Written answers

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

  • Department for Transport

    • Public Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish an evaluation of the Total Transport pilot schemes.

    • Road Works: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) the roll-out of broadband fibre to (i) households and (ii) other buildings, (b) electric vehicle charging points and (c) major...

      Road Works: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether lane rental scheme charges will apply to street works undertaken by the Highways Agency.

      Northern: Fines

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Northern has been fined for cancellations and partial cancellations since Arriva took over that franchise.

      Northern: Industrial Disputes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings he has had with trades union representatives in respect of the ongoing Northern industrial dispute.

      Northern: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Northern services have been cancelled due to staffing issues in each month since Arriva took over that franchise.

      Department for Transport: Paternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

      Midland Main Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) availability and (b) efficiency of (i) wi-fi and (ii) telephone signals on the Midland main...

      Blue Badge Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a temporary Blue Badge scheme for people with temporary but...

      Motor Vehicles: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of LPG vehicles in reducing levels of air pollution.

      Regional Airports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK's regional airports have the ability to increase their capacity over the next decade.

      Official Cars: Hydrogen

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to introduce more hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to its service fleet.

      Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Garages and Petrol Stations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on the number and proportion of petrol stations which sell LPG fuel.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Energy: Cooperatives

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department makes available for new community energy co-operatives.

    • Self-employed

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress the Government has made on implementation of the recommendations Julie Deane MBE's Self Employment...

      Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Paternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

      Hydrogen

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to introduce an equivalent of the Faraday Challenge for hydrogen.

      Regional Planning and Development: North of England

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for funding through the Northern Powerhouse have been (a) received and (b) successfully awarded...

      Industry: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding (a) has been invested since the 2017 General Election and (b) is planned to be invested through the...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Nigeria: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the requirement for government and public bodies to reflect the federal character of the county under its...

    • Venezuela: Elections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Government of Venezuela on safeguards to ensure that the forthcoming elections...

      Syria: Kurds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Prime Minister has had with the Turkish President on that country's involvement in the humanitarian crisis...

      Sri Lanka: Diplomatic Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2018 to Question 128965 on Sri Lanka: Diplomatic Service, what discussions he has had...

      Panchen Lama

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to seek to obtain date-verifiable material of Tibet's missing Panchen Lama from the Chinese authorities.

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Customs Unions: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many meetings has she had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the customs union since that Department's establishment.

    • New IRA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the content of the contribution made by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the threat posed by...

      New IRA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General of 16 May 2018, Official Report, column 390...

      Northern Ireland Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent estimate she has made of the likely timescale for talks to begin between the main political parties on the restoration of devolved...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Hospitals: Cleaning Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, over what dates the most recent deep clean of each NHS hospital took place; and if he will make a statement.

    • Medical Equipment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the uptake of new diagnostic devices of the lack of mandatory requirement for...

      Ambulance Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of patients who were left waiting in ambulances for at least 30 minutes before being admitted to...

      Nutrition

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it mandatory for health professions to adhere to (a) NICE Clinical Guideline on...

      NHS England: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether Government funding for NHS England is sufficient to enable it to meet the targets it has been set;...

      Breast Cancer: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether private clinics will be used to carry out additional mammograms following the failure to invite women aged 68 to 71 to breast...

      Brain: Tumours

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of new NHS consultant posts dedicated to neuro-oncology.

      World Health Assembly: Taiwan

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

      Orkambi

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made on the negotiations between NHS England and Vertex pharmaceuticals on making the drug Orkambi...

      South Tyneside Hospital: Acute Beds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for a decision to be made on the proposed changes to acute services at South Tyneside District Hospital; and if he...

      Pharmacy Integration Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what projects have been supported by the 2016-18 budget of the Pharmacy Integration Fund.

      Continuing Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on health outcomes of a reduction in the NHS Continuing Healthcare budget.

      Doctors: Convictions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doctors currently working in the NHS have been convicted of (a) manslaughter, (b) clinical medical negligence and (c) culpable...

