Written answers

Tuesday, 15 January 2002

  • Defence

    • HMS Invincible

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the refit of HMS Invincible will be completed; when she will be ready for service; and if he will make a statement.

    • Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the results from the review of the MOD police and the Atomic Energy Police will be announced.

      Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many MOD police officers and staff there were in January (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002.

      Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Defence Police Federation on the size of the MOD police establishment since 11 September; and if he will make a...

      Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what vehicle the Chief Constable of the MOD police uses.

      Gibraltar

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training operations have taken place in Gibraltar in the last three years.

      Wind Turbines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what resources have been made available to his Department for the fulfilment of its obligations under PPG 22 in advising district councils during the...

      EU-NATO Co-ordination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the co-ordination required between the Helsinki Initiative in the European Union and the Defence Capabilities Initiative...

      Petersberg Tasks

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action will be taken to improve the level of enabling forces and weapons which are required to meet the Petersberg Tasks prior to 2008; and if he...

      Petersberg Tasks

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the upper range of possible Petersberg Tasks; what consultation there has been with other EU countries on Petersberg...

      Aircraft Carriers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the three aircraft carriers.

      Battle of Trafalgar

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans the Government are making to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

      Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the cost to its budget since 1 May 1997 of fraud; and if he will make a statement.

      West Freugh Airfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the development opportunities that would be made possible by commercial development of West Freugh airfield in Wigtownshire.

      Defence Contracts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defence contracts are out to tender; and what the estimated value of each contract is.

      Tungsten Armour Piercing Round

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what effect the decision to purchase a tungsten armour piercing round will have on existing use of depleted uranium rounds; and if he will make a...

      QinetiQ

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to float QinetiQ.

      Gurkhas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many special arrangements are in place to pay pensions to retired Gurkhas who are sick or disabled; (2) if he will review the tri-partite...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Civil Servants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last four years.

    • Scottish Executive Officers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Scottish Executive Officers who work internationally under arrangements reached between the Scotland Office and Foreign...

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Zimbabwe authorities regarding the treatment of members of the foreign and...

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with the Home Office concerning the deportation of Gerald Mutekiwa (a) before his...

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received on the treatment of Gerald Mutekiwa by Zimbabwean security police after being deported from the...

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions his Department is taking to ensure the security of persons deported from Britain to Zimbabwe.

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with British representatives in Zimbabwe concerning the security of persons deported to...

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last spoke to the President of Malawi concerning the situation in Zimbabwe.

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Zimbabwe about the medical condition of Mr. Fletcher Dulini-Neube MP.

      Nepal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the importance of the United Kingdom helping to maintain stability in Nepal.

      Nepal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is in respect of supporting the Government of Nepal against Maoist terrorism.

      Nepal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his assessment of the political situation in Nepal.

      Nepal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect on neighbouring states of political instability in Nepal.

      Nepal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of possible links between Maoist terrorists in Nepal and other terrorist organisations.

      India-Pakistan Relations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the (a) Indian and (b) Pakistan Governments concerning the recent terrorist attacks...

      Special Advisers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints have been reported in his Department under paragraph 11 of the Civil Service Code since 13 May 1999, and how...

      Remuneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the number of individuals in his (a) Department, (b) related agencies and (c) related non-departmental...

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will be sent a reply to his letter of 3 September 2001 on his constituent Mrs. J....

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the hon. Member for Spelthorne will receive replies to his letters to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate about his...

      Departmental Sickness Absence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will commission and publish an independent report on the reasons for the level of sickness absence in his Department.

      Afghanistan

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what obstacles exist to the International Committee of the Red Cross having access to all prisoners being held within Afghanistan.

      Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what obstacles there are to supplying humanitarian aid to Iraq under the United Nations oil-for-food programme.

      Colombia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he received from the Colombian Government to his representations about the situation in Barrancabermeja and...

      Cambodia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Cambodian Government about the expulsion of Senator Chhang Song, Senator Phay Siphan and...

      St. Helena

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to make an announcement concerning the granting of British Citizenship to residents of St. Helena; and if he...

      Justice and Home Affairs Council

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 855W, on agendas for meeting of the EU Council of...

      Surjit Kaur Athwal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 9 January 2001, Official Report, column 504W what actions he has taken during 2001, and plans to take...

      Pacific Islands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's Ministers last officially visited Pacific Islands; and which ones.

      Golden Jubilee

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Government facilities will be made available in the course of visits by Her Majesty the Queen during her Golden Jubilee...

      Golden Jubilee

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support he has given to the celebrations of Her Majesty the Queen's Golden Jubilee in Gibraltar; and if he will make a...

      Nuclear Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 468W, what assessment he has made of the analysis of the...

  • International Development

    • Debt Cancellation

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she will list the developing country debts which have been cancelled since May 1997, broken down by country and by year of...

    • Development Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her estimate is of overseas aid expenditure per capita in developing countries in each year since 1990; and if she will make a...

      Development Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether it is her policy to raise overseas aid expenditure as a share of gross national product to the United Kingdom target of 0.7 to...

      Development Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her estimate is of the expenditure of her Department on overseas development as a percentage of United Kingdom gross national...

      Development Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her estimate is of the expenditure of her Department on overseas development assistance in each of the poorest 20 countries in the...

      Outstanding Debts

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her estimate is of the outstanding debts owed to the United Kingdom Government by developing countries, broken down by each...

      Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the value of debt and interest repaid on UK Government development aid loans to heavily indebted poor countries each year...

      Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK Government development aid in the form of loans to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries was (a) forgiven and (b) converted to...

      Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the value of UK development loans to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries outstanding (a) at 31 March 1997 and (b) at the latest...

      Primary Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her estimate is of the percentage of children in primary schools in the largest 30 recipient countries for United Kingdom overseas...

      Sleeping Sickness

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what specific assistance she gives to help combat the disease known as sleeping sickness; and if she will make a statement.

      Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood Project (West Africa)

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution her Department has made to the sustainable fisheries livelihood project in West Africa.

      Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood Project (West Africa)

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings have taken place to discuss the sustainable fisheries livelihood project; and how much money has been spent on each...

      Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood Project (West Africa)

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what activities have taken place as a result of the sustainable fisheries livelihood project in West Africa; and how they have...

      Population Growth

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimates she has made of population growth in (a) developing countries and (b) low-income developing countries in each year since...

      Low Income Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of bilateral country programme expenditure is directed to low income developing countries in the latest year for which...

  • Prime Minister

    • Council of Europe/Western European Union

      To ask the Prime Minister if he will announce the full composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of Western European Union.

    • Honours

      To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 9 January 2002, Official Report, column 815W, whether a finding by the House of Lords Judicial Committee against an individual formerly...

      Policy Unit

      To ask the Prime Minister (1) how many applicants there were for the post of transport adviser in the No. 10 Policy Unit; (2) if he will set out the procedure used in the appointment of...

      Policy Unit

      To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out the remit of the No. 10 Policy Unit on transport policy.

