Written answers

Monday, 5 February 2007

  • Environment Food and Rural Affairs

    • Ecotec

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which projects run by the consultancy Ecotec his Department has funded since 1997; and what the (a) cost and (b) objective...

    • Endangered Species

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many species were (a) put on and (b) taken off the endangered species list in each of the last 10 years.

      Farmers: Stewardship Schemes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are in (a) entry level stewardship schemes and (b) higher level stewardship schemes; how many in each...

      Foie Gras

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to ban the (a) sale and (b) importation of foie gras; and if he will make a statement.

      Poultry: Animal Welfare

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government remain committed to the 2012 deadline for the prohibition of battery cages in the UK.

      Radioactive Waste Management

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) correspondence and (b) other communications (i) he, (ii) other ministers and (iii) officials had with the...

      Radioactive Waste Management

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to advertise for applicants for the new Committee on Radioactive Waste Management.

      Seas and Oceans: Climate Change

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership report; and if he will make a...

      Single Farm Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the way in which farmers' fields were identified and set out in information supplied for the purposes of the...

  • Solicitor-General

    • Electoral Malpractice

      To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases of electoral malpractice were reported by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since the introduction of the Representation of the...

    • Serious Fraud Office

      To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Serious Fraud Office to detect and investigate financial crime; and if he will make a statement.

      Serious Fraud Office

      To ask the Solicitor-General how many investigations were begun by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in each year since 1996; how many such investigations were completed by the SFO and followed by...

  • International Development

    • Iraq: International Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) in how many locations in Iraq the World Food Programme has dispersed food in each of the last three years; (2) what estimate he...

    • Iraq: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of children in Iraq who have received immunisations in each year since 2003 as a result of...

      Iraq: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has channelled through the (a) Red Cross, (b) World Food Programme, (c) United Nations Children's Fund and...

      Iraq: Refugees

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Iraqi refugees there are in (a) Egypt, (b) Lebanon and (c) each state bordering Iraq; how much the Government have...

  • Prime Minister

    • Lord Levy

      To ask the Prime Minister on what dates he met Lord Levy, his personal representative to the Middle East, in the last six months; and what was discussed at each meeting.

    • Mohammed Dahlan

      To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions since 2004 (a) he and (b) officials in his Department met Mohammed Dahlan; and where and when each meeting took place.

  • Leader of the House

    • Future Business

      To ask the Leader of the House if he will ask the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House to consider the merits of publishing the provisional business of the House more than two weeks...

    • Parliamentary Questions

      To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals for part of each oral question session to be made available for questions without notice.

      Lords Reform

      To ask the Leader of the House what recent progress he has made towards a consensus on proposals for House of Lords reform.

      Boundary Commission

      To ask the Leader of the House when he expects the orders to implement the Boundary Commission proposals to be laid before the House.

  • House of Commons Commission

    • Bicycle Parking

      To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what progress is being made in providing further bicycle parking for visitors and staff on the House of...

  • Education and Skills

    • Biometric Technologies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he plans to published updated guidance to schools on the use of biometric technologies.

    • Child Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has commissioned on the use of child protection registers.

      Departmental Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department's annual budget is for employing workers on a consultancy basis; and how much of this budget has been used in each of...

      Education Funding: Chorley

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much central Government allocated for education in Chorley's local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

      Education Funding: Romford

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been made available from his Department to (a) (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools and (b) sixth forms and colleges within...

      Educational Psychologist Referrals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's policy is on the maximum acceptable waiting time for pupils between being referred to and being seen by an educational...

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students on the Gifted and Talented programme in (a) Leicester and (b) Leicestershire receive free school meals.

      GCSEs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what percentage of pupils in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) the Tees Valley and (d) the Middlesbrough South and East...

      GCSEs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained schools were not entered for a GCSE in (a) mathematics, (b) English and (c) science...

      General Certificate of Secondary Education: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in England achieved five A to C grade GCSEs including mathematics and English for less than 20 per cent. of their students...

      History Teachers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many (a) male and (b) female secondary school history teachers there are in England; (2) what the average age is of secondary...

      Looked-after Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of looked-after children who were reported missing in 2006.

      Music

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps have been taken to improve music programmes within secondary schools in 2006-07; and what funding has been allocated to that...

      Office for Fair Access

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget is of the Office for Fair Access; and how many people are employed there.

      Private Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school students in England are being educated outside the state education system.

      School Playgrounds: Essex

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) school playgrounds and (b) parts of school playgrounds were sold in Essex in each of the last five years.

      Special Educational Needs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were in (a) school action, (b) early years action, (c) school action plus and (d) early years action plus in each...

      Special Schools

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children with statements were educated by each local authority at a special school outside the child's local authority area, in...

      Student Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what factors were taken into account when setting the maximum non-means-tested potential borrowing for a student living away from home and...

      Underachieving Pupils

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what finances are targeted in 2006-07 to support the underachieving groups of (a) selected ethnic minorities, (b) white working-class boys...

  • Electoral Commission Committee

    • Political Parties: Expenditure

      To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what research the Electoral Commission has undertaken on the amount of expenditure by...

  • Work and Pensions

    • Pension Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of eligible pensioners not in receipt of pension credit.

    • Pension Credit: Newcastle Upon Tyne

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households received pension credit in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in each year in (a) May 2005 and (b) May 2006; and what the...

