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18 Oct 2007 : Column 1218W—continued
UK Sport: Grants
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what account UK Sport takes of recognition of national governing bodies of sports by international federations in deciding whether to fund them; and if he will make a statement. [158846]
Mr. Sutcliffe: One of the criteria for recognition of a governing body used by all the sports councils, including UK Sport, is that it is affiliated or is in the process of affiliating to the international governing body for the sport (as appropriate to the sport).
The recognition of a governing body does not necessarily make it eligible or entitled to consideration for funding. The decision on which body to fund is based on various separate considerations, of which recognition is one.
Home Department
Asylum: Sudan
Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will cease returning Darfuri asylum seekers pending (a) review of the safety of such asylum seekers who have already been returned to Sudan and (b) a ceasefire peace agreement and secure environment being in place in that country. [158803]
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the (a) safety of Darfuri asylum seekers who have been returned to Khartoum from the UK since 2003 and (b) likely safety of Darfuri asylum seekers who are due to be returned to Khartoum from the UK. [158819]
Mr. Byrne: We take the recent allegations made by the Aegis Trust regarding the treatment of failed asylum seekers who have returned to Sudan very seriously and we are investigating them very thoroughly.
On 4 October, the House of Lords heard an appeal brought by the Home Office on whether it is reasonable to return failed asylum seekers to Khartoum where the Court of Appeal have found no risk of persecution.
There are no enforced returns of failed asylum seekers currently planned before the House of Lords judgment is expected.
Border and Immigration Agency: Correspondence
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time was between the receipt of a letter by the Border and Immigration Agency and its predecessor from a hon. Member and the sending of a substantive reply in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement. [158979]
Mr. Byrne: Figures on the length of time taken to reply to hon. Members’ correspondence to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate received before August 2004 are not available.
August-December 2004—37.83 working days
January-December 2005—32.80 working days
January-December 2006—23.56 working days
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of letters sent by hon. Members to the Border and Immigration Agency in 2006 received a substantive reply within (a) three, (b) four, (c) six, (d) eight, (e) 10 and (f) more than 10 weeks; and if she will make a statement. [158984]
Mr. Byrne: In the period 1 January to 31 December 2006 the Border and Immigration Agency received 41,513 letters from hon. Members.
(a) 22,837 (55.0 per cent.) were answered in three weeks or less
(b) 32,436 (78.1 per cent.) were answered in four weeks or less
(c) 34,802 (83.8 per cent.) were answered in six weeks or less
(d) 35,575 (85.7 per cent.) were answered in eight weeks or less
(e) 36,121 (87.0 per cent.) were answered in 10 weeks or less
(f) 5,393 (13.0 per cent.) took more than 10 weeks to answer.
Courts: Administrative Delays
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average length of time taken to bring suspects before a court in cases of (a) assault and (b) other crimes; what steps she is taking to reduce these times; and if she will make a statement. [156214]
Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
The table sets out the average time taken between the recorded date on which a defendant commits an offence to the date on which the defendant’s case is first considered by a magistrates court, for the last six years. Figures have also been provided for the average time taken between:
(a) the first listing of a case to completion of that case in the magistrates court
(b) the overall period from offence to completion of a criminal case in the magistrates court.
The figures are from the Time Intervals Survey (TIS) and are based on defendants (adults and youths) in all criminal cases that were proceeded against in the magistrates courts.
The Government established the Criminal Justice Simple Speedy Summary Justice (CJSSS) programme to improve the speed and effectiveness with which cases proceed through the criminal courts. A key part of this programme aims to improve the way cases proceed in the magistrates courts. Following successful tests (with evidence of more offenders pleading guilty at an early stage, fewer hearings and the majority of trials for contested cases being set within 6-10 weeks), national implementation is firmly under way throughout England and Wales. CJSSS is now running in at least one site in each of the 36 local criminal justice areas and fully implemented in all magistrates courts in 11 of those areas. Implementation is expected to be completed in all but a handful of magistrates courts by December 2007. Once fully implemented these changes should deliver a step change in the public’s experience of the justice system, improving the speed and effectiveness of magistrates courts.
Crime: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent change there has been in the level of recorded crimes in (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire, broken down by type of crime. [158768]
Mr. McNulty: The most recent information for Chorley Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) and Lancashire police force area is given in following the table.
| Recorded crime by offence group and percentage change. 2005-06 to 2006-07 | ||||||
| Chorley CDRP | Lancashire police force area | |||||
| Offence group | Offences recorded 2005-06 | Offences recorded 2006-07 | Percentage change 2005-06 to 2006-07 | Offences recorded 2005-06 | Offences recorded 2006-07 | Percentage change 2005-06 to 2006-07 |
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