Written answers

Wednesday, 6 June 2018

  • Department for Transport

    • Railways: Bristol

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral contribution of 16 May 2018, Official Report, column 303, what plans his Department has to fund the first phase of the Metro West...

    • Northern: Industrial Disputes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent from the public purse to Arriva Rail North to reimburse or ameliorate net losses of the franchisee arising from industrial action.

      Motor Vehicles: Sales

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with major car dealerships on promoting the sale of electric and other ultra-low emission vehicles.

      Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his announcement of 5 April 2018, for what reasons his Department decided not to amend regulations to permit Mobile Batching...

      Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the evidential basis is for the decision that if Mobile Batching Concrete Plants (MCBPs) continue to operate outside standard legal gross vehicle...

      Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his announcement of 5 April 2018, what the evidential basis is for his Department’s decision that fair competition would be...

      Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his letter of 10 March 2017 which stated that VSOs would be valid up to 2032, for what reason his announcement of 5 April 2018...

      Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will confirm that his policy on applicable weight limits for Mobile Concrete Batching Plants (MCBPs) has resulted in a significant change that...

      Bus Services: Community Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that not-for-profit community bus services are not treated as commercial operators under the proposed changes to...

      Railways: Bedford

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains servicing Bedford have been (a) cancelled and (b) delayed since the introduction of the new rail timetable on 20 May 2018; and what...

      East Midlands Trains: Bedford

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to reintroduce peak-time East Midland Trains services to Bedford until the problems with the timetable introduced in May...

      Motor Vehicles: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles registered abroad in the UK; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that those vehicles...

      Road Works: Utilities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the spending by local authorities on (a) potholes and (b) roadway repair due to damage caused by private...

      Telecommunications: Roads

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the maintenance of telecommunications equipment does not damage public highways.

      Railways: Timetables

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the length of time taken was for his Department to assess the adequacy of the proposed changes to the Rail Plan 2020 timetable.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Horizon 2020

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK providing and maintaining the funding allocated by the...

    • Insulation: Preston

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2018 to Question 136214 on Insulation: Preston, whether the remaining properties...

      Coal Fired Power Stations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to phase out the use of coal to generate electricity.

      Iron and Steel: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2018 to Question 132589 on Iron and Steel: USA, whether he has made an assessment of...

      Iron and Steel: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 132621 on steel tariffs, what recent assessment he has made of whether a...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • South Africa: Poaching

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with its counterpart in South Africa on reducing poaching in that country.

    • Cameroon: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Cameroonian counterpart on steps to permit international agency access to Anglophone...

      Sri Lanka: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Sri Lankan Government on freedom of religion and respect for human rights in...

      Eritrea: Labour Camps

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the existence of labour camps in Eritrea; and whether he has made representations on such camps...

      Eritrea: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Eritrean counterpart on access to Eritrea for the UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring...

      Eritrea: National Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Eritrean counterpart on the laws governing national service in Eritrea.

      Eritrea: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will work with his international counterparts to establish an urgent UN investigation into allegations of extrajudicial...

      Eritrea: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Eritrea on its obligations under (a) the UN Convention against...

      Eritrea: Ethiopia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to help resolve the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea over Badme.

      Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Chief Scientific Advisers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

      Windrush Generation: Diplomatic Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department will provide consular and legal assistance to (a) members of the Windrush generation and their children...

      Iran: BBC Persian Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the criminal charges issued by the Iranian authorities against BBC Persian staff;...

      Iran: BBC Persian Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will personally raise the matter of criminal charges against BBC Persian staff during his next meeting with his Iranian...

      Nigeria: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department’s policies of the findings of the Amnesty...

      Cameroon: Refugees

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Cameroonian counterpart on reports of forced repatriation of Nigerian refugees...

      United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

      To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of UK ODA spending has been spent on UN peacekeeping in each of the last eight years.

      Israel: Arms Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether any arms licensed for export from the UK to Israel over the last three years have been...

      Turkey: Press Freedom

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support and protect media workers in Turkey.

      Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has to respond to the reported surge in the repression of human rights defenders worldwide; and...

      Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to maintain the level of funding that is given to the EU to support human rights defenders after the UK...

      British Overseas Territories: Companies

      To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress he has made on ensuring that Overseas Territories establish public registers for company beneficial ownership.

      Cameroon: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and human rights situation in Cameroon; and if he will make a statement.

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department holds information on the number of (a) Palestinian (i) civilians and (ii) militants and (b) Israeli (i)...

  • Attorney General

    • Attorney General: Procurement

      To ask the Attorney General, how many contractors have been employed by his Department for (a) up to one year, (b) between one and five years, (c) between five and 10 years and (d) over 10 years.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Surgical Mesh Implants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a retrospective audit of ventral mesh rectopexy to take account of...

    • Surgical Mesh Implants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether specific Hospital Episode Statistics codes are planned to be assigned to ventral mesh rectopexy procedures to allow clear...

      Surgical Mesh Implants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether specific Hospital Episode Statistics removal codes are planned to be assigned to ventral mesh rectopexy as they are at present...

      Surgical Mesh Implants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what procedures are in place to ensure that the correct Hospital Episode Statistics codes are being used so that accurate information is...

      Social Services: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Spring Budget 2017, what proportion of the additional funding for social care has been or will be spent on social care...

      Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of whether there was a gap between what local authorities paid care providers for social care and...

      Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Prime Minister’s answer to Question 76 in her oral evidence to the Liaison Committee, on 27 March 2018,...

      Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring the labelling of alcoholic drinks to include information on calorie...

      Spinal Injuries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 136434, for what reasons the answer to that question did not reference whether an...

      Sexual Assault Referral Centres: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many sexual assault referral centres offer therapeutic services for (a) adults and (b) children under 18.

      NHS: Sexual Offences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many claims of sexual abuse within the NHS were made to the NHS Litigation Authority in each year since 2014.

      Public Health England: Marketing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the marketing budget for Public Health England is being spent on (a) alcohol, (b) tobacco, (c) obesity and physical...

      Department of Health and Social Care: Chief Medical Officer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have met the Chief Medical Officer in each of the last three years.

      Social Services: Minimum Wage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department has provided to (a) local authorities and (b) other providers to help them retrospectively fund sleep-in...

      NHS: Subsidiary Companies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what measures are in place to provide long-term protection of (a) pay and (b) pensions of NHS staff transferring to wholly owned...

      Diabetes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 May 2018 to Question 139363 on Diabetes, what steps his Department is taking to support NHS England in...

      Nurses: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of NHS bursaries on the number of applications for nursing degrees.

      Restraint Techniques: Children and Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 125862 on Restraint Techniques: Children and Young People, what the timetable is...

      Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the recommendations contained in the report Seven tests for the...

      Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Cancer Strategy for England; and whether his...

      Healthy Start Scheme: Gloucestershire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people in each district of Gloucestershire are eligible to receive Healthy Start vouchers; and what...

      Visual Impairment: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of children who have been diagnosed with shortsightedness as a result of spending too...

      Health Services: Foreign Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS recharged to (a) other EU countries and (b) non-EU countries for treatment in 2017.

      Radiotherapy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to allocate funding to more efficient forms of radiotherapy technology; and if he will make a statement.

      Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy not to implement any changes to immunisation programmes which the Joint Committee on Vaccination and...

      Pneumonia: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will request that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation carry out a full review of the pneumococcal immunisation...

      Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to undertake a full public consultation before implementing a change to an immunisation programme which the...

      Pneumonia: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Joint Committee on Vaccination advised in paragraph 33 of the minutes of its February 2018 meeting that the benefits...

      Hepatitis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2018 to Question 134204, if he will place copies of the most recent surveillance data on (a) Hepatitis...

  • Department for International Development

    • Ukraine: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish information on the recent programme with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence Reforms Project Office to develop a...