      Malnutrition: Older People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the contribution of undernutrition to the number of falls by elderly people.

      Endoscopy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many clinical endoscopists have been recruited to date as part of Health Education England’s target to recruit and train an...

      Learning Disability: Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many learning disability nursing students there have been in each year since 2010.

      Hospices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received from the hospice movement on the impact proposed increases in NHS pay; and if he will make a statement.

      Hospices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the proposed NHS pay increases on sustainability of voluntary sector hospices.

      Acupuncture

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of acupuncture on the NHS in each Clinical Commissioning...

      Medical Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the announcement of the treatments selected for the accelerated access pathway.

      Trigeminal Neuralgia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase investment in research into trigeminal neuralgia.

      Trigeminal Neuralgia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness among (a) clinicians and (b) the public of trigeminal neuralgia.

      Genetics: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the viability of extending BRCA testing to all women over 30 on request.

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 May 2018 to Question 141873, what progress has been made on evaluating the potential impact to the sector of...

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2018 to Question 133443, on Social Services: Minimum Wage, what timescale he has for discussions with...

      Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people there are with registered disabilities in each clinical commissioning group area in Kent.

      Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what activities he has taken part in to highlight Mental Health Awareness Week.

      Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are plans to allow males to be offered the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine.

      Hospitals: Domestic Visits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which private hospitals (a) Ministers, (b) Special Advisers and (c) senior officials of his Department have visited in each of the last...

      Health Services: Private Sector

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) senior officials of his Department have had with representatives of private...

      Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the effectiveness of the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey of...

      Breast Cancer: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent changes his Department and Public Health England have made to the system by which women are invited to breast screening; and...

      Doctors: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of delays to the recruitment of overseas doctors for reasons of visa restrictions in (a) Ealing...

      Health Professions: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Health of 9 May 2018, Official Report, column 844, whether the £9.1 million in...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow North West dated 27 April 2018 on Serco Group PLC’s...

      5-AminoLevulinic Acid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release of 14 May 2018 entitled Government announces £40 million for brain cancer research...

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate at any regional level of the total sleep-in back pay liability for providers.

      General Practitioners: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to prevent GPs from charging for signing a patient’s letter.

      Psoriasis: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were being treated for psoriasis as of 1 May 2018.

      Muscular Dystrophy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he last met charities representing the interests of people living with duchenne muscular dystrophy.

      Nutrition: Health Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received on dietary advice on the recommended level of fat in diet.

      Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which clinical commissioning groups fund endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy operations.

      Sugar: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the average amount of sugar consumed by a person in the UK (a) in one week, (b) in one year and...

  • Department for International Development

    • Department for International Development: Kosovo

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff from her Department have been assigned to roles in the (a) British Embassy, Pristina, (b) United Nations Mission in...

    • Montserrat: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help improve healthcare facilities in Montserrat.

      Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid her Department is planning to allocate to (a) Commonwealth and (b) non-Commonwealth countries in each of the next five years.

      Commonwealth: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding that is currently allocated to the EU's development assistance budget her Department plans to re-allocate to...

      Developing Countries: Politics and Government

      What recent support her Department has provided to strengthen democratic processes and governance in developing countries.

      Overseas Aid: Cost Effectiveness

      What steps she is taking to promote value for money in aid spending.

      East Africa: Food Supply

      What recent assessment she has made of the level of food security in east Africa.

      EU Aid

      What plans her Department has to contribute to EU development and humanitarian funds after the UK leaves the EU.

  • Department for Education

    • Academies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total value was of related party transactions made by academies and academy trusts in (a) the year ending 31 August 2016 and (b) each of the...

    • Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to Local Authorities on the procurement of IT systems to deliver 30 free hours of childcare.

      University of Chester Academies Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were applied when deciding which schools within the University of Chester Academies Trust should be rebrokered.

      Social Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations made in the report Crumbling Futures, published by Children’s Society...

      Schools: Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government provides to help children with disabilities get to and from school.