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women will receive entitlements to the state second pension as a result of the Government's pension proposals.

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down the cost of proposed reforms to the state second pension, as shown in figure 9 of the Pensions White Paper, 'Security in...

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultancy projects on pension reform have been undertaken on behalf of his Department since 30 November 2005.

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on current pension providers in lost charges and fees of the introduction of personal accounts and...

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his Answer of 29 January 2007, Official Report, column 98W, on pensions, for what reason UK pensions are index linked for UK...

      Benefit Helplines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff will be answering calls on each of his Department's benefit helplines between 23 December 2006 and 3 January 2007.

      Committees: Ministerial Attendance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what occasions (a) he and (b) departmental Ministers have been requested to appear before committees of (i) devolved institutions and (ii)...

      Departmental Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on buying, operating and supporting (a) all commercial software products and (b) software products produced by...

      Departmental Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the public information advertising campaigns his Department has run in 2006-07; and how much his Department has spent on (a)...

      Departmental Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of expenditure by his Department in each of the Government Office regions in the most recent year for which figures...

      Disability Equality Duty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he plans to make Government information available to deaf and blind people under the Disability Equality Duty.

      Engagements

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what dates Ministers in his Department and its predecessors made official visits to the London boroughs of (a) Tower Hamlets, (b) Newham...

      Executive Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by each of his Department's executive agencies in each Government office region in the most recent year for which figures...

      Executive Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which executive agencies are the responsibility of his Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency...

      Fatal Accidents: Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fatal accidents at work occurred in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006; and how many have occurred in 2007.

      Fatal Accidents: Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Health and Safety Executive records accidents that occur when workers are being transported to work by their employers.

      Financial Assistance Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid out by the Financial Assistance Scheme since its inception.

      Financial Assistance Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Financial Assistance Scheme in retrospectively protecting members of collapsed private-...

      Financial Assistance Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the average time taken to process applications made to the Financial Assistance Scheme in the last 12 months.

      Furniture

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on furniture made by British firms in each year since 2000.

      Government Auctions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions where his Department publishes information about Government auctions (a) which it arranges and (b) to which it contributes in (i) Blackpool,...

      Health and Safety Executive

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many enforcement officers the Health and Safety Executive employs.

      Health and Safety Executive

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of litigation have been brought against (a) the Health and Safety Executive and (b) the Health and Safety Commission since May...

      Incapacity Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the 10 most common reasons given for claiming incapacity benefit were in each London borough in the last 12 months.

      Incapacity Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Lancashire and (b) Ribble Valley are in receipt of incapacity benefit; and how many of those people have been in...

      Incapacity Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated (a) on-flows and (b) off-flows for incapacity benefits are for each year to 2019-20 (i) under current policies and (ii)...

      IT Contracts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

      IT Systems

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on IT systems since March; what the purpose of each system is; what the outturn against planned expenditure...

      Low Incomes: Disabled

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department gives to low income households with children with disabilities.

      New Deal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department uses to assess the performance of the new deal programme.

      Non-departmental Public Bodies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the annual budget of each...

      Open Source Software

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such...

      Pathways to Work

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in implementing the Pathways to Work Employment Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of the target audience for personal accounts who can be expected to receive a return greater than...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated (a) set up and (b) annual running costs to his Department are of the IT systems needed to run the personal accounts scheme...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all the revenue expenditure to be incurred by the personal accounts delivery authority will be found from within his current...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the analysis that supports the statement that most people are unlikely to remain in multiple jobs throughout their working...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances an individual would be better off transferring money into a personal account, as described in the White Paper, "Personal...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect on existing pension schemes of the decision to set a maximum annual contribution of at...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assumptions were made with regard to the number of years contribution for (a) figure 6a and (b) figure 6b on page 35 of the White Paper...

      Personal Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the White Paper "Personal Accounts: a new way to save", what assumptions were made in estimating that approximately 60 per cent....

      Public Appointments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which public appointments have been made by his Department to former Ministers who have served in the Government since May 1997.

      Terminally Ill People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) on what grounds a decision- maker may overrule the opinion of a qualified medical practitioner on eligibility for a DS1500 claim; (2)...

      Winter Fuel Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many qualifying former UK residents living in (a) Greece, (b) Spain, (c) Italy, (d) Malta, (e) Cyprus and (f) Portugal received...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Afghanistan

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the commitment by the French Government of ground troops in Afghanistan; and what...

    • Autumn Performance Report

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific financial measures against proliferators her Department is developing as set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth...

      Bosnia and Herzegovina

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the mandate of Mr. Schwartz Schilling set by the Contact Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina will be extended; and if she...

      Council of Europe Conventions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Council of Europe conventions have been signed by the United Kingdom but not yet ratified; and what the dates of (a)...

      Deportation: British Nationality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what records she maintains of British citizens deported from abroad to the UK by other countries.

      Gulf States: EC External Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress was made during the recent talks between officials of the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) towards...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to renew her requests to her Iranian counterpart for the return of the British military equipment seized...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the recent Iranian decision to bar 38 inspectors from the International...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government made representations calling for the imposition of additional EU financial measures against Iran at...

      Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance and advice has been given to trade delegations by her Department wishing to go to (a) Iraq and (b) Iraqi...

      Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on difficulties encountered by Iraqi businessmen in obtaining travel documents to travel and trade...

      Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what form and when the UK shared its experience from Northern Ireland with the government of Iraq; and if she will make a...

      Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what help and support the UK is providing to promote reconciliation and non-sectarianism in Iraqi politics.

      Israel: Frontiers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Israeli government on its plans to change the route of the separation wall eastwards...

      Jeremy Crook

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made at (a) ministerial and (b) official level to the United States on the case of Jeremy Crook.

      Jeremy Crook

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made at (a) ministerial and (b) official level to the United States on the case of Jeremy Crook.

      Kosovo

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her Contact Group counterparts on the future status of Kosovo; and if she will make a...

      Kosovo

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the decision on the final status of Kosovo will be made; and if she will make a statement.

      Middle East

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Israeli Government on Israel's policy towards Iran.

      Mohammed Dahlan

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 2004 (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department met Mohammed Dahlan; and where and when...

      Montenegro

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her counterparts in Montenegro since its independence.

      Nuclear Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the implications of the UK's plans for the replacement of Trident for the negotiations under the...

      Nuclear Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had on (a) enforcement and (b) enhancement of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

      Overseas Convictions and Arrests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 1405W, on overseas convictions and arrests, to which agency...

      Palestine

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of progress by the Palestinian Authority towards the requirements set out by the Middle East...

      Saudi Arabia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next round of the Two Kingdoms Dialogue with Saudi Arabia is to be held.

      Sri Lanka

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received on peace talks between the Tamil rebels and the Sri Lankan Government held in Geneva in...

      Sri Lanka

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Sri Lankan Government on the Tamil population of Sri Lanka.

  • Northern Ireland

    • Advertising Campaigns

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advertising campaigns his Department has run since July 2004; and what the (a) date and (b) cost was of each.

    • British Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

      Bus Services: Comber

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the level of absenteeism was of Translink staff working on the number 11 service in the past 12 months.

      Bus Services: Comber

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints Translink has received about the number 11 service to Comber.

      Electoral Administration Act

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reason the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2, Transitional and Savings Provision) Order 2006 did not bring into...

      Electoral Administration Act

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons the provisions of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 on the minimum age of candidates were not brought into effect in...

      Electoral Register

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many additional voters were added to the Electoral Register in each Northern Ireland constituency between the publication of the current...

      Government Auctions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland where his Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in (a) Blackpool, (b)...

      Mental Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the waiting list is for adolescent mental health beds in each health board area.

      Remploy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many public contracts have been awarded in Northern Ireland to (a) Remploy and (b) other similar organisations since January 2006; and if...

      Royal Prerogative of Mercy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the royal prerogative of mercy has been used to pardon individuals who have been convicted of scheduled offences in...

  • Transport

    • Central Trains

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage Central Trains to respond to (a) customer complaints and (b) communications from hon. Members sent on behalf of...

    • M6: Lancashire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Lancashire county council carried out an integrated transport solution study for the Lancaster district before submitting the business case for...

      Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles there are in each road tax classification in the London borough of Bexley.

      Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's latest estimate is of the number of (a) untaxed and (b) unlicensed vehicles; and what steps he is taking to reduce the numbers.

      MSC Napoli

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the distance was between the location of the MSC Napoli and (a) Portland and (b) Cherbourg at the time it was first taken under the control of...

      MSC Napoli

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why the MSC Napoli was diverted to a British port while under the control of a French salvage company.

      Official Cars

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the charge was to each Government Department for hire of official cars in 2005-06; and what the total man hours were of the drivers in that year.

      Road Safety: Novice Drivers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set targets on reducing death and injury by young and novice drivers as part of his Department's road safety strategy.

      Roads: Summer Heat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to prevent disintegration of roads from the sun's heat during the summer.

      Taxis: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving taxis with children as passengers there have been in (a) Scotland and (b) Great Britain in the last 10 years.

      Taxis: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors were taken into account when deciding to exempt taxis from the new regulations governing the use of child car seats.

      Taxis: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will break down the number of accidents involving taxis with children as passengers in the last 10 years in (a) Scotland and (b) Great Britain...

      Transport Innovation Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the Transport Innovation Fund bid from Shropshire County Council; and if he will make a statement.

      Transport: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the regional funding allocation process that included regional priority road schemes in 2006 is to be repeated in (a) 2007-08 and (b) future...

  • Defence

    • Aldermaston

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected cost is of the AWE development plan at Aldermaston; what the expected duration of the project is; how expenditure has been committed...

    • Boarding School Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in respect of how many children (a) Army, (b) Air Force and (c) Royal Navy personnel received boarding school allowance in each of the last five years...

      Cadets: School Leaving

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Gap Year Commission in the British Army.

      Departmental IT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many attempts to gain unauthorised access to his Department's computer systems have (a) been detected and (b) succeeded in each of the last five years.

      Departmental IT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any corrupt data have been detected on his Department's computer systems in the last 12 months.

      Departmental IT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much it cost to clean the departmental computer stations affected by the Sasser worm in April and May 2004.

      Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007, Official Report, column 1630W, on housing, if he will provide a breakdown of the service accommodation in...

      Meat Supplies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 1631W, on meat supplies, what percentage of (a) poultry, (b) gammon and (c) bacon...

