Written answers

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

  • Transport

    • Crossrail Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the likely cost of Crossrail 2.

    • Departmental Responsibilities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

      Driving Under Influence: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which external stakeholders the Government's recently established expert panel on drug driving has (a) had meetings with and (b) received information...

      East Midlands Airport: Tunnels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has received on the (a) safety and (b) viability of creating a tunnel under East Midlands airport.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to quantify the economic benefit to West Cumbria of High Speed 2.

      Thameslink Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress has been made on Thameslink procurement and the cascade of existing stock to lines that are being electrified including the...

  • Home Department

    • Asylum: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants receiving support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 have been receiving support for more than...

    • British Nationality: Assessments

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the number of times someone wanting to settle permanently in the UK can take a Life in the UK test.

      Counterfeit Manufacturing: Euro

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations into alleged breaches of the Protection of the Euro against Counterfeiting Regulations have been started in each of...

      Deportation: Offenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals convicted of serious criminal offences in the UK in each of the last five years have been deported.

      Entry Clearances

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applications were rejected in each of the last five years.

      Immigration: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the sharing of information between the UK Border Agency and the Child Support Agency for the purpose of ensuring that...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when her Department plans to respond to the letter of 24 October 2012, email of 28 November 2012 and letter of 20 December 2012 from the hon....

      Police: Surveillance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether her Department was aware of the practice of undercover police officers creating aliases based on the details of dead children;...

      Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times each of the agencies granted investigative powers under the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000 have used these powers...

      Security Guards

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has any plans to introduce tighter regulations on the private security industry.

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior officials in her Department's arm’s length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of employment that...

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many chairs in her Department's arm's-length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability...

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior officials of her Department's arm's-length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax...

      UK Border Agency

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the UK Border Agency performed against its published service standards in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

  • Business, Innovation and Skills

    • Apprentices: Lancashire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships commenced in each sector in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire in each of the last three years.

    • Arms Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) with which Arab leaders the Prime Minister has discussed the sale of British arms since May 2010; (2) whether he insisted...

      Carers: Travel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department has issued on whether carers companies are allowed to treat travelling times between house calls as...

      Royal Mail

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to safeguard the Royal Mail's universal service following its privatisation.

      UK Trade and Investment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the proportion of GDP represented by the annual budget of UK Trade and Investment.

      Vetting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner on financial and logistical support for the Information...

      Vetting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received on reports of blacklisting of workers in the construction of (a) Portcullis House, (b)...

      Vocational Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been made available from the adult skills budget provided by the Skills Funding Agency to each of the first wave...

      Vocational Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department will provide for the skills element of each of the first eight City Deals in (a) 2011-12 and (b)...

  • Communities and Local Government

    • Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has to discuss with representatives of landlords the effect of extending the provisions of the Smoke Detectors Act...

    • Culture: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has held with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the effect of the Local Government...

      Families: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the troubled families initiative in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b)...

      Fire Services: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters' jobs were lost in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

      Local Government Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) for what reason the latest available data was used for all aspects of the provisional local government finance settlement...

      Social Rented Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many rented homes in the social sector are overcrowded in each local authority area.

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many senior officials in his Department's arm's length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of...

  • Energy and Climate Change

    • Departmental Responsibilities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

    • Fuel Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Halifax of 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 1037, on fuel poverty, what the...

      Government Procurement Card

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the mean average spend using a Government Procurement Card was per member of staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm's...

      Nuclear Reactors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the proportion of nuclear waste liabilities that could be utilised by integral fast reactor technology to...

      Nuclear Reactors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) if he will make a comparative assessment of the efficiency potential of integral fast reactors and traditional light water...

      Offshore Industry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether EU law restricts the Government's ability to introduce a requirement that North Sea oil and gas producers source all, or a...

      Renewable Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish a list of all renewable energy generation developments installed in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; on what date...

      Warm Front Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans his Department has for the estimated £50 million underspend from the Warm Front scheme.

  • Environment Food and Rural Affairs

    • Cattle: Imports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) blood tests and (b) other veterinary checks are administered on cattle destined for import to the UK before they...