      Teachers: Termination of Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) modern languages and (b) art teachers have left the teaching profession (i) through retirement and (ii) for other reasons in each of the...

      Education: Refugees

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what policies her Department has in place to ensure that refugees do not face (a) language and (b) other barriers to entering the education system.

      University of Chester Academies Trust

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to ensure that University Academy Warrington is effectively managed as a result of reports of its financial problems from...

      Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for 30 hours of free childcare have been processed in Barnsley in each of the last 12 months for which information is available.

      GCE A-level

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the most recent average point score per entry was for students of (a) A-levels and (b) equivalent qualifications in (i) Barnsley East...

      Children: Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Lancashire Director of Children's Services on early intervention, resourcing and identified or...

      Children: Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reports of concern have been submitted to the Lancashire Children's Safeguarding Board on (a) Morecambe Bay Primary School and (b) West End...

      Department for Education: Paternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

      Sixth Form Colleges: Vocational Guidance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for sixth-form colleges to provide careers advice.

      Pupils: Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a diagnosis of cancer automatically requiring an education, health and care plan.

      Children's Centres: Staffordshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, further to the oral evidence of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education on Evidence-based early-years intervention inquiry on 1 May...

      Schools: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the public sector pay cap on the recruitment and retention of staff in schools.

      Pupils: Hyperactivity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2018 to Question 143877, when last his Department reviewed the adequacy of the current approach to pupils with...

      Academies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many directive academy orders have been issued to maintained schools that Ofsted has rated as inadequate pursuant to s4(A1) of the Academies Act...

      Sex and Relationship Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on introducing compulsory Relationships and Sex Education in schools by September 2019.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Courts: Closures

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts have been closed and replaced with remote video technology since 2015.

    • Young Offender Institutions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2018 to Question 141024, on Young Offender Institutions, if he will publish that same information (a) per young...

      Prisons: Computers and Telephones

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2018 to Question 133149, how much funding his Department allocated on the preparation for piloting digital...

      Independent Monitoring Boards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Independent Monitoring Board (a) members and (b) vacancies there have been in each year since 2010.

      Prisoners on Remand: Bail Information Schemes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of remanded prisoners who receive support from bail information services.

      Courts: ICT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the business case for the planned digital courts reform programme redacted as necessary.

      Ministry of Justice: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2018 to Question 139567, on prison officers redundancy pay, what estimate his Department made of the cost to the public...

      Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost was to the public purse of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2012 and were subsequently...

      Employment and Support Allowance: Barnsley

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the success rate for appeals against decisions on employment and support allowance entitlement has been in Barnsley in the most recent 12-month...

      Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time for an employment support allowance appeal hearing was in (a) Barnsley and (b) nationally in (i) each of the last 12...

      Ministry of Justice: Paternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

      Youth Custody: Costs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost to the public purse is for a place in a (a) Young Offenders Institution, (b) Secure Treatment Centre and (c) Secure...

      Courts: Opening Hours

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to allow courts in England and Wales to hear cases (a) in the evening and (b) at weekends.

      Prisoners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in prison are not being held in relation to a criminal case.

      Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2014 and were subsequently re-recruited.

      Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2015 and were subsequently re-recruited.

      Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2016 and were subsequently re-recruited.

      Prison Officers: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value was of severance packages paid to prison officers who took voluntary early departure in 2017 and were subsequently re-recruited.

      Youth Justice Board: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the real terms change was in grant allocation from his Department to the Youth Justice Board between 2010-11 and 2018-19.

      Ministry Of Justice: Contracts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2018 to Question 136385, on Ministry of Justice: Contracts, what types of costs are included under the (a) ad hoc,...

      Reoffenders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons reoffending rates for prison sentences and community sentences are not both counted from the time of sentencing.

  • Treasury

    • Children: Day Care

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money from the public purse was spent on tax-free childcare in 2017-18.

    • Tax Evasion

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on its review into the Panama Papers; and if he will make a statement.

      Business: Loans

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK domestic lending by banks to UK businesses.

