To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Commissioners have made of the cost of the new licensing provisions to churches and chapels;...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decision has been reached in respect of the number of Challenger II tanks to be converted for desert operations.

To ask the Secretary of Defence if he will make a statement on recent activities of the Royal Navy in the Gulf.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what British military units are deployed in the Gulf region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what potential security threat remnants of al-Qaeda pose to the security of (a) Afghanistan and (b) other countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to reduce the number of non-combatant deaths of armed forces personnel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the enlargement of NATO following the Prague summit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he is making towards awarding medals to those who served on the Arctic convoys in the second world war.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the factors which will determine the choice of consortiums to build the next UK aircraft carriers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on security operations in Afghanistan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on naval support for the defence of the Falkland Islands.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to help those made redundant by QinetiQ restructuring to acquire new jobs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he is taking to reduce overstretch in the Army.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about the proposed NATO rapid response force; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for a missile defence system for the UK; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Memoranda of Understanding have been signed in relation to the use by the USA of British facilities for missile defence activities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department is taking to reduce the risk to users when acquiring new equipment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to promote equality between men and women in the armed forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has taken since 1990 to enable Army officers to participate in academic conferences and to share experiences gained by officers in other...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals for the modernisation of the facilities at Altcar training camp have been received; and what recommendations are being implemented, with...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the opening of a new campus at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) civilian and (b) military members of staff of the Army Welfare Service are based in (i) Scotland and (ii) the rest of the UK; and how many...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) civilian and (b) military female members of staff of the Army Welfare Service have made complaints concerning bullying by superiors in each...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on troop reductions in the Balkans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the regular hours of opening for consultation are at (a) Deepcut and (b) Catterick of (i) the regimental medical office, (ii) the Padre, (iii) the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects Catterick's overspill site at Barry Buddon to receive its first draft of trainees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been made of bullying within the Army Welfare Service in each of the last five years, broken down by area office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mass casualty exercises have been undertaken by the Defence Medical Services in the past two years; and how many personnel were involved in each...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what systematic research his Department has undertaken since 1972 regarding the health of (a) those who worked in chemical weapons production...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Government will ratify the Optional Protocol on the UN Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will (a) assess and (b) certify the seaworthiness of decommissioned submarines prior to offering them for sale.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which years since 1990 a civilian firefighter has been (a) employed at and (b) resident in Deepcut Army Barracks; and what financial arrangements...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) France and (b) Germany about the implications for NATO's naval capabilities of the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training the Armed Forces have received for dealing with a fire at (a) a chemical and (b) a nuclear facility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what access the armed forces has to equipment necessary to deal with a fire at (a) a chemical and (b) a nuclear facility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if naval personnel acting as firefighters during the dispute will lose their long service at sea bonus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the effect of the firefighters' dispute on (a) naval training and (b) naval deployment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the PFI contract for the Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility; whether the contract is on schedule; and if he...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the PFI contract for the Joint Services Command and Staff College; whether the contract is on schedule; and if he will make a...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 27 November 2002, Official Report, column 332W, on manning control reviews, how many personnel in the Army were recommended for...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the dates of service were of each medical officer employed at (a) Deepcut and (b) Catterick Barracks since 1990, indicating in each case the (i)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by how much, and by what percentage, the unit costs of each Meteor missile ordered for the RAF will change as a result of Germany's decision to cut its...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on deployment of Royal Navy minehunters for an exercise with the Royal Saudi Navy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects preparations to begin for British involvement in the US-led missile defence system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role he expects Fylingdales and Menwith Hill to play in the US-led missile defence system; and what improvements have been made to the facilities at...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the United Kingdom paid in the last financial year to NATO as its share of NATO's overall costs, broken down into budget headings; and if he...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what nuclear, biological and chemical capability the Army, Navy and RAF possess; and whether the personnel are drawn from regular or reserve forces.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what offshore medical facilities would be available in the event of operations in the Gulf.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2002, ref 82556, what factors will determine the length of the period for which Operation Amber Fox will continue...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 27 November Ref. 81327, if he will publish the conclusions of the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes there will be in the level of actual parachute training as a result of the virtual reality simulator.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the PFI projects approved by his Department since 1st April together with (a) the capital value and (b) the through-project costs...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff officers are employed by the Royal Air Force in dealing with redress of grievances; and how many cases are outstanding.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much separated service was recorded by the (a) RAF Separated Service Recording System in each year since 1997 and (b) Navy Separated Service...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the pilot Skill Force scheme; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid by his Department after it assumed responsibility for contract payments in the RoRo strategic sealift programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tactical nuclear devices his Department holds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which submarines are expected to be equipped with Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missiles; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the request from the United Nations that each member state should adopt exclusionary measures to protect its armed forces against...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the costs were of the upgrades to the virtual air traffic control tower; and by how much this project went over budget.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department under what circumstances it is possible for a person earning #90,000 per year to obtain legal aid.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to issue guidance on the inferences to be drawn from the timing of complaints by victims of sexual assaults.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letters of 2 December 2001 from the hon. Member for Workington which were passed to her for reply...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department has collated about the level of toxins found in farmed salmon; what assessment she has made...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department intends to provide a minded-to letter for Lancaster City Council in the matter of the Environmental...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding has been available for the maintenance of long-distance trails in each of the last four years; what estimate she...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds have been allocated to the marketing and promotion of organic milk in the UK in each of the next five years; what...

