Written answers

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

  • Department for Transport

    • Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many contracts signed by his Department with suppliers of services or consultants include a clause providing that if the contract is abrogated by...

    • Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how often his Department reviews its processes regarding the logging of emails, letters and other correspondence received; and if he will make a statement.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • North Korea

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions HM Embassy in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea has had with the government of that country on...

    • Boko Haram

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the safety of UK delegations in regions where Boko Haram poses a threat.

      North Korea

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of substantially or wholly UK-based charitable organisations and social enterprises...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the (a) promotion of the fundamental freedom of the press...

      Central African Republic

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in the Central African Republic.

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Iranian government on the arrest and imprisonment of Ghoncheh Ghavami.

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of financial and material support given by Iran to international terror...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Iran's compliance with Modified Code 3.1 in the subsidiary arrangements to its Comprehensive...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on that country's material and financial support for terror...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department have had with the Iranian government on Iran's compliance with Article 18 of the...

      Iran

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the P5+1 has discussed the future status of sanctions against Iran in the event of a permanent nuclear deal.

  • Attorney General

    • Prosecutions

      To ask the Attorney General, for which offences the Crown Prosecution Service routinely monitors the number and proportion of cases that fail because of victim issues.

    • Sentencing: Appeals

      To ask the Attorney General, what the offence committed was in each case in which the sentence was considered to be unduly lenient but not altered by the Court of Appeal in the last five years;...

      Sentencing: Appeals

      To ask the Attorney General, what the reason was for not pursuing each case of sentences considered to be unduly lenient but not pursued in the Court of Appeal in the last five years; and what...

      Sentencing: Appeals

      To ask the Attorney General, what the reason was for withdrawing each case following an application to the Court of Appeal for a review of an unduly lenient sentence in each of the last 10 years;...

      Prosecutions

      To ask the Attorney General, whether the Serious Fraud Office has concluded any deferred prosecution agreements with any companies charged with fraud or corruption offences.

  • Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    • Students: Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress the Government has made in its plans for the sale of the student loan book.

    • Students: Plagiarism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to prohibit businesses advertising assignment-writing services to higher education students;...

      Disabled Students' Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to disabled students' allowances on supporting disabled individuals into work.

      Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the costs to insolvency practitioners of holding a physical creditor meeting in an...

      Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the saving to the public purse made by removing the provision for insolvency...

      Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of (a) secured and (b) unsecured creditors who attend creditor meetings...

      Social Services: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the contribution of 5 November 2014 by the Minister of State in his Department, Official Report, column 240WH, on...

      Disabled Students' Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2014 to Question 212120, if he will publish the consultation questions on proposed changes...

      Disabled Students' Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2014 to Question 212119, (a) how many individual disabled students were directly consulted...

      Employment Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many complaints on employment agency practices were received by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in 2013-14.

      Employment Agencies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) inspections, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions were conducted by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Prisoners' Release: Terrorism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2014, Official Report, column 851W, on prisoners' release: terrorism, what offences were committed by those released...

    • Victim Personal Statement Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of victims who made personal statements at parole hearings in each of the last 10 years.

      Prisons: Violence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure that prisoners in private prisons are safe from violence.

      Prisoners' Transfers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been transferred from prisons in Scotland to prisons in England in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

      Public Records

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage government departments to meet their targets and legal obligations relating to the release of records to the...

  • Leader of the House

    • Travel

      To ask the Leader of the House, what total amount his Office spent on ministerial travel by (a) the Government Car and Despatch Agency and (b) other car hire in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Libya

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of the recent training operations for Libyan soldiers.

    • Iraq

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of airstrikes in Iraq.

      Unmanned Air Vehicles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for which periods officers in the armed forces have been trained on the operation and use of drone technology in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian...

      Libya

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the future training of Libyan soldiers; and if he will make a statement.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Public Opinion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on (a) focus groups and (b) surveys in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date.

    • Social Security Benefits: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) ATOS-assessed fit to work Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Force claimants have successfully appealed to a tribunal since...

      Employment and Support Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants disallowed from Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Focus benefit have been placed on ESA on more than one occasion.

      Employment and Support Allowance: Motherwell

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in receipt of employment support allowance have been subject to sanctions since March 2014.

      Employment and Support Allowance: Dundee

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants there are in Dundee East constituency.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he takes to ensure that disabled applicants who receive a confirmed job offer can apply for support from Access to Work in advance...

