Written answers

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

  • Department for Transport

    • Midland Main Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral statement of 25 June 2015, Official Report, column 1067-8, on Network Rail, which of the Midland Main Line speed improvement...

    • Blue Badge Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the clarity of the guidance given to local authorities on determining the eligibility for blue badges of community...

      Department for Transport: Management

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the members of the management board of his Department are; and how many of those members are women.

      Railways: Elstree

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a feasibility study has been undertaken on modifications to the Elstree rail tunnels; and whether his Department has undertaken a cost...

      Telford-Wolverhampton Railway Line: Electrification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the electrification of the train line between Wolverhampton and Telford.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which ancient woodlands are under discussion with Natural England to be added to the ancient woodland inventory of Phase 1 of High Speed 2.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of trees used for ecological mitigation planting for High Speed 2 will be sourced from the UK.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons HS2 Ltd is challenging the classification of the additional woods to be added to the ancient woodland inventory; and if he will make...

      Taxis: Fares

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for the effect in regulation of taxi and minicab companies of increasing use of smartphone technology...

      Department for Transport: Public Appointments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a list of all public appointments made by his Department between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015.

      Railways: Radlett

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on whether either of the Elstree tunnels will need to be closed during the development of the proposed Radlett...

      Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to complete the electrification of the Great Western mainline to (a) Bristol, (b) Newport, (c) Cardiff and (d) Swansea.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2015, Official Report, column 834, whether apart from the need to sell scheme mentioned that residents affected by...

      Rolling Stock: North of England

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all Pacer trains used on Northern services will be replaced by 2020.

      Railways: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all services re-directed away from Bolton during the electrification of the Preston to Manchester line will return as soon as the...

      London Bridge Station

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2015 to Question 228504, what progress he has made on considering the case for compensation for passengers...

      Railways: Freight

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial support his Department has provided to rail freight flows from (a) Tilbury and (b) London Gateway ports in each year since 2009-10.

      Railways: Freight

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the future viability of rail freight services between Felixstowe and Tilbury ports.

      Railways: Freight

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) frequency of and (b) volume moved by rail freight services between Felixstowe and Tilbury ports.

      Railways: Freight

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many rail freight services were operated between Felixstowe and Tilbury ports in each of the last 10 years; and what volume of rail freight moved...

      Uber

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of the technology firm Uber in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

      Railways: Electrification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the saving to Network Rail is in Control Period 5 of not proceeding with (a) Midland Main Line electrification and (b) TransPennine...

      Railways: Fares

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 3925, whether the potential fares simplification that can take place on the Northern franchise...

      Network Rail

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department received from Network Rail a (a) final and (b) draft updated Control Period 5 Delivery Plan between 1 December 2014 and 30...

      Network Rail

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current gap is between Network Rail's Control Period 5 funding and the company's expected total outlay during that Control Period.

  • Department for Communities and Local Government

    • Empty Property: Shops

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the length of time that vacant shops in town centres remain empty.

    • Leisure: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was spent by local authorities in the North West on sports and leisure in each of the last five financial years.

      Community Relations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what resources are available to his Department to undertake work promoting community cohesion.

      Building Inspectors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether previous audit and performance evaluation data is considered by the Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors...

      Temporary Accommodation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of families with children living in temporary accommodation in (a) Coventry, (b) the...

      Better Care Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities are allocating how much funding to the Better Care Fund in 2015-16.

      Starter Home Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on rolling out the Starter Homes initiative; and how many homes he expects to be available under that...

      Housing Completions: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the housing completion rates were in (a) London, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham and (c) Lewisham, Deptford...

      Housing: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the average house price has risen in (a) London, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham and (c) Lewisham, Deptford...

      Communities and Local Government: Press

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to which periodicals and newspapers his Department subscribes; how many copies of each such periodical his Department acquires;...

      Wind Power: Planning Permission

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the National Planning Policy Framework for onshore wind projects of under 50MW takes precedence over new considerations...

      Housing: Cumbria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will allow Cumbria County Council to receive revenue from the new homes bonus.

      Local Government Finance: Cumbria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department plans to provide to Cumbria County Council to make up their funding shortfall.