  • Culture Media and Sport

    • Women's Football

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Football Association and (b) Sport England on the funding and promotion of women's football.

    • National Stadium

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received from those backing the bid for a national stadium located in Coventry; and if she will make...

      Football Supporters Trusts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many football clubs have set up supporters trusts since July 2000; how many are planned; and how many supporters directors have been...

  • Trade and Industry

    • National Minimum Wage (Greenock and Inverclyde)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of the national minimum wage on the income levels of people in the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency.

    • Electricity Industry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the changes in the export price of renewable energy generators (a) since the implementation of NETA and (b) in each year since 1997.

      Mixed Oxide Fuel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list (a) the number of industrial contracts secured by BNFL for the Sellafield MOX plant, together with their country of origin,...

      Mixed Oxide Fuel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the production of mixed oxide fuel began at the Sellafield MOX plant.

      Miners' Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the number of Miners' Health Compensation Scheme claims for respiratory diseases settled in full in (a) Wales...

      Miners' Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if extra staff and resources will be appointed to accelerate the processing of Miners' Health Compensation Scheme claims in Wales.

      Miners' Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average duration was between assessment and a full and final settlement for former miners with regard to (a) vibration white finger...

      Miners' Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to speed up the processing of miners' compensation claims in the Cynon Valley.

      Contracts (Tanzania)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) defence and (b) non- defence contracts have been placed by UK companies with the Tanzanian Government since 1997.

      Public-Private Partnerships

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the public-private partnerships that have started in Greater London in the last five years.

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the proposed relationship between BNFL and the Liabilities Management Authority.

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she was first informed that BNFL was insolvent.

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 302W, what was the net increase in BNFL's liabilities resulting from the...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what profit figures have been published by BNFL Inc. in the US since 1990.

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial penalties have been imposed by the US Department of Energy on BNFL Inc. owing to its failure to meet contractual commitments at...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Liabilities Management Authority will permit foreign companies to bid and run operations at the Sellafield site once BNFL's...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the security implications of an overseas company operating the Sellafield site.

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are for Sellafield employees to receive severance payments from BNFL if the company loses the contract to manage the site and...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 655W, on BNFL, what was the cost of the advice on BNFL's liabilities...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements will be made for employees at Sellafield to maintain their pension plans if the Liabilities Management Authority does not...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of (a) the total cost at present day prices and (b) the cost, on the same basis, to each taxpayer of dismantling...

      BNFL

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement regarding the safety record and future plans for privatisation of British Nuclear Fuels .

      Nuclear Licence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will review the procedures for the issue of a nuclear licence by the Regulator, with particular reference to defining the area within...

      Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the effectiveness of the insolvency laws with particular reference to the enhanced protection of creditors...

      Liabilities Management Authority

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the timetable for the setting up of the Liabilities Management Authority.

      Special Advisers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been reported in her Department under paragraph 11 of the Civil Service Code since 13 May 1999; and how many of them...

      Trade Union Recognition (SMEs)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government are doing to ensure trade union negotiation rights are given to employees in small and medium-sized enterprises.

      Coal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to subsidise the UK coal industry beyond July 2002.

      Parental Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the costs to small businesses of women taking statutory maternity leave.

      Parental Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received relating to the impact of the new maternity and paternity arrangements on women employed within small...

      Employment Tribunals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her definition is of a weak employment tribunal case; and what evidence she has considered on (a) the incidence of such cases in the...

      Sub-sea Cable

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will publish the consultancy report on the feasibility of a sub-sea cable on the western seaboard of the British mainland.

      Primate Research Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the support her Department is giving to the creation of a new primate research centre in Cambridgeshire.

      Renewables Obligation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from businesses concerning the administration costs of the Renewables Obligation; and if she will make a...

      Electricity Supply

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her assessment is of the impact of NETA on the stability and continuity of electricity supply in the UK.

      Generators

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she will take to support environmentally friendly small generators following the introduction of NETA; and if she plans to take...

      British Coal Producers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she plans to extend the present financial arrangements to British coal producers beyond July; and if she will make a statement; (2)...

      Renewable Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Mid-Bedfordshire (Mr. Sayeed) of 22 November 2001, Official Report, column 396W, if she will...

      Mail Deliveries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of first class mail was delivered the next day in the last three month period for which figures are available.

      Oldbury Power Station

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place in the Library a copy of the evidence submitted to the 1998 Periodic Safety Review of Oldbury Power Station.

      Acquired Rights Directive

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 669W, on the acquired rights directive, by what means individuals who...

      Fireworks

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to break down the figures for injuries caused by fireworks by type of firework.

      Corus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much of the regeneration aid for English areas affected by redundancies in the steel industry announced in May 2001 has been spent; and if...

      Corus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of those eligible for compensation payments as a result of the redundancies declared by Corus in May 2001 have now received them.

      Corus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list payments of regeneration aid that have been made to areas affected by Corus steel closures since January 2001.

      North Sea Oil

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on North Sea oil and how long it is estimated the reserves will last; what percentage of the UK's oil requirement...

      Economic Regeneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many organisations in the SEEDA region dealt with economic regeneration in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000 and...

      Manufacturing Industry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes have occurred in each of the last 10 years in (a) the numbers employed in the manufacturing industry and (b) the percentage of...

  • Scotland

    • Energy Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on Scotland Office involvement in the performance and innovation unit energy review.

    • National Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland are benefiting from the recent uprating of the national minimum wage.

      National Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to ensure the enforcement of the national minimum wage in Scotland.

      Working Families Tax Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland are benefiting from the working families tax credit.

      Disability Rights Commission

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action she is taking to make the work of the Disability Rights Commission more widely known in Scotland.

      MSP Numbers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent progress she has made with her consultation on MSP numbers.

      MSP Numbers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps she is taking to encourage participation by the general public in Scotland in the review of MSP numbers.

      European Football Championships

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with Scottish Ministers concerning Scotland's application to hold the European Football Championships in 2008.

      Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent successes have been achieved through efforts in Scotland to confiscate drugs and the proceeds of drug sales.

      European Union (Participation)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with Scottish Ministers regarding Scottish participation in EU institutions.

      Child Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on the number of children living in poverty in Scotland in each year since 1997.

      Trade Unions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when she next plans to meet representatives from the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss trade union legislation.

      Rural Economy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs concerning the rural economy in Scotland.

      National Air Traffic Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when she last met representatives of NATS; and what issues were discussed.

      Laeken Convention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with the Prime Minister about the convention established at the Laeken EU Council; and if there will be participants from...

      Rural Enterprises

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans she has to encourage rural enterprises; and if she will make a statement.

      Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations she has received concerning pensions payable in Scotland.

      Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will make a statement on employment trends in Scotland since September 2001.

      Dover House

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of staff based at Dover House are not directly employed by the Scotland Office; and by whom they are employed.

      West Coast Mainline

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she has met representatives of Railtrack since 5 October to discuss the upgrading of the West Coast mainline.