      Air Passenger Duty

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to conduct a review of the effect of air passenger duty on tourism in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

      Pensions: Taxation

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the viability of enabling men to contribute to the pension of their spouse on the same basis as the contribution that they...

      Debts: Advisory Services

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) publicise and (b) support debt advice services.

      Credit Unions

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve and promote access to credit unions.

      Welfare Tax Credits

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department overpaid in tax credit claims in the last financial year; and what the estimated cost is of recovering those overpayments.

      Welfare Tax Credits

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of unclaimed entitlement to tax credits in the last financial year.

      Financial Services: Education

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to improve access to financial education.

      Treasury: Paternity Leave

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

      Monetary Policy

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the liquidity introduced into long-term credit markets by Bank of England quantitative easing is disbursed to the...

      Further Education: VAT

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to exempt further education colleges from paying VAT.

      EU Grants and Loans

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2018 to Question 143241, whether Shared Prosperity Fund will be operational on 30 March 2019.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Housing: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of new-build properties purchased by (a) owner-occupiers and...

    • Human Rights: EU Grants and Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on which UK organisations are in receipt of funding from the EU Rights Equality...

      Social Services: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, how...

      Social Services: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement in Budget 2017 of an additional £2 billion of funding for social care, how...

      Local Government Finance: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the amount of money spent by local authorities in the North West on sports...

      Right to Buy Scheme: York

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many homes in York have been sold under the right to buy scheme in each of the last 10 years.

      Buildings: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the full list of buildings identified as having cladding which requires removing...

      High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in...

      High Rise Flats: Plymouth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated from the public purse for recladding tower blocks that failed...

      Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in...

      Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's press release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in...

      Social Rented Housing: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy release, Government announces it will fully fund unsafe cladding removal in...

      Private Rented Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to work with the English Housing Survey to gather information on private room renting...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what transitional protections are in place to ensure that claimants of employment and support allowance retain their severe disability premium...

    • Social Security Benefits: Mental Illness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions have been imposed on (a) jobseekers allowance and (b) universal credit claimants who are experiencing mental health...

      Vacancies: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether data will be collected by her Department from claimants using the Find a Job website.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 March 2018 on Access to Work, HCWS563, how many people will be affected by the increased funding cap.

      Flexible Support Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 135706, on Flexible Support Fund, what estimate he has made of the average funding...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have claimed universal credit in each month of the last three years for which figures are available.

      Employment and Support Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants who have been sent an ESA50 form have not returned that form by the deadline and have subsequently ceased to be eligible...

      Hyperactivity: Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of workplace assessments in Scotland for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in each year since 2015.

      Support for Mortgage Interest: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey constituency his Department has written to on the...

      Support for Mortgage Interest: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) the North West and (b) Wallasey constituency were in receipt of support for mortgage interest in each year since 2010.

      Support for Mortgage Interest: North West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of support for mortgage interest resident in (a) the North West, (b) Merseyside, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an exemption to the 28-day limit for temporarily ceasing...

      State Retirement Pensions: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department plans proactively to advise women affected by changes in the state pension age of the official complaints procedure to the...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Incinerators

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's Pollution Inventory of 2015, what method of monitoring PM10 and PM2.5 emissions...

    • Fire And Rescue Services: Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) powered rescue boats, (b) non-powered rescue boats, (c) wading teams, (d) water incident managers, and (e) high...

      Beaches: Seaweed

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the removal of sea weed from beaches on the eco-diversity of the...

      Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote sustainable procurement throughout government; and if he will make a statement.

      Coeliac Disease: Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to increase the availability of gluten-free food to consumers.

      Association of Dogs and Cats Homes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the proportion of animal rescue centres in England which are members of the...

  • Home Office

    • Chemical Weapons: Salisbury

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken since the chemical contamination incident in Salisbury to ensure that medical counter measures are in place to...

    • Home Office: Databases

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessments he has made of (a) the quality of big data which his Department collects and b) the effectiveness of big data in his...

      Domestic Violence: Homicide

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims detailed in domestic homicide Reviews were classified as (a) migrant to the UK and (b) no recourse to public funds in the...

