesto, we will initially work in five countries, taking the benefits of sport to young people in different circumstances. The five countries are Zambia, Azerbaijan, Palau, Brazil and India.

I personally have had the privilege of working as a volunteer on two programmes in connection with the development of the Singapore manifesto. It is clear about not just the global reach of football into communities and the developing world, but the power of sport to address many of the poverty and deprivation issues that children in the developing world face.

Given the capacity constraints and doubtful legacy effects of holding the equestrian games in Greenwich park, will the Secretary of State agree to meet me and a small delegation to discuss their relocation to Boughton house in Kettering?

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s wish to pursue the interests of his constituency, but I am afraid—for him, although not for Greenwich and the Olympics in London—that the IOC is very content with the location of the equestrian events in the magnificent setting of Greenwich park.

Can my right hon. Friend assure the House that she will do all that she can to ensure that the legacy plans for the 2012 Olympics will not include the unnecessary and untimely deaths of exploited migrant construction workers?

Yes, I certainly accept the intention behind my hon. Friend’s important point. He will know of the principles of good practice that the construction contracts to be let by the Olympic Delivery Authority contain. A project on the scale of the Olympics has the opportunity to set good examples for good practice in a variety of areas, not least construction.

Only yesterday the chairman of the Central Council for Physical Recreation wrote to The Independent on Sunday, which made it its letter of the week, to say:

“For all the fine words and photo opportunities of Tony Blair, sport—schools aside—has been firmly at the periphery of this government’s sights…Community sports clubs have enjoyed precious little investment over the past decade.”

How on earth will all the legacy commitments be financed?

Well, the chairman of CPRE will continue to lobby—[Interruption.] I am sorry, I meant CCPR—an easy mistake to make. The chairman of CCPR will continue to lobby, not always on the basis of the best facts. Whether it be school sports, participation, improved facilities or elite sport, this Government’s record is unprecedented in terms of additional investment in sport. We are already seeing the results in schools, in more people taking part in sport and in the success of our elite athletes. That is because this Government see sport as being at the heart of the life of our nation, and that is why the Olympics are so important.

Can my right hon. Friend explain what the legacy will be for one of our most successful sports—shooting—with a venue that will cost £20 million to put at Woolwich and some £10 million to bring it down afterwards, when the sporting bodies want it at Bisley? What is the legacy for shooting? Why is it not common sense to put it somewhere people want it?

My hon. Friend will be aware that legacy plans for all the venues are carefully scrutinised by the IOC. In some cases, the legacy plans will continue to be developed in the five years between now and the Olympics. I am confident that the legacy from the shooting facilities will be as good as any legacy for any of the other Olympic venues.

My right hon. Friend will realise that the greatest legacy that the Olympics could give this country is greater participation in sport by all our citizens, especially young people. What is her Department doing to ensure that local authorities are spending the money that the Government send down to them to engender and develop more sporting facilities, especially in places such as Tamworth in Staffordshire?

I have visited some of the facilities in my hon. Friend’s constituency. With the work of Sport England, supported by a review of local authority facilities by the Audit Commission, there is now a fresh impetus and a programme of development of sports facilities, upgrading and refurbishment. Local authorities are working with Sport England to ensure that facilities are fit for purpose, because too many sports facilities in this country, particularly those run by local authorities, simply are not up to the job that we want them to do.

5. If she will take steps to promote awareness of common Celtic heritage in regions of the United Kingdom. (144648)

My hon. Friend will be aware that although the Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not directly sponsor common Celtic heritage, many of our sponsored bodies do; for example, the BBC’s royal charter requires it to represent the UK, its nations, regions and communities.

I am slightly disappointed by the Minister’s reply. His Department needs to realise that Celtic heritage is not exclusive to Scotland, Ireland and Wales; England has a rich Celtic heritage, particularly in areas such as Northumberland and Cornwall. The English language dictionary has a high proportion of input from the Celtic language, and our own city, in these contemporary times, is full of Celtic people. The Department ought to do much more to reflect that in its work and endeavours, and not see it as a matter purely for the other countries, but a matter for England as well.

