For anyone who is interested in the cadetship, as long as PPL hasn't been acquired there is no limit on hours allowed (my 200TT is fine).
Secondarily, according to the lady I spoke with at CAE, 'you will be served very well if you have past experience such as flight hours, so please make sure you put it down, it'll be really good'. So I guess the majority of applicants apply with very little or no prior aviation experience (as would be expected for an ab-initio cadetship). Good to keep in mind though.