    • Common Fisheries Policy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the recently-passed reform package of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.

      Common Fisheries Policy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the new EU common fisheries policy will be adhered to (a) in UK waters and...

      Common Fisheries Policy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the EU Fisheries Commissioner on the regionalisation of fisheries management; and if he will...

      Meat: Contamination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department is recognising the validity of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland's test procedures as employed in the...

      Meat: Contamination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has written to local authorities and trading standards officers to encourage them to test for adulterated meat.

      Plants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

      Scallops

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many and what proportion of regulated vessel trips by scallop vessels reported and recorded by elogbooks fishing...

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many senior officials in his Department's arm's-length bodies (a) have and (b) have had during 2012-13 terms of...

      Water Bill (Draft)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last met (a) Ministers in and (b) officials of the Scottish Government to discuss the draft Water Bill.

  • Wales

    • Official Engagements

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what official engagements (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have undertaken since September 2012.

    • VION Food Group

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and Ministers in the Welsh Government on the decision by Vion Food Group Limited to withdraw its...

  • Treasury

    • Bank Services

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of banks' willingness to provide basic bank accounts.

    • Child Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many adults claim child tax credit for children not residing in the UK; (2) for how many children who do not reside in the UK child benefit is...

      Corporation Tax: Tax Yields

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the yield for corporation tax was in 2012; and what estimate he has made of the annual yield for corporation tax in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 following the...

      Debts Written Off: Burma

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much debt relief has been granted to the government of Burma by the UK.

      Libor

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of public monies that will be used by Royal Bank of Scotland to pay fines for attempted manipulation of LIBOR rates.

      Public Expenditure: Scotland

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Barnett consequential funding has been granted to the Scottish Government as a result of expenditure on Crossrail.

      Public Sector Debt

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) the total amount of Government debt and (b) total Government debt as a percentage of gross domestic product was in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and...

      Tax Yields

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total tax revenue taken from each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

      Tax Yields: Tobacco

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was generated from taxes on tobacco in each of the last five years.

      Taxation: Fraud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for tax fraud in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) South Lanarkshire in each of the last...

      VAT: Medical Equipment

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 31 January 2013, Official Report, column 913W, on radiotherapy, whether...

      Welfare Tax Credits

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of recent trends in the backlog of tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

      Working Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people of each ethnicity received working tax credits in the latest period for which figures are available.

      Working Tax Credit: Self-employed

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions his Department has initiated for fraudulently claiming working tax credit in respect of self-employment in the most recent 12 months...

      Working Tax Credit: Self-employed

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under what circumstances someone entering self-employment and receiving working tax credit will have their tax credits deemed to have been wholly or partly...

  • Defence

    • Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget for the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors for 2012-13 is.

    • Armed Forces

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time equivalent personnel are serving in the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force in an operational capacity; and how many full-time (a) Army,...

      Armed Forces: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the exemptions for armed forces personnel six months before an operational tour and six months after an operational tour which were...

      Armed Forces: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what resettlement support will be provided to members of the armed forces who will be made redundant in summer 2013.

      Armed Forces: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are liable for redundancy under tranche 3 from the infantry; and at what rank such service personnel are.

      Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving armed forces personnel have been convicted of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) assault by penetration by a court martial since 2005...

      Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving armed forces personnel have received a police caution for sexual offences in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

      Armed Forces: Teachers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what the cost to his Department was in 2012-13 of the Troops to Teachers scheme; (2) how many former serving personnel have (a) registered with...

      Army: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps will be necessary to make the Army's training estate compliant with the Future Character of Conflict concepts; (2) what estimate he has...

      Astute Class Submarines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has made of the cost of (a) design, (b) manufacture and (c) procurement of additional Astute class...

      Defence Fire Service: Retirement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what his policy is on the retirement age for staff of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service; and if he has any plans to change the retirement age for...

      Gurkhas: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are liable for redundancy under tranche 3 from the Brigade of Gurkhas; and at what rank such service personnel are.

      Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the decision to cancel orders for the F-35B joint strike fighter and order the F-35C and then reversing the decision.

      Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what partnerships are in place for UK forces to train overseas with other nations.

      Military Bases: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last time a prosecution was brought using the military land byelaws on the US bases (a) Menwith Hill, (b) Lakenheath, (c) Mildenhall, (d)...

      Military Bases: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons military land byelaws are being introduced at the American base at RAF Croughton; and what assessment he has made of the use of the...

      Nuclear Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a cost analysis has been done of deferral of the main gate decision on the nuclear deterrent.

      Porton Down: Animal Experiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the experiments currently being conducted in collaboration with the US at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down would be...

      Porton Down: Animal Experiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the research being conducted at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down facility is being shared with the US.

      Porton Down: Animal Experiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the animals which are subjects of research at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down facility have been part of more than...

      Porton Down: Animal Experiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the origin was of the primates being experimented on at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down.

      Porton Down: Animal Experiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the animals which are subjects of experiments at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down facility have died as a result of...

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what proportion of his Department's budget is allocated to frontline tasks and spending.

      Reserve Forces

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the strength is of the Territorial Army and Reserves; and what the projected strength is in January (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017 and (e) 2018.

      Reserve Forces: Social Security Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will put in place measures to monitor the number of reservists who are claimants of Government benefits.

      Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are liable for redundancy under tranche 3 from the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; and at what rank such...

      Royal Engineers: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are liable for redundancy under tranche 3 from the Corps of Royal Engineers; and at what rank such service personnel are.

      Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual cost is to his Department of the Military Land Byelaws Review Team; how many people are employed in this team; and what the...

      Trident

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the proportion of the new defence equipment budget which would be allocated to Trident replacement in the 2020s should a...

      Trident

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had on the Trident Alternatives Review.

      Veterans: Higher Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 22 January 2013, on armed forces redundancy scheme tranche 3, what support his Department will offer to...

  • Work and Pensions

    • Autism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from disability charities on the effect of changes to universal credit on people with autism.

    • Autism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of adults with autism claim out of work benefits.

      Fracking: Industrial Health and Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff of the Health and Safety Executive are working on cases relating to shale gas; and if he will...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak of 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 340W, on housing, what estimate...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of whether there is a match between the number of available properties in the social housing sector (a) in Brighton...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that those who choose to move to smaller housing to avoid having to pay under-occupancy penalties will be...

      Housing Benefit: Brighton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average reduction in housing benefit for recipients resident in (a) Brighton Pavilion constituency and (b)...

      Housing Benefit: Copeland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of Copeland constituency will be affected by the under-occupancy penalty for social housing tenants.

      Housing: Bristol

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the £30 million discretionary housing payment funding in 2013-14 for those affected by the social size criteria will be...

      Incapacity Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many incapacity benefit claimants in Stalybridge and Hyde constituency have been reassessed since 2010; (2) how many incapacity...

      Incapacity Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants who have been assessed for employment and support allowance have been placed in the work-related activity...

      Jobseeker's Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people over the age of 25 years have been claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than two years, by ethnicity; (2) how many...

      Jobseeker's Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide the data to the Library which will enable it to continue to calculate the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants per...

      Natural Gas: Storage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, columns 711-12W, on natural gas: storage, what steps have been taken by the...

      Natural Gas: Storage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will direct the Health and Safety Executive to publish in full the safety and geotechnical reports on the Stublach Gas storage project.

      Natural Gas: Storage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the geology and safety aspects of the Stublach Gas storage project that are considered to constitute a risk to...

      Natural Gas: Storage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements are in place to ensure that underground gas storage operators demonstrate and ensure their ability to meet all financial...

      Pensioners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve pensioner wellbeing in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

      Social Rented Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many rented homes in the social sector are under-occupied in each local authority area.

      Social Security Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the impact of public library closures on...

      Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff were employed by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what grade or pay band such staff were appointed.

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many chairs in his Department's arm's length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax liability in...

      Travel and Subsistence Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many senior officials of his Department's arm's length bodies are paid on the basis that they are exempt from personally meeting any tax...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent progress he has made on confirming the details of exceptional payments under universal credit.