      Non-domestic Rates: Cumbria

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to allow councils in Cumbria to keep funds raised by business rates from the nuclear industry.

      Housing: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the total number of houses to be built in the UK in each of the next five years.

      Social Rented Housing: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on requiring social housing providers to verify the length of residency of citizens from other EU countries.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Nigeria: Chemical Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of napalm bombing taking place in Biafra land, Nigeria.

    • Syria: Armed Conflict

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his Turkish counterpart on the relationship between the Turkish security services and ISIL in...

      India: UN Security Council

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ensure that any progress towards a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for India is made...

      Turkey: Diplomatic Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff were employed by HM Consulate-General in Istanbul on (a) 1 January 2010, (b) 1 January 2015 and (c) 1 June 2015.

      Syria: Armed Conflict

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on (a) the situation in Syria and (b) the recent attacks by...

      Syria: Armed Conflict

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on attacks by ISIL on the Syrian town of Kobane.

      Yemen

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the political and security situation in Yemen.

      Argentina: Overseas Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the value of trade was between the UK and Argentina in each of the last six years.

      Paraguay: Overseas Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the value of trade was between the UK and Paraguay in each of the last six years.

      Syria: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support and assistance the Government is providing to the Al Sanadid Arabs in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

      UK Membership of EU: Referendums

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussion his Department has had with the European Commission on campaigns by that institution during the UK referendum...

      Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Public Appointments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library a list of all public appointments made by his Department between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015.

      Iran: Nuclear Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect that Iran's possession of advanced IR-8 centrifuge would have on its nuclear...

      Iran: Nuclear Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of Iran's development of the IR-8 centrifuge; and what effect this will have on that...

      Iran: Nuclear Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Iran's research and development of advanced centrifuges.

      EU Reform

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on reform of (a) EU Social Policy, (b) EU Employment Policy, (c) the free movement of labour within the EU...

      Tibet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what change there has been in the Government's policy towards the status of Tibet and the integrity of the culture of Tibetan...

      Afghanistan

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help tackle corruption, (b) promote human rights and (c) improve the justice system...

      Burma: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has requested the UN Security-General to lead personally negotiations on securing unrestricted...

      Romania: NATO

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with counterparts in NATO countries on the new NATO Force Integration Unit to be built in...

      British Nationals Abroad

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department provides to UK holidaymakers who get into difficulty when travelling abroad.

      Nuclear Disarmament

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage nuclear non-proliferation and multilateral disarmament of existing nuclear weapons.

      Piracy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the scale of international at-sea piracy; and what steps the Government is taking to...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Motor Vehicles: Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on measures to bring the level of car insurance premiums in...

  • Attorney General

    • Director of Public Prosecutions

      To ask the Attorney General, if he will make it his policy to enable a Select Committee to hold a confirmation hearings for the post of Director of Public Prosecutions.

  • Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    • Green Investment Bank: Merseyside

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which projects in Merseyside have been funded by the Green Investment Bank in each year of that bank's operation.

    • Industrial Sector Strategy Councils

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on which dates the (a) Ministerial Medical Technology Strategy Group, (b) Aerospace Growth Partnership, (c) Agri-Tech Leadership...

      Green Investment Bank

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the decision to sell the Government's majority stake in the Green...

      Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 3911, what steps his Department is taking to increase apprenticeship starts...

      Apprentices: Coventry

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 3910, what partnerships with business his Department has formed to increase...

      Regional Growth Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2015 to Question 225678, what total amount of funds has been allocated via...

      Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the status is of the Eight Great Technologies; what progress has been made on the commercialisation and development of...

      Manufacturing Industries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many firms received support directly through Reshore UK in (a) March, (b) April and (c) May 2015.

      Agriculture: Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, by what date he plans for the Centre of Agricultural Informatics and Metrics of Sustainability to be operational.

      Technology and Innovation Centres

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, by what date he plans for the Energy Systems Catapult to be operational.

      Postal Services: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what statistics he holds on (a) reliability of delivery and (b) success rate of Royal Mail post for (i) Cambridge and (ii) the UK.

