Written answers

Tuesday, 6 March 2018

  • Department for Transport

    • Driving Under Influence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will assess the potential merits of reducing the drink drive limit in England and Wales to 50milligrammes of alcohol per...

    • Taxis: Assistance Dogs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that taxi and mini cab drivers do not discriminate against assistance dog owners.

      Crossrail 2 Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce the (a) terms of references for and (b) identity of the Chairman of the independent review of Crossrail 2; and when that...

      Speed Limits: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 17 January 2017 to Question 59048 and pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2018 to Question 122503 on Speed Limits,...

      Cycling: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Highways England designated fund for cycling, safety and integration; and how much of that...

      Manchester-Sheffield Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when construction work is planned to start on Network Rail's Hope Valley Capacity Order.

      Driver Information Systems: Mobile Phones

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What guidance his Department has been issued on drivers using satellite navigational apps on mobile phones whilst driving vehicles.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Wind Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the production of electricity through community wind projects.

    • Carbon Emissions: Local Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) local authorities and (b) communities on the steps that can be taken to...

      Cars

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the contribution to the public purse made by kit car sector in each of the last five years.

      Geothermal Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to offer increased subsidies for the use of geothermal mine water to contribute to the UK’s...

      New Businesses: Telford and Wrekin

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the (a) number and (b) financial value of start-up loans was for small businesses in (i) Telford and Wrekin and...

      Energy: Prices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the change in level of the network cost component of household energy bills in each year...

      Fuel Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the reasons for the change in the level of fuel poverty between 2014...

      Job Creation: Coventry South

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking which support job creation schemes in Coventry South constituency.

      Maplin and Toys R Us: Insolvency

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to support employees of ToysRUs and Maplin.

      Working Hours: EU Law

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is undertaking a review of the Working Time Directive.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • South Africa: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the South African Government on attacks on farmers of European descent.

    • Yemen: Armed Conflict

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts from other UN Security Council member states on the escalation of tensions in...

      Yemen: Baha'i Faith

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Iranian Government on the repression of the Baha'i minority in Yemen.

      UN Mission in South Sudan: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure adequate funding for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

      South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK Government financial support in South Sudan for civil society participants in the...

      South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps is his Department taking to encourage the Government of South Sudan to reduce the cost of a work permit for foreign...

      Nabeel Rajab

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Bahraini authorities on the sentencing of human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.

      Iraq: Religious Freedom

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Government of Iraq on protecting freedom of religious belief for refugees in...

      Kenya: Refugees

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to LGBT Kakuma refugees abroad.

  • Attorney General

    • Fraud

      To ask the Attorney General, whether any Shawcross exercises have been conducted into (a) concluded and (b) extant Serious Fraud Office cases in each of the past six years.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Clinical Commissioning Groups: Contracts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the amount of time spent on managing existing contracts by clinical commissioning group...

    • Coroners: Nottinghamshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department took as a result of the Regulation 28: Report to Prevent Future Deaths notice issued by the Coroner Area of...

      Junior Doctors: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the protections for whistleblowing by junior doctors.

      Joint Committee On Vaccination and Immunisation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what days the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation met in each of the last three years; when the Joint Committee plans to...

      Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the UK remaining part of the European Health Insurance Card after the...

      Pancreatic Cancer: Mortality Rates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the survival rates of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

      Mental Health Services: Veterans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure veterans seeking mental health support are seen within the 18 week NHS target.

      General Medical Council: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) review the funding process for the General Medical Council whereby doctors have to pay a fee to register with the...

      Drugs: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were admitted to hospitals with (a) drug and (b) opioid overdoses in each of the last ten years for which figures are...

      NHS Trusts: Food Poisoning

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many notifiable cases of food poisoning there have been by NHS trust in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

      NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS trusts (a) have set up a subsidiary company or (b) are in the process of setting up a subsidiary company; which such trusts...

      Parkinson's Disease: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide mental health support for people with Parkinson's disease who experience (a) anxiety and (b)...

      Obesity: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Inter-Ministerial Group for Healthy Living plans to assess the correlation between obesity in children and poverty.

      Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 127076, how many stakeholders the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation...

      Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 127076, if he will request that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation...

      Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 127076, whether his Department has made an assessment of the compliance of the...

      Alcoholic Drinks: Dementia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance the NHS provides on the connection between heavy consumption of alcohol and the onset of dementia.

      Measles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to reduce the incidence of measles.

      NHS: Pest Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the better control of vermin and pests on the NHS estate.

      Skin Cancer: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the skin cancer jab to become available through the NHS.

      Haematological Cancer: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide mental health support to people diagnosed with haematological cancer.

      Cancer: Diagnosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Accelerate, Coordination, and Evaluation programme in delivering earlier...

      Haematological Cancer: Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many haematological cancer patients have access to a clinical nurse specialist.

      NHS: Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made in negotiations to revise the NHS England Premises Costs Directions; and if he will make a statement.

      Midwives: Resignations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many midwives left the profession (a) by age and in each year and (b) in total since 2010.

      NHS 111: Ambulance Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the reasons are for the increased number of ambulance dispatches from NHS111.

      Hospitals: Parking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on hospitals charging blue badge holders for parking.

      Department of Health and Social Care: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what external recruitment agencies are used by his Department’s non-departmental public bodies.

      South Tyneside Hospital

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will undertake a review of the decision made by Sunderland and South Tyneside clinical commissioning groups to downgrade South...

      Patients: Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many contracts for delivering non-emergency transport services have been (a) cancelled, (b) handed back to the Clinical Commissioning...

      Oral Tobacco

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the government will publish any evidence it has received over the last three years that supports the continuing ban on the oral...

      Orthopaedics: Diabetes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) diabetes-related limb removal procedures and (b) non-diabetes-related limb removal procedures took place in each of the last...

      Joint Replacements

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that Clinical Commissioning Groups do not impose restrictions on access to hip and knee...

      Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mental health (a) therapists and (b) supervisors worked in the NHS in each year between 2010 and 2017.

      Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 16 of Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper, published by his...

      Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 27 of Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper, published by his...

      Mental Health Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper, published by his Department on 4...

      Electronic Cigarettes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has assessed the effect of vaping on second-hand smoke inhalers; and what steps his Department is considering to...

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the total sleep-in back pay liability for care providers.

      Hospitals: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money NHS hospitals have been fined for not reaching targets in the last five financial years.

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding the Government plans to provide to support care providers in funding the (a) historical capital costs and (b) ongoing...

      Department of Health and Social Care: Carillion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which of his Department's contracts with Carillion since January 2016 were done with Open Book Contract Management.

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2018 to Question 128964 on social services: national minimum wage, what the timescale is for his...

      NHS Trusts: Migrant Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of immigration caps on the ability of NHS Trusts to recruit staff from non-EU countries.

      Mental Illness: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of debt and financial difficulty on recovery rates of people with mental health...

      Mental Illness: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support available to people experiencing mental health difficulties to help...

      Breast Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the timetable for the introduction of Herceptin (trastuzumab) biosimilars for use...

  • Department for International Development

    • Global Partnership for Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reason her Department has allocated to the Global Partnership for Education less than the £381 million over the next...

    • Ethical Trading Initiative

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to encourage businesses to comply with the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code.

      Department for International Development: Business Interests

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which members of her Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for...

      Yemen: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the proportion of UK humanitarian aid to Yemen which has reached its intended beneficiaries in each of...

      Yemen: International Assistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of humanitarian assistance entering Yemen through Hodeidah port in the last three...

      South Sudan: Famine

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to help prevent a famine in South Sudan.

  • Department for Education

    • Universities: Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with the University and College Union as a result of its decision to undertake strike action over changes to...

    • Unemployment: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Department's report, Characteristics of young people who are long-term NEET, published on 8 February, what proportion of young people...

      Apprentices: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds (a) started and (b) completed apprenticeships in 2017.

      Pre-school Education: Greater Manchester

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February to Question 127059, how many and what proportion of the lowest performing 20 per cent of children in each local...

      Schools: Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to re-establish the celebration of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month in schools.

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils were entitled to free school meals in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency and (b) England in each of the last 10 years for...

      Pupil Referral Units

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2018 to Question 125156, on Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), in which local authority areas the (a) 70 PRUs which...

