Written answers

Monday, 13 May 2013

  • Attorney-General

    • Arrest Warrants

      To ask the Attorney-General how many suspects the Crown Prosecution Service has successfully applied to have returned to the UK under a European arrest warrant in each of the last five years; and...

  • Northern Ireland

    • Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) with what external (a) organisations and (b) individuals her Department has engaged as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what...

  • Wales

    • Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

    • G4S

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the current level of expenditure by his Department is on contracts with G4S; and how much was spent by his Department on contracts with G4S in each...

      Higher Education: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had regarding research and development funding for universities in Wales.

      Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures.

      Publications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on subscriptions to academic journals published by (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, (c) Springer and (d) any other...

  • Scotland

    • Scottish Business Board

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Scottish Business Board last met; and if he will place the papers from the meeting in the Library.

  • Home Department

    • Asylum: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much Sodexo distributed through the Azure card in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and how much was allocated to Sodexo for the...

    • Asylum: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the (a) potential merits and (b) practicability of permitting the use of Azure cards for bus travel.

      British Nationality

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on children born before 1 July 2006 being permitted to acquire UK citizenship on the basis of their father's UK...

      Confiscation Orders

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asset confiscation orders have been made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2008; what the value was of assets...

      Crimes against Property

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people of each age group were (a) arrested and (b) given antisocial behaviour orders on charges of vandalism and damage to property...

      Crimes of Violence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of assault with intent to rob are recorded daily in each region of the UK.

      Human Trafficking

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes there will be to the National Referral Mechanism for human trafficking victims after the UK Border Agency is abolished.

      Human Trafficking Ministerial Group

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers attended meetings of the Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking between January 2011 and April 2013.

      Human Trafficking: Lichfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people subject to human trafficking in (a) Lichfield constituency and (b) the smallest area...

      Immigration: Married People

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to paragraph 18 (b) of Appendix FM-SE (Family members—specified evidence to the UK Border Agency's Immigration Rules)...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 28 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated 15 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester,...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 25 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects that the hon. Member for Warley will receive a reply to his letter of 8 February 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects that the hon. Member for Warley will receive a reply to his letter of 19 March 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects that the hon. Member for Warley will receive a reply to his letter of 14 February 2013 to the UK Border Agency regarding the...

      UK Border Agency

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter to the chief executive, UK Border Agency of 21...

      UK Border Agency

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a reply to his letter to the chief executive of the UK Border Agency of...

  • Prime Minister

    • Scotland

      To ask the Prime Minister (1) with which external (a) organisations and (b) individuals he has engaged as part of the Scotland Analysis Programme; and what was discussed at such consultations;...

  • Transport

    • Aircraft: Air Conditioning

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with representatives of trades unions regarding aircraft cabin air contamination.

    • Enfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding (a) his Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible has allocated to the London Borough...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when officials of his Department were first informed of the 40 per cent underestimate by HS2 of the cost of planned works at Euston Station.

      Motor Vehicles: Testing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's position was on the removal of the exemption of mobile cranes from undergoing roadworthiness testing in recent discussions at the...

      Network Rail

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether Network Rail is permitted to submit bids to operate rail passenger services; (2) whether Network Rail's current licences allow it to...

      Polyisobutene

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with the International Maritime Organisation regarding the classification of polyisobutene.

      Rail Franchise Advisory Panel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what input the Rail Franchise Advisory Panel will have on the content of contracts to be tendered by his Department for rail passenger services on the...

      Railways

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the value of conversion of former coal transportation lines to passenger transportation lines.

      Railways: Franchises

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the deadline is for completing negotiations with the incumbent franchisee for an extended rail passenger service contract on the (a) Essex...

      Railways: Franchises

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to protect the existing (a) collective bargaining rights and (b) contracts of employment for staff during negotiations with the...

      Railways: Veterans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of extending the use of the HM Forces Railcard to all veterans of the UK Armed Forces.

      Rescue Services: Belfast

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Maritime Recue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in April 2013.

      Rescue Services: Stornoway

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in April 2013.

