Written answers

Friday, 1 November 2013

  • Prime Minister

    • Travel

      To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions and for what reasons he has used military transport for domestic travel since taking office; and if he will provide a list of all such occasions.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how much his Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; (2) what steps his...

    • Sexual Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of women who have been assisted by the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

  • Attorney-General

    • Complaints

      To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many complaints of sexual discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of (a) the Law Officers' Departments and (b) its Executive agencies...

    • Employment Tribunals Service

      To ask the Attorney-General how many employment tribunal hearings have been lodged against the Law Officers' Departments on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity discrimination in each of the...

      Offences Against Children

      To ask the Attorney-General how many referrals have been made to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police regarding child sexual offences in each of the last five years. [Official Report, 20...

      Staff

      To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of employees within the Law Officers' Departments on each Civil Service pay scale have a physical or learning disability.

      Staff

      To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of employees within the Law Officers' Departments on each Civil Service pay scale are (a) white British and (b) from black, Asian and from other...

      Staff

      To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of employees within the Law Officers' Departments on each Civil Service pay scale are (a) female and (b) male.

  • Transport

    • Cross Country Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what investment in (a) infrastructure, (b) rolling stock and (c) stations on the Cross Country Line there has been since 2009-10; (2) what the...

    • Cycling: Accidents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cyclists were (a) involved in reported accidents, (b) seriously injured and (c) killed on the national trunk road network in each of the last...

      Great Western Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investment in (a) on-board catering facilities, (b) WiFi and (c) recycling facilities has been made on the Great Western Line since 2009-10.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether direct train services from (a) Sandwell and Dudley and (b) Wolverhampton to London Euston will be reduced upon the completion of High Speed 2.

      Rescue Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will detail the number of maritime rescue co-ordination centres for which staffing levels dropped below risk-assessed levels nationally in each...

      Rescue Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he and officials in his Department have had with fire and rescue services nationally regarding their at-sea presence.

      Rescue Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in which periods full shadow operations will be in place prior to the closure of the maritime rescue coordination centres in (a) Brixham, (b) Portland...

      Rescue Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish details of the number and standing of the local experts from whom local intelligence was formally gathered prior to the closure of...

      Rescue Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Government's proposed changes to search and rescue co-ordination on the efficacy of local...

      Rights of Way: West Sussex

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has made available to support (a) footpaths and (b) bridleways in each of the local authority areas of West Sussex in each...

  • Work and Pensions

    • Atos Healthcare

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets health assessors working for Atos Healthcare work towards; and whether a bonus is payable upon reaching such targets.

    • Credit: Interest Rates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2013, Official Report, column 455W, on credit: interest rates, if he will estimate the number of people...

      Employment: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2013, Official Report, column 657W, on employment: disability, if he will commission an impact...

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to reduce the cost of gas and electricity provision for his Department.

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who the provider was for (a) gas and (b) electricity in his Department in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

      Separated People: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when each of the seven voluntary and third-sector projects established in March 2013 under the Help and Support for Separated Families...

      Work Capability Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to publish updated statistics for tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 of his Department's statistics bulletin, Employment and Support...

  • Energy and Climate Change

    • Energy: Prices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with (a) British Gas, (b) EDF Energy, (c) E.ON, (d) nPower, (e) Scottish Power and (f) SSE on those...

  • International Development

    • Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

    • Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to reduce its spending on (a) gas and (b) electricity.

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which companies supplied (a) gas and (b) electricity to her Department in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what geographic telephone numbers her Department advertises for use by the general public.

  • Communities and Local Government

    • A4e

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what evaluation has been undertaken of the A4E's work using volunteers to work with complex cases in the troubled families programme.

    • Disadvantaged: Families

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what evaluation his Department has undertaken of the work of private companies working as part of the troubled families programme.

      Disadvantaged: Families

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse to date due to crime, health and social problems being avoided as a...

      Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his announcement of 18 July 2013 on the creation of a reward scheme for officials in his Department who...

  • Health

    • Death: Weather

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the likely number of excess winter deaths in 2013-14; and whether he has produced alternative estimates based on varying...

    • Dementia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress has been made on implementing the National Dementia Strategy for England; (2) what plans he has to develop a new National Dementia...

      Depressive Illnesses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in each region and nation of the UK have been reported as suffering from depression.

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce its spending on (a) gas and (b) electricity.

      Epilepsy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the benefits of establishing a national epilepsy deaths register.

      Epilepsy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the state of care of epilepsy training.

      Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to work with NHS England to use programme budgeting to assess public spending on mental health services in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

      Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of NHS and social care spending on mental health support in England for (a) children, (b) adults of working age and (c) adults...

      Mental Health Services: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will conduct a new psychiatric morbidity survey for children and adolescents; (2) what plans he has to respond to the recommendations in the...

      Midwives

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of midwives who were not employed by an NHS trust two years after qualifying.

      Midwives

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there are for (a) midwives and (b) supervisors of midwives in each NHS trust.

      Neurology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) elective and (b) emergency bed days were recorded for patients in each primary care trust or care commission group with a (i) primary...

      Neurology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of hospital stay was for patients in each primary care trust or care commission group with a (a) primary and (b) secondary...

      NHS Property Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process was used for the recruitment of the executive director of NHS Property Services.

      NHS Property Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2013, Official Report, column 284W, on NHS Property Services, what criteria were used by NHS Property Services to...

      South London Healthcare NHS Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of his appeal against the judgement issued by Mr Justice Silber on 31 July 2013 in the High Court on the South London Healthcare Trust...

  • Home Department

    • Baraa Shiban

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the exercise by immigration officials of powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 when they detained...

    • Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether an HM Inspector of Prisons inspection visit to Campsfield House will take place in the next six months; (2) what steps she has...

      Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recommendations made following the last HM Inspector of Prisons visit to Campsfield House have yet to be implemented.

      Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that recommendations made following the last HM Inspector of Prisons visit to Campsfield House are implemented.

      Common Travel Area

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has held with her Irish counterpart on strengthening the Common Travel Area.

      Detention Centres: Inspections

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the full source and detail of the Immigration Removal Centre comparator information used in the recent Her Majesty's...

      Drugs: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish an evaluation framework for the National Drugs Strategy.

      Drugs: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have had with the National Audit Office on the...

      Entry Clearances

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2013, Official Report, column 901W, on entry clearances, how many family visa applications have been...

      Entry Clearances: Foreign Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2013, Official Report, column 7MC, on entry clearances, if she will list, for each of the top 20...

      Entry Clearances: Foreign Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long each issue certificate of sponsorship for Tier 5 visas issued by each issuing organisation was issued.

      Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of whether evidential flexibility has improved decision making and processing times with Tier 4 applications...

      Landlord and Tenant: Right of Abode

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with landlords' associations on the viability of landlords being able to accurately assess the legitimacy...

      Licensing Laws

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to allow pubs to apply for extended licences to show late night football matches during the football world cup...

      Passports: Concessions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has any plans to extend eligibility for free UK passports to people over the age of 80 years.

      Prisoners: Repatriation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice to deport foreign nationals in UK prisons to serve detention...

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's expenditure on (a) border control and (b) the asylum system was in each of the last 10 years; and how much of that...

      Sexual Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) with reference to the identification of nine areas of action by the national group to tackle sexual violence against children and...

  • Treasury

    • Energy

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps his Department is taking to reduce its spending on (a) gas and (b) electricity; (2) which companies supplied (a) gas and (b) electricity...

    • Tax Avoidance

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what procedures are in place for HM Revenue and Customs' employees who are alerted to loopholes in tax rules.

  • Justice

    • Crime: Victims

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Minister in his Department is responsible for the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime.

    • Prisoners' Release

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much advance notice is given to a victim of crime of the release from prison of the perpetrator of that crime.

      Reparation by Offenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a right to restorative justice for victims of crime.

      Salvation Army

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of human trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by...

      Sexual Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time was between (a) offence commission and charge, (b) charge and first court appearance and (c) first court appearance to sentencing...

  • Business, Innovation and Skills

    • Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2013, Official Report, column 41W, on apprentices, what proportion of the 2012-13...

    • Business: Advisory Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the need to encourage banks to provide better advice to their business customers who employ fewer...

      Business: Advisory Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the advice available to businesses employing fewer than 10 people from other...

      Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what UK business representation will attend the upcoming CHOGM in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

      Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what UK Trade and Investment representation there will be at the upcoming CHOGM in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

      Complaints

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many complaints of racial discrimination or harassment have been lodged against employees of (a) his Department and (b)...

      Consumers: Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he (a) has taken and (b) proposes to take to seek changes to EU consumer law; and if he will make a statement.

      Foreign Students

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of UK students attending university (a) study overseas and (b) take a degree which allows them to study abroad...

      Land Registry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will set out the arrangements being made for wider consultation specific to proposals to change the status of the Land Registry.