      Medical Regiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average period of rest between operational tours for members of the medical regiments was in each of the last three years.

      Met Office

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual budget of the Meteorological Office was in each year since 1977; and what budget has been allocated to the office for each of the next...

      Military Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost, excluding the cost of the weapon, is of providing the Defender Remote Weapon Station on the Panther Future Command Liaison Vehicle; and...

      Naval Deployment: Gulf

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been made to the UK naval posture in the Gulf region following the US decision to deploy an additional aircraft strike carrier group to...

      NHS Treatment: War Pensioners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2007 to question 115272, on NHS treatment: war pensioners, with which health authorities his Department has taken up...

      Overseas Accommodation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the condition of accommodation overseas for members of the armed services and their families.

      UK Armed Forces Veterans Lapel Badge

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) men and (b) women have received the UK Armed Forces Veterans Lapel Badge in each year since its introduction, broken down by branch of the...

      Used Oil Disposals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost to his Department of the disposal of used oil from military bases in the UK was in the last period for which figures are available;...

      War Graves: Derby

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will seek an assessment of whether war graves within the city of Derby are adequately maintained to provide a fitting environment in which to...

      Works of Art

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2007, Official Report, column 1372W, on works of art, whether information on works of art stolen has been provided...

  • Duchy of Lancaster

    • Civil Service Bill

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) when the Prime Minister first undertook to bring forward a Civil Service Bill; and if she will make a statement; (2) when she expects to...

    • Committee on Standards in Public Life

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost was to the public purse of the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 2006-07.

      Cross-departmental Databases

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans the Government have to (a) amend data-sharing rules and (b) facilitate (i) cross-departmental databases of personal data and (ii)...

      Departmental Contracts

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which public affairs firms have been given contracts by (a) her Department and (b) public bodies sponsored by her Department in the last five...

      Economic Dynamism

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the Prime Minister's announcement on 16 January 2007 on the six policy review working groups, who will chair the review of Economic...

  • Home Department

    • Antisocial Behaviour Orders

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were breached by (a) adults and (b) children in the most recent year for which figures are available;...

    • Asylum Decisions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his response is to the proposal by the Chairman of the Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Immigration that there should be an...

      Asylum Decisions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been taken from detention centres to (a) Heathrow, (b) Stansted and (c) other airports and then taken back to...

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what factors are taken into account when deciding to use dawn raids to detain failed asylum seekers with families; whether he...

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the dispersal of section 4 asylum seekers out of London.

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether training is given to Immigration and Nationality Directorate staff engaged on dawn raids on asylum seekers with regard to (a)...

      Asylum: Morecambe

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum cases from Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency were processed by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in the last 12...

      Consultants

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which external consultants were used by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in...

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are (a) one,...

      Departmental Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on buying, operating and supporting (a) all commercial software products and (b) software products produced...

      Departmental Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of expenditure by his Department in each Government Office region in the most recent year for which figures are...

      Driving Offences: Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent people driving without insurance in (a) Lancashire and (b) England.

      Drug-related Robbery

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of robbery reported to the police in 2006 were classified as drug-related crime.

      Executive Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by each of his Department's executive agencies in each Government Office region in the most recent year for which figures...

      Gosport War Memorial Hospital: Death

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police man-hours were involved in the most recent Hampshire constabulary investigation into alleged unlawful killings at Gosport War...

      Government Auctions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where his Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in (a) Blackpool, (b)...

      Immigration and Nationality Directorate

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take in response to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) Complaints Audit Committee's assessment of IND...

      Immigration Enforcement Visits

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory powers police and immigration officers carry out early morning immigration enforcement visits.

      Leave to Remain

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 777W, on leave to remain, what the date of application was in respect of...

      Mrs. Justina Obi Agu

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision will be reached on the application submitted by Mrs. Justina Obi Agu, reference 0110 2261.

      National Police Plan

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that crimes against children are included in the list of police priorities in the national police plan.

      Non-departmental Public Bodies

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the budget was of each body...

      Passports

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the information gathered for a passport application.

      Passports

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information was required for the processing of a passport application in May 1997; what information is required now; and when each...

      Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fully trained police officers were employed specifically in child protection work in each police force in England and Wales in each...

      Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the strength was of each police force in each of the last 10 years.

      Recruitment Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure recruitment agencies abide by immigration laws in recruiting overseas staff.

      Residential Rehabilitation: Drug Addicts

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission research into the effectiveness of residential rehabilitation for drug addicts.

  • Culture Media and Sport

    • Casinos

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for (a) new casinos and (b) alterations to existing casinos have been submitted under the Gambling Act 1968...

    • Casinos

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria she plans to use to assess the casino pilot schemes; who will assess the pilot schemes; whether the assessment of the...

      Casinos

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with casino operators following the Casino Advisory Panel report of 30 January; and whether her...

      Casinos

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of electricity used by the new super casino which will be generated from (a) renewable...

      Cultural Heritage: Grants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money was paid to (a) English Heritage, (b) the Arts Council and (c) the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in...

      Culture: Regeneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment has been made of the role of cultural activities in urban regeneration.

      Digital Dividend

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has consulted industry representatives on the time period between publication of the final proposals for the...

      Digital Television

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of households which will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in...

      English Heritage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on the appointment of a new chairperson of English Heritage; and when she expects the process to be completed.