Far be it from me to disappoint my hon. Friend, but he makes a good point. I am happy to write to the Arts Council and take it up on his behalf.

I commend the hon. Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) on his excellent question, and remind him that the language that evolved into Welsh was once spoken across the whole of the United Kingdom, including Thurrock, so does not he think it a little strange that the Foreign Office language-learning department can teach Members virtually every single language in the world, except for the language of heaven—Welsh? Does the Minister think that should be rectified?

I take note of the hon. Gentleman’s lecture and will continue to reflect on his points, but I suggest that he also takes them up at Welsh questions.

St. Fagans museum of Welsh Life promotes Celtic culture through a vast array of buildings, artefacts and furniture. Such museums play an important part in displaying Celtic heritage, not only in Wales, but across the UK. Does the Minister agree that it is important that our museums remain free to enter, so that Celtic culture can be appreciated wherever it is available, in whichever museums?

My hon. Friend tempts me into a very important area. I could talk about renaissance in the regions, but as she raises the issue of free entry to museums—a matter that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will deal with rather convincingly in a moment—I shall say simply that we continue to reject totally the policy of the Conservative party.

6. How many English Heritage sites she has visited in her official capacity in the last 12 months. (144649)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State visited Stonehenge in September 2006. Last week, she visited Torre abbey to see at first hand a project funded by English Heritage.

I thank the Minister for his response on behalf of the Secretary of State, but he may not know that I have asked that question in written form every year for the past few years, to which every answer was that she had not visited any. Do the Government appreciate this country’s heritage and history, or are they completely obsessed with sport and media?

I do know that the hon. Gentleman has asked that question every year, and I have seen the answers, which were not as he has just stated on the record for Hansard. Heritage funding, including that for museums and galleries, is bigger than it has ever been, at £600 million. He ought to refresh himself about the facts before he makes such silly suggestions.

Have my hon. Friend or any of his Front-Bench colleagues recently visited Plymouth civic centre, for which English Heritage sought listed status? It has just been granted grade II listed status, which is disastrous because it is a sick building for those who work in it, is environmentally unfriendly, and is an eyesore. The grant of listed status will delay the redevelopment of Plymouth city centre, which could have incorporated some brand-new, exciting and architecturally better buildings. I urge my hon. Friend to reconsider that decision.

I hear what my hon. Friend says and obviously I will speak to my officials about it. However, when a building is listed—which happens purely because it is deemed that it has architectural and historical merit—that does not mean that it is set in aspic. There can be changes to the building, but they have to be in accordance with what the local authority and English Heritage lay down. However, I will have a look at the matter.

Notwithstanding the Minister’s rather rough reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), will he acknowledge again—as he has to me both on the Floor of the House and in Westminster Hall—that English Heritage is suffering from something of a funding crisis? Can he give a guarantee that the new chairman will have greater freedom than his very illustrious predecessor, Sir Neil Cossons, to whom we should all pay tribute?

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that we should put on record our tribute to the work of Sir Neil Cossons, who has chaired English Heritage superbly. That goes to the heart of the hon. Gentleman’s question. We asked for a quinquennial review of English Heritage just under four years ago. The review found that English Heritage was in need of serious modernisation. Sir Neil Cossons and Simon Thurley have led that project superbly. We are now reaching a point where we are entering into discussions in the context of a spending review and we are grateful for the robust way in which the hon. Gentleman continues to lobby for heritage in this country.

Has the Minister visited Down house in Kent, where Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution? Is he aware that UNESCO has turned it down as a world heritage site and will he use his good offices to ask UNESCO to think again? Very soon, in 2009, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of “The Origin of Species”, so will he use his good offices to ensure that the site is recognised?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important issue and for all the work that he does in the House to promote science. I have met the local authority in relation to Down house. The Government believe that it deserves world heritage status, but we will think in detail about the recommendations. We hope to work with the UNESCO committee over the course of the next year, particularly in relation to science. Only eight sites across the world have scientific world heritage status and we believe that perhaps we can do something to encourage the committee to look again at Darwin’s house.

