Written answers

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

  • Health

    • Babies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a register of babies naturally born before 24 weeks gestation.

    • Breast Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of avoidable deaths from breast cancer and to improve survival rates for that disease.

      Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review his departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if he will make a statement.

      Continuing Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress clinical commissioning groups have made in (a) processing retrospective continuing care claims and (b) the payment of compensation to...

      Dental Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentistry contracts that were in place between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014; and what the (a) name...

      Electronic Cigarettes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the definition of e-cigarettes as tobacco products under the terms of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

      Electronic Cigarettes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects to announce the implementation of industry standards for those e-cigarettes regulated as consumer products; (2) what steps he is...

      Foetal Death

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were naturally stillborn before 24 weeks' gestation in each of the last five years.

      Foetal Death

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received on changing the law relating to designation of babies born before 24 weeks' gestation as stillborn; (2) what...

      General Practitioners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many GP surgeries which receive income from the minimum price income guarantee are in areas which are high on the deprivation index; (2) what...

      Health Services: Older People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2014, Official Report, columns 766-7W on NHS: funding, if he will estimate the cost of the challenge posed by the...

      Hospitals: Parking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average amount a full-time NHS worker spends on car parking on NHS sites each year.

      Medicine: Teachers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to create an effective national mechanism for payment for the academic development of medical teachers.

      Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the current safe staff-to-patient ratio on elderly and dementia wards in the Mid Yorkshire NHS trust.

      Motor Neurone Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding his Department has allocated to research into motor neurone disease in each of last 10 years; (2) what recent discussions he has...

      NHS: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether payments mechanisms to medical schools in the form of SIFT funding are resulting in general practices being underpaid.

      Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinical nurse specialists are employed by each health trust in England.

      Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust has spent on permanent nursing staff in each year since 2010; (2) how much Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS...

      Paramedical Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics were working in each ambulance service in England in each month since May 2010.

      Parkinson's Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many incidents of medication errors involving hospital patients with Parkinson's disease have been reported since the joint patient safety alert...

      Parkinson's Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department's Complaints Programme Board has taken to improve the handling of complaints by people with Parkinson's disease who do not...

      Postnatal Depression

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women had post-natal depression in the UK in each of the last five years.

      Postnatal Depression

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support women with post-natal depression in the UK.

      Poultry Meat: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent reports he has received of food contamination at chicken abattoirs in Northern Ireland; (2) if he will ask the Food Standards Agency to...

      Pregnant Women: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what diseases are routinely screened for in antenatal screening in NHS hospitals; (2) how much the NHS spent on antenatal screening in the last...

      Prescription Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on making it easier for licensed medication drugs to be used for off-patent treatments.

      School Milk

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that rural, remote and small settings will continue to receive milk under the Nursery Milk scheme.

      Standardised Packaging for Tobacco Independent Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's impact assessment relating to the consultation into standardised tobacco packaging in a wider range of languages.

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet...

      Viral Haemorrhagic Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and guidance on the Ebola virus has been issued to staff at airports and ports in Northern Ireland.

      Viral Haemorrhagic Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on precautionary measures to protect against the spread of the Ebola virus.

  • Treasury

    • Aggregates Levy: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the European Commission to make a decision on the Aggregate Credit Levy scheme.

    • Hotels: VAT

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to reduce VAT to five per cent on hotel rooms.

      Revenue and Customs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to determine the location of new posts within the HM Revenue and Customs Debt Management Directorate.

      Revenue and Customs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the work of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Debt Management Directorate can be carried out at any (a) HMRC office and (b) HMRC office currently...

      Revenue and Customs: Glasgow

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will confirm why HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff currently employed in the Personal Tax Operations Directorate office in Glasgow and who wish to...

  • Attorney-General

    • EU Law

      To ask the Attorney-General how many new EU directives and regulations have been transposed into UK law by the Law Officers' Departments since May 2010.

    • Fraud

      To ask the Attorney General how many Shawcross exercises have been conducted in relation to the SFO's investigations in the last two years.