      Roads: Bassetlaw

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities there have been as a result of road traffic accidents involving (a) motorcyclists, (b) cyclists and (c) pedestrians in Bassetlaw...

      Shipping

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of seafarer (a) ratings and (b) officers working on vessels currently registered under the flags of category 1 members of the Red...

      Shipping: Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether vessels registered with members of the Red Ensign Group are considered to be registered under the UK flag for the purposes of applying...

      Shipping: Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention on (a) minimum age, (b) recruitment and placement services, (c) seafarers' employment...

      Shipping: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency last audited the shipping register operated by each member of the Red Ensign group; what the outcome was in...

      Thameslink Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely timescale for the re-tendering of the Thameslink Rolling Stock Programme; and if he will make a statement.

      Thameslink Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the reasons are for the time taken to agree the signing of the Thameslink contract; and if he will make a statement.

      Tonnage Tax

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the qualifying vessels for the tonnage tax scheme were registered under flags of members of the Red Ensign Group in each year since 2001-02.

      Transport Direct

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with Atos (a) making transportdirect.info more accessible for smartphones and (b) creating smartphone apps to access...

      Transport: Livestock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1072W, on transport: livestock, what discussions he has had with his European...

  • Energy and Climate Change

    • Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to improve the meeting of energy efficiency targets by energy companies.

    • Energy Company Obligation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount has been allocated through the Energy Company Obligation brokerage system to date.

      Energy Company Obligation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount has been spent on the energy company obligation to date.

      Energy Company Obligation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the energy company obligation, how many referrals have been made to suppliers to receive a minimum package of...

      Energy: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the comparative average annual energy costs of (a) off-grid households and (b) households connected to the...

      Energy: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of properties connected to the gas distribution network in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012 were deemed to be...

      Fuel Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of (a) off-gas grid households and (b) on-grid households were fuel poor in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland,...

      Green Deal Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how many Green Deal providers have (a) applied to the Green Deal Finance Company, (b) been successful in their applications and...

      Green Deal Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Green Deal assessments have been undertaken for off gas grid properties since the launch of the Green Deal.

      Publications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on subscriptions to academic journals published by (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, (c) Springer...

      Renewable Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received regarding incentives for the purchase of renewable energy from independent generators after...

      Warm Home Discount Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households have received the discount through the warm house discount scheme in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date.

  • International Development

    • Consultants

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's spending on private contractors was paid in bonuses to (a) the company concerned and (b) individual...

    • Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the cultural barriers indigenous peoples and other minority groups face in accessing health...

      Enfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding (a) her Department and (b) each non-departmental public body for which she is responsible has allocated to the London...

      Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria on that organisation's funding.

      International Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the UK plans to propose to address health inequalities faced by marginalised groups in the framework that will replace the...

      Latin America

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department provided to each country in Latin America in each of the last five years.

      Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she intends to attend the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health.

  • Treasury

    • Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which Minister in his Department is responsible for overseeing his Department's whistleblowing policy; (2) what steps his Department is taking to...

    • Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to address the concerns raised by the National Audit Office about the Equitable Life payment scheme.

      Railways: Scotland

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made on the upgrade of the Caledonian Sleeper Service.

      Revenue and Customs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have been made redundant by HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

      Revenue and Customs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 has been used by HM Revenue and Customs to (a) look at websites used by individual taxpayers,...

      Staff

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which advisers to his Department (a) work for banks, (b) are seconded from banks and (c) were previously working for banks.

      Taxation: Business

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many settlements of tax disputes have been reached between HM Revenue and Customs and corporations in each of the last 10 years; and what the total...

      Taxation: Business

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of tax was owed by each of the four unnamed companies who agreed settlements with HM Revenue and Customers collectively worth £4.5 billion...

      VAT: Sixth Form Colleges

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will exempt sixth form colleges from VAT on goods and services.

  • Environment Food and Rural Affairs

    • Agriculture: Snow and Ice

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the reason was for the time taken by his Department to announce assistance for farmers affected by recent severe weather...

    • Floods: Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken in respect of flood insurance.

      Livestock: Exports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the potential for harm to those animals exported live.

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 2 April 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with...

      Recycling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that individuals with prior convictions for environmental offences are not granted...