English Heritage is having a reception in Parliament this afternoon. Will the Minister attend and will he use the opportunity not only to congratulate Sir Neil Cossons and to welcome his successor, Lord Bruce-Lockhart, but to explain why he has left English Heritage with a funding shortfall of £19 million, why he has more than halved the funding for cathedral repairs, why he reduced the funding for the Heritage Lottery Fund by £161 million, and why he left English Heritage waiting months for a new chairman?

The hon. Gentleman could have done a little better than that given that I gave the answer a few moments ago. We had a quinquennial review of English Heritage and that was not the right time to take up funding, but English Heritage has been able to find funding out of its modernisation programme, and it has put that funding back in. That is against a backdrop of record investment in our arts, museums, galleries and heritage across the country. That is why visitor numbers to English Heritage sites are up, membership to English Heritage is up, and we are seeing a huge improvement in our built environment and heritage across the country. Of course I intend to go to the reception and I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman would be pleased at the appointment of Sandy Bruce-Lockhart to the chair.

If my hon. Friend came to my constituency, he would see the tremendous work that is being done because English Heritage has provided up to £50,000 in grants to improve the façade of shops on my high street. That is not only making a visible difference to the streetscape of my constituency, but, more important, improving the economic well-being of the businesses in those shops. Will my hon. Friend examine whether that funding stream can be continued in the future?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that point. He will know, because his constituency is just above mine, that Tottenham too has received such funding to regenerate the townscape façade on the main high road route that in the end comes off the A1. The money has been incredibly well spent in some of the poorest parts of north London and we are grateful. English Heritage continues to consider how it can use money to best effect in deprived constituencies such as ours.

7. What assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of admission charges for museums and galleries on visitor numbers. (144650)

The free admission policy has been enormously successful and popular with people up and down the country. Let me give the hon. Gentleman the figures. There has been an 87 per cent. increase in visits since December 2001 when this Government introduced universal free access to museums that formerly charged. That represents an extra 6 million visits a year, or 29 million more visits over the five years since entry charges were abolished. I am delighted to announce today that last year was the best year ever for our sponsored museums and galleries, with a record-breaking 39 million visits. The policy has support up and down the country. It is a policy that the Conservative party would put—

Order. I call Sir Gerald Kaufman—[Interruption.] My apologies, Dr. Cable.

Too keen to get on to the loyalists, Mr. Speaker.

Although the Secretary of State is undoubtedly right to say that the policy has been successful in attracting new visitors, is it not the case that her Department’s surveys show that there has been an almost complete failure to attract low-income visitors? What is the Department doing to change that?

It is not the case that there has been a failure to attract low-income visitors. One particular success has been the outreach work of several of the “renaissance in the regions”-funded museums, which have made a point of going out into local communities to attract visitors from such areas as deprived estates into those museums. There is an expectation that every museum will make efforts to attract people who have never visited before. The figures for the free entry programme demonstrate that that has been a great success. Almost half the visits to museums in both London and throughout the country were made by people who had not visited a museum in the previous 12 months.

Is not the free admission to museums and galleries that has been provided by the Government one of the greatest acts of democratising access to the arts that any Government have ever achieved? If my right hon. Friend were to decide to put the Conservative party in a museum, as would be appropriate, considering the exhibition that it has made of itself, would not such admission be essential, because no one would pay to go to see it?

My right hon. Friend is, as ever, entirely right, and such a move might well be a deterrent. The important point about the policy is that it is a practical way of giving expression to many of the big promises of politics—improving quality of life, giving people a better sense of their identity and a sense of place, and providing access to national treasures that belong to the people of this country. It is a policy of which we are proud, and we will maintain it with the unequivocal support of the people of this country.

We recognise that free admissions have led, as the Secretary of State said, to a record increase in the number of visits to our national museums and galleries. That is why we are fully committed to the continuation of that policy. It was, of course, introduced by her predecessor, Lord Smith of Finsbury, who said last month that it was

“difficult to overestimate the impact”

that her raids on the lottery

“had on the cultural sector.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 17 May 2007; Vol. 692, c. 342.]

