§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her answer of 12 November 2001,Official Report, column 501W, what are the regional administration costs of establishing the new opportunities fund for sport; and what are the costs of the regional Sport England officers. [16772]
§ Mr. CabornThe new opportunities fund is the body designated in the National Lottery Act 1998 to distribute lottery funds to initiatives concerned with health, education and the environment. They have a presence in the nine English regions which is responsible for the regional aspects of all 13 programmes. The representatives have been in place since September 2001, and are expected to cost £307,539 per year to maintain. Sport England has nine regional offices with running costs for 2000–01 of around £6,484,100.