      Friends of Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Friends of Scotland she plans to recruit; and how many individuals have expressed interest in the scheme.

  • Advocate-General

    • Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act

      To ask the Advocate-General, pursuant to her answer of 4 December 2001, Official Report, column 153, on the then Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill, if she has passed on the concerns of the...

    • Human Reproductive Cloning Act

      To ask the Advocate-General what discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive concerning the passage of the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001.

  • House of Commons

    • Standing Committees

      To ask the President of the Council if he will bring forward proposals to the Modernisation Committee to improve the effectiveness of Standing Committees in scrutinising Bills.

    • Euro

      To ask the President of the Council to ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what provision has been made in the accounting procedures...

      Pre-Legislative Scrutiny

      To ask the President of the Council if he will make a statement on his plans for pre-legislative scrutiny of bills.

      Oath of Allegiance

      To ask the President of the Council if he will bring forward proposals to reform the Parliamentary Oath.

      Electronic Voting

      To ask the President of the Council if he will make a statement on his proposals to the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons about the future use of electronic methods of voting.

      Question Time

      To ask the President of the Council if he will make a statement on his proposals to reform question time.

      Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

      To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, when the Commission agreed to pay the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for four days a...

      Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

      To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what policy the Commission has adopted in relation to the correction of information concerning...

      House Facilities

      To ask the President of the Council what proposals he plans to make to the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons for improving the facilities for families in the House.

  • Lord Chancellor

    • Rural Magistrates Courts

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review policy on the closure of rural magistrates courts; and what assessment he has made of the findings of the Auld...

    • Magistrates

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement as to the role of magistrates under the proposals in the report of Lord Justice Auld.

      Cafcass

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, when she last met the Chairman of CAFCASS to discuss its progress.

      Courthouses (PFI)

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made in building new court houses by means of the private finance initiative.

      Charges Against Property

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will review the process of recording a charge against property.

      Public Guardianship Office

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what customer-friendly policies the Public Guardianship Office has developed since its creation.

      Public Guardianship Office

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what target she has set for the Public Guardianship Office to respond to letters from hon. Members.

      Public Guardianship Office

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Chief Executive of the Public Guardianship Office intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Aylesbury of 14...

      Public Guardianship Office

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment she has made of whether the Public Guardianship Office is continuing to meet the standards of responsiveness to...

      Judicial Appointments (Ethnic Diversity)

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement on plans to promote ethnic diversity on the Bench.

      Auld Report

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he will respond to Lord Justice Auld's recommendations.

      Census Website

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will publish the tender specification prepared by the Public Record Office for contracting process for the design and build...

      Census Website

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the website for the 1901 Census will next be available for normal public access.

      Census Website

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultations took place between QinetiQ and professional genealogists in the process of designing and building the website...

      Census Website

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what consultations took place between the Public Record Office and professional genealogists in the preparation of the tender...

      Census Website

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations the Public Record Office received on the proposal for and construction of the website for the 1901 Census.

      Pleas

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in how many cases referred by magistrates to the Crown court for sentencing the defendant had pleaded (a) guilty and (b) not...

      Legal Aid

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans she has to review the procedures for the application of legal aid with particular reference to the costs and benefits...

      Trespass

      To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will institute a review of the law on landowners' rights relating to trespassers.

  • Work and Pensions

    • Benefit and Pension Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals in receipt of state benefits or state retirement pensions have had their benefits or pensions withheld as a result of them...

  • Home Department

    • Anti-drugs Strategy

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the status is of the targets for reducing the consumption of class A drugs, as set out in the 10-year plan for tackling drugs...

    • Anti-drugs Strategy

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what policy changes he plans to ensure that the 10 years anti-drug strategy meets its five and 10 year targets.

      Home Detention Curfew Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for the period between the commencement of the home detention curfew scheme and 31 December 2001 inclusive, (a) the number...

      TETRA Masts

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what evaluations were made by his Department before permitting the National Radiological Protection Board to erect TETRA masts for the...

      Data Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is reviewing the draft PIU report into delivering electronic Government in the context of his consideration of entitlement cards and...

      Extraditions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people the Government sought to be extradited to face trial in the UK from (a) other EU countries and (b) non-EU countries in each...

      Murder

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information he has on the present (a) murder rate per 1,000 of the population and (b) attempted murder rate for (i) Manchester and...

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the latest date for which figures are available, how many asylum seekers have been dispersed since the introduction of the Immigration and...

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 18 December 2001, (15273), when he expects to conclude the final list of categories of data to be stored on the...

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 479W, if it is his intention that an asylum seeker who has been...

      Visas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that the hon. Members' hotline is kept up to date with the latest information on those seeking visa applications.

      Naturalisation Applications

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were made for naturalisation; and what was the (a) average and (b) upper decile time taken to determine applications,...

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Broxbourne will receive a reply to her letters of 12 October, 16 November, 12 December 2001 and 9 January 2002,...

      Sex Offenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her statement of 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 7, on sex offenders, for what reason she has concluded that it is not...

      Trial in Absentia

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the offences for which trial in absentia is permitted in the United Kingdom.

      Child Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are registered on the Sex Offenders List that have been found guilty of child abuse.

      Animal Welfare

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for animal cruelty there were in each year since 1990.

      Criminal Justice and Police Act

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been initiated under section 46 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.

      Bachir Aouni

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the money defrauded from Barclays Bank by Bachir Aouni and his associates has been traced; and if he will make a statement.

      Traffic Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic offences were committed by drivers under the age of 16 in each of the last 20 years.

      Taxis

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents there were in which taxi drivers and minicab drivers were successfully prosecuted for (a) causing death by dangerous...

      Child Trafficking

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent of the slave trade in children in the United Kingdom.

      Air Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average age of individuals convicted of offences involving air weapons in the last year; (2) how many individuals were...

      Unlicensed Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions were secured for the non-payment of road fund licence in the last year in (a) Wales, (b) England, (c) Northern Ireland...

      Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to re-examine the methods for the operation of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and in particular the restrictions...

      Bogus Children's Charities

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place between his Department and the Home Office to crack down on bogus children's charities.

      Immigration

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state against each category of appeal, and for the last full year for which records are kept, (a) the (i) target and (ii) actual...

  • Transport, Local Government and the Regions

    • Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will answer the questions from the hon. Member for Maidenhead on the grant payment deed for (a) NGCL and (b)...

    • London Underground

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will place in the Library the assumptions underlying the judgment about the amount of money that would be...

      London Underground

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 498W, on London Underground, what steps are...

      London Underground

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the average number of carriages in each train on each line of the London Underground is.

      Council Tax Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he intends to make compensation adjustments as a result of the abolition of council tax benefit subsidy...

      Council Tax Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress he has made with the south-east Manchester Multi-Modal Study; and when he...

      "Planning: Delivering A Fundamental Change"

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he plans parish councils to have a role under the proposals relating to planning in his paper, "Planning:...

