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29 Jun 2004 : Column 186W—continued

Transport Infrastructure (Chorley)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government money has been spent on Chorley (a) bus interchange and (b) train station; and what the planned expenditure is for the coming year. [180719]

Mr. McNulty: Lancashire county council and Chorley borough council jointly developed the new Chorley bus Interchange completed in March 2003 at a cost of £3.267 million.

The refurbishment of the railway station opposite the bus interchange commenced on the 5 January 2004 to create a true Transport interchange for Chorley. Over £464,000 of government borrowing has been approved.

There is no further planned expenditure for the following year.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC Charter Review

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to involve Gaelic-speaking organisations in the BBC Charter Review. [179508]

Tessa Jowell: Charter review will examine all aspects of the BBC's role, structure and function—subject to one certain outcome, that it will result in a strong BBC, independent of Government.

One of the issues that the Charter review is considering is how the BBC represents nations, regions and communities, and we will be consulting further as Charter review proceeds. I will ensure that Gaelic speaking organisations are included.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps within the BBC Charter review process to ensure that BBC World remains part of the BBC. [179647]

Tessa Jowell: As set out in the consultation document The Review of the BBC's Royal Charter, the BBC's international activities are an area we will be considering as Charter review progresses. We are not yet in a position to draw any conclusions about the outcome of Charter review save that it will result in a strong BBC, independent of Government.

British Film Institute

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what discussions she has had with the British Film Institute about preserving its archive; and if she will make a statement; [181412]

(2) what funding her Department has made available to digitise the British Film Institute's archive; and if she will make a statement; [181458]

(3) what percentage of the British Film Institute's archive has been digitised. [181459]

 
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Estelle Morris: I recently met the Chair and Director of the British Film Institute (BFI), to discuss their plans to reform the BFI. A key element of this strategy is a long-term plan to secure and further develop the BFI's Archive. Immediate initial investment is being made to stabilise the collection, improve storage, and enhance public understanding of its contents. Increased training of existing staff and recruitment of new curatorial and technical staff will support this capital investment.

Through the UK Film Council, the Government have increased their core funding of the BFI from £14.5 million to £16 million this financial year, together with a one off award of an additional £2 million in capital funds. It is not possible to itemise expenditure specifically for digitisation. The largest proportion of new material being received at the BFI Archive is UK television programming, almost all of which is now delivered in a digital format. Currently, it is not possible to calculate exactly the amount of material in the Archive that is digitised, though the BFI are planning to invest significantly in digital access technology, so that the widest possible number of people can enjoy the treasures within the film Archive.

Dorney Lake Rowing Facility

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money has been spent on the Dorney Lake Rowing Facility; what the total cost has been of developing the facility to date; and if she will make a statement. [180526]

Mr. Caborn: The Department allocates funding for sport through Sport England and UK Sport.

In May 2004, £17 million had been spent by Eton College on developing the Dorney Lake Rowing Facility. No public money has been spent on the facility to date.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research has been conducted to compare the Dorney Lake Rowing Facility with other international rowing venues in Europe; and if she will make a statement. [180527]

Mr. Caborn: The Department is not aware of any research of this type.

The Amateur Rowing Association (AMA), as the Governing Body for rowing, may be able to provide further information. The AMA is working very closely with Eton College to develop the Dorney Lake facility.

Lottery Revenue

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much revenue from National Lottery ticket sales has not been paid out in prizes; by whom this revenue is held; what rate of interest is applicable; and to whose benefit that interest accrues. [180638]

Estelle Morris: The total level of Lottery prizes that have not been claimed since the National Lottery began is £633,480,414. The current level of unclaimed prizes is £100,984,259. All prize money is held in an independently managed prize fund until a winning player claims a prize. The average interest on this fund is 4.2395 per cent. Any interest accrued from this fund,
 
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along with any prizes left unclaimed 180 days after the date of the relevant draw, is passed to the good causes. Camelot does place adverts nationally and locally in the run up to the 180 day deadline for large unclaimed prizes. They also announce in which area the ticket was purchased.

