§ Matthew GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for funding via Sport England in(a) rural areas and (b) urban areas have been (i) received and (ii) approved in each year since Sport England was set up. [35822]
§ Mr. CabornThe information requested is as follows.
598W
Year Applications received Rural Applications approved Applications received Urban Applications approved 1994–95 33 17 51 17 1995–96 410 289 883 528 1996–97 408 254 852 480 1997–98 504 181 1043 367 1998–99 418 141 828 293 1999–2000 253 114 564 244 2000–01 135 82 467 181 2001–02 156 60 581 160 Total 2,317 1,138 5,269 2,270 1 Applications in respect of rural local authorities as defined by the Countryside Agency for the purposes of its State of the Countryside Report.
§ Matthew GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the minimum usage levels are for sports schemes that will qualify for lottery funding via Sport England; [35824]
(2) what steps she is taking to ensure that rural areas are not deprived of lottery funding from Sport England because of lower usage levels than in urban areas. [35821]
§ Mr. CabornSport England does not apply any minimum usage levels in considering whether to award lottery funding to sports projects. Each application is judged on the merits of the particular case, taking into account, among other things, value for money and the need for the facility in question whether it is in a rural or urban area.