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps were taken to verify the information included in the report, XSaddam Hussein: Crimes and Human Rights Abuses",...

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the (a) preparation and (b) publication of special reports on human rights abuses in (a) Israel and (b)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total expenditure of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies was on official travel in 2001–02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total budget of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies is for official travel in 2002–03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what co-ordination exists between the United States, Australian, French and British governments to ensure that travel advice is...

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when in the last two months his Department's travel advice on (a) Africa, (b) South East Asia, (c) Latin America and (d) the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give an early response to the Midlands section of the National Consultation on the Future of Air Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is his policy that before any option for Birmingham Airport is included in the White Paper, he will satisfy himself that the shareholders have...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the Air Transport Consultation Process, whether the 30 year economic appraisal for the second runway at Birmingham Airport will...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft departed from (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick and (c) Stansted airports in each month since December 2000, broken down by aircraft type;...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that a Minister from his Department attends a public meeting on Canvey Island, organised by the hon. Member for Castle Point, to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many responses had been received by 30 November in response to (a) the consultation document, Future Development of Air Transport in the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of private investment in the Thames Gateway area in advance of the completion and opening of the section of the High...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Answers of 2 December, Official Report, column 498W, on the Cliffe Airport Option, how he identified suitable venues for the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 2 December, Official Report, column 500W, how many of the stations owned by (a) London Underground and (b) train operating...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met members of the Strategic Rail Authority regarding disabled access to train station platforms.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the European Commission has decided to investigate public financing and charging in European ports in its proposed Directive on Market Access to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what initiatives have been undertaken by his Department to reduce fatigue-related road accidents since 1 January 2000; when each initiative took place;...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken by his Department to support the development of Intelligent Traffic Control systems across the United Kingdom; what...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made by his Department of the success of the International Maritime Organisation's Quality Shipping Campaign.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the pilot schemes testing lane rental charges in Middlesbrough and the London Borough of Camden will end; and when the conclusions will be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) kilometres of local roads, (b) bridges and (c) footways have been restored by local authorities using money in the Local Transport Plan...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the Highways Agency has made of the safety of the junction between the A5 and the B4380 at Montford Bridge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will report on the findings of the consultations into introducing legislation to regulate the use of hands-free telephones in motor vehicles;...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the environmental effects of the planned expansion of Norwich Airport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his policy on encouraging the use of trenchless construction methods on existing roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to local authorities was of roads maintenance and repair in each financial year since 2000–01 in respect of (a) flood and (b) other...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles used each of the roads built or operating using the design, build, finance and operate contracting method, in each month of...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory harbour authorities in the UK broken down by (a) companies, (b) local authorities and (c) trusts; which authorities have...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what specifications were required by his Department in the contract for the development of the TAN21 computer system; what changes to this...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (a) how many and (b) what proportion of trains of each train operating company (i) arrived late by (A) more than five minutes and (B) more than 10...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes have been made to the rules on the (a) environmental, (b) safety and (c) security standards of cars and light vehicles imported from...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hours of additional training are required to enable PSNI personnel to discharge a Baton Gun to be fired in situations other than public...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to collect information from hospitals and general practitioners that have treated injuries as a result of impact damage...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether paramilitary groups received public funding for the resettlement of prisoners following their release under the terms of the Belfast...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what rules govern the relationship between the police and the Army in situations of civil disturbance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the response of Her Majesty's Government to the report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommending a...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received on progress with decommissioning; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many weapons the IRA have reported as destroyed to General de Chastelain's International Independent Commission on Decommissioning.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons his Department seeks the powers (a) to issue directive, (b) to obtain information and (c) to issue a code of practice detailed...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money Northern Ireland has received from (a) Special European Programmes and Initiatives, (b) the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund,...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was discussed at the meeting between the National Employers and the Fire Brigades Union in London attended by the Chairman of the Fire...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on which occasions the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland has received a report on the meetings of National Joint Council for Fire Brigade...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the circumstances relating to, and the matters referred to, in (a) the HELM Report on Navigator Blue and (b) the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 2 December, ref 84475, if he will discuss the Fire Brigade dispute with Mrs. Rosemary Craig and Professor James...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of Northern Ireland's fishing fleet has been decommissioned under European Union regulations since 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many commercial fishing vessels were registered in Northern Ireland in (a) 1997 and (b) 2002.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed in the fishing industry in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the impact on the Northern Ireland fishing industry of the most recent proposals from the European Union to ban...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the representations made to Her Majesty's Government by fishermen in Northern Ireland concerning European Union...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate how many people have been forced from their homes by (a) Loyalist and (b) Republican paramilitary organisations (i) since...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Government of the Republic of Ireland about (a) the pension scheme, (b) redundancy payments and (c)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the PSNI Aliens Branch checked individually the passports for workers at the Marie Star Cafe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total budget of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies is for official travel in 2002–03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to receive a report from Professor Goldstock giving recommendations for tackling the problem of organised crime in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what agreement has been made with Professor Goldstock as to the number of days he is (a) required and (b) expected to spend working in his...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the Organised Crime Task Force in Northern Ireland have taken place since its formation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what priorities have been agreed by the law enforcement agencies in Northern Ireland as a result of the establishment of the organised crime...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Officers are engaged full-time as investigators with the Organised Crime Taskforce.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in implementing the recommendation made by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in their second report published...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set out the total costs incurred by Her Majesty's Government in respect of the Review of the Parade's Commission carried out by Sir...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what the basis is of the policy not to include members of the full-time police reserve in Northern Ireland in a pension scheme for service...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the full-time police reserve in Northern Ireland have been denied access to the police pension scheme because their service...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the successful candidates chosen after the recent competition for Chief Inspector posts in the Police Service of Northern Ireland...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prison officers in Northern Ireland have been warned that their personal details have come into the possession of the Provisional IRA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are being introduced to protect those prison officers in Northern Ireland whose personal details have fallen into the hands of the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the Northern Ireland Prison Service staff that have applied to the SPED scheme, have (a) received their SPED certificates and (b)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions Her Majesty's Government have had with the Government of the Republic of Ireland about the Real IRA's ceasefire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by month since April the shooting incidents attributed to the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action his Department is taking to implement previously continuing policy initiatives of the Northern Ireland Executive in response to the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make available in the Vote Office the consultation document published on 12 October 2001 on the proposals to improve the public...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in grants to welfare organisations representing (a) republican paramilitary groups and (b) loyalist paramilitary groups...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time taken by the Northern Ireland Office to answer written parliamentary questions has been since the General...