      Refrigeration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on proposals for a ban on the use of HFC refrigerants in new centralised supermarket refrigeration systems...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Burma

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of refugees who have left Burma as a result of the recent violence against...

    • Cambodia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Cambodia.

      Cambodia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Cambodian counterpart on (a) land grabs, (b) human rights, (c) independence of...

      China

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the policy of the Chinese government towards practitioners of Falun Gong; what recent...

      Colombia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the comments by the Colombian Defence Minister that the demonstration in Colombia which took...

      Colombia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on links between opposition politicians in Colombia, the FARC and activists being targeted by...

      Developing Countries: HIV Infection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions has he had with the Secretary of State for International Department on the decision to increase support on HIV...

      G8

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of produce and refreshments served at the upcoming G8 summit in Northern Ireland will be Fairtrade certified.

      Germany

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart about the deportation of Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar from...

      India

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on (a) Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar and (b) the...

      Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of Iraqis killed as a result of terrorism and war-related violence since the invasion of...

      Mali

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the work of human rights officials in the new UN Office in Mali, which began deploying in...

      Mali

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning the monitoring and investigating of...

      Nepal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to visit Nepal.

      South Africa

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions has he had with the South African Government concerning the re-introduction of a teaching inspectorate in that...

      South East Asia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia regarding human rights in...

      Syria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria his Department used to identify appropriate participants in training the Syrian opposition.

      Syria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the training which his Department is providing to the Syrian opposition forces includes the use of equipment which is...

      Syria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the training provided by his Department to Syrian opposition forces includes appropriate military conduct during armed...

  • Health

    • Accident and Emergency Departments: Bassetlaw

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients had to wait longer than four hours in accident and emergency at Bassetlaw Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in (a) the most recent week for...

    • Anaemia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 18 April 2013, Official Report, column 495W, on anaemia, how many aplastic anaemia cases of idiopathic cause there were in...

      Ashleigh Ewing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 23 April 2013, Official Report, column 733W, on Ashleigh Ewing, for what reasons the investigation by NHS England into the...

      Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of progress on the early diagnosis of cancer.

      Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to hold clinical commissioning groups to account for improving on one and five year survival rates from all cancers.

      Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2013, Official Report, column 354W, on cancer: surveys, what decision has been reached by the NHS Commissioning Board...

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Cancer Drugs Fund in ensuring that decisions to approve quickly urgent access to anti-cancer...

      Cleveland Fire Brigade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 2 July 2012, Official Report, column 520W, on health services: social enterprise, whether permission was given for the...

      Clothing: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the importance of clothes to fit in influencing the subjective wellbeing of children.

      Diseases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to the answer of 23 April 2013, Official Report, columns 889-90W, on diseases, if his Department will (a) commission and (b) evaluate...

      Doctors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors were employed in the NHS and (b) medical students there were in each year since 1996-97.

      Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Childbirth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the spare capacity level for births is at Bassetlaw and Doncaster Hospital.

      General Practitioners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has published on GP home visits.

      Health Foods: EU Law

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the potential effect on independent health food shops in the UK of full implementation of the EU Food Supplements...

      Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many strategic clinical networks have been fully established to date.

      Health: Ethnic Groups

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the comparative wellbeing of the (a) black ethnic community and (b) Bangladeshi community; (2) what assessment he...

      Heart Diseases: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Independent Reconfiguration Panel's advice on the review of children's heart surgery will be made public.

      Horsemeat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions under food labelling or trade descriptions legislation have been initiated as a result of the horsemeat scandal; and against which...

      Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has met the four key tests referred to in his letter of 13 December 2012 to the right hon. Member for...

      Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the deficit of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust will be funded in (a) 2013-14 and (b) subsequent financial years.

      NHS 111

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health which areas have (a) complete coverage of the NHS 111 service, (b) coverage of the NHS 111 service on evenings and weekends only and (c) no coverage of...

      NHS: Religion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual cost to the NHS of religious and spiritual care has been over the last 10 years; which religion and spiritual faiths are included in that...

      Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses were employed in the NHS and (b) student nurses there were in each year since 1996-97.

      Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses there were in the NHS in (a) May 2010 and (b) the latest month for which figures are available.

      Oxygen: Aviation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make it his policy to require airlines to provide onboard oxygen for patients reliant upon NHS-provided home oxygen equipment; and if he...

      Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has given...

      Slaughterhouses: Inspections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department spent on (a) meat inspections and (b) vets in UK abattoirs in each of the last five years.

  • Culture Media and Sport

    • Arts: Olympic Games 2012

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the support of UK arts in the running of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    • Coastal Areas: Regeneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent in the principal seaside towns under the Sea Change Programme.

      Culture: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many cross-departmental ministerial meetings have been held to discuss cultural education since February 2012; on what dates such...

      Enfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding (a) her Department and (b) each of the non-departmental public bodies for which she is responsible has allocated to the...

      G4S

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the current level of expenditure by her Department is on contracts with G4S; and how much was spent by her Department on contracts...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 14 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 22 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr...

      Private Finance Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which private finance initiative projects under her Department have been refinanced in each year since May 2010; what the value is of...

  • Communities and Local Government

    • Construction: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to publish the findings of the Building Standards Review.

    • Council Tax: Empty Property

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the number of councils which have removed the empty homes exemption for council tax;...

      Council Tax: Students

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will introduce an income or capital limit for eligibility for council tax exemption for full-time students.

      Fire Services: Private Sector

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what his policy is on enabling fire authorities to contract out their full range of services to a private provider; (2)...

      Fires: Southwark

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when his Department will publish its written response to the coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire that took place on 3...

      Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on applications for a banding reduction review in respect of domestic rating valuation from people who have...

      Private Finance Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which private finance initiative projects under his Department have been refinanced in each year since May 2010; what the value...

      Temporary Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) total number of unpaid work experience placements and (b) number of agency staff in his Department was in each of...

      Voluntary Organisations: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the total value of (a) public service contracts and (b) grants that have been awarded by local...

  • Work and Pensions

    • Atos Healthcare

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total value of the Medical Services Agreement between his Department and Atos Healthcare was in 2012-13.

    • Carer's Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to uprate income threshold for carer's allowance in light of the forthcoming increase in the minimum wage.

      Child Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what information his Department holds on the number of occasions on which it has been brought to the attention of the Child Support...

      Child Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will estimate the amount of money that would be paid to resident parents annually if non-resident parents who habitually live...

      Child Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 228W, on children: maintenance, how many of the 510,500 Child Support...

      Construction: Protective Clothing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 18 April 2013, Official Report, column 555W, on Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989, what evidence...

      Employment Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been asked by his officials to complete the online signature strengths questionnaire; and what the range of results has been.

      Employment: Sign Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to ensure that deaf people for whom British Sign Language is a language of necessity are able to access...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether calculation of the amounts allocated to local authorities for discretionary housing payments took into account the level of smaller...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology was used by his Department to calculate the figure of 14 per cent reduction in housing benefit for one spare bedroom and the...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with other Government Departments on allocating additional funding for the use of local authorities as...

      Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to allocate additional funding if the planned discretionary housing payments funding is insufficient to prevent evictions as a...

      Housing Benefit: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to adjust the rules on the under-occupancy penalty to take account of the circumstances of disabled persons.

      Housing Benefit: North Lanarkshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average change in benefit will be for residents of Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency affected by the under-occupancy penalty.

      Housing Benefit: North Lanarkshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with disabilities in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency will be affected by the introduction of the...

      Housing Benefit: North Lanarkshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency who are in full-time employment will be affected by the introduction of the...

      Housing Benefit: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology was used by his Department to calculate the amount of £155 million allocated to local authorities in Scotland for...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the hon. Member for Walsall North will receive a reply to his letter of 26 March 2013 concerning a constituent, ref: POS(5)10644/0143.

      New Enterprise Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants have received the new enterprise allowance in (a) the UK and (b) Bassetlaw constituency since the...

      Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set the salary of Head of News at his Department at £65,000 per annum.

      Pension Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the take-up rate of pensions credit by those reaching retirement age in each of the last five years.

