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1 Jul 2004 : Column 387W—continued

CABE

Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provision is made for public access to decisions made by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment design reviews; and what the standard timescale is for providing such access. [181414]

Mr. Caborn: The design review programme of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) offers advice to planning authorities and others on the design of selected development projects in England. CABE is a non-statutory consultee for planning applications, and it publishes its advice when it becomes aware a planning application has been submitted. CABE aims to publish its advice on its website, www.cabe.org.uk, within 10 days of finalising its comments. To encourage pre-planning application discussions, before an application is submitted CABE's advice is not placed in the public domain.

Cricket

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps are being taken to enhance the playing of cricket at state schools. [181528]

Mr. Caborn: Cricket is one of many sports benefiting from the roll-out of school sport partnerships (50 per cent. of maintained schools from September 2004; 100 per cent. from September 2006). The 2003–04 survey of partnerships found that 85 per cent. of schools offer cricket to their pupils, making it the sixth most popular sport out of over 40 offered across all partnership schools. 45 per cent. of partnership schools have links with community cricket clubs (cricket being second only
 
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to football). We are providing over £800,000 to the England and Wales Cricket Board from 2003–04 to 2005–06 to enable them to increase further the numbers both of school-club links and of schools and pupils benefiting from them.

Government Art Collection

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to make the Government's Art Collection viewable online. [182047]

Estelle Morris: A website about the Government Art Collection (GAC) has been running since 2001 (www.gac.culture.gov.uk). Its on-line catalogue features all of the GAC's original works of art, and the GAC's holdings of modern and historical prints are gradually being added to it.

Television Access Services

Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made by Ofcom towards finalising its code on television access services. [181512]

Estelle Morris: The matter raised is the responsibility of Ofcom, as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to respond directly to my hon. Friend. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research will begin its operations. [180078]

Ms Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.

It is anticipated that the centre's board will hold its first meeting in September.

The Centre for Best Practice for Animals in Research (CBPAR) already carries out many of the functions of the proposed centre and will form the core of the National Centre. CBPAR will continue to operate during the transition period.

Asylum/Immigration

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for statutory review of a refusal to grant asylum have been submitted; how many such applications have been granted; and how many substantive re-hearings of asylum applications were successful. [181505]

Mr. Lammy: I have been asked to reply.

The Administrative Court received the first applications for statutory review in May 2003. Although applications for statutory review can be made by the appellant or the Secretary of State, all applications to date have been made by the appellant. Between May 2003 and April 2004 a total of 914 applications for a statutory review
 
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of a refusal by the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT) to grant permission to appeal were received by the Administrative Court. In 165 of these applications the decision of the Tribunal was reversed.

The most recent information from the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) database, IRIS, indicates that no Tribunal appeals decided between May 2003 and April 2004 following statutory review were allowed.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the National Audit Office's findings on the relative value of spending on immigration case work and on removing failed asylum seekers. [181372]

Mr. Browne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate will consider carefully the findings in the National Audit Office report on improving the "Speed and Quality of Asylum Decisions". There are spend to save justifications for investing both in making initial asylum decisions more quickly, and in removing failed asylum seekers. The Government's strategy for asylum addresses all aspects of the end-to-end asylum process, and recognises that a balance needs to be struck in allocating resources appropriately between them.

Cannabis

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are for an awareness campaign to educate young people of the risk of pulmonary infections and respiratory cancer associated with cannabis smoking. [179328]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.

There are no plans for a campaign.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his interim reply of 10 June 2004, ref. 177874, when a response will be sent to the letter of 4 May 2004 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North, concerning a constituent; and if he will state the reason for the delay. [180911]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 28 June 2004]: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 24 June. A response was delayed because of the need to arrange a home visit as set out in my letter to him.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the findings were of the psychologist's report to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on the subject of historical sex abuse; and what has been done by the Commission to implement recommendations. [180580]

Paul Goggins: The Commission has not received a psychologist's report specifically on historical sex abuse cases. It has received a report as part of its work on the review of child sexual abuse cases in general which sets out to identify the salient research, good practice and guidance on the application of scientific methodology to the investigation of contemporary and historical
 
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allegations of abuse and is based on well founded psychological principles. The report provides reference material for the review of cases.

A summary of the Commission's review in this area was passed in confidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred a case to the Court of Appeal owing to an error in a police method or procedure which led to the original conviction or sentence being amended, quashed or upheld. [180582]

Paul Goggins: The Commission analyses the issues considered in reaching a decision to refer a case to the Court of Appeal but not to the level of errors "in police method or procedure". It is also extremely seldom that there is a single determining factor in a referral as the Commission considers the totality of issues in every case. On this very restricted basis there have been notes of issues surrounding police activity in 95 referrals since the Commission was established in 1997.

DNA Evidence

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2004, Official Report, column 317W, on DNA evidence, if he will undertake a study into the number of convictions which are quashed as a result of DNA evidence. [180271]

Paul Goggins: We have no plans to undertake such a study.


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