Shurland Hall

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what recommendations Mr. Simon Thurley of English Heritage made to her on the future of Shurland Hall at Eastchurch in the Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency following his visit; and if she will make a statement; [181273]

(2) when she expects to make a decision on the future of Shurland Hall at Eastchurch in the Sittingbourne and Sheppey constituency; and if she will make a statement. [181274]

Mr. Caborn: Following agreement between English Heritage and the owners of Shurland Hall, a contract has recently been let by English Heritage for the preparation of an outline repair and development scheme with a view to implementation by the private sector. The first tranche of the holding repairs is expected to take place in summer 2005 rather than summer 2004. In view of the welcome agreement of the owners, involvement by the Secretary of State is not appropriate.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Child Deaths

Tim Loughton: To ask the Solicitor-General (1) how many cases of parents prosecuted for causing child deaths have so far been reviewed following the review announced in January; [178508]

(2) when she expects the review of cases of parents convicted of causing child deaths to be completed. [178509]

The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Member to the Attorney-General's statement, Official Report, House of Lords, 5 May 2004, columns 55–57WS.

Criminal Prosecutions

Simon Hughes: To ask the Solicitor-General how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in Greater London in each year since 1995. [177056]

The Solicitor-General: The following table shows the number of defendants whose case resulted in a conviction or in an unsuccessful outcome in the London area of the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last nine years. The table also shows convictions and unsuccessful outcomes as a proportion of the total number of defendant cases finalised in the magistrates courts and in the Crown court in each of the years in question.
 
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Convictions comprise both guilty pleas and cases resulting in a guilty verdict following a contested hearing. In addition, magistrates courts convictions include a number of minor motoring matters proved in the absence of the defendant.

Unsuccessful outcomes in the magistrates courts comprise: discontinuances; cases written off (usually because the defendant could not be traced by the police); discharged committals; dismissals no case to answer; and dismissals after full trial. Unsuccessful outcomes in
 
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the Crown court comprise: cases in which the prosecution decided not to proceed before a jury was sworn, and in which the judge ordered an acquittal; cases written off (usually because the defendant could not be traced by the police); judge directed acquittals; and acquittals by the jury.

In 1995, convictions amounted to 63.5 per cent. of all outcomes and unsuccessful outcomes to 36.5 per cent. By 2003 convictions had risen to 72.2 per cent., while unsuccessful outcomes had fallen to 27.8 per cent.
Case outcomes CPS London

	1995		1996		1997
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Magistrates courts
Discontinuances	33,944	13.9	26,754	16.0	26,272	13.4
Write offs	44,990	18.4	30,547	18.3	25,809	13.1
Committals Discharged	253	0.1	323	0.2	387	0.2
Dismissals No Case to Answer	521	0.2	315	0.2	558	0.3
Dismissals after Trial	3,860	1.6	2,139	1.3	2,855	1.5
Total unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates courts	83,568	34.2	60,077	36.0	55,881	28.4
Guilty Pleas	106,232	43.5	70,821	42.4	95,804	48.7
Proofs in Absence	18,897	7.7	11,766	7.0	16,259	8.3
Convictions after Trial	17,270	7.1	8,720	5.2	11,655	5.9
Total convictions in magistrates courts	142,399	58.3	91,306	54.7	123,718	62.9
Crown court
Judge Ordered Acquittals	2,210	0.9	1,774	1.1	1,926	1.0
Write offs	731	0.3	472	0.3	420	0.2
Judge Directed Acquittals	540	0.2	351	0.2	400	0.2
Acquittals after Trial	1,974	0.8	1,522	0.9	2,121	1.1
Total unsuccessful outcomes in Crown court	5,455	2.2	4,119	2.5	4,867	2.5
Guilty Pleas	9,112	3.7	8,769	5.3	8,565	4.4
Convictions after Trial	3,660	1.5	2,636	1.6	3,685	1.9
Total convictions in Crown court	12,772	5.2	11,404	6.8	12,250	6.2
Total Unsuccessful Outcomes	89,023	36.5	64,196	38.5	60,748	30.9
Total Convictions	155,171	63.5	102,711	61.5	135,967	69.1
Total Outcomes	244,194		166,907		196,715