      Pensions: Gender Recognition

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on pension entitlements for transpeople; whether the Government intend to bring forward amendments on this matter to the...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the progress made by (a) Atos and (b) Capita in relation to the commitment to engage with...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the engagement by Atos with organisations representing disabled people in producing its training...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria his Department has used in reviewing Atos training materials for the assessment for the personal independence payment.

      Sign Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on equality of access for deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language in terms of communicating with (a)...

      Sign Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to ensure that deaf people have the opportunity to communicate in British Sign Language with (a) benefit...

      Social Security Benefits: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set clear time limits for the new formal reconsideration stage for claimants wishing to appeal; and if he will make a statement.

      Social Security Benefits: Bassetlaw

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit claimants there are in Bassetlaw constituency.

      Social Security Benefits: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in each local authority area in London whose weekly income will be reduced by (a) less...

      Social Security Benefits: Immigrants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of any additional amount of benefits to be claimed as a result of any increase in the number of Romanian...

      State Retirement Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of setting the new single tier state pension at (a) £160 per week and (b) £180 per week.

      State Retirement Pensions: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of bringing forward the introduction of the proposed new single tier state pension on women born...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to announce arrangements for the treatment of passported benefits under universal credit.

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what amount has been paid to service providers involved in the delivery of IT for universal credit since 2011; and what amount he expects to be...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have claimed universal credit in the pathfinder to date; and what estimate he has made of the total number of new claims for...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 11 May 2011 to the right hon. Member for East Ham, Official Report, column 1246W, on universal credit, whether...

      Vacancies: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of jobs advertised on the Universal Jobmatch website were for self-employment in each constituency in the UK since that website...

      Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many former incapacity benefit claimants have been helped into employment lasting more than six months as a result of the Work Programme in...

      Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 16 April 2013, Official Report, column 713W, on Work Programme, if he will place in the Library copies of the...

      Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) with reference to the answer of 16 April 2013, Official Report, column 713W, on Work Programme, if he will publish full costings in...

  • 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-hours contracts in (a) Bassetlaw constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c)...

    • Employment: Scotland

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the rate of underemployment in each UK parliamentary constituency in Scotland in each of the last five years.

      Fraud

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how much the Taskforce on Fraud, Error and Debt has spent on counter-fraud activities in each of the last five years; (2) what estimate he has...

      Infant Mortality: Bassetlaw

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish infant mortality statistics for Bassetlaw constituency for each year since 1987.

      Job Creation: Worcestershire

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many private sector jobs have been created in Worcestershire since 2010.

      Public Sector: Mutual Societies

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with trades unions about proposals to spin off elements of the Civil Service as public service mutuals.

      Senior Civil Servants: Pensions

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to publish details of the remuneration rates for all those in receipt of civil service pensions who are (a) senior civil servants and (b)...

      Unemployment: Clwyd

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) women and (b) men in Clwyd South constituency were unemployed in each of the last five years.

      Unemployment: Coastal Areas

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the unemployment level is in each of the principal seaside towns in England.

      Unemployment: Tees Valley

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the proportion of young people who have been unemployed for more than 12 months in each...

  • Business, Innovation and Skills

    • Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employers in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool and (c) England have received funding for training an...

    • Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how much funding for training an apprentice was received in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool and (c)...

      Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships in (a) Bassetlaw constituency, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) England which were...

      Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to increase the proportion of apprenticeship places for those over 24.

      Business: Regulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference the Queen's Speech on 8 May 2013, what measures relating to (a) apprenticeships and (b) traineeships he intends to...

      Centre on Migration, Policy and Society

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding was granted (a) directly and (b) indirectly by the Economic and Social Research Council to the (i) Centre on...

      Higher Education: Admissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1039-40W, on higher education: statistics; how many...

      Higher Education: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of Medical Research Council funding is donated to research in Welsh universities.

      Higher Education: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of research funding from research councils went to Welsh universities in each of the last three years.

      International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to the merits of the UK resuming its membership of the International Institute for Applied...

      Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of people who will earn no more than the national minimum wage over the course of their working lives.

      Prisons: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which educational courses are available to prisoners; what the uptake rate is of each such course; and what proportion of...