      Executive Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by each of her Department's executive agencies in each of the Government Office regions in the most recent year for...

      Film: West Midlands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department has taken to promote the West Midlands as a venue for the UK film industry.

      Gaming Clubs: Torbay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of jobs to be created as a result of the casino licence issued for Torbay; and what proportion...

      Licensing Fees

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what response she has made to the recommendations of the Elton Review of Licensing Fees; and when she plans to implement them.

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether any National Lottery funds previously earmarked for the voluntary sector are planned to be diverted to supporting the funding of...

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she has taken to ensure that lottery funding for the 2012 London Olympic games will not reduce resources available for...

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she first became aware that the inclusion of VAT would affect the Olympic budget.

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of understanding for Olympic overspending agreed between her Department, the...

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what progress has been made in establishing the London Olympic Institute; and if she will make a statement; (2) what discussions...

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her answer of 23 January 2007, Official Report, columns 1621-22W, on the Olympic Games, if she will break down the...

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will place in the Library a copy of the games reports prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the costs of the 2012 Olympics in 2004.

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what advice PricewaterhouseCoopers provided on the costs of security and policing in their Olympics Cost Review in 2004.

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether a steering group was set up to consider the advice provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Olympic costs in 2004.

      London Olympics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the security costs for the Olympics site in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009.

      Television Licences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has made an assessment of the (a) merits of and (b) effect on public finances of TV Licence payments being made via PayPoint.

  • Constitutional Affairs

    • Census

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the completeness of archived census records.

    • Compensation

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the members of the Ministerial Steering Group on Compensation Culture are.

      Compensation

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what action her Department is taking (a) to improve the system for those with a valid claim for compensation and (b) to find...

      Compensation

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment her Department has undertaken of other countries' personal injury compensation systems; what conclusions have...

      Court of Appeal

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeals were filed with the Court of Appeal in relation to family law cases where the local authority was a party to...

      Courts: Nottingham

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the reasons for the delay in establishing courts in the community in Nottingham; and what steps...

      Courts: Nottingham

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what criteria her Department has set for determining whether premises are acceptable to serve as community courts; and what...

      Electoral Register

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that people living in houses of multiple occupation receive information on being included on...

      Freedom of Information: Fees and charges

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the legal basis is for applying a standard research fee to Freedom of Information applications for census records.

      Legal Aid: MMR

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Legal Services Commission has sent to the Medical Research Council research paid for by legal aid in connection...

      Public Information

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's response to the Office of Fair Trading's report, 'The commercial use of public...

      Public Records Act

      To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has for the renewal of the Public Records Act 1958, Instrument of Extended Retention No. 38 of July 1996 as it...

  • Health

    • Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of alcohol dependence was identified in each region of England in the alcohol needs assessment report; and what estimate she has made of the...

    • Data Sets

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether general practitioners and hospital computer systems share a common address base for their patients.

      Dental Services: Leeds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what funding she plans for the provision of NHS dental care in Leeds in each of the next three years; (2) what plans she has to improve access to...

      Drug Analysis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2006, Official Report, column 1707W, on drug analysis, when the current technical and data issues with...

      Foreign National Doctors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of employing foreign national doctors in the NHS on short-term, temporary contracts in each of the last two years.

      Gershon Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the other NHS bodies to which staff have been transferred as part of the Gershon Review, referred to in 7.75 of her Department's 2006...

      GP Records

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the legal data controller is for electronic and paper records held in GP surgeries.

      Gulf War Syndrome

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated for Gulf War syndrome in each of the last 10 years.

      Health and Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidents were reported to her Department's health and safety incident centre in 2005-06.

      Health Visitors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the (a) value for money provided by and (b) effectiveness of (i) health visitors and (ii) community nurses; (2)...

      Healthcare-related Infections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) MRSA and (b) Clostridium difficile were reported in each quarter of each of the last five years, broken down by NHS trust; and if...

      Hospital Beds: Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that the closed beds at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital are reopened; and if she will make a statement.

      Hospital Beds: Tonbridge Hospital

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that the closed beds at Tonbridge hospital are reopened; and if she will make a statement.

      Hospitals: Pembury

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether there is a firm Government commitment to have a new private finance initiative-funded hospital at Pembury; and if she will make a statement;...

      Medicine Supplies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many supplies of medicines were provided by homecare companies in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by drug; and what...

      Mental Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to promote the employment within (a) her Department and (b) public sector bodies for whom she has responsibility of people...

      NHS Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies for (a) doctors and (b) nurses there are in the NHS.

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in her Department and its executive...

      Prescriptions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free prescriptions have been issued to individuals in Derby city since 2005.

      Primary Care Trusts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers the Government have to ensure that strategic health authorities are adequately monitoring the performance of primary care trusts in their...

      Reported Accidents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the circumstances were which led to the reported accident near misses listed in figure 8.8 of her Department's annual report 2006.

      Social Enterprise Pathfinders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social enterprise pathfinder programmes are in former mining communities.

      Social Enterprise Pathfinders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what questions were asked of applications for social enterprise pathfinder programmes (a) pre and (b) post application.

      Social Enterprise Pathfinders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social enterprise pathfinder programmes are exclusively in areas of multiple deprivation.