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants to the Child Maintenance Service have been exempted from the £20 application fee since it was introduced on 30 June 2014.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contracts signed by her Department with suppliers of services or consultants include a clause providing that if the...

  • Home Office

    • Immigration Controls: Aviation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 210766, what estimate she has made of the number of flights into private airfields...

    • European Arrest Warrants

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the UK has given the notification described in Article 28(1) of EU Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European Arrest Warrant.

      Passports

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what target has been set for time taken to process applications from UK citizens waiting to return to the UK with surrogate children from...

      Aviation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many private flights landing in the UK her Department has (a) been notified of and (b) checked each year since 2010.

      Immigration

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been convicted of offences under section 24(1)(b) of the Immigration Act 1971 in each of the last five years.

      Vetting

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on the time taken to process Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

      Borders: Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of how many lorries entering the UK were screened by (a) body-scanning machines and (b) dogs in the...

      Asylum: Sri Lanka

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department consults the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when determining the veracity of claims of torture by asylum applicants...

      European Arrest Warrants

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her contribution of 10 November 2014, Official Report, column 1248, on criminal law, what assessment she has made of the...

  • HM Treasury

    • Income Tax

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2012 to Question 292135, what was the average tax paid by those people in each of the top (a) 10, (b) five, (c) one,...

    • EU Budget

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department was first made aware of the EU Statistical Office revisions to the UK's gross national income and value added tax balances and...

      Railways: Fares

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of increasing regulated rail fares by RPI in 2015.

      Tax Avoidance

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of UK tax which was lost to tax avoidance practices adopted by multinational technology companies in (a)...

      Tax Avoidance

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to increase the resources allocated to HM Revenue and Customs to reduce tax avoidance by large multinational corporations.

      Social Security Benefits: Children

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many benefit claims have been made by adults in the UK in respect of children resident in another country since 2010.

      Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will give further financial assistance to the Northern Ireland Executive to fund public sector pensions, health and education.

  • Department for Energy and Climate Change

    • Electricity Generation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether he has made an assessment of the availability of generators to back up fluctuations in wind and solar supply to ensure...

    • Climate Change

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the potential economic contribution of the export of UK expertise in the climate change mitigation and...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Procurement

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts signed by his Department with suppliers of services or consultants include a clause providing that if the contract is abrogated by...

    • Travel

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what total amount his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) the Government Car and Despatch Agency and (b) other car hire in (i) 2007-08, (ii)...

      Former Prime Ministers

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which office administers the public duty costs allowance for former Prime Ministers; and what checks are made to ensure that claims against that...

      Government Departments: Statistics

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions the UK Statistics Authority has written to ministers or officials since May 2010 to question or correct numerical information or...

      Civil Service

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the engineering and finance capabilities of the Civil Service.

      Voluntary Work

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of changes in the number of people undertaking voluntary work.

      Charity Commission

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Charity Commission has sufficient powers to oversee and intervene in the running of charities.

      Electronic Government

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government Digital Service.

      Government Departments: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve government transparency.

      Electronic Government

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made on digitising government services.

      Electronic Government

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress the Government Digital Service has made on moving public services online.

  • Department for Culture Media and Sport

    • Nuisance Calls

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning the use of automated telephone dialling technology in order to prevent...

  • Deputy Prime Minister

    • Local Enterprise Partnerships: South West

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership about the timing and size of the second phase of local growth deals.

    • Local Enterprise Partnerships

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress he has made on Local Growth Deals.

      Economic Growth: North of England

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress he has made on the Northern Futures project.

      Electoral Register

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps the Government plans to take to raise the number of people registered to vote.

      Local Government: Urban Areas

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent progress he has made on city-region deals.

      House of Lords

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the Government's policy is on reform of the House of Lords.

      Local Government: Urban Areas

      To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress he has made on identifying areas not included in the first and second wave of City Deals to be prioritised for subsequent initiatives.

  • Department of Health

    • Meningitis: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what timescale his Department has set for rolling out the meningococcal group B vaccine Bexsero to all babies as part of the national immunisation programme.

    • Meningitis: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will commission a carriage study into whether the meningococcal group B vaccine Bexsero should be extended and administered to...