      Police: Surveillance

      To ask the Attorney-General what reasons the Crown Prosecution Service gave for its decision not to prosecute undercover police officers accused of starting sexual relationships with...

      Prosecutions

      To ask the Attorney General who the non-police prosecuting agencies are in England and Wales; and what each body's status and powers in law are as a prosecutor.

  • Business, Innovation and Skills

    • EU External Trade: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the UK's policy is on EU negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what consultation his...

    • EU Law

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's...

      Private Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has for increasing the role of private colleges in provision of further and higher education; and if he...

      Students: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to widen access to and inclusion in further and higher education for mature, disadvantaged and other harder to...

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in...

  • Public Accounts Commission

    • Television

      To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how much the Public Accounts Commission spent on televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Billing

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered...

    • EU Law

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within his Department's responsibility.

      Government Departments: Data Protection

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government is taking to ensure the protection of personal data held by private companies operating Government-shared services.

      Government Departments: Procurement

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of central Government procurement spend was with small and medium-sized enterprises on 21 August 2014.

      Public Sector: Business Interests

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the Business Appointment Rules for public servants relate to (a) appointments in (i) NGOs, (ii) charities and (iii) other non-commercial...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    • Bahrain

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Foreign Affairs Committee's recommendation in the Fifth Report of Session 2013-14, The...

    • Business: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which HM embassies and high commissions have a designated contact for the strategy for supporting human rights defenders working...

      Business: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with which companies (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) HM embassies and high commissions have discussed the UK Action Plan...

      Business: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the Government's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in the last year on the...

      Business: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to improve access to remedies for victims of human rights abuses involving UK business...

      Business: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department has provided to help UK businesses uphold their responsibilities to international human rights in...

      Israel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a ban on the sales of UK arms to Israel.

      Middle East

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason the UK abstained from voting on the motion entitled, Ensuring respect for international law in the Occupied...

      Middle East

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the proposals for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

      Qatar

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to address the treatment of workers in Qatar during the construction of World Cup 2022 venues.

      Qatar

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy on the safety and wellbeing of...

  • Communities and Local Government

    • Billing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments...

    • Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on refurbishing (a) gymnasium and leisure facilities, (b) cafeteria and (c) interior decoration in (i)...

      Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has any plans to increase the number of replies within his Department's working day standard; and if he will make a...

      Non-domestic Rates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what proportion of premises on the rating list have a rateable value of less than £50,000; (2) what estimate he has...

      Performance Appraisal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in...

      Vacancies: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Department has made of the number of private sector vacancies in London.

  • Leader of the House

    • Television

      To ask the Leader of the House how much his Office spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

  • Justice

    • Coroners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions since May 2010 a Rule 43 ruling has been used in coronial verdicts.

    • Drugs: Sentencing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been sentenced to prison as a result of possession of illegal substances, by class of substance, since 2010.

      Nature Conservation: Crime

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) cautioned, (c) proceeded against and (d) convicted of an offence under the provisions of the Conservation of...

      Sentencing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on providing non-stipendiary magistrates with electronic copies of Sentencing Guidelines and updates thereof free of...

  • International Development

    • Gaza

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what help she plans to give to children in Gaza who require support to deal with trauma related to bombing.

    • Bost Agricultural Business Park

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reasons she decided to end her Department's role in the Bost agricultural business park project in Afghanistan in 2012.

      Afghanistan

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2014, Official Report, column 414W, on Afghanistan and with reference to the answer of 5...

      Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will review her departmental estate in order to reduce costs; and if she will make a statement.

      EU Law

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many times the UK has lost EU infraction proceedings since May 2010 which relate to matters that fall within her Department's...

      Malawi

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make UK aid to Malawi conditional on the repeal of laws which discriminate against LGBT people; and if she will make a...

      St Helena

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the new airport terminal on St Helena will be equipped with (a) a biosecurity scanner and (b) a secure biosecurity facility.

      St Helena

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to protect the mole spider population at Bradleys in the airport development area of St Helena.