      Overseas Students: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether EU students starting courses in English higher education institutions in 2019-20 and 2020-21 will be eligible for (a) home fee status and (b)...

      Overseas Students: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has undertaken an assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the ability of universities to attract EU...

      Overseas Students: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will take steps to ensure that as part of the transitional arrangement EU students starting courses in English higher education...

      Students: Mental Illness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of people who left their undergraduate degree course for mental health reasons in each of the last five years.

      Department for Education: Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 6 February 2018 to Question 126173, on Department for Education: Telephone Services, what funding his Department has allocated...

      Poverty: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that child poverty does not have a detrimental effect on educational attainment.

      Students: Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on providing a sharia-compliant alternative student finance system.

      Pupil Premium

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of how effectively early years providers are using the early years pupil premium.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Funerals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, Communities and Local Government, how many public health funerals took place in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

    • Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to commence the provisions of the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017.

      Solicitors: Regulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides to people who have received incorrect legal advice from a solicitor who subsequently absconds from the UK jurisdiction.

      Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2018, to Question 126333, on Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, whether her Department...

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Land Drainage: Lancashire County Council

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated by Lancashire County Council gully cleaning; what proportion of that funding was...

    • Green Belt

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government intends to revise its local planning guidance for the Green Belt.

      Pensions: Local Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to harmonise the actuarial methodology which determines the level of employer pension...

      Right to Buy Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s policies on the replacement of homes sold...

      Holiday Accommodation: Non-Domestic Rates

      To ask the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of owners of holiday properties who have registered for the small business...

      Housing: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to the Decent Homes programme in each financial year since 2009-10; and what...

      Refuges: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what joint initiatives his Department has with the Department for Education on supporting a child whose parent enters...

  • Department for Exiting the European Union

    • Large Goods Vehicles: EU Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with the road haulier industry on access to EU member states after 2019.

    • Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what his Department's policy is on maintaining the rights and entitlements of children under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights...

      Department for Exiting the European Union: Official Visits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, on how many occasions he visited (a) Brussels, (b) Luxembourg, (c) Paris, (d) Berlin and (e) Dublin in the last six months.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she is taking to ensure the accuracy of calculations of the contracted-out pension equivalent in state pension forecasts; and if he...

    • Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents there are in the Child Maintenance Service collect and pay process; how many of those parents have arrears greater than (a)...

      Burial: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of child burial charges on parents living in poverty.

      Social Security Benefits: Ellesmere Port and Neston

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints from Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency are awaiting allocation to an investigation case manager at the Independent...

      Personal Injury: Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal injury claims were submitted to the Compensation Recovery Unit in each of the last five years.

      Mortgages: Interest Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest did not receive notice of the impending changes to the benefit scheduled for 5 April 2018.

      Mortgages: Interest Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the latest date was by which recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest were made aware of the changes to the benefit scheduled for 5...

      Universal Credit: Mental Illness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has conducted an evaluation into Work Coaches' tailoring of the Universal Credit Claimant Commitment for people with...

      Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been affected by the under-occupancy penalty in North West Durham constituency.

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service's collect and pay system.

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department takes to ensure that child maintenance payments are paid by non-resident parents; and what steps her Department...

      Department for Work and Pensions: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of her Department’s cloud hosting contracts have been awarded to (a) hyperscale cloud providers and (b) UK...

      Employment Support Allowance: Disqualification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Advice of Decision-Makers Memorandum 02/18, whether a claimant of employment support allowance can be sanctioned if they...

      Universal Credit: Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money her Department has spent on promoting the universal credit helpline since it became a free number; and in what ways her...

      Department for Work and Pensions: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's guidance, Advice for decision-making: staff guide, updated on 15 February 2018, what assessment she has...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Flexible Working

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department worked in (a) departmental accommodation, (b) from home and (c) in...

    • Squirrels: Pest Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of grey squirrels.

      Food: Labelling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) food labelling is accurate and (b) imported food is not labelled as having been...

      River Lea: Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent oil spillage in the River Lea on (a) the health and well-being of...

      Air Pollution: Monitoring

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to make funding available for local authorities to monitor particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10.

      Electronic Training Aids

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 13 February 2018 to Question 126358 and the letter to the Secretary of State from the hon. Member for...