      Patients: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress organisations which have participated in the Sign up to Safety campaign have made on fulfilling the pledges in that campaign; and if he...

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of women who are eligible for tamoxifen and raloxifene are offered this treatment.

      Health Services: Eastleigh

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide funding to support the delivery of more healthcare services from the Moorgreen Hospital site in Eastleigh constituency.

      Neuromuscular Disorders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cough assist machines clinical commissioning groups have funded for patients with muscular dystrophy and neuromuscular conditions in the last 12...

      Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many contracts signed by his Department with suppliers of services or consultants include a clause providing that if the contract is abrogated by the...

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that clinically-proven, cost-effective drugs are made routinely available to all when they are shown to be of use in a...

      Prostate Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the British Medical Association and medical authorities on the link between prostate cancer drugs and fatal heart attacks.

      Depressive Illnesses: Paracetamol

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on a potential link between paracetamol and the treatment of anxiety.

      Medical Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reform the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence so that all patients can access the appropriate drugs...

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that all medicines added to or removed from the Cancer Drugs Fund list are assessed in a fair and...

      Learning Disability: Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nurses on the number of learning disability liaison nurses in hospitals.

      Heart Diseases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission research on a potential link between malonate esters and reduced damage from heart failure.

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the projected Cancer Drugs Fund expenditure is accurately calculated.

      Arthritis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the potential to treat arthritis with injection instead of hip or knee replacement operations.

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate his Department has made of the projected expenditure for the Cancer Drugs Fund for the next financial year.

      Cancer: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), charities and the Association of British...

      NHS: Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2014 to Question 212752, what proportion of NHS foundation trusts have taken out commercial building insurance for...

      General Dental Council

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has had from the British Dental Association on the recent practices of the General Dental Council; and if he will make a statement.

      Health Professions: English Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spends annually on language controls for nurses, midwives, dentists, dental care practitioners and pharmacy technicians.

      Travel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what total amount his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) the Government Car and Despatch Agency and (b) other car hire in (i) 2007-08, (ii)...

  • House of Lords

    • Carer’s Allowance

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people claimed Carer's Allowance in (1) 2013–14, and (2) 2014–15 to date. To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in...

    • Combined Cadet Force

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the change in funding arrangements for Combined Cadet Force units in independent schools will await the outcome of the review into the Ministry of...

      Crime: Statistics

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to issue guidance to police forces in England and Wales to the effect that, when publishing statistics or issuing any statement referring...

      Dementia

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to integrate social care systems in pursuit of good outcomes for those diagnosed with dementia.

      Dementia

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that a person diagnosed with dementia, and their family, has a clear path to assistance, support and advice.

      EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Scottish Fisheries Minister, Richard Lochhead MSP, was invited to attend the European Council on Fishing on 10 November; and if not, why not.

      EU Budget: Contributions

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were their estimates of the United Kingdom contribution to the European Union budget in 2014–15 prior to the communication of the increased...

      EU Budget: Contributions

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total amount of the rebate on the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Union budget from the commencement of that rebate until the year...

      EU External Trade: USA

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the investor-state dispute settlement system in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will not be dealt with by United Kingdom courts.

      Eurostar

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan take to prevent the disposal for scrap of any of the North of London Eurostars.

      Health Services: Older People

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action are they taking to deal with the effects of an ageing population.

      Housing Revenue Accounts: Tower Hamlets

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 October (HL1902), whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the...

      Immigration: Middle East

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to offer additional places in the United Kingdom for those who have already left Syria and Iraq and are seeking medical treatment, to...

      Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to allow air to air transfer of fuel between F35B aircraft in the United Kingdom inventory.

      Kosovo

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Kosovo about reported attacks on people of Serbian origin in that country; what was the result of...

      M1

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated cost to the British economy of roadworks on the M1 during 2014–15.

      Rights of Accused

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the prescribed legal limits to the use of the power to conduct electronic surveillance of conversations between lawyers and their clients; and what...

      Sahel

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current state of border control and management in the Western Sahel-Sahara region of Africa.

      UK Membership of EU

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of Where's the Insider Advantage? A review of the evidence that withdrawal from the EU would not harm the...

      Unmanned Air Vehicles

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any United Kingdom legislation that applies to the use of drones of less than 20 kilograms.

      Utilities: Road Works

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the way in which utility companies work with local authorities to minimise disruption to residents as a result of works...

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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