He called them a “serious error of judgment” and a “tragedy”, and called on the Government to admit their mistake. Free admissions was his legacy, but is not her legacy for the arts the siphoning-off of hundreds of millions of pounds from the arts and heritage sectors to pay for her mistakes on the Olympics budget?

If we are talking about errors of judgment, we should refer to the hon. Gentleman’s little foray into thinking aloud about what would happen if museums were allowed to charge again, and to the agonising spectacle of his U-turn, which took place all of six or nine hours afterwards. I am proud of the legacy of free entry to the museums of this country, and that is a commitment with which the Government will continue. The people of this country will realise that that popular policy is put at risk by the Opposition.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that free entry has been a major factor in the growing importance of Liverpool’s museums? Will she continue to give her full support to the museums’ trail-blazing projects, such as the new slavery museum and the new museum of Liverpool life?

Yes, and that is an important and good example of the success in Liverpool of the policy of free entry. All the initiatives relating to the new slavery museum will be a central part of what Liverpool will offer, not just to the people of Liverpool or the people of the country, but to the people of the world when Liverpool is the European capital of culture next year. I commend my hon. Friend for the support that she has given to that initiative.

8. What progress is being made on privatisation of the Tote. (144651)

The Government are currently at an advanced stage of the discussions on a possible sale of the Tote to a consortium of racing interests and the staff and management of the Tote. The Government hope soon to be able to announce their intentions on how to proceed.

Mr. Speaker, I do not have a registered interest to declare, but I think that it would be courteous to inform you that I may in the future. The privatisation of the Tote has been a long and drawn-out process that goes back many years to 2001. Will the Minister tell us why it is being held up in the Treasury, what he will do about it, and how he will ensure that the Tote is given back to racing?

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: we have said in two election manifestos that we will sell the Tote into racing. It is not the Treasury that has been the major problem, but Europe. [Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will listen. We were trying to sell the Tote at a fair price, but we were told very clearly that it had to be sold at a market price. We had a lot of wrangling with the European Commission and its competition directorate-general, but eventually we got an agreement and a market price. We had been in discussions with a consortium, but the consortium could not come up with the money in the first round. The Tote’s staff and management got involved, and I believe that in the coming period we will come before the House and say how we intend to proceed. It has been a long, drawn-out process, but I can say to the hon. Gentleman that we will put the Tote into racing; we will secure the 600 jobs in the north-west, and about 2,000 jobs around the country; and we will make sure that the Tote’s product is there for the punters, who believe that they have a safe bet with the Tote.

The Minister will be aware that the Tote headquarters is in the constituency of Wigan. I pay tribute to him for the work that he has done in maintaining the independence of the Tote throughout the negotiations. Will he continue those negotiations to ensure that independence, so that the jobs are maintained in the constituency and the Tote has the opportunity of expanding so that more jobs can be taken on in the borough of Wigan?

I give that assurance. One of the things that has been at the centre of these discussions is to ensure that in bringing the Tote into the marketplace owned by racing we secure the 600 jobs in Wigan. Those staff are absolutely first class, and I know that when the sale goes through the management have plans considerably to expand the influence of the Tote in the United Kingdom and internationally. I wish them luck in that. I hope that we will secure not only those 600 jobs but many more in the north-west as well.

We are all fed up with waiting. On 14 March, in an answer to a parliamentary question, the Government said that they intend to proceed with this in due course. On 25 April, they said that they will announce shortly how they intend to proceed. On 3 May, they said that they hope to make a decision in the course of the next few weeks. On 17 May, they said that they remain in discussion. Today, the Minister says that things are at an advanced stage and it will happen very soon. Can he tell us when?

I am also frustrated, but I do not have a magic wand. When one enters into negotiations, one has to negotiate with a whole series of parties. We have had difficulties with the European Union, as I have admitted, but the parties have come together now. There is an agreement with all the constituent parts of the parties involved in racing. I hope that in the very near future, when that consortium—[Interruption.] It is not in the Government’s hands but in those of the consortium. It has to raise some money in the marketplace, and as soon as it comes back with that we will make the announcement.

19. What assessment the Speaker's Committee has made of the Electoral Commission’s report on party funding; and if he will make a statement. (144679)

I assume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the research report on public attitudes to party funding, which was published last year. The Speaker’s Committee has made no assessment of that report.