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the average time from 2001 for answering written questions to the Northern Ireland Office; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has contributed to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in each year since its inception.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the funds proposed to target (a) power and (b) SMEs under the reorganisation of CDC Capital Partners.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations her Department has received concerning the re-organisation of CDC Capital Partners; and from whom these...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many CDC Capital Partners offices have opened in (a) South Asia, (b) South East Asia, (c) Africa, and (d) Latin America since 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations her Department has received concerning the impact on development of closing CDC offices in Africa; and from whom...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to encourage (a) chocolate producers and (b) supermarket chains in the United Kingdom to (i) transfer to fair...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what reports she has received on the origin of the virulent flu outbreak in the Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance she is providing to help halt the spread of cholera in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what changes there have been in (a) productivity, (b) income, (c) employment and (d) economic growth in (i) South Asia, (ii) South East...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answers of 18 November 2002, Official Report, columns 15–16W, on the education Fast Track Initiative, when she...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her answers of 18 November 2002, Official Report, columns 15–16W, on the education fast track initiative, what money...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answers of 18 November 2002, Official Report, column 15–16W, on the education Fast Track Initiative, what...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to her answer of 26 November 2002, Official Report, columns 201–02W, on Eritrea, what meetings have been fixed with the...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the impact which Ethiopia's debt service payments are having on the ability of the Ethiopian Government...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on how the focus on health and sustainable livelihoods in the bilateral donor programme in Malawi relates...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what evidence has been collated by her Department regarding manipulation of food distribution by the Malawian Government for political gain.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on US proposals globally to abolish tariffs on manufactured goods; and what the level of US tariffs is for...