  • Home Office

    • Asylum: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the number of asylum applications made in the UK by people aged under 18 that have been approved in each year since 2010.

    • Home Office: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to Question 125869, on police: taxis, tabled on 31 January 2018.

      Immigration Bail

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's publication, Immigration Bail, version 1.0, published on 12 January 2018, what estimate she has made of...

  • HM Treasury

    • Inheritance Tax

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department estimates will be collected through inheritance tax in each year from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

    • Inheritance Tax

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of lost revenue resulting from changes to inheritance tax thresholds announced in Budget 2015...

      Inheritance Tax

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of how many people and estates will benefit as a result of the changes to inheritance tax thresholds announced in Budget...

      Public Bodies: Northern Ireland

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Northern Ireland Government bodies received refunds of VAT incurred on non-business purchases under the section 99 refund scheme in (a) 2015-16,...

      Local Government: VAT

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many local authority-type bodies received refunds of VAT incurred on non-business purchases under the section 33 refund scheme in (a) 2015-16, (b)...

      Vat

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Central Government, Health Authorities and NHS Trusts received refunds of VAT incurred on contracted-out services in the Section 41(3) refund...

      National Savings Bank: Tax Allowances

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief on the first £70 of National Savings Bank ordinary account interest in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

      Married People: Tax Allowances

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received the married couple’s allowance relief in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

      Taxation: Developing Countries

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax auditors HMRC has provided to Tax Inspectors Without Borders since 2016.

      Taxation: Developing Countries

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding his Department has allocated to HMRC's dedicated tax avoidance and evasion team for developing countries since Autumn Statement 2014.

      Industry: Nationalisation

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of renationalising British industries.

      Regional Planning and Development: Hampshire

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support regional infrastructure development in Hampshire.

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter of 20 November 2017 from the hon. Member for Rhondda on constituent Mr Neil Davies.

      Treasury: Tableware

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2018 to Question 128648 on Treasury: Tableware, which subcontractors supply his Department with its tableware.

      Members: Tax Allowances

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many hon. Members and ministers received income tax relief on expenses in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

      Capital Gains Tax: Tax Allowances

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received relief for trading losses against capital gains in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

      Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when (a) he or (b) HM Revenue and Customs officials last met representatives of the Roadchef Employee Benefits Fund.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Prime Minister: Travel

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much her office has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each month since July 2016.

    • Living Wage: Mothers

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127467 on living wage: mothers, whether any data is held on the earnings of women with dependent...

      Carillion

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2018 to Question 123234, whether the certificates of past performance for the HS2 contracts awarded to Carillion...

      Electronic Government: Hacking

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information the Government holds on the amount of personal data which was stolen from government websites in the recent BrowseAloud hack.

      Robert Hannigan

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has taken to monitor compliance by Robert Hannigan of conditions it gave with regard to his...

      Senior Civil Servants: Business Interests

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will require the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to collate and publish advice collected by Departments which is given to SCS1 and...

      Civil Servants: Business Interests

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether consultants and temporary workers are subject to the business appointment rules regulated by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

      Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to revise the Civil Service Management Code; and if he will take steps to strengthen references in that code to real or perceived...

      Zero Hours Contracts: Colne Valley

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people who live in Colne Valley constituency, are employed on zero-hour contracts.

      Cabinet Office: Business Interests

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which members of his Department's board are responsible for ensuring the proper application of the business appointment rules for former Ministers and...

      Politics and Government: Young People

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to engage young people with democracy.

      Census

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consultation the Government has undertaken on the phrasing of questions in the census.

      Civil Servants: Official Secrets

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been (a) disciplined, (b) subject to criminal charges, and (c) dismissed for offences under the Official Secrets Act 1989...

      One Public Estate Programme

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128318, on the One Public Estate Programme, how many of those submitted applications included...

      One Public Estate Programme

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128315, on One Public Estate Programme, how many such grants have been offered; to whom those...

      One Public Estate Programme

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128318, on One Public Estate Programme, if he will provide that same data by whether those bids...

      Rhabdomyosarcoma

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have Rhabdomyosarcoma.

      Cabinet Office: Internet

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the volume of UK citizens’ data held by companies (a) supplying cloud services to his Department and (b) contracted...