      St Helena

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what change there has been in energy prices on St Helena in each of the last four years; and what estimate she has made of changes in...

      Tanzania

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which companies in Tanzania have received how much in funding from her Department since 2010.

      Uganda

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make UK development aid to Uganda conditional on the repeal of laws in that country which discriminate against LGBT people;...

  • Women and Equalities

    • Procurement

      To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities how much and what proportion of the Government Equalities Office's budget was spent on activities which were contracted out in (a) 2009-10, (b)...

  • Work and Pensions

    • Employment and Support Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time was between (a) an employment and support allowance applicant submitting an ESA 50 questionnaire and undergoing a work...

    • Employment and Support Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many mandatory reconsideration periods for employment and support allowance his Department has conducted to date; what the outcomes were of...

      Independent Living Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake a separate impact assessment of the closure of the Independent Living Fund on demand for (a) NHS and (b) social care services.

      Jobcentre Plus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many computers have been installed for use in Jobcentre Plus offices in the UK in 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the number of...

      Jobseeker's Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average length of time his Department takes to process applications for hardship payments; and what targets he has set for the processing...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mean length of time between a personal independence payment claim being registered and a decision being made was on (a) claims not made...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with Parkinson's disease (a) have applied for personal independence payments (PIPs), (b) are receiving PIPs and (c) have been...

      Social Security Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on making statistics on mandatory reconsiderations for jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance...

      Social Security Benefits: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people with mental health conditions may be refused disability benefits on the grounds that their condition does not require the use of...

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what timetable his Department plans to phase out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the...

      Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 220W, on the Work Programme, what the cost is of paying a second...

  • Culture Media and Sport

    • Global Radio

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will investigate the time taken by Ofcom to come to a decision on complaints submitted in 2013 about unapproved format changes to...

    • Lotteries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions Ministers from his Department have met (a) representatives of society lotteries and (b) representatives of Camelot or...

  • Environment Food and Rural Affairs

    • Agriculture: Subsidies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Cumbria which received payments under the (a) Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance, (b) Sheep Annual...

    • Food Supply Networks Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to Lord Rooker of 11 August 2014, HL1378, on the food supply networks review, for what reasons...

      Slaughterhouses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will commission a study to assess the extent of mis-stunning at the point of animal slaughter in the UK.

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what timetable her Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in...

      Television

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

  • Defence

    • Armed Forces: Absence Without Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were recorded as AWOL in each of the last five years; and how many such soldiers were aged (a) 18, (b) 19 and (c) 21 years at the time...

    • Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what timetable his Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet...

  • Education

    • Pupils: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much pupil premium funding has been allocated to each borough in Lancashire in each year since that scheme's introduction.

  • Transport

    • Dangerous Driving

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a charge of killing or injuring someone through a hit and run.

    • Dangerous Driving

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many recorded hit and run incidents involving (a) injury and (b) death there have been in each of the last five years.

      East Anglia Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) on how many occasions engineering works carried out by Network Rail on the London Liverpool Street - Chelmsford - Colchester - Ipswich railway...

      Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions he has met representatives of the insurance industry in the last 12 months; and what issues were discussed at those meetings.

  • Energy and Climate Change

    • Fracking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many fracking project licences the Government has issued.

    • Green Deal Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) how much has been allocated to each local authority area under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund; (2) how much was allocated...

  • Home Department

    • Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department informed Campsfield House operators Mitie of the advice of the Oxfordshire Fire Service that sprinklers should be...

    • Dangerous Driving

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded hit and run incidents where the driver was (a) caught and (b) not caught there have been in each of the last five years.

      Driving Offences: Mobile Phones

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in each region and constituent part of the UK for use of hand-held mobile telephones whilst...

      Police: Road Traffic Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic police officers were employed in each police force area in each of the last five years.

      Security Guards: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will take steps to tackle the problem of companies offering bogus or limited alternatives to the Security Industry Authority...

      Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what timetable her Department plans to phase-out the use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with...

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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