      Welfare Tax Credits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs about tax credit support for Work Programme participants entering self-employment.

      Welfare Tax Credits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he will consider the case for an early check of the viability of the business plan of a Work Programme participant entering...

      Work Capability Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether decision makers can send cases back to Atos Healthcare professionals when they believe that a face-to-face assessment or additional...

      Work Capability Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department provides to (a) Atos Healthcare professionals and (b) decision makers on when to carry out work capability...

      Work Programme: West Midlands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reduction there has been in long-term unemployment since the start of the Work programme in (a) Birmingham, Erdington constituency and (b)...

  • House of Commons Commission

    • Core Statutory Obligations

      To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the House of Commons Commission's core statutory obligations are; and what...

    • Palace of Westminster: Emergency Services

      To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many times fire crews from (a) Lambeth and (b) Westminster attended incidents...

  • Women and Equalities

    • Marriage

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities (1) what recent representations she has received on the adequacy of her proposed protections aimed at ensuring that churches and clergy who do not...

    • Marriage

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what provisions in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill will require a Legislative Consent Motion in the Scottish Parliament and what the purpose of...

  • Leader of the House

    • Written Questions

      To ask the Leader of the House what guidance his Department issues to all Government departments on providing answers to written parliamentary questions that refer hon. Members to websites or...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Diplomatic Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which countries and embassies the UK has (a) increased the number of diplomats and (b) opened new diplomatic posts since May 2010.

    • Mongolia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to encourage a stronger bilateral trading relationship with Mongolia.

      Mongolia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the value was of (a) imports from and (b) exports to Mongolia in each of the last five years.

      Morocco

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Moroccan ambassador that the 24 Saharawi prisoners imprisoned since the dismantling of...

      North Korea

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the persecution of Christians in North Korea.

      Syria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will condemn Israeli air attacks on targets in Syria.

      Western Sahara

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct HM Ambassador to Morocco to send an observer to the trial of the 24 Saharawi political prisoners in...

      Zimbabwe

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Zimbabwean Government and (b) the World Bank about Zimbabwe's outstanding International...

  • Justice

    • Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether his Department has had discussions with mortgage lenders on the provisions relating to receivership in the Law of Property Act 1925; (2)...

    • Unpaid Fines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total (a) value and (b) proportion of unpaid criminal fines is which are (i) in an agreed payment plan with a balance outstanding and (ii)...

      Young Offenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what sentences were handed down to those found guilty of an offence under the age of 14 between 1997 and 2011; (2) how many people aged (a) 10,...

  • Culture Media and Sport

    • British Film Institute

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the recommendation of the Common Best Practice Code published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...

    • Broadband: Rural Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 234W, on broadband: rural areas, what steps her Department is taking...

      Film

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many UK feature films were produced in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) the latest period for which figures are available.

      Local Press

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to promote local journalism and to protect local newspapers.

      Local Press: West Midlands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the strength of local journalism in the West Midlands.

      Trinity Mirror

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has had any discussions with representatives from Trinity Mirror plc regarding its latest job loss proposals.

      Trinity Mirror

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the recent proposals for job losses at Trinity Mirror plc and the potential effect of those...

  • Health

    • Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2013, Official Report, columns 82-3W, on the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), (1) what the names...

    • Beef: Horse Meat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was alerted to suspect meat in a Freeza Meat Ltd storage warehouse; who alerted the FSA to the presence of the meat;...

      Beef: Horse Meat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 261W, on beef: horsemeat, if he intends that the 796 samples tested for meat...

      Carers: Travel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much time, on average, carers spend travelling between house calls.

      Christchurch Hospital

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the independent expert opinion obtained by the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust on...

      Conversion Therapy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make it his policy to prohibit the commissioning of conversion therapy by (a) clinical commissioning groups, (b) GP commissioning and (c)...

      Dalepak

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 266W, on Dalepak, how much was spent on (a) food hygiene inspection by Hambleton...

      Defibrillators

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many defibrillators have been distributed by the National Defibrillator Programme to date; and how many schools have been provided with defibrillators...