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent initiatives she has taken to help fund and encourage the education of girls in Pakistan.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the potential danger arising from flooding of the River Congo during the coming rainy season.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made in the repatriation of Rwandan refugees in Tanzania.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance she is giving to ensure adequate training of police officers in human rights issues in Tanzania; and if she will make a...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of analogue switch-off on remote rural areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the UK companies involved in the consortium applying for an Export Credit Guarantee for the (a) Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evaluation she has made of the initiative between British Telecom and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to extend broadband coverage; and...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 26 November 2002, Official Report, column 228W, on priority areas how many (a) hospitals, (b) GP surgeries, (c)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance her Department has made available to UK businesses to enable them to access broadband via satellite technology.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Chemicals Innovation and Growth Team will produce its reports.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with interested parties about the contribution of CHP to Britain's future energy needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the volume of trade between the UK and each Commonwealth country was in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to encourage trade between Commonwealth countries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she has taken to encourage a healthy and efficient construction and building industry in the last 12 months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the grants funded by her Department for which individual members of the public and organisations may apply; and if she will...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support her Department gives to the organisation India First.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to hold a manufacturing summit (a) in the UK and (b) elsewhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices in Lancashire are open for less than full-time hours; and what the corresponding figure was for 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices in the Wycombe constituency are open for less than full-time hours; and how many there were in 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding the Government has provided to the Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence; which organisations have (a) been...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she proposes to take in response to the report of the Quoted Companies Alliance, The Threat to Enterprise Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much financial support has been given to (a) wind power, (b) solar power, (c) wave power, (d) geothermal power, (e) hydro power and (f)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much of the funding made available to support renewable technologies in March 2001 has been allocated to (a) existing and (b) new onshore...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the most recent development plans of local authorities in England and Wales make specific mention of renewable energy plans; and...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what targets she has to increase the use of renewable energy supplies; and how she intends to achieve the targets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had regarding the appointment of the new Chief Executive of Royal Mail.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to improve security arrangements at rural post offices; and if she will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of firms in (a) Roxburgh and Berwickshire, and (b) the Scottish Borders that are eligible for the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bids for funding solar PV projects were received in the first two rounds of stream 2 of her Department's solar PV Major Demonstration...

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid to Thompsons Solicitors with regard to the processing of respiratory disease claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many wind generators are working in the United Kingdom; and how many are planned to be built in the next five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether a condition laid down in an existing planning consent would be superseded automatically by a permission given under the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total expenditure of (a) her Department and (b) its agencies was on official travelling in 2001–02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Government's policy is on (a) giving, (b) loaning and (c) underwriting funding for Wembley Stadium additional to that set out...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the volume of (a) sales and (b) tax revenue was from high strength lagers in each year from 1988 to 2001.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the projected volume of (a) sales and (b) tax revenue is from (i) spirit-based alcoholic beverages and (ii) non-spirit based alcoholic beverages in the...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the volume of (a) sales and (b) tax revenue was from spirit-based (i) ready to drink and (ii) alcoholic beverages in each year from 1988 to 2001.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people receive the child care tax credit in the Scottish Borders.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to table B11 of the Pre-Budget Report November 2002 (Cm 5664), on what basis he is forecasting a rise in corporation tax receipts as a proportion of...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to Table B12 of the pre-Budget report November 2002 (Cm 5664), on what basis he is forecasting a further 7.2 per cent. rise in council tax receipts...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of full-time workers in (a) Scotland, (b) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland and (c) Great Britain earn less than...

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to paragraph A37 of the Pre-Budget Report November 2002 (Cm 5664), what further data is required before a definitive judgement can be made on the...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to Chart A4 of the pre-Budget report November 2002 (Cm 5664), if he will make a statement on the projected end date of the current economic cycle.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish the estimates of actual UK trend growth prior to 2002 he has received from (a) the OECD, (b) the EC, (c) the OEF and (d) Goldman...

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of the reduction in assumed trend growth from 2007–08 on the public finances from that financial year.

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 27 November, Official Report, column 318, on what evidence he based his statement that in 2003, Britain and North America are...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set a date for the publication of a verdict on whether Britain has met the five economic tests for Euro entry.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he intends to have with the Governor of the Bank of England on whether the five economic tests for entry to the Euro are being met.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the increase in employers' liability premiums.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to use revenue from insurance premium tax above the revenue projected by his Department to provide a pool for employers' liability insurance.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in full the Penrose report into Equitable Life; and when the report will be published.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Government schemes exist to compensate policyholders in Equitable Life in the event that it should go into receivership.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulators in dealing with Equitable Life.

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate of cost for the saving gateway and child trust fund is factored into his public finance projections.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 27 November 2002, Official Report, column 318, on what evidence he based his statement that there is the worst global slowdown...

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis 2007–08 has been chosen as the year in which the trend growth rate is assumed to change as a result of demographic effects, for the...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher rate taxpayers there were in (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK as a proportion of the total relevant population in each...