      New Businesses: Lancashire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start up loans have been granted to businesses in (a) Ribble Valley constituency and (b) Lancashire in the last five years.

      Overseas Trade: Sri Lanka

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether a UK trade envoy will be in Sri Lanka in November 2013.

      Public Houses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on microbreweries of offering a rent only option to tied pubs.

      Students: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2013, Official Report, columns 875-6W, on higher education: student numbers, how many...

  • Environment Food and Rural Affairs

    • Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to publish a summary of responses to his Local Air Quality Monitoring consultation.

    • Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he made of the (a) finding of the European Environment Agency report, Air quality in Europe—2013, that...

      Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how much his Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; (2) what steps his...

      Farms

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2013, Official Report, column 55W, on farms, if he will list (a) all 195 regulations...

      Fisheries: Western Sahara

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 451W, on fisheries: Western Sahara (1) how the protocol,...

      Forests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK is covered by (a) broadleaf and (b) conifer forest.

      Forests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the forest cover in the UK is designated for (a) productive woodland and (b) amenity value.

      Forests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what target his Department has set for forest cover in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland; and...

      Forests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland is covered by forest.

      Forests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of whether current Forestry Commission guidance on planting forest promotes the type of tree...

      Fracking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with shale gas operators on their ability to meet...

      Incinerators: Worcestershire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the financial arrangements for the proposed waste incinerator at Hartlebury,...

      Timber

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the UK's need for future sustaining domestic timber supplies; and how such need will be met.

  • Education

    • Boarding Schools

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made of the potential damage to children as a result of attendance at boarding school from a young age; (2) what his...

    • Chequers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he last attended Chequers; and what the purpose of that visit was.

      Internet: Bullying

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial support his Department has given to organisations raising awareness of National Stop Cyber Bullying Day on 21 June 2013.

      Internet: Bullying

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department spent in 2012 on tackling (a) cyber-bullying and (b) internet trolling.

      Kings Science Academy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will consider putting Kings Science Academy into special measures; (2) whether a free school can be put under special financial measures...

      Kings Science Academy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of whether Sajid Raza is a fit and proper person to be principal of Kings Science Academy in Bradford.

      Kings Science Academy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how and by what mechanism his Department contacted West Yorkshire police in April 2013 regarding the Department's investigation into Kings...

      Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to reduce pay for senior staff in his Department.

      School Teachers' Review Body: Wales

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received from the Welsh Government on the devolution of the functions of the School Teachers Review Body to a...

      School Teachers' Review Body: Wales

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on devolving the functions of the School Teachers Review Body to a Wales-based organisation.

      Schools

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of all schools inspected by Ofsted under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 have been classified as (a) outstanding, (b) good, (c)...

      Temporary Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1018W, on temporary employment, for what purpose each temporary member of staff has been...

  • Defence

    • Armed Forces Covenant: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department is doing to support troops in Northern Ireland in the absence of a military covenant.

    • Armed Forces: Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's vehicle capitation rates; (2) if he will place in the Library copies of his...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the speed with which Iran could use the centrifuge capability available to it to enrich enough uranium from the three and...

      Military Bases: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many cases of self-harm by civilian staff took place in military establishments in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and if he...

      Military Bases: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many cases of self-harm by soldiers took place in military establishments in Northern Ireland between 1 April and 30 September 2013; (2) how...

      Military Bases: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the welfare of (a) soldiers and (b) civilian staff at Abercorn Barracks, Ballykinler, Co Down; and if he will make...

      Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the Annual Budget Cycle 14 Technical Instructions.

      Red Arrows

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aircraft the RAF Red Arrows will be operating from 2018.

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what geographic telephone numbers his Department advertises for use by the general public.

      World War II: Detention Centres

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when each of the prisons run by the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre ceased to operate; and what took the place of each.

      World War II: Detention Centres

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which organisation took over the functions previously carried out by the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Average Earnings: North West

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average weekly gross earnings of a full-time employed (a) man and (b) woman in the North West was in cash terms in each year since 1997.

    • Childbirth

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many live births there were (a) in Greater Manchester and (b) nationally in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013.

      Death: Weather

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of excess winter deaths in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency, (b) Cumbria and (c) the North West in each of...

      Part-time Employment

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many part-time workers are working less than 24 hours a week.

  • Deputy Prime Minister

    • Devolution: Wales

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he has met members of the Welsh Government at which the Constitutional Convention was discussed in the last 12 months; and who attended each such meeting.

    • Travel

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions and for what reasons he has used military transport for domestic travel since taking office; and if he will provide a list of all such occasions.

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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