      Social Enterprise Pathfinders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what economic modelling was used in determining the likely economic impact of social enterprise pathfinder programme allocations.

      Social Enterprise Pathfinders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment of potential employer involvement was used in determining social enterprise pathfinder programme areas.

      Teenage Pregnancy: North East Region

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of teenage pregnancy in (a) Gateshead East and Washington West and (b) Tyne and Wear constituencies was in each year since 1997.

      Tomography

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for MRI scans in the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital Trust.

      Tomography

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the performance of Lodestone Ltd. in providing MRI scanning services at (a) Darlington Memorial hospital and (b) Bishop...

      Tomography

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has she made of the adequacy of MRI scanning capacity in the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital Trust; and what she expects...

  • Trade and Industry

    • Bankruptcy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases for agreement of (a) individual voluntary arrangements and (b) conpany voluntary arrangements following bankruptcy orders...

    • Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria will be applicable to the award of financial grants to companies from the successor to the Bio-energy Capital Grants Scheme.

      Departmental Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which (a) agencies and (b) regulatory bodies reporting to his Department were (i) established, (ii) abolished, (iii) merged and (iv) renamed...

      Departmental Handbooks

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's staff handbook.

      Departmental Offices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what area of office space his Department and its agencies used in central London in (a) 2004 and (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

      Departmental Websites

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was of maintaining his Department's websites in 2005-06; and how many visits each website received during this period.

      Departmental Working Hours

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average working hours were for staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of the executive agencies for which he has responsibility...

      Flexible Working

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what estimates his Department has made of the proportion of eligible parents who are aware of their right to request flexible working;...

      Glazteknology Ltd

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had on redundancy payments for workers of Glazteknology Ltd.; and what his timetable is for making a decision on the...

      Gloucester Mail Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans to close the Gloucester mail centre; what assessment he has made of the possible impact on (a) jobs and (b) mail services in...

      Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the waiting time is for agreement of (a) individual voluntary arrangements and (b) company voluntary arrangements in the case of...

      Manufacturing Industry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of trends in the manufacturing industry sector in Northamptonshire over the last 10 years.

      Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government have (a) undertaken and (b) asked the Low Pay Commission to undertake research into the possible effect on youth...

      Post Office Closures

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2007, Official Report, column 2066W, on post office closures, when he expects to announce the detailed...

      Post Offices: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Scottish index for multiple deprivation will be used to calculate which post offices are in deprived urban areas in Scotland.

      Regional Venture Capital Funds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) budget and (b) expenditure was of the Regional Venture Capital Fund Programme in each English region in each financial year...

      Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of businesses awarded loans under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme in 2004-05 were more than five years old.

      Trade Unions: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated expenditure is on the Trade Union Modernisation Fund over the lifetime of the fund.

      Trade Unions: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 816W, on trade union funding, what the (a) amount and (b) purpose was...

      Trade Unions: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 816W, on trade union funding, how much is expected to be given to trade...

  • Treasury

    • Departmental Expenditure

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on external media trainers in each of the last 12 months, broken down by supplier.

    • Departmental Projects

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2007, Official Report, column 1134W, on Departmental Projects, which individuals have given (a) donations and (b)...

      Departmental Publications

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on the production of the Treasury staff magazine in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07.

      Departmental Publications

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the last 12 months' editions of his Department's staff magazine.

      Emigration

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people from the UK are estimated to have emigrated in each of the last five years.

      Engagements

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates Ministers in his Department made official visits to the London borough of (a) Tower Hamlets, (b) Newham and (c) Waltham Forest in each year...

      Excise Duties: Fuels

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue would have been raised in the last year for which information is available if (a) rail services fuel, (b) bus services fuel and (c)...

      HM Revenue and Customs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what average time HM Revenue and Customs took to respond to a taxpayer's letter in the latest period for which figures are available.

      HM Revenue and Customs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many (a) ports, (b) airports, (c) landing stages and (d) airfields HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers were (i) permanently and (ii) regularly...

      Households

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the (a) mean and (b) median household size was of households where the head of the household was aged (i) 18 to 25, (ii) 25 to 30 and (iii) 18...

      Income Tax: Stroud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people from Stroud constituency filed income tax returns for annual income (a) between £500,000 and £999,999 and (b) greater than...

      India

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the economic relationship between the UK and India.

      Inflation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what weighting for electrical goods is used by the Office for National Statistics when it calculates (a) the Consumer Prices Index and (b) the Retail...

      Inheritance Tax: Stroud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people from Stroud constituency filed inheritance tax returns for amounts (a) between £500,000 and £999,999 and (b) greater than...

      Minimum Wage

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how statistical data on the (a) receipt and (b) enforcement of the national minimum wage is (i) collected and (ii) held.

      Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he expects HM Revenue and Customs to publish the tax credit overpayment figures for the 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

      Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of the recovery of overpaid tax credits on levels of personal debt amongst people in the bottom three deciles of...

      Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people claimed child tax credits in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since...

      Taxation: Pensioners

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the income tax threshold for a (a) single and (b) married couple pensioner household (i) was in 1997 and (ii) is in 2006-07.

      VAT: Food

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement on the charging of VAT on food at motorway service station restaurant outlets; (2) what legislation applies to the (a)...

      Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of tax credit overpayments have involved one or more errors by HM Revenue and Customs; and if he will make a statement; (2) how many...