      Starter Home Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the estimated number of new homes for nurses in south-east England which will be built...

      Starter Home Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will allow access to the Starter Home Initiative for key workers to teachers in further education colleges.

      Asset Management Plans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the estimated cost is of the building (a) repair and (b) maintenance backlog contained within the Asset...

      Transport Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions by how much and over what periods of time he expects emissions from the transport sector to fall as a result of the...

      Standard Spending Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to bring up to the national average the standard spending assessment for the over 65s in Devon for...

      3 Marsham Street

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has responsibility for the former Department of the Environment building at 3 Marsham street.

      Urban Regeneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what schemes targeting urban regeneration needs are managed by his Department; how much each scheme has available to...

      Tolls

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the level of tolls are on major (a) bridges, (b) tunnels and (c) roads in the United Kingdom.

      Transport Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of (a) public spending and (b) GDP will be taken up by investment in transport infrastructure in each...

      Road Crossings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what legal requirements exist to require local authorities to provide fixed crossings on major roads close to schools.

      Automatic Train Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the introduction of automatic train protection on the...

      Rail Industry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent discussions his Department has had with its counterpart in the Netherlands relating to competition in the...

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if it is his policy to enforce the transition to cup and cone train linkages by the end of 2003.

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what further measures he will put in place to control the quality of maintenance and repair of rail tracks and other...

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what action he is taking to measure and control the quality of train wheel maintenance.

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of derailments have been caused by (a) track failures, (b) train wheel failures and (c) foreign items...

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact ambient temperature has on rail track failures.

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of train weight on rail track failures; and if he plans to introduce new...

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to restrict train speed and weight to prevent track failures.

      Rail Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many derailments have occurred in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

      Ministerial Meetings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues last met officials from the RMT.

      Bus Fuel Rebate Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much was paid (a) in total and (b) to individual bus companies under the bus fuel rebate scheme in each of the...

      Traffic Signs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library a copy of the 1989 Guildford Demonstration Project research into traffic sign conspicuity.

      London Buses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) bus services and (b) night bus services in London were cancelled due to (i) breakdowns and (ii) lack of...

      Planning Appeals (Listed Buildings)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make it his policy to refer planning appeals involving listed buildings to a panel of inspectors for...

      Homelessness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people are estimated to be homeless in the UK; and what proportion are aged (a) over 50 and (b) under 18.

      Electrically Powered Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps the Government have taken to assist the introduction of electrically powered vehicles and other...

      Departmental Sickness Absence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will commission and publish an independent report on the reasons for the level of sickness absence in his...

      Newspaper Advertising

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what has been the expenditure of his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on newspaper...

      Central Railway

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the references to Central Railway in the documentation for the M1 multi-modal study reflect his policy on the...

      Buses (Essex)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much was paid under the rural bus subsidy grant to schemes affecting the county of Essex in (a) 1998, (b) 1999,...

      Buses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he will take to ensure that the proposed system of local authority funding for 2003–04 will be fair;...

      Piracy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to reduce the risk presented by piracy to UK-registered or owned shipping.

      STCW 95 Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many applications for dispensation from the requirement to validate certificates to STCW 95 standards have been...

      Maritime Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he plans to make to the International Maritime Organisation concerning the adequacy of existing...

      Building Inspectors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to monitor the quality of the work of approved independent building inspectors following the...

      Air Travel Trust Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to introduce legislation to provide powers to impose a levy to recoup the costs of the Air Travel...

      Disused Railway Lines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to safeguard the trackbed of disused railway lines where lines could be re-opened; and if he...

      Motorcycles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes.

      Heathrow

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what plans he has for compensation for residents living under the flight path to Heathrow Airport; (2) what...

      Ministerial Travel (India)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what the financial implications were to his Department of his recent return from India earlier than he had...

      Number Plates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the new regulations on Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) will be laid before Parliament.

      Number Plates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether (a) car number plate manufacturers can produce plates with a national identifier in the UK in accordance with...

      Speed Cameras

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many automatic speeding cameras were in operation at the most recent date for which figures are available; and...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will publish the grant payment deed for (a) NGCL and (b) Renewco; (2) if the grant payment deed for NGCL...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 494W, ref. 21483, on what date he expects a...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will list the organisations with which he or his Department have held meetings to discuss the future...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress made to date in bringing Railtrack out of administration.

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 494W, ref 21483, if the amounts exceed the...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assistance he has requested from the Railtrack administrator under section 8.1.3 of the commercial loan agreement.

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the Railtrack administrator will be permitted to sell railway property assets to raise funding to repay the...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many relevant dates for repayment have been defined, as referred to in section 9.3 of the Railtrack commercial...

      Railtrack

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 495W, Ref. 23211, for what purpose the funding...

  • Education and Skills

    • Individual Learning Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her latest estimate is of the overspend in relation to the individual learning accounts scheme; and what impact she expects this to...

    • Individual Learning Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what investigations are taking place in relation to alleged fraud in the operation of the individual learning accounts scheme with...

      Standard Spending Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will give the standard spending assessment per pupil for the primary and secondary sectors for (a) Cambridgeshire and (b)...

      Standard Spending Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for shire counties (a) the education service block standard spending assessment for each county divided by the total number...

      Learning Disabilities (Exclusion Guidance)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance she gives to education authorities on the exclusion of over 25s with learning disabilities from activities and clubs on the...

      Capital Assets

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 889W, on capital assets, if she will...

      Voluntary Aided Schools

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if the proposed reduction in contribution by the governors of voluntary aided schools towards building costs is included in the broadly...

      Voluntary Aided Schools

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will place in the Library a copy of the responses received to "Responsibilities for Premises Work at Voluntary Aided Schools"; and if...

      Sure Start

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) parents and (b) children have had contact with Sure Start in Battersea since its inception.

      Schools Access Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in the Buckingham constituency have benefited from the Schools Access Initiative; and how much each school was awarded.

      Teacher Numbers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and secondary teachers, and (b) school support staff there were per thousand of population in (i) Staffordshire (ii)...

      Children and Young Persons Unit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people work in the Children and Young Persons Unit in her Department.

      Children and Young Persons Unit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget is for the Children and Young Persons Unit in her Department.

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she expects to reply to the hon. Member for Colchester's letter to her of 26 November 2001 concerning St. George's Infant School,...

      Teacher Vacancies (Worcestershire)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there are in local education authority schools in Worcestershire.

      Teachers' Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many teachers in Somerset local education authority have passed the threshold for performance-related pay in round 1 of...

      Teachers' Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her estimate is of the number of high performing (a) classroom teachers, (b) advanced skills teachers and (c) leadership group members...

      Assistant Heads

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many assistant heads there were in (a) England and Wales and (b) Somerset local education authority in (i) 2000–01 and (ii)...

      Teacher Assaults (Hillingdon)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers within the Hillingdon local education authority were assaulted by (a) pupils and (b) parents in each of the last four years.

