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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1152W—continued

Prime Funding

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had since July with leaders of sporting bodies which are not in the list of 10 for prime funding with public money announced on 18 November by the Chairman of Sport England. [140178]

Mr. Caborn: None. The list of sports which will qualify as priorities for Lottery funding at governing body level was and is entirely a matter for Sport England. The 10 sports announced on 18 November will be priorities for the 40 per cent. of total sports Lottery funding which will be allocated for governing body support at national level. The other 60 per cent. will be distributed through the nine Regional Sport Boards, which will consider projects on their merits and without regard to the national priority list.

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Television Advertising

Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the dates of meetings she and her officials have had with representatives of (a) the advertising industry, (b) commercial television channels and (c) the food and drink industry during the last six months. [138676]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 18 November 2003]: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the my hon. Friend and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

TV Licences

Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) for what reason the Television Licensing Authority collects six months' money in advance from TV licence holders who opt to pay for their licences using the direct debit facility; under what powers the Television Licensing Authority collects such advance payments; and how much was held in advance payments on the latest date for which figures are available; [139389]

Estelle Morris: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Women's Sport

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research has been

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commissioned by her Department into the gender balance of television sports coverage; and if she will make a statement. [139568]

Estelle Morris [holding answer 19 November 2003]: This Department has not undertaken any research in this area because broadcasters are generally free to respond to the needs and preferences of viewers in making their scheduling decisions. It is a well established principle of broadcasting that Government only intervenes in the sports broadcasting market to seek to ensure that all viewers, including the lower paid and the elderly, have "free to air" access to listed sporting events.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Asylum Seekers

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what legal advice is made available to asylum seekers. [139651]

Mr. Lammy: Publicly funded legal help is available for those making an asylum application, provided the client is financially eligible. Where an asylum application is refused, further legal advice and representation is available for an appeal, although at this stage the availability of public funding is subject to a strict merits test.

Only solicitors' firms or advice agencies that hold a contract with the Legal Services Commission may undertake publicly funded work.

My Department recently consulted on a series of changes to publicly funded immigration and asylum advice and representation. An announcement on the way forward will be made separately. In addition, the Department, the Home Office and the Legal Services Commission are currently examining the initial decision-making stage of the asylum process with particular regard to the role that publicly funded legal advice plays.

House Repossessions

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many house repossessions there have been in each region per quarter since 2000. [140174]

Mr. Leslie: Figures for the number of possession proceedings executed per quarter since 2000 are provided in the following tables.

20002001
RegionQtr 1Qtr 2Qtr 3Qtr 42000 totalQtr 1Qtr 2Qtr 3Qtr 42001 total
East Midlands1,2329861,2181,0754,5111,0198809501,0293,878
Eastern1,2538321,1628824,1291,0298821,0481,0273,986
London4,9074,8445,0554,99419,8005,5194,8016,0635,45121,834
Merseyside4213783835371,7193571,0531,9823973,789
North East7175235955182,3535006775556212,353
North West1,7861,3291,6721,5316,3181,3221,2811,2621,5915,456
South East1,4641,4551,3011,2995,5191,3111,3111,9111,5526,085
South West8755465615672,5495045264565552,041
Wales8416657738113,0907617877747573,079
West Midlands1,5481,4151,4891,6936,1451,8611,9561,9231,8167,556
Yorkshire and Humber1,4321,3221,3151,3795,4481,4971,2401,5581,2685,563
England and Wales16,47614,29515,52415,28661,58115,68015,39418,48216,06465,620


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20022003
RegionQtr 1Qtr 2Qtr 3Qtr 42002 totalQtr 1Qtr 2
East Midlands1,0121,9041,1121,1575,1851,1831,016
Eastern9561,3791,0701,0284,4332,158831
London4,6084,1724,7985,54919,1274,7504,579
Merseyside3963903623941,542794736
North East8494927605592,660650563
North West1,3551,1451,6241,6735,7971,1331,182
South East1,1971,2711,7051,7755,9481,2861,534
South West6028751,0399253,441832859
Wales5081,4986787553,439935502
West Midlands1,7711,5321,4951,2256,0231,1101,903
Yorkshire and Humber1,1671,2541,3881,2945,1031,0761,124
England and Wales14,42115,91216,03116,33462,69815,90714,829

Magistrates (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the members of Advisory Committees for the appointment of magistrates in Wales. [140366]

Mr. Leslie: There are 105 members of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace in Wales. Following is a full list of their names and the Committees on which they sit.




































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