Written answers

Thursday, 13 October 2005

  • Treasury

    • Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients of working tax credit and child tax credit there are in Hastings and Rye constituency.

    • Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of overpayment of tax credits in the last 12 months.

      Vat

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to English Heritage's representations for a 5 per cent. value added tax for all building work.

      Creative Innovation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial incentives he has introduced to encourage innovation in the creative industries.

      New Deal and Welfare to Work

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on public investment in the new deal and welfare to work measures.

      Economic Cycle

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Treasury's reassessment of the beginning of the economic cycle.

      International Finance Facility

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress towards an international finance facility

      Government Borrowing

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of Government net borrowing on projected levels of taxation over the next five years;

      Steel Prices

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of steel prices on the British economy; and if he will make a statement.

      Revenue and Customs Merger

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress of the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise.

      Child Poverty

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to reduce child poverty in the UK.

      Correspondence

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 5 September regarding a constituent.

      Insurance Premium Tax/Fraud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received regarding the insurance premium tax; and what steps he is taking to combat fraud in the tax system.

  • House of Commons Commission

    • Early-day Motions

      To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will initiate steps to enable hon. Members (a) to table and (b) to sign early-day motions...

    • House Employees

      To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff are employed by the House, broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity.

  • Deputy Prime Minister

    • Business Rates

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many appeals were made against business rate valuations in 2004; how many were upheld; and what the (a) average and (b) maximum waiting time was for a...

    • Fire Service

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the (a) Firelink Project and (b) FireControl Project will enable the transfer of Fire and Rescue Service command and control functions to regional level...

      Fire Service

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the (a) FireControl Project and (b) Firelink Project will provide inter-operable voice communications at gold command level between the Fire and Rescue...

      Fire Service

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how far out to sea radio coverage will be provided under the Firelink Project; what effect this will have on the proposals for firefighting at sea set out in the...

      Local Government Finance

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to implement the results of the 2001 census in determining funding for county authorities in the South East.

  • Transport

    • A1

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the status of proposals for the upgrading of the A1 to motorway status between Dishforth and Barton.

    • Emergency Telephones

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many emergency telephones are in place on (a) trunk roads and (b) motorways in England and Wales; what the distance in miles between each one is;...

      Tachographs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the (a) Department and (b) Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's predecessor made representations relating to the English text of EU...

      Tachographs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many prohibitions have been issued by the Vehicle Operator Services Agency for breaches of EU Regulation 3821/85 since commencement.

      Tachographs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from drivers and operators of heavy vehicles about the implementation of EU Regulation 3821/85.

      Tachographs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken to advise heavy vehicle drivers and operators that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency uses the French text of EU...

      General Lighthouse Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the Government of the Republic of Ireland regarding the cessation of payments from the UK General Lighthouse...

      Left-hand Drive Limousines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will allow left-hand drive limousines to be issued with a certificate of initial fitness so that they can be certified as passenger service vehicles.

      M5

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate is of the costs incurred by the Highways Agency in making alterations to Junction 14 of the M5.

      Road Fatalities (Hornsey and Wood Green)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of road fatalities in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in each of the last 10 years; what the average for...

  • Minister for Women

    • Science and Engineering

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to make parents aware of the opportunities that exist for girls in science and engineering.

  • Trade and Industry

    • Business Start-ups

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have registered in (a) Huddersfield, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last five years.

    • Commission for Racial Equality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the maximum length of time is which it should take for a caseworker to be assigned by the Commission for Racial Equality when a complaint...

      Commission for Racial Equality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints regarding the time it takes to assign a caseworker by the Commission for Racial Equality there have been in each of the...

      eContentplus Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many projects have applied to operate in the UK as part of the eContentplus programme; in which projects the Government is participating;...

      New Businesses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have registered in each London borough in each of the last five years.

      Regional Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regional (a) bodies, (b) institutions, (c) taskforces, (d) panels, (e) offices and (f) organisations have been established since May 1997...

      WarnTone System

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will grant a test licence for the WarnTone system to alert traffic to emergency vehicles.

  • Home Department

    • Firearms

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of young people carrying firearms.

    • Identity Cards

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of an identity card will be; and if he will make a statement.

      Impact Nominal Index

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made in developing the Impact Nominal Index; and if he will make a statement.