      Class Sizes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools within the Hillingdon local education authority had 30 or more pupils in a class in (a) September 2001 and (b) January 2002.

      Class Sizes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many primary school children in England and Wales are being taught in classes of over 35.

      Departmental Sickness Absence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will commission and publish an independent report on the reasons for the level of sickness absence in her Department.

      Education Maintenance Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the education maintenance allowance evaluation will be published.

      Secondary Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the role of local government in delivering better quality secondary education.

      Secondary School Places

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what assessment she has made of the adequacy of secondary school places in Kent; (2) what plans she has to provide more secondary...

      Specialist Colleges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the specialisms that specialist colleges will cover following the March 2002 round of funding; if the Government have a...

  • Treasury

    • Public Corporations

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for the end of each year from 1990 to 2000 totals for public corporations which were at the end of 2000 classified as within the public...

    • Public Employee Salaries

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the earnings are of those public employees on top salaries as defined by the relevant pay review body.

      EU Budget Contribution

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest figures are for the United Kingdom contribution to the European budget in each year since 1973 at current prices.

      Personal Savings

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of personal savings.

      Private Finance Initiative

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list by Department the capital expenditure under the Private Finance Initiative in each of the last four years and his estimate for the next four...

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 328W, on public expenditure, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change...

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each of the nations and regions of the United Kingdom the amount of public money spent per capita in each of the last four years.

      EU Budget

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the EU budget is spent on (a) agriculture support, (b) the Social Fund and (c) the Regional Fund.

      Insider Dealing

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to amend legislation in relation to the offence of insider dealing.

      Insider Dealing

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation relating to insider trading.

      Reputational Externalities

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place his Department's internal guidance on the calculation of reputational externalities in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

      Fuel Duty

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if it is his policy to use the level of fuel duty as an environmental policy tool; (2) what his policy is towards the option of seeking a derogation...

      Tax Returns

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax returns the Inland Revenue (a) issued and (b) processed in tax years (i) 1972–73, (ii) 1980–81, (iii) 1990–91 and (iv)...

      Mortgage Administration Charges

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce measures to prevent mortgage providers levying an administration charge every time a customer switches their building insurance to an...

      Scottish Parliament

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the total costs of the (a) construction, (b) equipping and (c) finishing of the new building for the Scottish Parliament will be paid for...

      Capital Appraisal

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 1003W, on capital appraisal, for what reason the Treasury considered that the project...

      Advertising Campaigns

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the advertising campaigns commissioned by HM Treasury since May 1997, showing for each (a) its objectives, (b) its beginning and end dates,...

      Child Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Clarke) of 31 October 2001, Official Report, column 743W, how many families in each...

      Benefit Fraud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of those (a) dealt with by way of penalty and (b) prosecuted as a result of Inland Revenue investigation into working families tax credit and...

      Contingent Liabilities

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list contingent liabilities accepted by the Government since 1 May 1997.

      Financial Services Authority

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Financial Services Authority.

      Working Families Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families are (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of help with child care costs through the working families tax credit.

      Working Families Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of the working families tax credit was for each financial year to date; and what the projected cost is for (a) 2001–02, (b)...

      Tax Units

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax units paying a marginal tax rate of 40 per cent. have children; and how many tax units have children.

      Public Sector Current Balance

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cyclically adjusted public sector current balance in cash terms for (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03, (c) 2003–04, (d)...

      Tax Receipts

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax receipts are anticipated from the clearing banks for the year 2001–02.

      Scottish Provident Institution

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 8 January 2002, Official Report, column 802W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (ref. 24558), on the Scottish Provident...

      Stability and Growth Pact

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the stability and growth pact on the conduct of the United Kingdom's fiscal policy.

      Public Works Loan Board

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes have been made in the last three years to the quotas for lending to local authorities by the Public Works Loan Board.

      Financial Services

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross domestic product of (a) the United Kingdom and (b) each region was accounted for by financial services in each of the last four years.

      Mr. Gus O'Donnell

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the presentation and slides produced by Mr. Gus O'Donnell for a seminar with economics undergraduates and students on 30 November 2001;...

      European Central Bank

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proposals he has made to reform the European central bank in order to (a) improve policy-making transparency and (b) improve the definition of...

      Charities (Scotland)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to respond to recommendation 9 of the McFadden report on a regulatory regime for charities in Scotland.

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff at the Bank of England are involved in working on the preliminary technical work for joining the euro; and if he will make a statement.

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if there will be a political judgment involved in the decision as to whether or not Britain should join the euro; and if he will make a statement.

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Government's decision to join the euro will be affected by (a) the level of the pound against the euro and (b) the degree of progress on...

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reforms to the (a) fiscal policy rules and (b) operational arrangements for monetary policy, in relation to members of the Single European Currency,...

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his policy to seek a devaluation of the pound sterling against the euro before Britain joins the single European currency; and if he will make...

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what budget allocation has been made by his Department for (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03 for carrying out the preliminary technical work for...

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the (a) officials, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers of his Department who are involved in the preliminary technical work for...

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is (a) his estimate of the date on which the Treasury will complete its evaluation of whether the five economic tests for joining the euro have been...

      Euro

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the five economic tests for membership of the euro will have to be met clearly and unambiguously if Britain is to join the euro; and if he will make...

      Landfill Tax Credit Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Treasury will commence consultation on the proposed changes to the landfill tax credit scheme; and if he will make a statement.

      Euro Preparations Committee

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who are the members of the cross-party HM Treasury Euro-Preparations Committee; how many times the Committee has met in the last four years; on which dates...

      Eurozone

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecasts have been produced by his Department of eurozone short-term interest rates over the period 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

      Eurozone

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of (a) fiscal policy co-ordination in the eurozone and (b) monetary/fiscal policy co-ordination in the eurozone; and if he will...

      Vat

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he plans to extend to (a) charities and (b) voluntary organisations, the provisions of section 33 of the VAT Act 1994 on the recovery of import tax.

      Vat

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the total annual amount of irrecoverable VAT paid by charities.

      Tax Exemptions

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer in each of the last four years of granting tax exemptions to the income, profits and gains of Government,...

      Tax Exemptions

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the gain to the Exchequer in each of the last four years of the exemptions granted by overseas Governments to the income, profits and...

      Tax Refunds

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was refunded to states or organisations granted sovereign immunity in each year since 1990.

      Incomes

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was (a) the total unearned and (b) the total earned income of the top (i) one per cent., (ii) five per cent., (iii) 10 per cent., (iv) 20 per cent.,...

      Accountancy Services

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which accountancy firms have provided paid services to (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which he is responsible in each of the last four years.

      Duty Free Goods

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the yield to the Exchequer in the next three years resulting from the system of duty free goods.

      VAT (Church Repairs)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has made to the European Commission on the issue of reducing VAT on repairs to historic churches; and if he will make a statement.

      Registrar's Department

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the role of the Registrar's Department and on progress in reviewing options for its future.