  • Department for International Trade

    • Department for International Trade: Trade Unions

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what percentage of workers employed directly by his Department belonged to a trade union in each year since his Department's formation.

    • Tyres: China

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to European Commission's recent decision to register imports of new and retreaded tyres imported from China, what guidance...

      China: Trade Missions

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value was of trade deals agreed by Scottish-based businesses which took part in the January 2018 trade visit to China by the Prime...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Healthy Living Ministerial Group

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Inter-Ministerial Group for Healthy Living is next due to meet; and whether that group will consider the correlation...

    • Sports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support (a) grassroots football and (b) other sports in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South...

      International Broadcasting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions the Government has had with international broadcasters located in the UK as part of its negotiations on...

      Public Sector: Cybercrime

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Cyber Essentials scheme in reducing cyber fraud in...

      Cybercrime: Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support and spread awareness of cyber security insurance amongst businesses.

      Data Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the contribution of big data to GDP in the current financial year.

      Digital Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to reduce digital exclusion.

      Housing: Broadband

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 125135, on Housing: Broadband, what assessment he has made of the...

  • Department for Transport

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line: Chilterns

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when HS2 phase one construction plans and timetables for the Chilterns will be published.

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they have set aside for HS2 phase one enabling works, design and pre-construction activity; and how much of that funding has already...

      Carillion: Insolvency

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the collapse of Carillion Construction Limited on the timetable and budget for HS2 phase one enabling works, design...

      Carillion: Insolvency

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional costs have been incurred by HS2 phase one contractors working on the C2 North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley section because of the collapse...

      Large Goods Vehicles: EU Countries

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made, or are making, to ensure that the 75,000 UK road freight trucks which currently undertake commercial journeys within the other 27...

      Driving: Licensing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average time taken by customers to fill out the online application for people over 70 to renew their driving licence.

      Driving: Licensing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how the online application system for people over 70 to renew their driving licences was piloted.

      Driving: Licensing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold on the number of failed attempts by people over 70 to renew their driving licences online.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether HS2 phase one contractors delivering design and construction preparation works for (1) Area South, (2) Area Central, and (3) Area North, are (a) within...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the performance of HS2 Ltd and HS2 phase one contractors following the awarding of stage one contracts in July 2017.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what incentives are in place for contractors to introduce innovative proposals to reduce (1) time, and (2) costs, of the stage two construction phase of the HS2...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with contractors regarding new design-ready schemes intended to reduce the construction time and costs of the HS2 phase one...

      Large Goods Vehicles: EU Countries

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which UK lorry drivers will be subject to third country permit restrictions applied by the remaining 27 EU member...

      Transport for London: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from the Mayor of London regarding the cessation of Her Majesty's Government’s operating grant to Transport for...

      Cycleways

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the use of cycle lanes in English cities since 2010; and how this compares to projected usage.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • European External Action Service

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British nationals serve as EU Ambassadors or heads of mission in the European External Action Service; and how many of them are employed (1)...

    • Palestinians: Domestic Violence

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian National Authority regarding the incidence of "honour killings" and domestic violence in the Palestinian...

      Gaza: Television Channels

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian National Authority regarding the reported banning of a new women's television station in Gaza by the...

      Ahed Tamimi

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Middle East on 7 February (HC Deb, col WH604), when they last discussed the detention of Ahed Tamimi with...

      Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure women's participation in, and that the views of the women are adequately heard at, the Commonwealth Heads of Government...

      Qatar: Diplomatic Relations

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to help resolve the Gulf Crisis.

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Yesh Din's December 2017 annual data sheet on law enforcement on Israeli civilians suspected of ideologically motivated crime...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the payment of compensation to Palestinians whose homes were officially demolished in 2017.

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the criteria necessary to achieve a two-state solution with a contiguous, economically viable, and independent Palestinian state.

      Israel: Sanctions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government with regard to human rights and international law violations, under what circumstances they would consider imposing selective trade sanctions on Israel.

      Electronic Warfare

      To ask Her Majesty's Government which state actors they originally identified to have levied cyber-attacks against UK institutions in the past five years; and whether their assessment of the...

      Electronic Warfare

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use to determine whether cyber aggression constitutes an act of war; and in such cases, what plans they have to allow for...

