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24 May 2004 : Column 1314W—continued

Community Radio

16. Ian Lucas : To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will announce the funding arrangements for community radio. [174906]

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 5 March 2004 that £0.5 million pounds has been made available for community radio for each of the next two financial years. OFCOM will administer the fund.

Athletics

17. Mr. Amess : to ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to promote participation in athletics; and if she will make a statement. [174908]

Mr. Caborn: Athletics is benefiting from the Government's investment of £10 million into Club Links, which aims to increase the percentage of young people moving between School Sport Partnerships and governing body accredited clubs. This will build new, and strengthen existing, links between schools and clubs and increase participation opportunities.

King Edward VII Convalescent Home

18. Mr. Andrew Turner : to ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the future of the former King Edward VII convalescent home for officers, Osborne. [174909]

Tessa Jowell: English Heritage has considered a range of options. A recent study suggests that the most feasible would be to convert the former convalescent home at Osborne House into a high quality hotel.
 
24 May 2004 : Column 1315W
 

Audio-description Technology

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of British live theatres are (a) equipped for and (b) operating equipment for audio-description of live performances; and if she will make a statement. [175015]

Estelle Morris: Arts Council England estimates that of the 283 theatres they fund in England, 53 (about 19 per cent.) are equipped with and operate their own audio description equipment. 11 additional theatres have their own equipment and use Vocaleyes, an Arts Council England funded organisation, to provide audio description. In the last 12 months, 12 additional theatres have used Vocaleyes for both their equipment and audio description service.

Arts Council England has committed £165,000 to the core funding of Vocaleyes in 2005–06, an increase of 68 per cent. since 2003–04.

Licensing Act

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what account she has taken of representations from the circus industry in developing the draft guidance under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. [175556]

Mr. Caborn: We considered carefully the views expressed to us by, and on behalf of, the circus industry when drawing up the draft Guidance to licensing authorities which was laid before Parliament on 23 March. We have, in so far as possible, made the draft Guidance clearer in relation to circuses. We did not accept their case for exemption during the passage of the Licensing Bill, nor for amending the arrangements for temporary events. Further, it is not possible to create exemptions to the Licensing Act 2003 through the Guidance, as it cannot amend the Act.

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will delay further parliamentary consideration of the draft guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 until further representations from the circus industry due to be received on 27 May have been considered. [175557]

Mr. Caborn: We want to see the Licensing Act 2003 implemented as soon as possible so that consumers, industry and local communities can benefit from the reforms. We do not, therefore, wish to delay Parliament's consideration of the draft Guidance to licensing authorities which was laid on 23 March. I do, however, understand the concerns of circuses and I look forward to meeting the hon. Member and circus industry representatives on 27 May to consider how to assist this important and popular part of our cultural heritage to adjust to the requirements of the new regime in a way that is as smooth and manageable as possible.
 
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ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Electoral Registration

28. Mr. Barnes: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what information the Electoral Commission holds on the shortfall in electoral registration. [174920]

Mr. Viggers: Last year, the Electoral Commission published research assessing the impact on levels of registration of new registration arrangements in Northern Ireland. I understand that the Commission does not currently hold up-to-date information relating to registration shortfalls in England, Scotland and Wales. However, the Commission is currently establishing a research project to identify the extent and nature of under-registration in Great Britain, as well as reviewing the operation and impact of rolling registration since 2001.

All-postal Voting

29. Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what arrangements the Electoral Commission has made for spot checks on households in all-postal voting areas. [174917]

Mr. Viggers: While the Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate the pilot schemes in June, it has no operational role in the conduct of the elections. The Commission has advised Returning Officers of the post-election checks they might use to provide assurance of the security of postal voting, but has no plans to undertake any checks itself during the course of the election period as this could interfere with the conduct of the ballot.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecutors

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General what the annual leave allowance is for each grade of Crown Prosecutor. [167303]

The Solicitor-General: The annual leave allowance for all grades of crown prosecutor below the Senior Civil Service grade (SCS) is 25 days per year on entry to the department, and 30 days upon completion of 10 years' service. Crown prosecutors in the SCS and the Chief Crown Prosecutor grades, are entitled to 30 days' annual leave on entry to the department.

Discontinued Cases (Merseyside)

Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases in the Merseyside area were referred to (a) the Crown court and (b) a magistrates court in each year since 1997; and how many of those cases were subsequently discontinued. [173129]

The Solicitor-General: The following tables show the number of cases received by CPS Merseyside in the magistrates courts and in the Crown court in each year
 
24 May 2004 : Column 1317W
 
since 1997. Magistrates courts receipts include cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police for pre-charge advice and non-criminal proceedings, as well as cases referred to the Service for prosecution. Crown court receipts include appeals and committals for sentence, as well as cases committed for trial.
 
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The tables show the outcome of cases prosecuted, both in numerical terms and as a proportion of completed cases. The number and percentage of cases discontinued in the magistrates courts, and the number and percentage resulting in a judge ordered acquittal in the Crown court, are included for each year.

1997		1998		1999		2000		2001		2002		2003
No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
47,080	—	45,557	—	47,969	—	49,158	—	42,307	—	46,876	—	48,383	—
5,451	13.1	5,550	13.7	6,502	15.2	6,759	15.9	6,084	16.3	5,447	14.0	5,584	13.9
3,138	7.6	2,112	5.2	3,434	8.0	3,042	7.2	2,255	6.0	2,260	5.8	1,749	4.4
41	0.1	39	0.1	48	0.1	11	0.0	7	0.0		0.0	67	0.2
47	0.1	56	0.1	81	0.2	78	0.2	85	0.2	88	0.2	110	0.3
946	2.3	673	1.7	457	1.1	708	1 .7	622	1 .7	520	1.3	647	1 .6
25,603	61.7	26,374	65.0	25,615	59.9	24,487	57.6	23,173	61.9	24,706	63.4	25,088	62.4
4,226	10.2	4,137	10.2	5,012	11.7	5,883	13.8	3,989	10.7	4,985	12.8	5,834	14.5
2,051	4.9	1,662	4.1	1,619	3.8	1,541	3.6	1,200	3.2	945	2.4	1,114	2.8
9,623	23.2	8,430	20.8	10,522	24.6	10,598	24.9	9,053	24.2	8,315	213	8,757	20.3
31,880	76.8	32,173	79.2	32,246	75.4	31,911	75.1	28,362	75.8	30,636	78.7	32,036	79.7

1997		1998		1999		2000		2001		2002		2003
No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
5,022	—	4,854	—	4,411	—	4,569	—	3,947	—	4,183	—	4,518	—
447	10.9	637	14.8	443	12.7	589	16.0	687	19.0	654	18.0	686	18.9
45	1.1	123	2.9	188	5.4	123	3.3	142	3.9	123	3.4	78	2.2
56	1 .4	52	1.2	49	1 .4	61	1 .7	64	1 .8	75	2.1	85	2.3
273	6.7	253	5.9	259	7.4	263	7.1	330	9.1	299	8.2	301	8.3
2,969	72.4	2,843	66.0	2,178	62.6	2,330	63.2	2,062	56.9	2,105	57.8	2,151	59.3
313	7.6	397	9.2	363	10.4	323	8.8	338	9.3	384	10.5	324	8.9
821	20.0	1,065	24.7	939	27.0	7,036	28.7	7,223	33.8	7,757	37.6	7,750	31.7
3,282	80.0	3,240	75.3	2,541	73.0	2,653	77.9	2,400	66.2	2,489	68.4	2,475	68.3

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