  • Communities and Local Government

    • Affordable Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new affordable houses were built in Essex in each of the past five years.

    • British Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by her Department was of British origin in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

      Communities England

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Supporting People Programme will continue under Communities England.

      Departmental Photographs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent on photography in 2005-06.

      Departmental Travel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Department's expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation, was in 1996-97.

      Disabled Facilities Grant

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much in matched funding Bassetlaw district council reported to her Department on the disabled facilities grant annual claim...

      Discrimination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the consultation paper following the Discrimination Law Review will be published.

      Domestic Violence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of people made homeless in England and Wales as a direct result of domestic violence in...

      Equality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether draft equality legislation or proposals will be presented for scrutiny to the Communities and Local Government Committee.

      Family Breakdown

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how she measures the extent of family breakdown in the context of her policies on community cohesion; whether figures on family...

      Fire Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the potential impact of (a) terrorism and (b) climate change was considered in the development of the Online Business...

      Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision there was of (a) social housing and (b) affordable housing in the West Lancashire constituency in each of the...

      Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what temporary housing provision was made available to the homeless in the West Lancashire constituency in each of the last 10 years.

      Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision there was of (a) social housing and (b) affordable housing in Chorley constituency in each of the last 10 years.

      Key Workers Living Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many participants there have been in the key workers living scheme in each month since its implementation, broken down by...

      Local Area Agreements

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to specify a role for alcohol reduction strategies in local area agreements.

      Local Enterprise Growth Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what advice her Department gives to those local authorities whose bids for second round Local Enterprise Growth Initiative...

      Local Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take action to eliminate or reduce the impact on local government resource allocated of the floor damping block...

      Local Government: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for bringing forward legislation to deal with the impact of single status and equal pay claims on local...

      Lyons Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to publish a (a) Green and (b) White Paper on local government following the publication of the Lyons...

      Market Renewal Pathfinders Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will break down by programme the expenditure on the Market Renewal Pathfinders Fund initiative in the (a) Yorkshire and...

      Royal Mail

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years.

      Social Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of the impact on social cohesion of social housing; and if she will make a statement.

      Social Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of all social housing starts in each English region have been three bed units or larger in each of the last 15 years.

      Social Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure that Professor Morton Cave's review of social housing regulation follows the Cabinet...

      Sustainable Communities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to promote sustainable communities in rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

      Sustainable Communities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which organisations have written to her Department (a) in support of and (b) opposed to the Sustainable Communities Bill.

  • House of Lords

    • Addiction

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Which body provides government funding in Northern Ireland to groups offering help and support to those with addictions; and how much has been paid to these groups...

    • Armed Forces: Service Police

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps the Office of the Provost Marshal (Army) has taken to reinvigorate the information technology strategy to support the intelligence and covert operations...

      Armed Forces: Service Police

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What progress has been made on developing a register of Territorial Army skills to improve the use by the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch of any...

      Assisted Area Status

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What were the qualifications for possible inclusion of wards in the maps of areas with assisted area status in England from 2007.

      Assisted Area Status

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Which wards in Lancashire districts and Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities met one or more of the criteria for assisted area status in 2007;...

      Assisted Area Status

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What criteria were used to decide which of the wards in Lancashire districts and Blackburn with Darwen, which meet one or more of the criteria for assisted area...

      Assisted Area Status

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Which wards in Lancashire districts were added to the draft map of assisted areas following the consultation period in 2006; and what criteria were used to decide...

      Children: UN Conventions

      asked Her Majesty's Government: When they will ratify the Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts.

      Civil Service: Performance Monitoring

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many staff have been subjected to disciplinary procedures in the Home Office for poor performance or incompetence in each year since 2001.

      Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether, following the passage of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, they have undertaken research on the number of visitors to the England and Wales...

      Cyprus

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether their refusal to allow direct flights from the United Kingdom to Northern Cyprus is based on political or legal considerations; and what is being done in...

      Cyprus

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have made as guarantor power to the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to have compensation paid to Turkish Cypriots who have had land...

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Human Rights

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have made to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo about the imprisonment of Marie Thérèse Nlandu, the Congolese...

      Energy: Renewables

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What action they propose to take following the publication on 22 January of the report of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, Ofgem, on reform of the...

      Energy: Wind Farms

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will launch further consultations with industry to find suitable locations for new wind farms in addition to the London Array Thames Estuary and...

      Environmental Protection: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will consider appointing an independent environmental protection agency for Northern Ireland in order to ensure more effective preservation of the...

      Ethiopia and Eritrea

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will propose to the German presidency of the European Union that further attempts should be made to persuade Ethiopia to accept unconditionally the...

      Ethiopia and Eritrea

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will propose to the United Nations Security Council that the council should indicate to the Government of Ethiopia that if they do not accept the...

      Fishing: Sharks

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What assessment they have made of the likely impact on the marine environment following the warning by Sarah Fowler, co-chair of the World Conservation Union...

      Fishing: Sharks

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have any plans to introduce fishing regulations and guidelines to prevent cruelty to sharks that are caught.

      Immigration: Abuse and Exploitation

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What kind of reparative measures they had in mind, in their response to the 26th Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights (HL Paper 245, Session...