      Standing Committee

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions the Standing Committee set up by the Memorandum of Understanding between the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services...

      Inland Revenue Services (Rural Areas)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the future provision of Inland Revenue services in rural areas.

      Hypothecation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the merits and demerits of hypothecation.

      Customs and Excise Forecasts

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons underlying the growth in the level of manual adjustments made by HM Customs and Excise to their modelled...

      Rail Infrastructure Company

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his Department's involvement in the proposed structure of the successor company to Railtrack.

      Departmental Sickness Absence

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission and publish an independent report on the reasons for the level of sickness absence in his Department.

      Pension Tax Codes

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis the Inland Revenue indexed the amount of state pension included in pension tax codes between 1999–2000 and 2000–01.

      Capital Gains Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to his answer of 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 32W, on Capital Gains Tax, what estimates for the Capital Gains Tax yield in (a)...

      Rural Support Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his projection is for the funding required to match the modulated funds in the rural support scheme.

      Economic Stability Document

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to his answer of 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 197W, on the Economic Stability Document, how many copies of the volume "Reforming...

      Climate Change Levy

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to exempt nuclear energy from the climate change levy.

      NHS Charges

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax revenue is generated from charges in the national health service.

      Charitable Donations

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals are making charitable donations; what the total amount given to charity is; and what the cost is to the Exchequer of tax relief thereon.

      Tax Returns

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total sum (a) levied and (b) paid in fines for late submission of tax returns in each of the last four years.

      Tax Returns

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been issued with personal tax returns by the Inland Revenue in each of the last five years.

      Tax Returns

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were fined for late submission of their tax returns in each of the last four years; and what was the total of fines paid, including...

      Private Medical Insurance Tax Relief

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of private medical insurance tax relief if (a) one million, (b) two million, (c) three million, (d) four million, (e) five...

      Redundancy Payments

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the tax reliefs available on redundancy payments.

      Advance Corporation Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total advance corporation tax repayments made by the Inland Revenue were in the last financial year.

      Hypothecation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce (a) full and (b) partial hypothecation of taxes.

      Taxpayers (Traceability)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers there were for whom the ground for non-payment of tax in each of the last four years was that they were untraceable.

      Tax Write-offs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was remitted or written off as irrecoverable in each of the last four years; and what was the number of taxpayers for whom the ground for...

      Corporation Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the results were in terms of additional tax, duty, interest and penalties achieved in each of the last three years to 31 March 2001 (a) by Inland...

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of public expenditure per head of population in each of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom in each of the last four years.

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the expenditure of local authority capital receipts in each of the last four years has counted as public expenditure; and what is the...

      Value for Money

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission independent research into the progress of Departments in securing value for money.

      Fraud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the cost to its budget since 1 May 1997 of fraud; and if he will make a statement.

      Education Maintenance Awards

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning funding for education maintenance awards as part of the comprehensive spending review.

      Financial Services Regulation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are engaged in financial services regulation.

      Financial Services Authority

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are directly employed as regulators by the FSA.

      Pilot Projects

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what pilot projects have been undertaken in his Department since May 1997; and if he will make a statement.

      Pilot Projects

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has on the effects of the rise in part-time employment on the level of demand for bank notes.

      Pilot Projects

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 4 December 2001 with regard to Patricia Andrews.

      Population Statistics (Kirklees)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the numbers of residents (1) in each parliamentary constituency wholly or partly within Kirklees metropolitan council area in each...

      Cost of Living Index

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an index for the cost of living for consumers based on the retail prices index but excluding indirect taxes for each of the last 10 years.

      VAT-Exempt Goods and Services

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate total expenditure in the latest year for which figures are available on (a) food, (b) fuel, (c) children's clothes and shoes, (d) books,...

      Company Investment

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total level of fixed investment was in each of the last five years by industrial and commercial companies in plant and machinery, dwellings,...

      Dependent Children

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the average income of women of working age with (a) no dependent children, (b) at least one dependent child under five years and (c)...

      Personal Sector Deficit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the financial deficit of the personal sector was in each year since 1997 in (a) constant and (b) cash terms, (i) in total and (ii) per household.

      Suicide Rates

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the death rate per 100,000 due to suicide and undetermined injury was in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

      Cancer Deaths

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the death rate per 100,000 among people under 65 due to cancer was in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the death...

      Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what mechanism recipients of the proposed child tax credit and working credit will be able to recover underpayments of tax credit which arise through an...

      Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in cases where assessment for tax credit purposes is based only on that part of the increase in current year income which exceeds a threshold, whether...

      Tax Credits Bill

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the definition of a couple for purposes of the Tax Credits Bill is different from that used in the State Pension Credit Bill.

      Tax Credits Bill

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish draft versions of the regulations referred to in the Tax Credits Bill in advance of the scrutiny of that Bill in Committee.

      Union Fees

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the trade unions which have tax relief for their members' membership fees.

      Pensioner Taxation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment has been made of the number of pensioner couples whose tax allowances have been reduced by the abolition of married couples allowance...

      Drug Smuggling

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of drug smuggling from Jamaica to the United Kingdom in the last five years.

      Comprehensive Spending Review

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what form the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review will be published; and if he will make a statement.

      Vat

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to synchronise the VAT rates between local education authorities and further education colleges in respect of further and sixth form education.

      Vat

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT was paid per average household on all goods and services, at current prices, in each of the last four years.

      VAT (Digitised Products)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason VAT is applied to digitised books.

      VAT (Digitised Products)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis he has made of the risk to future revenue from VAT as a result of the growth of trade in digitised products.

      VAT (Audiology Treatment)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change VAT on hearing aid audiologist treatment.

      VAT (Charities)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his current estimate is of the revenue that would be forgone were he to treat charities in the same way as local authorities under section 33 of the...

      VAT Misdeclarations

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue the Exchequer has received in penalties arising from misdeclaration of value-added tax (a) in real terms and (b) as a percentage of the...

      Manufacturing Productivity

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of manufacturing productivity in each of the last four years.

      E-commerce

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the present and future impact of e-commerce on the concept for tax purposes of corporate residence.

      Tax Planning (Revenue Losses)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax lost to the Inland Revenue in each of the last four years as a consequence of tax planning by accountancy firms.

      Beer Duty

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumption he has made in his forecasts for the revenue from beer duty of the rate of duty pass-on by retailers to their customers.

      Beer Duty

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the rate of beer duty on the volume of duty-paid imports from other EU countries.

      Beer Clearances

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what he attributes the fall in beer clearances over the last decade.

      Green Technology Challenge

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when he expects to receive the agreement of the EU Commission for his proposals to introduce further enhanced capital allowances under the Green...

      BP Ltd. v. EEC

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications for Government policy of the decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of BP Ltd. v. EEC (27...

      Alcohol

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the level of drawback paid on alcohol in 2000–01.