Sir Hayden Phillips has recommended that some £25 million should be used for funding political parties. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that perhaps the political parties should get together and try to sell the fact that we are trustworthy and above board before we start thinking of spending taxpayers’ money on funding?

The central point of Sir Hayden Phillips’ report was that the decision should be in the hands of the parties and they should discuss a solution. He laid down four principles: that nothing should be done until everything is agreed; that a fair system need not initially be a uniform system; that a new settlement should be reached by consensus; and that any solution should serve the long-term interests of our parliamentary system. However, he made it very clear that the initiative for this must lie with the political parties, and it is for them to discuss a possible solution.

20. Whether the Electoral Commission plans to assess the merits of lowering the minimum age of local authority candidates from 21 to 18 years. (144680)

After an assessment in 2004, the Electoral Commission recommended reducing the minimum candidacy age for all elections to 18. That recommendation was accepted by the Government and implemented by the Electoral Administration Act 2006. The Electoral Commission advises me that it has no plans to make a further assessment.

Will my hon. Friend congratulate all young candidates who took part in the recent local government elections, particularly, in Wellingborough, Mr. Peter Bedford, who is 21 years old, Mr. Calum Heckstall-Smith and Mr. Thomas Pursglove, who are 18 years old, all of whom are young, all of whom are newly elected and excellent councillors, and all of whom are Tories?

I think that the whole House will welcome the election of younger candidates throughout the country. I understand that the commission is currently collating the data from returning officers on the number of candidates between the ages of 18 and 21 who stood in the recent May elections. It will make the data available as soon as possible.

Will the hon. Gentleman, as part of his Committee’s inquiries, encourage his Committee and the Electoral Commission to examine the diversity of the candidates who stand? People are keen that we should have a broader base of candidates. May we have information on that as soon as possible?

We welcome the new initiative of people between the ages of 18 and 21 being able to stand. We note that such young people in different parties have not only been elected but ended up on council executives and in senior positions in their first term of office, both south of the border in England and north of the border in Scotland. That is welcome progress.

I think that most parliamentary colleagues welcome the participation of younger people in the elections, and their election if they are successful. Of course, they have to satisfy the electorate and get themselves elected. All political parties are taking an initiative to broaden the base of their support.

21. What progress has been made in discussions on enabling the appointment of women bishops in the Church of England. (144681)

Last July, the General Synod set up a legislative drafting group to prepare the draft Measure and canon necessary to remove the legal obstacles to the consecration of women bishops. It is keen to make progress but, realistically, we are several years away from the consecration of the first female bishop.

With 50 per cent. of current ordinands being women, 69 per cent. of the clergy saying that they support women bishops and 89 per cent. of young people in the Church of England saying that they want women bishops, are we not missing out on the talent and abilities of a huge swathe of women who are ready to become bishops? The length of time is unacceptable.

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s comments. The Synod is meeting next month, and I am sure it will listen to what she has to say. The General Synod has approved the principle of removing the legal obstacles to the consecration of women bishops, but we will ultimately need a two-thirds majority in each of the Synod’s three houses before any legislation can receive final approval.

Has the hon. Gentleman seen early-day motion 1664, which was tabled only 10 days ago but has already attracted 67 signatures from across the House? Will he please sign that motion?

The hon. Gentleman makes official his unofficial request to me. Perhaps we should wait till Thursday and see what happens.

We should hesitate to be critical of those who try to preserve the Church of England as a broad church that gladly encompasses such differences. They are profound and theological and make for enormous difficulties in the Church.

I admit that I am not involved in religion of any kind, but will my hon. Friend explain to me why on earth, given that the House voted for women priests, there should be any difficulty about bishops? We established the principle; the Church of England gave a lead to other religions, so why the endless delay in appointing women bishops?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but he knows that, since 1919, we have rendered

“unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s”.

That is to say that the Church is responsible for its own legislation and we are here to enact it, should it interfere with legislation that is already on the statute book.

“The mills of God grind slowly”—

certainly in relation to women bishops.