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the net inward migration of non-EU nationals was in each of the last five available years.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance has been given on the implications of money laundering regulations to applicants for post office card accounts.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the EU Directive on occupational pension schemes and its impact on UK pension schemes.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fair trade criteria the Government apply when deciding upon what suppliers to use.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to paragraph A34 of the pre-Budget report November 2002 (Cm 5664), on what basis he is raising his estimate for the trend rate of productivity...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his revised estimates for the trend rate of productivity growth are dependent upon the potential increases in the underlying productivity growth...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he plans to introduce to improve the savings ratio in the short-term.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to devolve the management of skills budgets to regions other than the North-east, North-west, South-east and East.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements have been made to reassess recipients of family tax credit whose entitlement is due to be reassessed before the introduction of the new...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures exist for those in receipt of working families tax credit to seek a review on material change of circumstances prior to the introduction of...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis he is calculating the trend in levels of receipts from (a) the financial services sector and (b) stamp duty on property.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to paragraph B56 of the pre-Budget report November 2002 (Cm 5664), how much the strategy on VAT fraud and avoidance is expected to yield in...

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Customs and Excise spent on its programme to detect the use of vehicle fuel on which fuel taxes have not been paid in the last year for which...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent steps he has instituted to help Her Majesty's Government's Ministers improve their performance; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many medical students are in receipt of maximum non-means tested loans, broken down by medical schools; and how many medical students...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will publish the remaining results of the first asset management plans; for what reason publication has been delayed; and if he will...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to monitor progress in implementing his Department's good practice guidelines on autism.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans there are to recruit more lecturers to further education colleges in craft subjects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what regulations prevent private institutions from awarding degrees; what (a) advice and (b) representations he has received on allowing...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils have been excluded from schools in (a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire in each year since 1 January 1996.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many further education lecturers were employed at colleges in England in each of the last five years, broken down by those on (a)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his answer of 2 December 2002, Official Report, column 556W, on graduate incomes, if he will place a copy of the working paper,...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from Warrington entered higher education in the past five years, broken down by social class.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to establish a standard framework for inspection bodies in the further education sector.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures will be taken to increase the number of 7-year-old children reaching set literacy standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial support is available for mature students in higher education in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people (a) enrolled for and (b) completed national vocational qualifications in (i) plumbing, (ii) bricklaying, (iii) bridge to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what basis Government funding is allocated for small specialist performing arts institutions in (a) music, (b) acting, (c) dance, (d)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many four year olds there were in reception classes in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research has been done on the impact of closing schools on (a) the educational attainment of former pupils in their new schools, (b)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the allocations to each local authority from the #60 million School Laboratories for the 21st Century Scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what comparison has been made of places for careers among school leavers by the careers service in coalfield areas, compared to the national...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the European Commission's proposal, COM (2002) 401 final, and the subsequent Council decision to invite...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding extending the eligibility criteria for benefits to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the part played by consideration of best value in determining whether surplus schools should be closed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial penalties are in place if local education authorities have surplus school places.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the reason underlying the decision not to shortlist the application by (a) Belvidere School and (b) Mary Webb...

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of sixth formers in schools in Sittingbourne and Sheppey went to university in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c)...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were convicted of offences relating to (a) graffiti, (b) excess noise and (c) fly tipping in each of the last 10 years;...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on problems affecting asylum seekers in Clearsprings houses in the UK; (2) what contract Clearsprings have...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have completed all stages of their application and are awaiting removal from the country; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time between completion of all stages of the asylum seeking process and notice of removal being issued was in the last 12...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his oral answer of 2 December 2002, Official Report, column 616, to the Member for Dover (Mr. Prosser), if he will withdraw his...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are held in prisons in England and Wales for cannabis-related offences; and how many people were received into prisons in...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the prevalence of child abuse in the home within different categories of family configuration and...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds have been allocated for the next financial year to cover CBW civil contingency planning in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 14 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr. Amjed...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 25 September from the right hon. Member Manchester, Gorton, with regard to the National...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 14 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mihai Tudoreslu.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 16 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mrs. Inder...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the consequences of the case of R (H) v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will write to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam regarding the Criminal Records Bureau.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely impact of custody plus on the number of people sentenced to a period of imprisonment of under 12...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the outcome was of the study that considered expanding Victim Support's helpline to 24 hours, referred to in Annex 1 of the joint Home...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he plans to introduce mandatory drug testing for prison inmates on reception.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug treatment and testing orders have been issued; at what cost; and how many of the orders have been successfully completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking in conjunction with other EU countries to curtail the trade in narcotics.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will undertake a study of the proportion of prisoners who are positive for hepatitis C (a) on reception and (b) on discharge.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to make a decision in the case of Khawaja Badar Rauf (IND reference number R341351); and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will update Prison Service Order 3550 to take account of advances in the treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine; (2)...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take over the circulation of a letter purporting to be written by Osama bin Laden on a UK website operated by an...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding from his Department has been provided to Outreach programmes for young offenders provided by ACFA in the financial year...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to propose amendments to the law to increase the maximum sentence for paedophiles convicted of abusing children; what...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to find the suspected paedophiles at large whose details were given to the police six months ago.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been imposed, broken down by each constabulary, in each year since their introduction.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persistent offenders he estimates there are in England and Wales aged (a) under 18 years, (b) 18 to 20 years and (c) 21 years and over.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to improve the integration of police and CPS functions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to rehabilitate prisoners who are drug addicts.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who have taken the Alpha Course in prisons have re-offended.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what emergency accommodation he plans to use to ease prison overcrowding; (2) when the next batch of new prison places will become...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a judicial direction that consent means free agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the list of reverse presumption situations in the White Paper Protecting the Public at paragraph 31 will be exhaustive.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many sexual offences against children were reported in each of the last ten years, broken down by category of offence; and what...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are in prison for (a) drug offences, (b) drug trafficking offences and (c) supply offences; and of these groups of women, what...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are held in prisons in England and Wales, broken down by the offences they are held for.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were received into prison in each of the last three years, broken down by offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department will take following the High Court decision that the Children Act 1989 applies to children held in prison; what...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been held in segregation cells in each of the prisons in the juvenile estate since April 2000; and of those, how many...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost was to public funds of the Bain Inquiry into the firefighters' wage claims; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the 2001 Pathfinder report into the British Fire Service will be published.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish (a) the current value of the liabilities for pensions of the Fire Service in payment and other liabilities in respect of service to date, (b)...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what targets the Government are introducing, and over what time, to reduce the quantity of brown field land in the UK; and what steps the Government are taking to...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many concealed phone masts there are, ranked by county.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many hours retained firefighters are required to work in order to receive the annual retaining fee; (2) what the average annual income received by a...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the impact on the annual income of (a) a retained leading firefighter with 10 years' service and (b) a retained firefighter with 2...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many registered architects, planners and urban designers are employed in (a) each of the Government Offices for the Regions and (b) his Department.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to improve the large scale voluntary transfers process; and how many council properties will have their transfer finalised under the LSVT...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if the increase in the council tax at standard spending in the local government finance settlement will be limited to the change in retail price index.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on changes he has made to the workings of the planning system by the update of PPG22.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria the Government will use to determine public support for regional assemblies;