      Private Finance Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which private finance initiative projects under his Department have been refinanced in each year since May 2010; what the value...

      Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions powers under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 have been used in each year since it was enacted; and...

      Sign Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what his policy is on equality of access for deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language in terms of...

      Unfair Dismissal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the operation of the decision to allow employment judges to sit alone in unfair dismissal cases.

      Vocational Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) when his Department will confirm its final proposals for traineeships; (2) when his Department will publish its response...

  • Justice

    • Offenders: Rehabilitation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department expects to publish an impact assessment for the proposals contained in the consultation paper, “Transforming...

    • Prison Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many allegations of criminal activity in the workplace have been made in the Prison Service in each year since 2003, by category of offence;...

      Prisoner Escapes: North East

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners absconded from each prison in the (a) north-east and (b) Yorkshire and Humber region in each year since 2005.

      Reoffenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what offences were committed by offenders released on licence and classified as high risk during their licence period between 1997 and 2012.

  • Education

    • Child Minding

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education which organisations and individuals are part of the Task and Finish Group for developing a childminder agency framework; how those organisations and...

    • Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the potential effects of his More Great Childcare proposals on (a) childcare cost, (b) childcare quality, (c) the number...

      Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he intends to publish the analysis of comparative costs and ratios of child care in industrialised countries supplied to his Department by...

      Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the potential effect on female employment of his plans for childcare reforms in More Great Childcare.

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils in each free school were eligible for free school meals in each of the last three years.

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children receive free school meals in each (a) free school and (b) local authority area where a free school has been established.

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce which families in receipt of universal credit will be eligible for free school meals.

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons students attending sixth form colleges are not eligible for free school meals but those students who attend schools with a sixth form are.

      GCE A-level

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) girls and (b) boys of each ethnic group achieved A* to E grades in (i) any and (ii) three or more A-levels in each...

      Gcse

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils of each ethnic group achieved (a) five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics and (b) A* to C...

      GCSE: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils of each ethnicity who were eligible for free school meals achieved five A* to C grades including English and...

      Private Finance Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education which private finance initiative projects under his Department have been refinanced in each year since May 2010; what the value is of each such...

      Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to implement the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in its procurement procedures; and what guidance he has...

      Schools: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what total amount was held in contingency funds by publicly-funded secondary and primary schools in the last year for which figures are available.

  • Defence

    • Armed Forces

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much as a proportion of GDP was spent on the armed forces in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

    • Armed Forces: Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals are in receipt of payments from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

      Armed Forces: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take against any individual serving in the armed forces found to have been engaged in internet trolling.

      Armed Forces: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that armed forces' recruitment activities are in accordance with Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the...

      Armed Forces: Resignations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers who enlisted (a) aged under 18 years and (b) aged 18 years or above left the Army before completion of their Phase Two training in each...

      Armed Forces: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new recruits to the infantry were aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 or above at enlistment in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

      Armed Forces: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of (a) infantry soldiers and (b) non-infantry soldiers were aged 21 years or below in each year since 2001-02.

      Army: Length of Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average length of service is for a soldier who enlists in the Army (a) aged 18 years or above and (b) below the age of 18 years.

      Depleted Uranium

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether alternatives to depleted uranium can be fired to test the propellant charge of CHARM3.

      Military Aircraft

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Quick Reaction Alert flights from RAF Leuchars have required air-to-air refuelling in each of the last five years.

      Unmanned Air Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long it takes to train an RAF pilot to become an unmanned aerial vehicles specific pilot; and how much such training costs.

      Unmanned Air Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long an unmanned aerial vehicle pilot is allowed to fly before being required to take a break.

      Unmanned Air Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when a member of the UK Royal Air Force last flew an (a) US unmanned aerial vehicle and (b) UK unmanned aerial vehicle in Iraq.

      Unmanned Air Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a member of the UK Royal Air Force has flown a US (a) armed and (b) unarmed unmanned aerial vehicle in Iraq to date.

      War Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals are in receipt of payments from the War Pensions Scheme.

  • Church Commissioners

    • Minerals: Church of England

      To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent discussions the Church of England has had with (a) Government Departments and (b) private sector energy...

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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