But is it not a fact that the vast majority of Christians in the world—those who belong to the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions—do not have women bishops? As the hon. Gentleman pointed out, some people have serious and conscientious reservations about the matter.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. It may seem simple to some hon. Members, but a significant number of people in the Church from both the Catholic and evangelical wings are opposed on theological grounds to women bishops.

As a very proud stepmother whose stepdaughter will be ordained in Sheffield cathedral on Sunday, I have a vested interest and I should like a little more encouragement from my hon. Friend. Does the Ecclesiastical Committee not have an influence?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has already raised these matters with me. She will know that the Ecclesiastical Committee will meet on 27 June, and I can assure her that when it deals with the issue there will be strong representation by women on the Committee, and we will give the subject the best and fairest of winds.

22. What plans the commissioners have to review the legal framework for pastoral reorganisation. (144682)

A recent major review of the legislation dealing with pastoral reorganisation has resulted in the preparation of the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure, which is now before Parliament. As I have indicated, it is to be considered by the Ecclesiastical Committee on 27 June.

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that that measure aims to reduce the size of rural parishes that are nursed by one priest, who has to look after several parishes at once, which puts a huge burden on them? Will he confirm that that arrangement will be reviewed in the Measure?

The object of the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure is to make new, more flexible provision for the Church’s structures and procedures to facilitate missions for the 21st century. Taking into account the points that the hon. Lady has made, we believe that it aims to make better provision for the cure of souls.

23. How much funding the commissioners have given to the Churches Conservation Trust in 2007-08. (144683)

The commissioners’ contribution to the funding of the Churches Conservation Trust in 2007-08 will be £1.286 million.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that answer. Does he agree, however, that a considerable additional sum is required if historic churches no longer used for regular worship are to be maintained and remain part of the nation’s important heritage?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for continuing to raise that issue on the Floor of the House and for drawing attention to our heritage. Since 1989, the Government have provided 70 per cent. of the trust budget, and the Church has provided 30 per cent. The overall budget for 2006-09 is £12.6 million, with £8 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and £3.8 million as the Church’s share. We continue to lobby for more.

24. Whether the commission plans to visit Kettering Borough Council to discuss new electoral administrative arrangements. (144684)

The commission informs me that it has no current plans to do so.

May I urge my hon. Friend to encourage the commission to change its mind, because if it visited the democratic and legal services team at Kettering borough council it would learn a great deal from the impressive way in which the council handled the recent local elections, including changes to ward boundaries and the introduction of new postal voting arrangements?

I am advised that the returning officer for Kettering is exceptionally capable and active in ensuring that the new electoral arrangements are carried out satisfactorily. The chairman of the Electoral Commission visited Kettering fairly recently, and I gather that officials at Kettering borough council have made contact with the Electoral Commission’s new midlands office, which is based in Coventry. I hope that all those things have helped the council in its very efficient performance.

25. What recent estimate the commission has made of the cost to the public purse of the use by the National Audit Office of private sector consultants. (144685)

The commission examined the NAO estimate for 2007-08 earlier this year. It approved a budget of just under £92 million for audit and other assurance services. The NAO estimated that some £55 million would be needed for staff, £21 million for outsourced services, and the balance for supporting services such as IT and travel. Just under 25 per cent. of the NAO budget, therefore, is expected to buy in external expertise.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has had 43 foreign trips in the past three years, staying in the most sumptuous style possible. Does my right hon. Friend think there is enough left in the NAO budget to investigate some of the excessive use of private sector consultants across the public sector, not least in the NAO, which has a target of saving £8 for every £1 that is spent, whether on expensive bathrooms in Paris or not?

I thank my hon. Friend for his supportive observations. May I point out that the National Audit Office makes a profit of £4 million a year from its overseas operations in 23 countries? On the recent publicity in relation to travel, it is important that I make something clear to the House. I have met the Chair of the Audit Committee of the National Audit Office. He agrees with me that because the House has given complete discretion—that is a statutory term—to the Comptroller and Auditor General, it is appropriate that we should develop a more transparent system. He is now working with the Commission and myself to develop such a system, and when it is finalised I will make a statement.