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether alternatives to elected regional assemblies will be offered as part of the consultation; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what economic measures elected regional assemblies will be empowered to take.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has for (a) a question in the referendum on regional assemblies and (b) further referendums, on the constitution of regional assemblies.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the cost implications to (a) his Department and (b) other Departments of implementing the review of area-based initiatives by the...

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to raise the level of urban design skills within the Government Offices for the regions.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he plans to take, following the publication of the Social Exclusion Unit's young runaways report, to tackle the issues of abuse at home and bullying...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many suspected benefit frauds have (a) been investigated and (b) resulted in a successful prosecution as a result of (i) submissions to the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the informal barriers to employment for British workers in the EU.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will simplify the procedures for the payment of Incapacity Benefit to councillors in receipt of councillors' allowances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answers of 27 November 2002, Refs 82508, 82511 and 82513, if he will list the additional job entry target point scores which...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the basis for the calculation by his noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, of the amount of...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people had benefits withdrawn for failing to accept all options under (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal 50 plus and (c) New...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of entrants to New Deal for Young People were functionally illiterate in (a) its first year and (b) the latest period for which...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the improvements in employability of those on each New Deal; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have entered the New Deal gateway (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times or more in respect of (i) New Deal for Young People,...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide the information given in his Answer to the hon. Member for Hertsmere of 31 January, Official Report, column 537W, in respect...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total expenditure has been to date on (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal 50 plus and (c) New Deal 25 plus.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list (a) Green Papers, (b) reviews and (c) consultations or pensions since 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many personal invitations documents for post office card accounts will be printed; (2) what proof of identity will be required for...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what criteria are being employed in the decision to approve promotional literature for the post office card account; (2) when he will...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements are being made for those pensioners and benefit claimants who wish to apply for a post office card account who have (a)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the procedure for opening a post office card account; and whether he plans to take action to simplify it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answers of 27 November, Refs 82508, 82511 and 82513, if he will rank the (a) unemployment rates and (b) ethnic minority...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the sustainability strategy is for his Department; and how it has changed since the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make it his policy to seek an amendment to the Food Supplements Directive prior to its full implementation to allow member states to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nutrients and nutrient sources on the United Kingdom market are absent from the list of permitted nutrients included in the annexes to the Food...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received from (a) industry and (b) the Food Standards Agency a list of those nutrients missing from the lists of approved nutrients and...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into the effects of radio waves on leukaemia cells, with particular reference to mobile phone users.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the budget for the Food Standards Agency debate on GM foods; who will be contracted to conduct the debate; and how the Government's own debate on...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inter-country adoptions there were by British citizens in each of the last three years, broken down by country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost was of hiring agency staff to carry out operating department practitioner duties (a) in England and (b) in the north-west region in...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many former ambulance personnel are on retirement pensions; and how many ambulance personnel there are in service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults on ambulance staff were recorded in each of the past five years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what dedicated facilities and support are available to children diagnosed with ADHD in the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates he has made of the number of school-aged children diagnosed with ADHD.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether all teenagers in England and Wales are being offered BCG vaccinations; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of breast cancer patients have been waiting less than two months between urgent referral and the start of treatment in (a) England and (b)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list Health Authorities/PCTs that have received funding from the Cancer Care Plan for specialist palliative care, announced in May 2000,...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many extra (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) managers have been employed by NHS trusts using the extra money allocated for the improvement of cancer...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent, adjusted for inflation, on (a) homecare, (b) secure accommodation, (c) fostering, (d) day care, (e) nursing care and (f) residential...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health [pursuant to his answer of 28 November, Official Report, column 408W], on care home inspectors, how many (a) established care home inspector posts and (b)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 28 November, Official Report, column 408W, on care home inspectors, what types of premises the inspectors are required to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 28 November, Official Report, column 408W, on care home inspectors, how many vacancies have been unfilled for (a) up to one...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been available in the carers grant for each of the last five years; how much was unallocated; and how much will be allocated to the carers...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the members of the Department of Health's Change Agent Team.