      Depression

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of availability of mindfulness-based treatment for repeat episode depression in each health authority.

      Diabetes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any plans to reward GPs for ensuring all the nine basic diabetes tests are delivered for patients with diabetes.

      Food: Contamination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many food sample tests have been conducted by (a) the Food Standards Agency and (b) local authorities acting on behalf of the Food Standards Agency in...

      Heart Diseases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will direct the National Specialised Commissioning Team to release all reports prepared for the Advisory Group for National Specialised...

      Home Care Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people are dependent on home care providers; (2) if he will take steps to ensure that private companies that provide home care have in...

      Horses: Phenylbutazone

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tests for the presence of phenylbutazone in horses have been carried out by (a) the Food Standards Agency and (b) any other Government-funded...

      Horses: Phenylbutazone

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many horses in UK abattoirs have tested positive for phenylbutazone in each of the last three years.

      Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of hospital-acquired infections have been recorded in each of the last 10 years.

      Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to promote greater cleanliness in hospitals and prevent the spread of hospital acquired infections.

      Human Papillomavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the possibility that those pre-exposed to vaccine relevant types of human papillomavirus may be at greater risk of...

      Human Papillomavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor the emergence of new and more virulent human papilloma virus types replacing those suppressed by Gardasil...

      Human Papillomavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure new medical conditions occurring after human papilloma virus vaccination are examined as possible...

      Ict

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) start date, (b) planned completion date, (c) expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) expected cost was of each information...

      Meat: Contamination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Food Standards Agency will announce the test results on meat withdrawn from sale.

      Meat: Contamination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what samples from (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) prisons will be taken by the Food Standards Agency during its inquiry into undeclared equine and...

      Medical Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 213W, how much of the £300 million fund has been spent to date; what medical...

      NHS: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patient attendance episodes at each acute hospital received (a) no payment reward and (b) lower than tariff payment award in each of the...

      NHS: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what payments will be made to NHS bodies which provide emergency services per (a) treatment provided and (b) emergency admission in 2013-14; (2)...

      Organs: Donors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people who died whilst waiting for an organ donation in each of the last 10 years were (a) white, (b) Asian and Asian...

      Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that members of the emergency and armed services are given access to the most advanced treatments for Post...

      Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure the early diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder in members of the emergency services.

      Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals currently employed in the emergency services have received treatment for post traumatic stress disorder in the last five years.

      Sexually Transmitted Infections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rate of infection has been of (a) Chlamydia and (b) all other sexually transmitted diseases in (i) girls and (ii) boys under 18 years old in each...

      Slaughterhouses: Horses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Food Standards Agency has withdrawn a licence to slaughter horses from any UK abattoir in the last two years; and on what dates and for what...

      Streptococcus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to the Health Protection Agency's UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations B58, processing swabs for group B streptococcal...

      Streptococcus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 14 January 2013, Official Report, column 628, on streptococcus, what the definition is of high-risk pregnant women in this...

      Sunbeds: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the recent study conducted by the University of Dundee on the compliance of sunbeds with British and European...

      Sunbeds: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing legislation preventing people under 18 years old using sunbeds.

  • Church Commissioners

    • Marriage

      To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, in which publicly accessible document the (a) powers and (b) obligations of a vicar with regard to marriage are set out;...

  • International Development

    • Africa

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what recent discussions she has had with the London Stock Exchange about the development of stock exchanges in Africa; (2) what...

    • Argentina

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is on voting financial support to Argentina in (a) the Inter-American Development Bank, (b) the World Bank and (c)...

      Burma

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department supports capacity building projects for the government of Burma.

      Burma

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department's officials are able to travel freely throughout Burma.

      Burma

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment her Department has made of international humanitarian access to all internally displaced people in Kachin State,...

      Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to build health care capacity and improve public health to tackle neglected tropical diseases.

      Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that strengthening of health systems will form part of the global development agenda after 2015.

      Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to integrate its policy on neglected tropical diseases and its policy on water and sanitation.

