HC Deb 03 November 1997 vol 300 cc2-3W
Kate Hoey

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many state primary schools have received sports lottery funds; how much each received; and what percentage of the total sports lottery funding this represents. [13016]

Mr. Fisher

Details of awards made to primary schools by the English Sports Council are as follows:

£
Woollescote Primary School West Midlands 92,696
Godmanchester Primary School Cambridgeshire 289,000
Meadgate School Essex 16,497
Wootton Village School Oxfordshire 51,260
Seamer and Irton Primary School North Yorkshire 8,400
Haselor School Warwickshire 10,000
Laughton Primary School East Sussex 199,605
Lower Place Primary School Lancashire 55,422
Youth Sport Trust1 7,755,000
Total 8,478,080

Percentage of Lottery Sports Fund awarded to Primary Schools 1.30 per cent.

1The award to the Youth Sport Trust will help with the costs for the provision of sports equipment to over 500 primary schools in England.

Kate Hoey

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to alter the Sports Council lottery regulations regarding grants to primary schools. [13015]

Mr. Fisher

There are no Lottery regulations that apply solely to primary schools. The English Sports Council (ESC), the distributing body for sport-related projects in England, makes awards to all schools and colleges through its "School Community Sports Initiative."

The ESC has developed two proposals as part of the process to help primary schools benefit further from Lottery funds. The first is through part of a new range of revenue programmes encompassing support to the development of talent identification and coaching and leadership for Young People through the World Class Start Programme. Secondly, it is anticipated that primary schools may be able to benefit more suitably through the development of the joint-distributor Community Projects programme currently under development.

In addition, the White Paper "The People's Lottery", published in July, details the Government's proposals to changes and further improve the way in which the lottery operates. One of the most important proposals is the introduction of a new cause—The New Opportunities Fund—which will provide Lottery support for initiatives in education, health and the environment. Primary schools will be eligible to apply for funding from the New Opportunities Fund for out of school hours projects. The target is for at least half of all secondary schools and a quarter of all primary schools to be undertaking such projects and activities by 2001.