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to introduce legislation to give children the same legal right of protection for assaults as adults; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been diagnosed obese since 1997; and what percentage of these children were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received from non-Members on the reform of the child protection system; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the introduction of the Children Act 1989 in prisons following the High Court ruling on 29 November; and what extra...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in care have access to the internet at home, broken down by local authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children's hospice funding was paid by his Department in each year since 1997.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget estimates have been submitted by the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health; what specific allocations have been made; what...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when community health councils will cease to exist; and when patients forums will be established.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 3 October 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Karen Smith; (2)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England and Wales are deaf in one ear.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the organisations from which he has received representations regarding the proposed delayed discharge fines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the impact on the number of delayed discharges of the introduction of fines over the next three years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he collates on a regional basis regarding delayed discharge and emergency readmissions; and if he will list the figures for Q1 2002–03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to distribute the #100 million from the NHS to social services to recompense for delayed discharge.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current waiting time is for Duplex scans at Maidstone Hospital.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many products now on free sale will be required to be licensed when the European directives on nutritional supplements on herbal remedies come...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on, and how many were (a) for and (b) against, the proposed new EU directives on nutritional supplements and herbal...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many products which are accepted as safe by the Food Standards Agency he expects to (a) be removed from the United Kingdom market and (b) have to be...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 25 November 2002, Official Report, column 136W, regarding recruitment of foster carers, what methods he used to conclude that...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age is of GPs in the Havering Primary Care Trust area; and how many will reach retirement age before 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs have worked in the NHS since 1997, broken down by nation of the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage more GPs to set up practice in East Lancashire; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the average number of GPs per 1,000 of the population was in (a) rural and (b) urban areas in each year from 1997 to 2002; (2) what the...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many responses (a) positive and (b) negative he has received to the consultation on the creation of the Health Protection Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the definition of intensive home help is; and how many people have been receiving intensive home help in each year since 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the average cost per week of (a) keeping a person in hospital and (b) keeping that person in a nursing home in Leeds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with university authorities and ministers at the Department of Education and Skills concerning the number of students...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is being carried out by his Department into how individual personal choice might be improved on mental health.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of mental health patients were given physical health checks in each health authority in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on how mental health service users are consulted on the effectiveness of complementary therapies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients attending GP clinics he estimates have mental health problems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of carers of mental health patients have been given a carer's assessment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support and advice is given to mental health service users to become advocates for other mental health service users.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he is implementing to ensure that one or more performance indicators are assigned to each piece of NICE guidance so that progress in...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of contingency planning to deal with the call up of NHS staff as medical reservists, for how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other medical...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls the NHS Overseas Nurses Advice Line has received since it was established; and what the average cost to the NHS is per call.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses left the NHS last year, broken down by nation of the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on NHS nursing and midwifery staff in each year since 1996–97 in (i) England and (ii) each NHS...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Bow of 28 November 2002, Official Report, column 413W, on patient discharge, when he...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the cost of recruiting the membership of patients' forums.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what proportion of (a) young offender institutions and (b) adult prisons changes have been made to the physical cell environment to reduce ligature points.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance NHS Chief Executives have been given regarding the need for preservation of public health microbiology in relation to the proposed...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital doctors left the NHS in each of the last four years on grounds of (a) retirement, (b) early retirement, (c) ill health and (d) taking up...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the nursing wage bill was spent on temporary nursing staff in (a) England and (b) each NHS region in each of the last six years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operating department practitioner vacancies there are (a) in England and (b) in the north-west region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the consultations undertaken by his Department prior to the announcement that operating department practitioner trainees...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken under the Protection of Children Act 1999 to protect vulnerable adults with mental impairment from (a) sexual and (b) physical abuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is made available on current waiting times for treatment for types of cancer; and what plans he has to publish such information in the future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what extra resources have been allocated to the implementation of the two week waiting time target for referral of patients with (a) breast cancer, (b)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients in NHS units in Chesham and Amersham waited longer than (a) four and (b) 24 hours in accident and emergency in each of the last 12...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many delayed discharges there were from Wycombe hospital in each year since 1997.