    • Yemen: Ports

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure humanitarian and commercial access to all sea and air ports in Yemen.

      South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of changing conflict dynamics in South Sudan on the ability to deliver aid in that...

      South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to improve humanitarian access to South Sudan.

  • Department for Education

    • Schools: Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department allocated to schools in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, (b) Bexley Borough, (c) London and (d) England in...

    • Schools: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities to encourage them to mirror the protections in the national funding formula by setting...

      Music: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120514 on music education, if he will hold a public consultation on whether to change or extend...

      Teachers: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for his Department to receive the 2018 report of the School Teachers’ Review Body.

      Adoption Support Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have made a claim to the Adoption Support Fund; and what the average award has been for a successful claim in each of the last three years.

      Students: Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on introduction of sharia-compliant student loans.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to abolish employment tribunal fees.

    • Courts: ICT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2018 to Question 144357, what research his Department had undertaken or commissioned as of 1 May 2018 on the views of...

      HM Courts and Tribunals Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the criteria are by which HM Courts and Tribunals Service permitted or refused tickets to attend the reform roadshow for legal professionals held...

      Oakhill Secure Training Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of its contractual obligations in relation to Oakhill Secure Training Centre G4S has met in each year since 2010.

      Oakhill Secure Training Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions assaults requiring hospital treatment have occurred at Oakhill Secure Training Centre in each year since 2010.

  • Treasury

    • Aviation: Training

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparisons he has made of the taxation of flight training in the UK with such taxation in other countries; and if he will make a statement.

    • Treasury: Government Chief Scientific Adviser

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he had with the Government Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

      Coinage

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to commission a commemorative 50p coin to mark the UK leaving the EU on 29 March 2019.

      Aviation: Training

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Strategic Review of General Aviation, published by the Civil Aviation Authority in July 2006, whether his Department has conducted a...

      Charitable Donations: Tax Allowances

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse has been of (a) Gift Aid and (b) tax relief on charity donations declared on tax returns in each of the last five years...

      Defence Fire and Rescue Service: VAT

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether contracted-out services VAT refunds are planned to be extended to the successful bidder of the Defence Fire and Rescue project.

      Defence Fire and Rescue Service: VAT

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of extending contracted-out services VAT refunds to the successful bidder of the Defence...

      Ministry of Defence: VAT

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many private sector providers at the Ministry of Defence receive contracted-out services VAT refunds.

      Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

      To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the provision of free to use ATMs in parliamentary constituencies.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

    • Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government provides guidance on the length of time for which local authorities can backdate claims for...

      Affordable Housing: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much in grant funding will be allocated to the building of affordable housing between 2016 and 2021.

      Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 39 of the Land Compensation Act 1973, what information his Department holds on the number...

      Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 39 of the Land Compensation Act 1973, whether his Department provides funding to support...

      Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Spring Budget 2017, how much of the additional funding for social care (a) was spent in 2017-18 and...

      Social Rented Housing: Tenants' Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to establish consistency and clarity on the succession rights of remaining social housing...

      European Regional Development Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK providing and maintaining funding allocated by the...

      Planning Permission: Environmental Impact Assessment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what environmental impact assessment he has carried out in relation to the proposed revisions to the National Planning...

      Nature Conservation: Planning Permission

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what meeting he has held with organisations on the proposed changes to the planning rules relating to Sites of...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • War Widows: Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to review its policy on compensation for war widows who have already surrendered a pension on remarriage or cohabitation;...

    • Armed Forces: Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) regular and (b) reserve armed forces personnel have made an expenses claim on the Joint Personnel Administration...

      Nigeria: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy of providing military assistance to the Nigerian armed forces of the Amnesty...

      Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134413 on Army: Recruitment, when he plans to provide a substantive answer to that Question.

      Defence: Radar

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what weighting will be given to national security objective 3 on UK prosperity in the procurement of the replacement long-range air defence deployable radar.

      Guided Weapons

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current value is of the UK stake in the Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile programme.