      Russia: Electronic Warfare

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made formal representations to the government of Russia regarding recent accusations by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of cyber-attacks...

  • Department for Exiting the European Union

    • Brexit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have sought legal advice on whether the withdrawal of the UK from the EU automatically leads to the loss by British nationals of EU citizenship and...

    • Brexit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposed European Court of Justice involvement in providing oversight over the withdrawal treaty.

      Brexit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK is on target to meet the March 2019 deadline for withdrawal from the EU.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Stem Cells: EU Law

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Foreign Secretary on 14 February, which provisions in the current regulatory framework of the EU inhibit the development of new stem...

    • World Encephalitis Day

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to celebrate World Encephalitis Day on 22 February.

      Social Services: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term impact of the £150 million in additional funding granted to the Adult Social Care Support Grant, administered...

      2gether NHS Foundation Trust: Parking

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to intervene in the dispute over parking charges for NHS staff at Weavers Croft Mental Health Unit in Stroud.

      Fit for Work Programme

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend the authority of GPs to refer patients on the Fit for Work scheme to other healthcare professionals such as nurses and physiotherapists.

  • Department for International Development

    • Syria: Refugees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the report by various organisations Dangerous Ground: Syria's refugees face an uncertain...

    • St Helena: Aviation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the introduction of a regular air service to St Helena.

  • Department for Education

    • Schools: Assessments

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for pupils who have done most of their schoolwork on a laptop, not for reasons of disability, to be permitted to use a...

  • The Senior Deputy Speaker

    • Legislatures

      To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to the Written Answers by Lord McFall of Alcluith on 8 February (HL5378) and by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 February (HL5379), what was the percentage...

    • Peers' Interests

      To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether he intends to review whether Peers should declare their membership of the Freemasons and other similar organisations with secret ceremonies.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Planning: EU Law

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Foreign Secretary on 14 February, which current EU regulations or directives complicate planning and inhibit...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Poverty

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 12 December 2017 (HL3812), which (1) ministers, (2) departments, (3) agencies, and (4) arm’s length...

    • Poverty

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their preventative approach with regard to addressing the root causes of poverty in the long term.

      Poverty: Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children were living in poverty in working families in each year since 2010.

      Pensions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, The Dependency Trap—are we fit to face the future,...

      State Pension Age Independent Review

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal in the Cridland review, published in March 2017, that couples should be able to combine their pension savings.

  • HM Treasury

    • UK Trade with EU

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments made by Robert Chote, Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, in the New Statesman on 24 January, that...

    • Foreign Companies: Japan

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of (1) the potential impact on the UK economy if Japanese companies decided to relocate away from the UK following the UK’s...

      Metals: VAT

      To ask Her Majesty's Government why reverse charge VAT has been applied to products such as mobile phones and gold, but not to scrap metal.

      Metals: VAT

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps HMRC is taking to tackle carousel or missing trader intra-community fraud in the scrap metal sector.

      Metals: VAT

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with scrap metal trade bodies about reverse charge VAT.

      VAT: Tax Evasion

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much potential revenue they estimate the Government is losing each year through carousel or missing trader intra-community fraud.

      Capital Investment

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether assessments produced by HM Treasury economists concur with the Bank of England’s assessment of the impact of Brexit on capital investment.

      Regional Planning and Development

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to provide any additional help to any regions that experience negative economic impacts due to Brexit.

      British Overseas Territories: Biodiversity

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a decision has been made on whether the £1 million received by the UK Overseas Territories per year from the EU’s Biodiversity and Ecosystem...

      Vat

      To ask Her Majesty's Government why VAT is payable on the provision of British Sign Language interpreters for deaf people and people with hearing loss in full-time employment.

      Credit Unions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what action have they taken to support credit unions in the last two years.

      Social Security Benefits: Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 25 January (HL4633) and 19 February (HL5367), whether they have collected statistics on the number of...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Northern Ireland Government

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what, if any, resources they made available to (1) the Democratic Unionist Party, and (2) Sinn Fein, to support the recent unsuccessful negotiations to...

  • Department for International Trade

    • Trade Agreements

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their plans for parliamentary scrutiny of post-Brexit trade deals.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

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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