      Bribery Act 2010

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings officials of UKTI have had with business organisations to discuss the Bribery Act 2010 and guidance on that Act...

  • Department for International Development

    • Humza Yousaf

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she next plans to meet the Minister for Europe and International Development in the Scottish Government.

    • Development Aid: Conferences

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what preparations she is making for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa from 13 to 16 July...

      Developing Countries: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure all projects funded by her Department are (a) monitored and (b) directed at people in developing...

      Department for International Development: Public Appointments

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will place in the Library a list of all public appointments made by her Department between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015.

      Department for International Development: Press

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which periodicals and newspapers her Department subscribes to; what quantity of each periodical is so obtained; and what the cost of...

      Nigeria: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has reached a decision on whether to fund an extension of the Nigerian Infrastructure Advisory Facility -...

      Developing Countries: Hygiene and Sanitation

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department spent on projects relating to (a) the provision of clean water, (b) sewage, (c) women's sanitary projects and...

  • Department for Education

    • Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Oral Answer of 15 June 2015, Official Report, column 20, when she plans to respond to the Fifth Report of the Education Select...

    • Pre-school Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in the last five years on a link between brain development and nurturing in early...

      Department for Education: Public Appointments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library a list of all public appointments made by her Department between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015.

      Pre-school Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on maintaining at current levels per capita funding for early years education.

      Schools: Admissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of additional costs to schools arising from pupil intakes in which more than 30 per cent of children have English as a...

      Hearing Impairment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to provide more funding for deaf people to procure the services of interpreters.

      Children in Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of the category of distant placements for looked-after children on the...

      Children in Care: Missing Persons

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of recent changes introduced to improve safeguarding of children who go missing from care on the...

      Special Educational Needs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the (a) performance of local authorities in ensuring that 16 and 17-year-olds with special educational needs and...

      Children: Literacy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to raise literacy standards amongst children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Judges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to repeal section 11(3) of The Supreme Court Act 1981 and introduce a new mechanism for the removal of a...

    • Judges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to remove the power of veto held by the Lord Chief Justice on the Lord Chancellor's power to remove circuit and district judges.

      Courts: Fines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the privatisation of the collection and enforcement of fines, compensation and other charges imposed by the criminal courts.

      Reoffenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce reoffending.

      Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to complete the evaluation of the pilots of section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

      Judges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many judges have been appointed since (a) 1 January and (b) 7 May 2015.

      Acquittals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the complainants in cases in which a person has been acquitted of a crime do not pursue vexatious civil...

      Sentencing: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were remitted by each High Court in North West England to each magistrates court in the North West for sentencing in 2014.

      Ministry of Justice: Press

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, to which periodicals and newspapers his Department subscribes; how many copies of each such periodical his Department acquires; and what the cost of...

      Unpaid Fines: Nottinghamshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the level of outstanding fines was for courts in Nottinghamshire in 2014-15.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Armed Forces: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many visits the armed forces made to (a) state secondary schools, (b) independent schools and (c) colleges in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii)...

    • USA: Military Aircraft

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the establishment by number and by rank is of 17[R] Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

      Future Large Aircraft

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how he plans to apply the recommendations of the Haddan-Cave report of the Nimrod Review to the A400M Future Length Aircraft development programme.

      Foxes: Hunting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 4070, whether any trail hunting by organised fox hunts has taken place on land owned by his...

      Pigs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many pigs have been involved in explosive tests undertaken by his Department in each year since 2010.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Department for Work and Pensions: Management

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who the members of the management board of his Department are; and how many of those members are women.

    • Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what annual saving he expects to accrue to the Exchequer from the transfer of existing disability living allowance claimants to personal...

      Social Security Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on (a) public opinion polling and (b) focus group research in relation to the benefit cap in each of the...

      Housing Benefit: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on restricting housing benefit for young people who are aged between (a) 18 and 21 and in work, (b) 18 and 21 and claiming...

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of Access to Work claiming in excess of £40,800 have motor neurone disease; and what support his Department will...

      Social Security Benefits: Lone Parents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of lone parents with children affected by the benefit cap have a child under (a) one year old, (b) two years old,...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the contract his Department holds with Capita to provide personal independence payment assessments.