      Offences against Children: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of the protections against child grooming which have been put in place on Facebook,...

      Asylum

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Refugee Action report, Waiting in the dark, published on 16 May 2018, what steps he plans to take to improve the (a)...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Government Departments: Telephone Services

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Ofcom on access by third party telephone providers to Government helplines which...

    • Suicide

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the suicide rates were in (a) Easington Constituency, (b) County Durham, (c) North East of England and (d) the UK in the last 12 months.

  • Department for International Trade

    • Department for International Trade: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on staff changes for his Department.

    • Department for International Trade: Paternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many male staff of his Department have taken shared parental leave; and what the average length of that leave was.

      Exports: Arms Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will rescind all export licences allowing the export of arms to Israel.

      Turkey: Military Aircraft

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what diplomatic steps the Government has taken to support UK industry in its pursuit of Turkish TF-X fighter aircraft contracts.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Boxing: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans to improve the safety of white collar boxing events; and if he will make a statement.

    • Cricket

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the gross value added to the (a) UK and (b) East Midlands economy of (i) international and (ii)...

      Churches: Repairs and Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what new models of financing the repair and maintenance of church buildings are being considered by the Government as part of...

      Voluntary Work: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of participation in the National Citizen Service; and if he will...

      Tourism: West Midlands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of tourism in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

  • Women and Equalities

    • Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had since her appointment as Minister for Women and Equalities with (a) disabled people and (b) Cabinet colleagues on the...

    • Autism: Equality

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure people who have autism are given equal opportunities in employment.

      Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how much funding her Department has allocated for legal proceedings in relation to the case brought in the Supreme Court on 14 May 2018 by Keidon...

      Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to make a decision on the future of the Access to Elected Office Fund; what assessment she has been made of the potential merits of...

      Civil Partnerships: Heterosexuality

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent representations she has received on extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples.

  • Department for Transport

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what cost estimating methodology was used by HS2 Ltd to calculate the total cost of earthworks for the C2 North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley section of the...

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of HS2 Ltd’s cost estimating model used to calculate the total cost of earthworks required on the HS2 Phase One and Phase Two...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the potential disruption to wildlife caused by the construction of the HS2 Phase One line.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have finalised plans and construction specifications for the earthworks and fencing associated with the construction of the HS2 Phase One line.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government which contractors are going to install and maintain the railway security and boundary fences along the HS2 Phase One line.

      Roads: South West

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the total cost of the scheme to improve the A303 Sparkford to Ilchester and the A358 Southfields to the M5 is allocated to enable Highways...

      Railway Track: Construction

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 22 February (HL5513) and the Freedom of Information request dated 30 November 2017 requesting a copy of the...

      Bus Services: Wheelchairs

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Sugg on 15 May (HL Deb, col 587), how many staff are working on the task and finish group set up to improve acces to...

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Global Navigation Satellite Systems

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they plan to allocate should it be necessary to develop a UK equivalent to the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system after Brexit.

    • Small Businesses: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of emerging forms of business financing for small and medium enterprises by institutions like PayPal and Amazon.

      Business: Regulation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to include within the definition of qualifying regulatory provisions for the business impact target (1) all EU-derived domestic legislation...

      Business: Regulation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to exclude from the qualifying regulatory provisions used for the business impact target any measures other than those set out in section 22(4)...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • British Overseas Territories: Self-determination of States

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any discussions, including informal discussions, have been held with any of the UK Overseas Territories since 2016 about greater self-determination.

    • Syria: White Helmets

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will re-consider their financial support for the White Helmets in Syria following the United States' suspension of its funding.

      Cameroon: Human Rights

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Cameroon about the human rights of the English speaking minorities in that country.

  • Department for International Development

    • Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) ensure progress made by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is sustained after polio funding is withdrawn in countries...

    • Cameroon: Human Rights

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of disturbances in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon on the development of that country.