	1998		1999		2000
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Magistrates courts
Discontinuances	22,695	12.3	22,534	13.3	21,213	13.6
Write offs	21,525	11.6	18,974	11.2	17,630	11.3
Committals Discharged	220	0.1	176	0.1	260	0.2
Dismissals No Case to Answer	459	0.2	409	0.2	392	0.3
Dismissals after Trial	2,669	1.4	2,564	1.5	2,406	1.5
Total unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates courts	47,569	25.7	44,656	26.3	41,901	26.9
Guilty Pleas	98,703	53.3	91,257	53.8	84,039	53.9
Proofs in Absence	12,835	6.9	11,361	6.7	10,100	6.5
Convictions after Trial	10,255	5.5	8,482	5.0	6,935	4.4
Total convictions in magistrates courts	121,794	65.8	111,100	65.5	101,074	64.8
Crown court
Judge Ordered Acquittals	2,137	1.2	2,057	1.2	2,011	1.3
Write offs	482	0.3	366	0.2	306	0.2
Judge Directed Acquittals	454	0.2	461	0.3	411	0.3
Acquittals after Trial	2,044	1.1	1,888	1.1	1,668	1.1
Total unsuccessful outcomes in Crown court	5,116	2.8	4,773	2.8	4,397	2.8
Guilty Pleas	7,143	3.9	5,844	3.4	5,735	3.7
Convictions after Trial	3,497	1.9	3,182	1.9	2,934	1.9
Total convictions in Crown court	10,640	5.7	9,027	5.3	8,669	5.6
Total Unsuccessful Outcomes	52,685	28.5	49,429	29.2	46,298	29.7
Total Convictions	132,434	71.5	120,127	70.8	109,743	70.3
Total Outcomes	185,119		169,556		156,041

 
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	2001		2002		2003
	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Magistrates courts
Discontinuances	22,831	13.9	24,389	13.3	19,794	11.1
Write offs	19,911	12.1	19,915	10.8	19,834	11.1
Committals Discharged	364	0.2	466	0.3	616	0.3
Dismissals No Case to Answer	388	0.2	399	0.2	409	0.2
Dismissals after Trial	2,297	1.4	2,916	1.6	2,433	1.4
Total unsuccessful outcomes in magistrates courts	45,791	27.9	48,085	26.1	43,086	24.1
Guilty Pleas	88,202	53.7	99,088	53.9	95,835	53.6
Proofs in Absence	10,378	6.3	11,557	6.3	10,890	6.1
Convictions after Trial	6,268	3.8	8,180	4.4	9,174	5.1
Total convictions in magistrates courts	104,848	63.8	118,825	64.6	115,899	64.8
Crown court
Judge Ordered Acquittals	2,389	1.5	3,378	1.8	3,450	1.9
Write offs	357	0.2	440	0.2	730	0.4
Judge Directed Acquittals	376	0.2	390	0.2	400	0.2
Acquittals after Trial	1,675	1.0	1,718	0.9	2,043	1.1
Total unsuccessful outcomes in Crown court	4,797	2.9	5,925	3.2	6,623	3.7
Guilty Pleas	5,683	3.5	6,607	3.6	8,320	4.7
Convictions after Trial	3,264	2.0	4,536	2.5	4,809	2.7
Total convictions in Crown court	8,947	5.4	11,143	6.1	13,129	7.3
Total Unsuccessful Outcomes	50,588	30.8	54,009	29.4	49,709	27.8
Total Convictions	113,795	69.2	129,968	70.6	129,028	72.2
Total Outcomes	164,383		183,978		178,737

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