      Retail Prices Index

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue yield and impact on the retail prices index of revalorisation of excise duties at (a) the present rate of inflation and (b)...

      Income Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many PAYE coding notices changes were made by the Inland Revenue in (a) 1970–71, (b) 1980–81, (c) 1990–91 and (d) 2000–01.

      Income Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what studies the Inland Revenue has commissioned into reform of the administration of income tax since 1997; and if he will list their (a) names, (b)...

      Income Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of income to be paid in tax by the top (a) 1 per cent., (b) 5 per cent. and (c) 10 per cent. and the bottom 50 per cent....

      Income Tax

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of people who would cease to pay income tax if the personal income tax allowance were raised to (a) £5,000, (b)...

      Tax Units

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of tax units will be paying more income tax and national insurance in real terms in 2001–02 than in 1996–97; and...

      Tax Evasion

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of tax evasion in each of the last four years have led to a recovery of funds; and what proportion of the sums recovered in each case was (a)...

      Tax Avoidance

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures have been taken in each of the last four years to counter tax avoidance; and how much has been saved in each of those years.

      Incomes

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) amount and (b) share of pre-tax income accrued to the (i) top 1 per cent., (ii) top 5 per cent., (iii) top 10 per cent., (iv) top 25 per cent., (v)...

      Inland Revenue Rewards

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to section 32 of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act 1890, if Commissioners have made use of this power since 1972 to reward their own officers...

      Children's Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of families in Stoke-on-Trent who will benefit from the increase in children's tax credit in April 2002.

      Smuggling

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cars with their contents of tobacco and alcohol were confiscated by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last 12 months; and how many of these...

      World AIDS Day Postcards

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many World AIDS Day postcards promoted by the World Development Movement and Jubilee Scotland were received by his Department in 2001.

      Aircraft Fuel

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to tax aircraft fuel.

      Poverty Relief

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conditions he has set to define the relief of poverty in respect of his 2015 targets arising from trade liberalisation as set out in his Ottawa speech.

      Tax Relief (Residential Care)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give tax relief for those taxpayers who are paying the full cost of a spouse residing in a nursing home.

      Working Families Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the working families tax credit on the income levels of the poorest working families in the Edinburgh North and...

      Working Families Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people (a) are eligible for the working families tax credit and (b) claim the working families tax credit.

      Insurance (Reserving)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the tax system on reserving in the insurance business.

      Tax Competition

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the most recent (a) report and (b) other publication of the Code of Conduct Group on harmful tax competition.

      Customs and Excise

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many domestic motor cars were seized by HM Customs and Excise during 2000; (2) how many domestic motor cars were seized by HM Customs and Excise...

      Lower Income Earners

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of the income of the bottom 10 per cent. of income earners in each of the last four years taken by (a) VAT and (b) other...

      Landfill Tax Credit Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

      Aggregates Levy

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 8 January 2002, Official Report, column 805W, question 25025, on the aggregates levy, if he will specify the environmental...

      Tilt Report

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have moved out of hospitals as a result of the implementation of the Tilt report.

      IT Systems

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the use of the international ICD coding standard for recording clinical details for all patient activity in other countries.

      Mental Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many episodes of clinical psychology treatment occurred in (a) 1996–97 and (b) 1999–2000.

      London Ambulance Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many calls the London ambulance service received during the most recent 12 months for which figures are available; (2) how many hoax calls were...

      Community Pharmacists

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the value of the fee paid to community pharmacists in December 1997; (2) what is the value of the fee paid to community pharmacists; and...

      Community Pharmacists

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much community pharmacy contractors are receiving in dispensing fees; and what the equivalent figure was in May 1997.

      Prescriptions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England and Wales failed to get all or part of their prescriptions dispensed between 1 December 2000 and 1 December 2001.

      Orthodontist Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many orthodontists there were in England (a) at the latest available date and (b) in March 1997, broken down by each health authority area.

      West Sussex Health Authority

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what calculation he has made of the cost to West Sussex health authority's budget of his forecast for medical inflation in 2002–03; (2) what...

      NHS Recipe Book

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health who was responsible for drawing up the nutritional quality standards for hospital food included in the official NHS recipe book.

      NHS Recipe Book

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to enable patient feedback on the standard and quality of the food they are being served from the NHS recipe book.

      Drugs (Theft)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the theft of medical drugs from NHS hospitals and GP surgeries by patients and staff has cost the NHS since 1997.

      Injury Compensation Claims

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many, and at what cost, injury compensation claims were made against the NHS as a result of non-medical accidents by (a) patients and (b) staff in 2001.

      Better Hospital Food Panel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those chefs involved in the better hospital food panel; what the next year's budget for the better hospital food panel will be; and what...

      Ambulance Response Times

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time was in 2001 for the (a) London ambulance service and (b) Sussex ambulance service; and what the Government's target...

      Security Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many security staff were recruited for hospital accident and emergency departments in each year since 1997.

      Security Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many security staff by hospital (a) were recruited to and (b) left West Sussex hospitals accident and emergency departments in each year since 1997.

      Security Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many security staff were assaulted in hospital accident and emergency departments by patients in 2001.

      Patient Complaints

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many formal complaints were made by patients about NHS services by activity area in each of the last five years; and how many complaints (a) were...

      Hospital Cleaning Contracts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is given to local health authorities on the awarding of hospital cleaning contracts.

      NHS Direct

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's public awareness strategy is for NHS Direct; and what plans he has to launch an awareness campaign over the winter.

      Emergency Ambulance Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to stop the misuse of ambulance emergency services by the general public for non-urgent treatment.

      Traditional Medicines Directive

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is towards the traditional medicines directive.

      Stoke Mandeville Hospital

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the National Patient Access Team into waiting list management at Stoke Mandeville hospital;...

      Stoke Mandeville Hospital

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state, in respect of the patients at Stoke Mandeville hospital who were found in the district audit investigation to have been suspended...

      Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest figures are for the Mid Essex hospital services NHS trust area for the (a) total number of people waiting for hospital treatment and (b)...

      Older People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of falls as identified in standard 6 of the national service framework for older people.

      Type II Diabetes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive a response from the UK screening committee on their assessment of high-risk screening for type II diabetes.

  • Environment Food and Rural Affairs

    • Road Fuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is towards the possible adoption by the EU of lower sulphur control levels for road fuels.

    • Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the regional reports on the performance of the home energy efficiency scheme.

      Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) HEES and (b) HEES Plus grants were paid out in each local authority area in each month since June 2000; and what...

      Portland Cement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will name the domestic manufacturers of Portland cement who operate manufacturing plants accredited to ISO 14001; and...

      Environmental Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been initiated (a) by and (b) against local authorities in England and Wales under section 79(1)...

      Landfill Sites

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidelines exist to determine permitted distance between landfill sites and occupied private housing.

      Landfill Sites

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest assessment is of progress towards targets for the reduction of waste in landfill sites.

      CFC Disposal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her latest assessment is of the cost to be incurred by (a) private businesses, (b) local government and (c) the...