      Social Security Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 4707, on social security benefits, if he will make it his policy to collect and publish data...

      Social Security Benefits: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much benefit expenditure was lost to relatives claiming benefit for claimants who had died in the most recent year for which figures are...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he now expects the number of claimants of universal credit to exceed (a) one per cent, (b) two per cent and (c) five per cent of all...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on the trials of support for in-work progression; and if he will make a statement.

      Children: Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will define new targets for child poverty.

      Children: Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what requirements will be placed on Government agencies in the legislation which is proposed to replace the Child Poverty Act 2010.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Apprentices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many apprenticeships there are in the (a) agriculture, (b) horticulture, (c) animal care, (d) food and (e) agri-tech sectors.

    • Antibiotics: Animals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the use of antibiotics in animals was accounted for by mass medication in the last six years.

      Seas and Oceans: E. Coli

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the presence of e-coli in coastal waters.

      Japanese Knotweed: Weed Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to eradicate knotweed.

      Lynx

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with sporting and shooting bodies on proposals to introduce lynx into the UK.

      Birds of Prey

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to protect the song bird and pigeon population by controlling and reducing the numbers of birds of prey.

      Food: Waste

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce legislative proposals to prevent supermarkets from throwing away food after it has passed its...

      Conservation of Seals Act 1970

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been convicted of offences under (a) section 1, (1), (b), section 2, (c) section 3 and (d) section 8 of...

      Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her Answer of 23 June 2015 to Question 3146, how many staff working at her Department for contractors do not...

      Biodiversity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will conduct a review into the biodiversity of the UK; and if she will make a statement.

      Biodiversity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to preserve biodiversity of the UK; and if she will make a statement.

      Bovine Tuberculosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the badger cull at preventing bovine tuberculosis;...

  • Home Office

    • Radicalism

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to speed up the process of removing Muslim extremists living in the UK.

    • Police Custody: Restraint Techniques

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the (a) number of instances where restraint was used against people in police custody, (b) age,...

      Home Office: Directors

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) names and (b) previous occupations are of the non-executive member of the Home Office Board.

      Surveillance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many surveillance warrants she signed (a) between 2010 and 2015 and (b) since 7 May 2015.

      Home Office: Sick Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many days of sick leave employees in her Department took in 2014.

      Home Office: Directors

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) names and (b) salaries are of officials of director general rank in her Department.

      Home Office: Public Appointments

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a list of all public appointments made by her Department between 1 January 2015 and 1 May 2015.

      Offences against Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2015 to Question 326, if she will make it her policy to make available additional resources for responding...

      Police: Ethnic Groups

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of police officers in England and Wales at the rank of superintendent or above are black, Asian or minority ethnic.

      Chlorine Dioxide

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2015 to Question 3371, whether the police have considered the threat of harm to children posed by those...

      Travellers: Caravan Sites

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to (a) increase the awareness of and (b) use notices under section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act...

      Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to increase police visibility.

      Driving under Influence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the police is of a (a) breath, (b) blood and (c) urine test performed on a person suspected of drink driving.

      Police Community Support Officers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of Police Community Support Officers working for police forces in (a) Sheffield, (b) Yorkshire and...

      Police Remuneration Review Body

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the set-up costs of the Police Remuneration Review Body were.

      Police: Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the revised commutation factors for the police pension scheme will be published.

      Domestic Violence: Homicide

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women in each of the last five years were killed by their current or former partner.

      101 Calls

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what average time was taken to answer calls made to the 101 police non-emergency number in (a) the UK and (b) South Yorkshire in (i) 2013...

      Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of banning all psychoactive substances on medical research.

      Police: Cheshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were employed in Cheshire on 31 March 2015.

      Mobile Phones: Telephone Tapping

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what statute and what warranty system the use of IMSI catchers is permitted to intercept communications and communications data.

      Drugs: Smuggling

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the size of the international trade of illegal drugs and narcotics; and what steps the Government is...

      Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she plans to apply to determine which psychoactive substances are not covered by the proposed psychoactive substances ban.

  • HM Treasury

    • Welfare Tax Credits

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to enable disputes relating to tax credits to be dealt with by email correspondence.