asked Her Majesty's Government: How many full-time permanent employees there were in each cross-border body set up under the Belfast Agreement of 1998, taking the Irish Agency and the Ulster...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 November (WA167-170), why the chief executive officers of the cross-border bodies, set up in 1999, have...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 6 November (WA119) whether they propose that the Security Service team should also conduct an independent...

asked her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 6 November (WA123), whether this means that the Linguistic Diversity Branch of the Department of Culture,...

asked her Majesty's Government: Whether the two parts of the Language Implementation Body, as an international body set up under the Belfast Agreement of 1998, have an equal relationship with the...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Why the allowance granted to those members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board who are also Members of the Legislative Assembly has been increased by...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 November (WA169), which departments of which governments approved the job descriptions and salary scales...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 November concerning a North/South Ministerial Council (WA 171-172), whether the reference to the...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 7 November (WA167-170), whether Tourism Ireland is an implementation body; if not, why it was included in...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 6 November (WA121-122), whether the community background information sought is available anywhere; and, if...

asked Her Majesty's Government: How many of the 72 recommendations contained in a strategic review of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, published in February 2000, have been carried out;...

asked Her Majesty's Government: What is the average age and mileage of the current fleet of ambulances in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service; and how this average compares with the normally...

asked Her Majesty's Government: How many boarders there are at each of the schools in Northern Ireland which enrol boarders.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What public funds have been allocated by the Northern Ireland Film Commission to each film it has supported during the past two years.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What was the total cost of providing for the presence of the Northern Ireland Film Commission at the last Cannes Film Festival.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What conclusions the Director of Public Prosecutions has reached following his review of the handling by the CPS of the Damilola Taylor murder trial.

asked Her Majesty's Government: How much money has been expended from public funds to meet the costs of the introduction of the cup and cone device for MK1 rolling stock which has now been abandoned.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What training is provided for senior civil servants to enable them to understand the role and procedures of both Houses of Parliament.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Why the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 do not permit cycles to be fitted with any lamp which automatically emits a flashing light; and whether they will...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 2 December (HL Deb, col. 961), whether they will provide the details of how they arrived at the value for...

asked Her Majesty's Government: What is the estimated number of Greek Orthodox, Latins, Maronites and Anglicans living within Turkish North Cyprus; and What is the estimated number of (a) Greek...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will publish the Science Budget allocations 2003–04 to 2005–06.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What financial support they have provided to the Morley Gallery at Morley College in Westminster Bridge Road during each of the years 1997–2002; and what...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Why they did not consult the representative bodies of local authorities before announcing their proposed reforms to tackle delays in discharging older people from...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether non-smokers, particularly those with asthma or other respiratory conditions, face risks from passive smoking; and what plans they have to change the...

asked Her Majesty's Government: What is the expected financial outcome for National Health Service Professionals for 2002–03; and Whether any central money has been made available to...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether National Health Service providers are obliged to use the services of National Health Service Professionals if they wish to hire agency nurses.

asked Her Majesty's Government: How many hospital consultants are currently under suspension; and what proportion of the total this represents.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What discussions are taking place with strategic health authorities to determine whether the additional funds intended for hospices are reaching the front line...

asked Her Majesty's Government: When they will publish figures for the actual spending on cancer services funded under allocations announced under the Cancer Plan for the financial year 2001-02.

asked Her Majesty's Government: ralph Whether they believe that county councils such as Cumbria County Council which have been seriously affected by foot and mouth disease should seek to...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Rural Proofing report (page 10), in which departments the distribution of the checklist was limited or delayed; and if any, where it still has not...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Rural Proofing report, whether all departments have now appointed a liaison person with a cross-cutting or corporate function.[HL316] ralph

asked Her Majesty's Government: Which departments were unable to arrange for the chairman of the Countryside Agency to meet the Secretary of State in connection with the Rural Proofing report.

asked Her Majesty's Government: What progress has been made in implementing rural proofing region by region.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 24 September (WA251), whether tables 5.1 to 5.5 in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they keep records of owners using the Pet Travel Scheme; and whether these records include the names, addresses and details of the owners and their pets.

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether, in the event of an outbreak of rabies, they are satisfied that the records of owners and their pets using the Pet Travel Scheme would enable them to track...