      Immigration: Asylum Gender Guidelines

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will act to ensure that the asylum gender guidelines (2000) are observed in all cases where rape is adduced as a specific form of persecution by...

      Immigration: Spot Checks

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What methods are used by United Kingdom security and immigration personnel at airports to identify themselves to entering passengers when carrying out sudden spot...

      Inward Investment: East Belfast

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What proposals they have to bring investment to East Belfast.

      Iraq and Afghanistan: Costs of Conflicts

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What additional costs they have incurred through fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in each year since those conflicts began; and whether those costs have been...

      Iraq: Policy

      asked Her Majesty's Government: On which occasions the United States authorities have followed advice from United Kingdom military and civilian officials in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

      Northern Ireland: Human Rights Forum

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Who appointed the human rights forum which met in Northern Ireland on 18 December 2006; how it was funded; who selected the members; and for what purpose.

      Passports

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the passport details of United Kingdom citizens who are detainees overseas, which are entered on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular assistance...

      People Trafficking

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What additional resources have been provided in Scotland and Northern Ireland for identifying, rescuing and rehabilitating trafficked women in each of the current...

      People Trafficking

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will indicate the date when the United Kingdom Action Plan on Trafficking will be published.

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is required to operate on the principle of confidentiality.

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many former Royal Ulster Constabulary GC officers have died prematurely since the setting up of the Office of Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; and how...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many investigating officers currently work for the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; and how many of them have previously investigated a terrorist incident.

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many investigating officers currently in the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland have managed a counter-terrorist operation in a hostile...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 17 January (WA 162) concerning the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), whether they will request that the...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What is the mechanism for members of the public or serving police officers to make formal complaints about the conduct of investigations carried out by the Police...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many serving or retired police officers have been convicted of criminal offences, excluding motoring offences, arising from investigations conducted by the...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How much compensation has been paid each year to members of staff employed by, or attached to, the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland since it was...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How much compensation has been paid each year to members of the public and former or serving members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC or the Police Service of...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many serving officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, including reservists, currently being treated through the service's occupational health unit...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 6 July 2005 (WA 106), what was the per capita cost of maintaining the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland in...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 6 July 2005 (WA 106-07), what is the updated per capita cost of a criminal conviction in Northern Ireland in terms...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many former Royal Ulster Constabulary GC or Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, including reservists, currently being treated through the Police...

      Police: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the remarks by Mr Mark Durkan MP on 24 January (HC Deb, col. 1415) about the report by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland into the death of...

      Prisoners: Electronic Data Capture

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What measures have been taken to address the problems found by electronic data capture analysis in August 2006 that demonstrated errors in the recording of...

      Prisons: Chelmsford

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans they have to improve the rate of transfer of prisoners with mental health problems from HM Prison Chelmsford to places better equipped to treat such...

      Prisons: Chelmsford

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans they have to increase the level of counselling and psychological support services available to prisoners with mental health problems in HM Prison Chelmsford.

      Prisons: C-NOMIS

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What has been the cost so far of preparing for the implementation of the custody-national offender management information system (C-NOMIS); what is the current...

      Republic of Ireland: National Development Plan

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether detailed talks took place with the Government of the Republic of Ireland prior to the republic's announcement that 8 per cent of the proposed €180...

      Roads: Bus Lanes

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many people were charged with parking in a bus lane in Northern Ireland during 2006.

      Roads: Dartford Crossing

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What estimates they have made of the amount that the Dartford Crossing annually costs the economies of (a) Essex; (b) Kent; (c) London; and (d) the south-east of...

      Roads: Dartford Crossing

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the Department for Transport has undertaken or commissioned any work regarding the possibility of abolishing tolls on the Dartford Crossing; and, if so,...

      Roads: Dartford Crossing

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many accidents have occurred on the approach to the bridge and tunnel sections of the Dartford Crossing since their respective openings.

      Roads: Enniskillen Bypass

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 17 January (WA 165) concerning a bypass around Enniskillen, when they estimate the bypass will be built.

      Schools: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What the enrolment figures were in each of the past five academic years in each primary school in the constituency of Strangford.

      Schools: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What the enrolment figures were in each of the past five academic years in each primary school in the constituency of Newry and Armagh.

      Sewerage: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 17 January (WA 167) concerning the sewerage system at Springfield, County Fermanagh, what are the criteria for...

      Space: Weapons

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they support an international treaty to ban the use of all weapons in space; and, if so, what action they are taking to promote such a treaty.

      Suicide

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 17 January (HL1063) concerning suicides in custody in Northern Ireland, whether the 10 individuals who died in...

      Television: BBC Parliament

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have made to the BBC concerning the need for the programme BBC Parliament to be fully accessible to people who rely on television subtitles.

      Television: Subtitling

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether it is their policy actively to encourage all broadcasters to exceed their legal minimum requirements for subtitling and audio description as set by Ofcom.

      Waste Management: Fly Tipping

      asked Her Majesty's Government: How many incidents of fly-tipping were recorded in the years 2001 to 2006; what were the clean-up costs for each year; and how many successful prosecutions were...

      Water Service: Northern Ireland

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Why they charged the Northern Ireland Water Service an interest rate of 5.8 per cent when such projects in Scotland are charged an interest rate of 5.1 per cent.

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.

We let you vote on whether or not the answer given is adequate.

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