    • Vat

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations his Department has received on extending the scope of value added tax.

      National Insurance: Telephone Services

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to increase the number of staff employed to answer telephone national insurance enquiries during peak times in April and October each year.

      Children: Day Care

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what details of the new Tax-Free Childcare scheme his Department has sent to all Ofsted-registered childcare providers.

      Royal Bank of Scotland

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what provision his Department has made in the sales prospectus for RBS for consequential losses arising from the FCA interest rate hedging product...

      Pitcairn Islands: Marine Protected Areas

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.259 of Budget 2015, HC 1093, which Department has been allocated as lead Department for the implementation of a marine reserve...

      Banks: Greece

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his contribution of 29 June 2015, Official Report, column 1221, on Greece, how many UK citizens resident in (a) the UK and (b) Greece hold...

      Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has allocated to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for each year from 2015 to 2018.

      Social Security Benefits

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) tax credits and (b) child benefit claims are paid into Coutts bank accounts.

      Non-domestic Rates

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when all challenges to the 2005 Rating List for England and Wales will be finally resolved.

      Multinational Companies: Taxation

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to make country-by-country tax reporting rules publicly available.

  • Department for Energy and Climate Change

    • Department of Energy and Climate Change: Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which buildings occupied by her Department are owned or part-owned privately; what the total value is of the rent paid to private...

    • Department of Energy and Climate Change: Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the office space owned or leased by her Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail...

      Wind Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many onshore wind turbines there were in (a) Cumbria and (b) the UK in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14

      Energy: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to help (a) households and (b) businesses improve their energy efficiency.

      Wind Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of her plans to end the Renewable Obligation for onshore wind in 2016 on (a) the...

      Wind Power: Subsidies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to her contribution of 22 June 2015, Official Report, column 618, on onshore wind subsidies, when details of the remote...

      Energy: Income

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department has received from the six largest energy companies on the level of their earnings before interest,...

      Microgeneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of UK energy was supplied by microgeneration in each of the last five years.

      Fossil Fuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will initiate an inquiry into the relationship between the price of petrol and the cost of oil.

      Department of Energy and Climate Change: Press

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to which periodicals and newspapers her Department subscribes; how many copies of each such periodical her Department acquires; and...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Employment

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people live in England and work in (a) Scotland and (b) Wales.

    • Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people on zero-hours contracts in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK.

      Schizophrenia: Suicide

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of schizophrenia patients who die by suicide each year.

      Cancer

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) England who have been diagnosed with (i) bladder, (ii)...

  • Department for Culture Media and Sport

    • Tour de France

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support legacy initiatives from the 2014 Tour de France.

    • Video on Demand: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the conclusions of his Department's report, Connectivity, Content and Consumers, published in July 2013, what...

  • House of Commons Commission

    • Parliament: Defibrillators

      To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, where defibrillator units are located on the Parliamentary Estate; and how often they are serviced to ensure...

    • Parliament: Art Works

      To ask the hon. Member for Mole Valley representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2015 to Question 3834, how many items were in the Parliamentary Art...

  • Department of Health

    • Diabetes: Pancreatic Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of a potential link between a diagnosis of diabetes and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

    • Cystic Fibrosis: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group to reach a decision on the availability of the drug Ivacaftor for cystic fibrosis...

      Prescription Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions of individual (a) benzodiazepine drugs and (b) antidepressants were dispensed in the community in 2014.

      Pancreatic Cancer: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of newly-diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients who start treatment within 62 days of diagnosis; and if he will...

      Health Professions: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the likely spend on agency (a) doctors and (b) nurses by (i) North Middlesex University NHS Trust and (ii) Royal Free London...

      General Practitioners: Enfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients in the Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group had to wait longer than 48 hours for a GP appointment in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

      Offences against Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing its response to the independent health working group report on child sexual exploitation published...

      Health Professions: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on agency (a) doctors and (b) nurses by (i) North Middlesex University NHS Trust and (ii) Royal Free London NHS Trust in each of the...

      General Practitioners: Accident and Emergency Departments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of a link between access to GPs and attendances at accident and emergency departments.

