asked Her Majesty's Government:What difficulties led to the delay of 15 weeks in answering the Lord Laird's written Question (HL3540), tabled on 29 June, when the target time for Answers is two weeks; and whether there have been any security incidents in Chichester Street, Belfast, during the intervening time. [HL4419]

I am informed by the Northern Ireland Office that due to a misunderstanding, this Question was not actioned properly for some weeks. Thereafter, a number of government agencies, independent from the Northern Ireland Office, had to be consulted in order to ensure that the Answer given to Lord Laird was accurate.I can confirm that there have been no security incidents in Chichester Street since 29 June 2004.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What allowances and payments were paid to Waterways Ireland's director of marketing and communication by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and Islands each year since appointment. [HL4606]

It would be inappropriate for Her Majesty's Government to comment on payments made by Irish Government departments.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether Waterways Ireland engaged consultants to manage the recruitment processes for directors, including the director of marketing and communication; if so, who were the consultants; and what was the cost of their engagement.[HL4715]

Waterways Ireland engaged consultants KPMG to manage the recruitment processes for four director posts in operations, technical support, finance/personnel and corporate services. The cost of their engagement was £34,813.No consultants were involved in the appointment of the director of marketing and communications.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the practice guide will be ready in time for the implementation of the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 in April 2005; and, if not, whether they will take steps to ensure that it is; and [HL4849]What advice they will give to local authorities in the event that the practice guide for the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 is not available before the implementation of that Act. [HL4850]

The Department of Health will issue policy guidance to accompany the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 to local authorities by April 2005. The department plans to begin consultation on the content of this guidance in December 2004. The guidance will provide councils with a good indication of their responsibilities under the new Act. The final version of the policy guidance will be sufficient for councils to understand their obligations and the systems they need to have in place to implement the Act.It is the department's role to set the strategic direction of policy and outline the requirements placed by new legislation on councils. It is councils' role to decide how to implement the policy in the light of local circumstances.We understand that the Social Care Institute for Excellence will use the evidence from its current knowledge review, on the participation of carers in changing and improving social care, to produce a practice guide for local authorities. The practice guide will include advice on how to implement the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 and will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders. It is likely to be published in summer 2005.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What assessment has been made of the effect of the £25 million grant made to English local theatres between 2001 and 2004; and what further grant will be available from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the Arts Council. [HL4765]

In 2001 the Arts Council of England announced an increase in funding of £25 million for theatre; £12 million of this funding was made available in April 2002. From 2003–04 to 2005–06 the Arts Council has made an additional £25 million available for theatres. No decision has yet been made on allocations after this point. The Arts Council published a research report in January 2004 which assessed the impact of this additional funding.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will include funding for international development in the policy directions for the Big Lottery Fund. [HL4772]

Among the Community Fund's current policy directions is the need to consider the interests of organisations with a base in the UK and working overseas. This continues to have effect for the Big Lottery Fund.The Big Lottery Fund has said that it is its intention to include an international dimension to its funding. A final decision on this will be taken by the board after the fund's current consultation has been completed in January 2005. This will be reflected in the revised policy directions for the Big Lottery Fund in due course.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What representations they and Sport England have made to Harlow District Council regarding the proposed expansion plans for Harlow tennis club to establish indoor tennis courts for after school programmes in the Harlow area as well as for community use and the provision of tennis coaching for disabled children. [HL4775]

There has been no direct representation to Harlow District Council by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport or Sport England. However, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is one of four national governing bodies given responsibility by government and Sport England for the initial identification, project development and progress monitoring of Community Club Development Programme (CCDP) projects. Harlow lawn tennis club community tennis project has been awarded a £898,949 CCDP grant.The LTA, on behalf of government and Sport England, is working closely with Harlow lawn tennis club to offer advice and guidance in support of its discussions with Harlow District Council about the project. The LTA also has plans to meet representatives from the council by the end of November 2004 to discuss the project's future development.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have met Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association to discuss the proposed expansion plans for the Harlow tennis club to support the Government's school sport and local club link programme. [HL4776]

We have not met the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) about Harlow lawn tennis club. However, the LTA has recommended the Harlow lawn tennis club community tennis project to the Community Club Development Programme (CCDP) project board to receive a grant of £898,949. The CCDP project board is chaired by Sport England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is represented on the board.We and Sport England are aware of Harlow tennis club's plans and, through the LTA, are working with the club to deliver its developmental objectives for the project and to enhance the provision of tennis facilities in the Harlow area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which principal tennis projects in the Harlow area have Sport England and Lawn Tennis Association approval for new tennis courts to meet the target to extend the provision of tennis facilities to local schools and the wider community. [HL4777]

The Harlow lawn tennis club has been awarded a community club development fund (CCDP) grant of £898,949 for new indoor facilities and additional floodlit courts.Harlow lawn tennis club has previously received a loan of £30,000 from the Lawn Tennis Association and a grant of £52,200 from the Sport England Lottery Fund towards a new clubhouse.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many elite athletes received government funding before May 1997. [HL4787]

Prior to May 1997 there were no government programmes in place to provide financial support direct to our elite athletes.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the cost estimate for security measures for the Olympic Park and venues to be used for Olympic events within the proposed £1.5 billion operating budget; and [HL4818]What is their current assessment of the costs of policing and anti-terrorism measures for the proposed London 2012 Olympic Games; and [HL4819]Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 28 October (

Further to my reply to the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, on 26 October, (Official Report, col. WA 116–7), current estimates for the security costs associated with hosting the Olympic Games are £24 million from the LOCOG budget, for security in the Olympic Park and other Olympic venues, and around £200 million from the wider public sector funding package. It is probable that, in the event of London staging the Games, there would be other costs associated with ensuring the security of the Olympic Games. New threats as well as innovative counter-terrorism measures are likely to exist in 2012 and therefore it is difficult to speculate at this time as to what the cost implications will be.

asked Her Majesty's Government:In providing a guarantee to the International Olympic Committee in the event of an overspend on the London 2012 Olympic Games, what proportion of the overspend will be funded directly by the Treasury; and [HL4820]Under what circumstances London council tax payers would be charged £20 a year for 43 years under the funding formula agreed between the Mayor of London and the Government to finance the London 2012 Olympic Games. [HL4823]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave him on 26 October 2004 (Official Report, column WA 117).

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether formal consultations have taken place with all lottery providers regarding their expected contribution to any overspend incurred by the London 2012 Olympic Games; and whether they will detail the level of funding they are willing to forgo in the event of an overspend. [HL4821]

There has been no consultation with the Lottery distributors on detailed levels of contributions to a hypothetical Olympic shortfall some years hence. However, I can assure the noble Lord that consultation with distributors would take place in such an event.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the rejection of Sir Alan Budd's recommendation that side betting on the National Lottery be allowed or that there be a single regulator, what additional measures they intend to introduce to maintain the strength of the lottery in the face of competition from large casinos in inner cities. [HL4867]

We do not think that the provisions of the Gambling Bill in relation to casinos will have any significant impact on National Lottery revenue, or that any additional measures over and above those in the Bill are needed on this account. We also note and welcome the resilience of lottery sales as shown by recent increases.