      Payroll Giving

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the promotion of recent changes to the Payroll Giving Grants programme.

      Proceeds of Crime

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money seized as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was invested in (a) Southend and (b) Essex police in each year of its...

      Sex Abuse Claims

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the use of polygraph tests in historical sex abuse investigations.

      Substance Abuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the level of (a) alcohol misuse and (b) abuse of illegal drugs in 2004–05.

      Visas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 visas have been granted to religious representatives; what mechanisms are in place for the...

      Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to deal with (a) gun and (b) knife crime.

  • Prime Minister

    • Advisers

      To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions in 2004–05, when an unpaid adviser undertook travel on public business and claimed expenses, broken down by (a) name of adviser, (b)...

    • Ministerial Travel

      To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions since 1 January 2004 when Ministers wishing to be absent from the UK have sought his written approval; and whether his approval was given...

      Ministerial Travel

      To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions a Minister's spouse or partner accompanied a Minister on (a) domestic and (b) overseas official duties during 2004–05, broken down by (i)...

  • Leader of the House

    • Oliver Cromwell

      To ask the Leader of the House if his Department will commemorate the 350th anniversary of the death of Oliver Cromwell.

  • Wales

    • EU Funding

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Prime Minister and (b) the Foreign Secretary on securing EU funding for (i) Wales and (ii) West Wales and...

  • Defence

    • Departmental Spending

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Moray constituency and (ii) the Highland Region was...

    • Drill Hall, Seaford

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his plans for the Drill Hall, Broad Street, Seaford.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Annajoy David Da-Bora

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he will take to assure the safety of Annajoy David Da-Bora and her daughter, when they travel to Spain on 27 July...

    • Departmental Websites

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the websites that come under his Department's responsibility; what the cost was of each in the last year for...

      European Constitution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the EU Trade Commissioner regarding the promotion of the EU Constitution.

      Guantanamo Bay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the treatment of British citizens held in Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay.

      Nuclear-capable Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list countries assessed to be nuclear capable according to open source material; and if he will make a statement.

      Subsidiarity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy on the transfer of powers from the EU to national Governments; and which powers he has...

  • Culture Media and Sport

    • Olympic Games

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has made to the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the formation of a...

    • Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the outcome of the independent investigation into potential conflicts of interest at the Commission for...

      Royal Charter for UK Sport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance she has issued on whether the grant of a Royal Charter for UK Sport affects the ability of its staff to engage in party...

      Welsh Legislation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how she intends to implement paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper, "Better Governance for Wales" (Cm 6582), in respect of any Bill she...

  • Education and Skills

    • "Playing with Sounds" Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government are taking to encourage and promote the use of synthetic phonics teaching for primary school children; and if she...

    • Adult Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will make a statement on the availability of adult education classes in England; (2) how much the Government spent on adult...

      Children (Bereavement)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what statistics the Government (a) collect and (b) are planning to collect on children affected by bereavement.

      Construction Workers (London)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of skilled construction workers in London, broken down by (a) constituency and (b) age.

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education will reply to the letter dated 21 July regarding funding...

      Freedom of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests have been answered by the Department; and in how many cases (a) information was wholly...

      Science Teaching

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will make a statement on the future of the Double Award Science GCSE; (2) if she will make a statement on the planned changes...

      Sector Skills Councils

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the (i) role and (ii) effectiveness of sector skills councils; and if...

      Skills Shortages

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment her Department has made of where the UK has skills shortages; and what steps it has taken to rectify such shortages.

      Special Needs (London)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been allocated to special needs provision in each London borough in each of the last eight years.

      Sure Start

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding has been allocated to Sure Start for (a) 2005–06 and (b) future financial years; and if she will make a statement.

  • Health

    • Abortions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed in (a) Essex and (b) Bedford and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority on girls aged (i) 10, (ii) 11, (iii) 12, (iv)...

    • Abortions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were carried out in (a) Essex and (b) Bedford and Hertfordshire strategic health authority at each week of gestation between 18 and 32...

      Avian Influenza

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to prepare for a potential outbreak of avian influenza in the UK.

      Avian Influenza

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the World Health Organisation regarding avian influenza.

      Avian Influenza

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) Laos, (b) the People's Republic of China, (c) Indonesia, (d) Vietnam, (e) Cambodia and (f)...