      Ethiopia

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to her Department's press release of 11 January 2013 on the Ethiopia Peace and Development programme, if she will list...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of her Department's spending did not count towards Official Development Assistance measures in each of the...

      Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff were employed by her Department in each of the last five years; and at what grade or pay band such staff were appointed.

  • Education

    • Children: Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to introduce legislation to improve the responsiveness of local authorities in dealing with cases of child neglect.

    • Children: Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to increase the number of services available to adolescents in the child protection system.

      Children: Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to consult on the restructuring of the child protection system.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people employed on zero-hour contracts in (a) the UK, (b) the north east and (c) Sunderland.

    • Financial Services: Employment

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England are employed in the financial services sector.

      Government Departments: Internet

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the new www.gov.uk website; (2) what estimate he has made of the cost...

      Richard III

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has any plans to propose that Richard III be granted a state funeral.

      Unemployment: Ethnic Groups

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the extent of unemployment in ethnic minority communities.

  • Deputy Prime Minister

    • Political Party Funding

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to reform the funding of political parties.

    • City Deals

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made on the implementation of the second wave of City Deals.

      Overseas Electors

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to review the rights of overseas electors to vote in general elections.

      Voting System

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent steps he has taken to ensure that every vote cast in a general election is worth the same.

      Social Mobility: Merseyside

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he is making on increasing levels of social mobility on Merseyside.

      Succession to the Crown Bill

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the Succession to the Crown Bill.

      Electoral Register

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the pilot projects in 2012 on the potential for data matching to be used to confirm existing electors, which alternative national data sets he...

      Electoral Register

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the pilot projects in 2012 on the potential for data matching to be used to confirm existing electors, what estimate he has made of the cost per...

      Trident

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which permanent secretaries have been consulted by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury as part of the Trident Alternatives Review.

  • Attorney-General

    • Crown Prosecution Service: Complaints

      To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on introducing independent oversight of complaints made about the Crown Prosecution Service.

    • Crown Prosecution Service: Complaints

      To ask the Attorney-General how many complaints have been made against the Crown Prosecution Service over its handling of domestic violence cases in each year since 2010.

      Crown Prosecution Service: Complaints

      To ask the Attorney-General how many complaints made against the Crown Prosecution Service over its handling of (a) rape cases and (b) other serious sexual offences have been (i) upheld and (ii)...

      Serious Fraud Office: Funding

      To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has for future funding arrangements for the Serious Fraud Office to conduct major complex investigations.

      Children: Abuse

      To ask the Attorney-General what budgetary provision he has made for the delivery of the recommendations made by the Director of Public Prosecutions in his responses to the Rochdale and Jimmy...

      Norman Scarth

      To ask the Attorney-General what the total cost to the public purse was of the prosecution of Norman Scarth for contempt of court for recording a court hearing which was heard in court on 23...

      Prosecutions

      To ask the Attorney-General for which offences the Crown Prosecution Service records the number of referrals it receives from the police for a charging decision.

      Travel

      To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on (a) the Government Car Service and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel in each year since 2009-10;...

  • House of Lords

    • Abortion

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of research by EUROCAT which found under-reporting of rates of abortion for babies with disabilities, what steps they will take to investigate any...

    • Armed Forces: Aircraft

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to using C-130J aircraft as a maritime patrol aircraft platform, either by palletised equipment or by equipping them by means of...

      Armed Forces: Defence Cuts

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have consulted allies about where their planned cuts in defence spending will fall; and if so, what meetings have taken place to that effect, and what...

      Armed Forces: Defence Estates

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the value and acreage of land owned by the Ministry of Defence; and what is the value and acreage of that land which is no longer in use for operational...

      Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the Northern Ireland Executive prior to the publication of the Armed Forces covenant annual report 2012. To ask Her Majesty's...

      Armed Forces: Redundancy

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support soldiers who will be made redundant following army job cuts.

      Asylum Seekers

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the recent all-party report on asylum support, whether they will end the system of voucher cards and instead provide cash support for asylum...

      Banks: Cyprus

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many banks based in Cyprus take deposits through branches in the United Kingdom.