      Cameroon: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide humanitarian assistance to (1) Cameroonian refugees, (2) internally displaced persons, and (3) other refugees in Cameroon.

      Burma: Internally Displaced People

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to address the humanitarian needs of internally displaced people following the recent military offensive by the Burmese Army...

      Bangladesh: Rohingya

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional humanitarian aid they are providing to (1) Bangladeshi authorities, (2) non-governmental organisations, and (3) Department for International...

      Syria: Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by the Secretary of State for International Development on 30 April (HC Deb, col 62), how they propose to provide support to the local...

  • Department for Education

    • Pupils: Travellers

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what strategies are in place to improve school attainment performance of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma pupils from early years onwards.

    • Schools: Governing Bodies

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what information, if any, they hold on the (1) ethnicity, and (2) religious beliefs, of school governors in England.

      Schools

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what research they have conducted on school twinning programmes and their progress in improving community cohesion and religious understanding.

      Church Schools

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of church schools to community cohesion.

      Church Schools

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to agreeing a new model church supplemental agreement.

      Citizenship: Secondary Education

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many teachers there are in secondary schools in England who are qualified citizenship education teachers.

      Citizenship: Secondary Education

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what practical steps they are taking to ensure that citizenship education in secondary schools is treated on a par with other subjects in the national curriculum.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Hate Crime: Females

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people identifying as trans have been convicted of offences against women in each of the last five years.

  • Department for International Trade

    • Whisky: Exports

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether new tariffs would be payable during the transition period on Scotch whisky exports to all markets where EU trade agreements are currently in force.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Defence: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest public expectation of the percentage of GDP to be devoted to defence spending in 2024 for each member of the NATO Alliance, in pursuit of...

    • Warships: Shipbuilding

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have applied any pressure on builders of Royal Navy surface ships and submarines to reduce planned completion timescales and thereby cut costs.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have saved in housing benefit payments in each year since the introduction of the under occupancy charge as a result of the introduction of the...

    • Employment: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps are they taking to promote a more inclusive work environment for people with disabilities and increase their participation in the workforce.

      Pensions: Females

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to tackle the gender gap in pensions, as highlighted in a recent report from the Centre for Study of Financial Innovation, The Dependency...

      Social Security Benefits: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage increase of people on working age disability benefits they anticipate following the introduction of planned increases to the state pension age from...

      Social Security Benefits: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how the number of women in receipt of working age disability benefits has been affected by the rise in state pension age from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2018.

      Poverty

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the concept of relative poverty.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Animal Products: UK Trade with EU

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to table their proposals around rules of animal origin so negotiations are structured around a UK proposal rather than the EU's standard text.

    • Trees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the main threats to the health of beech trees in England.

      Trees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the main threats to the health of lime trees in England.

      Environment Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new independent body to replace the EU’s environmental enforcement mechanisms will have power to initiate legal action should they fail to meet...

      Birds: Conservation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the turtle dove population from further decline.

      Birds: Conservation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect farmland birds in the development of agricultural policy.

  • Home Office

    • Hate Crime: Females

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many offences against women perpetrated by people identifying as trans have been reported in each of the last five years.

    • Slavery

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of an increased use of technology at the border on safeguarding people from modern slavery.

      Slavery

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of resources available to the Border Force to combat modern slavery.

      Slavery

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, A re-inspection of Border Force's...

      Immigration

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the intended purpose of powers granted to the Home Office under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules to deny indefinite leave to remain applications;...

  • Treasury

    • Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to implement the public sector exit payment cap and regulations as provided for in Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2016.

    • Taxation: Rebates

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to combat tax refund scams.

      Customs

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of implementing each of the customs models set out in the Customs White Paper by the end of the transition period.

      Customs

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to business of implementing the New Customs Partnership model.

      Police: Apprentices

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much police forces have (1) paid into, and (2) received from, the apprenticeship levy since it was introduced.

      Work Experience

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many employers have been contacted by HMRC in the past year regarding their advertisement of unpaid internships; whether they will publish a list of those...

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.

May 2018
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031