      Recycled Plastic

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she has made in creating a market for recycled plastic; and if she will make a statement.

      Environment Council

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Environment Council held in Brussels on 12 to 13 December; what the Government's position was on...

      Liquid Refrigerants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost per unit for the disposal of the liquid refrigerant in (a) refrigerators, (b)...

      Liquid Refrigerants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure the separation of different types of refrigerant liquids extracted from waste appliances.

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding options she is considering to assist local authorities in the storage and processing of waste refrigeration...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the capability of UK high temperature incinerator facilities to deal with the ozone depleting...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she makes available on the safe disposal of commercial refrigerators containing CFCs under EC Regulation 2037/2000.

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects plans for recycling plants for refrigerators to be finalised; and when she expects local authorities to be...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what precautions have been taken to ensure that there are alternative recycling routes for used commercial refrigerators and...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) representations he has received from and (b) guidance has been issued to (i) retailers, (ii) pub owners, (iii)...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether there is an available mobile technology capable of removing CFCs from refrigerators and freezers; (2) what...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether (a) retailers, (b) pub owners, (c) caterers, (d) hoteliers, (e) restauranteurs and...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what estimate she has made of the final capacity of the plants capable of removing CFCs from fridges and freezers under...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the distribution of funding to local authorities for the collection and storage of...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) when she expects that the first plants capable of removing CFCs from refrigerators and freezers under EC Regulation...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from the Environment Agency concerning the arrangements for the (a) storage and (b)...

      Waste Refrigeration Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with local authorities concerning the allocation of resources to meet the costs of (a) domestic,...

      Rural Work Force

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) farm workers, (b) ancillary workers and (c) other employees, by category, there were in rural areas by (i)...

      Domestic Gas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost of fuel required to heat a home to a reasonable level of warmth is for properties that are (a)...

      Fixed Penalty Litter Notices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty litter notices were issued in each year since 1995.

      Micro-CHP

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policies are for encouraging the use of micro-CHP; and if she will make a statement on their impact.

      Bushmeat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to tackle the trade in bushmeat (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) internationally.

      Bushmeat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the extent of the trade of bushmeat into the United Kingdom.

      British Waterways

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to transfer inland waterway and navigation management from the Environment Agency to British...

      Recycled Waste

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has collated for each London borough on the proportion of waste that is recycled; and if she will...

      Woodland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of land in the UK is covered by woodland; what measures are in place to increase the planting of trees and...

      Asbestos

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with EU officials about reclassification of asbestos cement as special waste; and how this...

      England Rural Development Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if appeals against a decision of a regional appraisal panel on an application for a processing and marketing grant under the...

      England Rural Development Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what criteria are used to assess applications for processing and marketing grants under the England Rural Development Programme.

      Fuel Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 13 December 2001, Official Report, columns 999–1000, on fuel poverty, which section of the...

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost of decontamination and cleansing of farms was following foot and mouth infections.

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the change in animal welfare and costs arising from the closure of livestock markets as a...

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much compensation was paid to farmers in Cumbria as a result of foot and mouth.

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which date her Department will use to consider when exports and livestock markets may resume following the foot and mouth...

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of blood tests taken from (a) sheep, (b) cattle and (c) other livestock during the foot and mouth outbreak...

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many appeals against valuations for FMD compensation were outstanding on 8 January.

      Foot and Mouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the recommendations made by each of the working groups at the International Conference on...

      Farming

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contribution farming made to English GDP in each of the years 1998 to 2001, after the deduction of all (a) subsidies and...

      Bird Populations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the change in the number and percentage of British birds from 1990 to 2000 was.

      Agricultural Bureaucracy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff of her Department are engaged in the administration of area and headage payments; and how...

      Agricultural Bureaucracy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many full-time equivalent staff of her Department are engaged in the administration of quotas; and how much time she...

      Agricultural Quotas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what agricultural products are the subject of quotas; how many holdings are in possession of each quota; and what is the...

      Combined Heat and Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many paper mills invested in combined heat and power plants in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000...

      Combined Heat and Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions she has calculated will be saved by the United Kingdom paper industry investing...

      IACS Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of IACS payments will have been made to farmers by 31 January.

      Livestock Markets

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when livestock markets in England and Wales will reopen.

      Apples and Pears

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she is taking to protect United Kingdom crop fruit growers from the effects of EU proposals to amend the...

      Parliamentary Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to answer the question tabled on 27 November 2001 by the right hon. Member for Fylde (ref 17652) on payments...

      Flood Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the impact of water companies ending agency working with local authorities and other external...

      Rural Affairs Forum

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list those organisations that have been asked to participate in the Rural Affairs Forum, and give the names of...

      Rural Affairs Forum

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish (a) minutes from and (b) reports to the Rural Affairs Forum.

      River Severn (Flooding Model)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish the model on flooding on the River Severn being prepared by the Environment Agency.

  • House of Lords

    • Sierra Leone: UN Military Force

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they consider that the United Nations military force in Sierra Leone is as effective as it should be; and whether they will inquire into its...

    • Reserve Forces: Campaign against Terrorism

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What is the role of the reserve forces in the continuing campaign against international terrorism.

      Agriculture Council, 18 and 19 December

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What matters were discussed and decisions made at the Agriculture Council held on 18 and 19 December 2001.

      Prescription Charges

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps they are taking to reduce the inequities in the arrangements for prescription charges outlined in the recent report from the Citizen's Advice Bureau...

      Healthy Eating among Young Adults

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have a means of assessing the ability of 16 year-olds to buy and prepare meals that constitute a healthy diet and are within their budget; and, if so,...

      BSE

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have made to the Belgian authorities following the discovery of a second incident of BSE specified risk material being found in beef...

      BSE

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Which companies have been found to have imported meat containing BSE specified risk material in the past two years.

      BSE

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What action the European Commission has taken against Belgium, Spain, Holland, Italy and Denmark in connection with the export of beef to United Kingdom with...

      NHS Bed Survey

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will publish the results of the census of general and acute beds in National Health Service trusts carried out as at midnight on Thursday 29 November.

      Patient Choice Proposals

      asked Her Majesty's Government: In relation to their patient choice proposals published on 6 December: (a) whether the cost of a patient being treated other than at the hospital on whose waiting...

      Ethnicity and Heart Disease Risks

      asked Her Majesty's Government: What is being done in response to the findings of the national surveys of National Health Service patients, Coronary Heart Disease 1999, National Report, published...

      NHS Trusts: NAO Report

      asked Her Majesty's Government: (a) for each of the National Health Service trusts mentioned in the National Audit Office's report Inappropriate adjustments to waiting lists published in December...

      Specialist Schools: GCSE Achievements

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether, and if so by how much, specialist schools achieve higher marks at GCSE in the subjects in which they specialise than in other subjects; and whether those...

      Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and WEU Assembly: UK Delegation

      asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will announce the full composition of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Assembly of Western...

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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