      Avian Influenza

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what applications for financial support for research into the development of vaccines against the H5NI virus her Department has received; when they were...

      Blood Donation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will allocate further resources to encourage people in London to give blood.

      Influenza

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the Chief Medical Officer's estimate is of the number of deaths in the UK likely to arise from an influenza pandemic; (2) what number of...

      Mifepristone

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have been associated with mifepristone (Mifeprex) in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

      Pesticides

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to respond to the recent report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Protection's investigation into the impact of pesticides.

      Smoking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of children and teenagers who smoke.

      Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what special assistance was provided by the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority to each of the trusts within the area in (a) 2002–02, (b)...

      Timber

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to fund the maintenance of the central point of expertise on timber.

  • Work and Pensions

    • Disability Living Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of under-16s who applied for disability living allowance in each year since 2002 were successful; and what percentage of...

    • Disability Living Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time taken to process new claims for disability living allowance for under-16s was in each year since 2002, broken...

      Freedom of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests have been answered by the Department; and in how many cases (a) information was wholly...

      Hospital Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Chancellor's Budget proposals for paying benefits to those in hospital are being implemented.

      Pensions Caseworkers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what pay arrangements the Pensions Ombudsman operates for caseworkers; and whether there is an arrangement by which a caseworker's remuneration...

      Winter Fuel Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will raise winter fuel payments in line with recent energy price increases.

  • Constitutional Affairs

    • Commercial Court

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the quality of the Commercial Court building on the use of English choice of law...

    • Commercial Court

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress in renovating the Commercial Court.

      Commercial Court

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to move the Commercial Court to a different building.

      Correspondence

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the process followed by her Department in responding to correspondence is; and if she will place a copy of the internal...

      Criminal Courts

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether judges have been required to give a fuller introduction to juries since the Lord Justice Auld review on criminal courts.

      Freedom of Information Act

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what definition of recorded information for the purposes of providing information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is...

      Freedom of Information Act

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of improvements achieved by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 over the former Code of Practice...

      Freedom of Information Act

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether it is Government policy that (a) regional development agencies, (b) regional chambers, (c) the Local Government...

      Freedom of Information Act

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance the Department has produced on the status of non-judicial inquiries established by the Government under the...

      Jury Service

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of people were eligible for jury service in (a) each region and (b) each London borough in each of...

      Law Society

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the performance of the Law Society in meeting her target for the satisfactory handling of...

      Prisoners' Voting Rights

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what response he plans to make to the European Court of Human Rights ruling that denying prisoners the vote is a breach of...

      Prisoners' Voting Rights

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many remand prisoners were eligible to vote in each of the last three general elections; and how many exercised their right...

      Unsafe Gravestones

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many cases of death or injury caused by unsafe gravestones were recorded in each of the last three years.

  • Northern Ireland

    • Child Protection Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what governance arrangements for child protection services are in place between trusts, boards and the Department of Health, Social Services and...

    • Dementia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the implications are for dementia sufferers in Northern Ireland of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendation...

      Dementia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what clinical guidance on dementia medications has been provided by the clinical resource efficiency support team.

      Education and Library Boards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the obligations are on the Chief Accounting Officer to act in the event of an Education and Library Board acting outside its agreed...

      Education and Library Boards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under what circumstances a chief accounting officer would be obliged to inform the (a) Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education, (b)...

      Enzyme Disorders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what services are available for children in the Province who suffer from enzyme disorders.

      Equal Opportunities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the findings of recent research into equality of opportunity in the Northern Ireland labour market to be published.

      Inquests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many inquests are outstanding in Northern Ireland; and how many have been waiting more than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e)...

      Interpreting Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from what budget funding for interpreting services at hospitals in the Province comes.

      Interpreting Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what actions he is taking to ensure appropriate monitoring and evaluation of interpreting services at local hospitals.

      Medical Notes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what guidelines exist in Northern Ireland on the period of time that medical notes must be retained.

      Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of nurses who have left Northern Ireland to work in (a) North America, (b) Australia and (c) New Zealand...

      Private Health Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what inspections of private health care facilities take place in the Province.

      School Bus Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received on providing an early afternoon bus service for school children in the Southern Board area.

  • House of Lords

What is this?

The parliamentary question is a great way for MPs and Peers to discover information which the government may not wish to reveal. Ministers reply via written answers, a list of which gets published daily.

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