      Childbirth: Hormone Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the availability of hormone treatment to prevent premature births on the NHS.

      Musculoskeletal Disorders: Surgery

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) hip, (b) shoulder and (c) knee replacement operations were carried out in each of the last five years.

      Dementia: Carers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to minimise changes in the named carer for dementia patients.

      NHS England: Meetings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the minutes of the meetings of (a) NHS England's Clinical Priorities Group which met on 25 and 26 June 2015 and (b) the Specialised...

      Medical Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England will publish its methodology for ranking treatments to commission for ultra-rare diseases.

      Mental Illness: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2015 to Question 3297, what funds his Department has provided for general adult mental health and psychiatric research...

      Health Services: Impact Assessments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what impact assessment has been undertaken on (a) the NHS Five Year Forward View, (b) the New Models of Care Programme and (c) the Greater Manchester...

      Thromboembolism: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency review into the safety of alteplase; and when...

      Ovarian Cancer: Health Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.

      Psychiatry: Waiting Lists

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for talking therapies.

      Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to increase capacity in general practice and primary care.

      Accident and Emergency Departments: General Practitioners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of ease of access to GPs on attendances at A&E departments.

      Community Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the Government has made on integrating and improving care provided outside of hospitals.

      General Practitioners: New Towns

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding he is providing for GP practices in new towns.

      Mental Health Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to improve support for children and young people with mental health problems.

      Poverty: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the relationship between poverty in childhood and (a) ill-health and (b) use of the NHS in adulthood.

  • Department for Transport

    • Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government which agencies are responsible for monitoring and enforcing regulations on the levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide or ozone concentrations in emissions...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Indonesia

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the government of Indonesia in its efforts to provide greater legislative protection for freedom of religion or belief...

    • Burma

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Myanmar concerning the Population Control Health Care Law and how it can be implemented in a...

      Gaza: Ports

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with European partners concerning the case for mediating an agreement on international supervision of the Port of Gaza; and...

      Gaza

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed the recent UN report on Operation Protective Edge with the government of Israel; and if not, whether they intend to do so.

      Syria

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to prevent states or other agents sending funds and arms to the parties to the conflict in Syria, in particular those who are...

      Turkey: LGBT People

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Turkey about the use of water cannons and tear gas on participants at the gay pride celebrations...

  • Department for International Development

    • Syria: Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the £800 million of aid for Syria has already been (1) allocated to organizations, and (2) spent.

    • Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what rules determine the proportion of the cost of military assets used for humanitarian and other overseas aid operations that can be allocated to the...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the complete cost saving of using Ministry of Defence assets rather than equivalent private sector assets for humanitarian or other overseas aid...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount from the European Union development aid budget was included towards the United Kingdom's 0.7 per cent of gross national product aid budget target...

  • Department for Education

    • Schools: Vocational Guidance

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they propose to address criticisms of careers education in schools from the Confederation of British Industry; and whether they plan to provide support...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Veterans

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on meeting obligations to veterans in accordance with the Military Covenant.

    • Iraq: Armed Conflict

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether driving Daesh out of Iraq would be a final military victory.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Water Companies

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated number of new entrants expected in the deregulated water marketplace.

  • Home Office

    • Radicalism: Social Networking

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to prevent online social media platforms such as Twitter being used by terrorist organisations such as ISIS to spread propaganda...

    • Police: Misconduct

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers the Home Secretary has to remove the pensions of police officers who have been found guilty of serious misconduct.

      Motor Vehicles: Locks and Keys

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to discuss with motor vehicle manufacturers the possible re-introduction of metal keys in order to reduce vehicle theft.

  • HM Treasury

    • Treasury: Correspondence

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent by HM Treasury in the last financial year on (1) postage and printed stationery, (2) fax machines and supplies, and (3) email services.

    • Treasury: Correspondence

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of correspondence sent by HM Treasury in the last financial year was sent by (1) post, (2) fax, and (3) email.

      Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what control totals HM Treasury has set for the Northern Ireland Assembly for 2015–16.

  • Department for Energy and Climate Change

    • Carbon Emissions

      To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of their 2020 carbon emissions reduction target they intend to achieve through energy efficiency measures.

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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