      Criminal Justice: Reoffenders

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when, and for what reason, they changed their publication data on offenders given community sentences to show a three-month reoffending rate rather than a two-year...

      Deposit Guarantee Scheme

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the decision by the court of the European Free Trade Association in the matter of Iceland on 28 January, what action they will take to determine...

      Drugs: Orphan Medicines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have decided, against the recommendation of Advisory Group for National Specialised Services, not to commission the use of eculizumab for the treatment of...

      Drugs: Orphan Medicines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government why eculizumab has been referred to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for review when NICE does not yet have available processes to...

      Drugs: Orphan Medicines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will approve the use of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

      Drugs: Orphan Medicines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services' appraisal of eculizumab for the treatment of atypical haemolytic...

      EU: Free Movement of Labour

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the free movement of labour within the European Economic Area and the European Union.

      EU: UK Membership

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that measures are in place to prevent the CIA or any other United States Government organisations, or any other foreign country...

      Finance: Currency Devaluation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the existence of competitive currency devaluation among major countries.

      Finance: Quantitative Easing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of quantitative easing on transfers of wealth between (1) the young and the old, and (2) the poor and the rich.

      Gibraltar

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many incursions were made by the Spanish Civil Guard into the territorial waters of Gibraltar in January 2013; and how many times the Navy took action to stop...

      Government Departments: Catering Facilities

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost of the subsidy for catering facilities in the Whitehall offices of the Ministry of Justice.

      Government Departments: e-mail

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Information Commissioner's guidance relating to private email accounts has been applied at the Cabinet Office; and, if so, whether they will publish...

      Government Departments: Staff

      To ask Her Majesty's Government following the appointment of Pete Wilkinson as Interim Franchise Director at the department for Transport, what are the terms and conditions of his appointment;...

      Government Departments: Staff

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reduce the number of (1) Secretaries of State, (2) Ministers of State, (3) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, and (4)...

      Health: Obesity

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will meet representatives of the National Obesity Forum to discuss plans to tackle obesity problems in the United Kingdom.

      Health: Sexual Health

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the NHS Constitution will apply to sexual health services after 2013.

      House of Lords: Appointments

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Strathclyde on 8 January (WA 55) stating that it was the continued intention of the Government of making Lords appointments...

      Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

      To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the contract with the Metropolitan Police for the provision of security and policing services to the Palace of Westminster provides for the...

      Houses of Parliament: Police and Security

      To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the House of Lords directly employs security or policing staff for policing and security duties on the parliamentary estate; and whether any such...

      Isles of Scilly

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any legislation is required to enable them to provide or approve a public service obligation or public service contract in connection with a passenger or...

      Justice: Third Party Litigation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider the statutory regulation of for-profit third party litigation funders.

      Legal Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to altering the practice of freezing defendants' assets in criminal cases to enable such assets to be used towards legal fees...

      Parking and Traffic Appeals Service

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 28 January (WA 287-8), what is the relationship between Parking and Traffic Appeals Service adjudicators, the Lord...

      Parking and Traffic Appeals Service

      To ask Her Majesty's Government under what legislation the discharge of the functions of the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service adjudicators is regulated by the Mayor of London or Transport for...

      Planning

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance notes have been issued to the Planning Inspectorate since the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework.

      Police: River Police

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans there are to close the Thames River Police station at Wapping; what reduction in the police force is envisaged; whether the river will be policed at...

      Railways: High Speed 2

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will investigate whether the construction of all current High Speed Rail plans could be accelerated and completed within 10 years.

      Railways: High Speed 2

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the fastest journey times by rail between London and (1) Leeds, (2) Manchester, and (3) Liverpool, once HS2 is completed.

      Railways: High Speed 2

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Earl Attlee on 28 January concerning the HS2 project (Official Report, col. 1342), what is their best forecast of the final cost of the...

      Railways: Rolling Stock

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any cost comparisons have been carried out between the options available for rolling stock for the next franchise for the East Coast Railway Line,...

      Sudan

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they will propose to the international community to assist persons from Blue Nile state who have been displaced or made refugees as a result of...

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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