      Ministry of Defence: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2017 to Questions 116517, 116519, 116520, 116523 on Army: Training, when he plans to publish a substantive answer...

      Gibraltar: Territorial Waters

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to preserve the integrity of UK sovereign waters around Gibraltar.

      Ascension Island: Aviation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate access to and from Ascension Island for (a) civilians and (b) military personnel during the Ascension Island...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Employment and Support Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant the Answer of 16 May 2018 to Question 142517, whether the change in wording to the ESA65B letter to claimants’ doctors was...

    • Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disability living allowance claimants who have been asked to attend a re-assessment for personal independence payments have...

      Offshore Industry: Divers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the basic training qualifications for industrial divers in the offshore oil and...

      Personal Independence Payment: Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that young cancer patients who are claiming personal independence payments can access financial support...

      Personal Independence Payment: Cancer

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was from application to a decision being made for young people with cancer who applied for personal independence...

      Employment Schemes: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of ending the protected places scheme on (a) organisations that receive funding from and (b)...

      State Retirement Pensions: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2018 to Question 146091 on State Retirement Pensions: Females, what the duties of the additional 13 staff...

      State Retirement Pensions: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to allocate additional resources to the Pensions Ombudsman as a result of the level of caseload from WASPI complainants.

      Children: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to (a) the families of children who are severely disabled and (b) other families in similar circumstances...

      Carer's Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2018 to Question 141782 on Carers, how many carer’s received Carer’s Allowance in (a) Derby, (b)...

      Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has estimated the cost of (a) audio and (b) video recording assessments for personal independence payment and employment support...

      Motability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people that were eligible for a Motability vehicle under disability living allowance have been classified as not eligible under...

      Personal Independence Payment: Orthopaedics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for personal independence payment from people with lower limb amputations were subject to a mandatory reconsideration.

      Motability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether geography is a criterion for eligibility for a Motability vehicle under personal independence payments.

      Personal Independence Payment: Autism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who previously received disability living allowance have been successful in their...

      Personal Independence Payment: Autism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps have been taken to ensure that staff conducting the medical assessments of personal independence payment applicants understand the...

      State Retirement Pensions: Terminal Illnesses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling people with life-limiting conditions to draw their state pension early.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Livestock: Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many enforcement checks were carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (a) during the loading of live animals...

    • Furs: Imports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will take steps to reduce the level of fur imported from overseas.

      Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Procurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

      Agriculture: Subsidies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to introduce grants to support small-scale local food producers.

      European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK providing and maintaining funding allocated by the European...

      Agriculture: Subsidies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will add public health to the list of public goods that will receive support as part of the UK’s agricultural...

      Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cattle tested positive for bovine tuberculosis in 2017.

      Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Bovine TB Strategy Review committee chaired by Sir Charles Godfray will include a review of badger culling; and...

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to undertake a consultation exercise on changes to the Local Air Quality Management framework.

      Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Length of Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in his Department have worked there for (a) up to and including one year, (b) over one...

  • Home Office

    • Home Office: Chief Scientific Advisers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings his predecessor had with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

    • Deportation: Togo

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been deported to Togo in each of the last five years.

      Home Office: ICT

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of the new IT system ATLAS on the time taken for asylum seekers to access...

      Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 24 May 2018 to Question 146070 on immigration: EU nationals, how his Department will define what a standard...

      Universal Credit: Payments

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on split payments of universal credit.

      Windrush Generation: Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how he plans to determine the level of compensation payable to Windrush migrants.

      Immigration: Biometrics

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many biometric residence permits were issued in each of the last three years.

      Deportation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) deportation and (b) removal flights were chartered by his Department to (i) Jamaica, (ii) India, (iii) Pakistan, (iv)...

      Visas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 (General) Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship applications were made in each month since March 2018, how many Tier 2...

  • Scotland Office

    • Royal Bank of Scotland: Closures

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent representations he has made to representatives of RBS on ensuring the maintenance of free access to money for people in communities...

    • Industry: Scotland

      What steps the Government is taking to ensure that Scotland benefits from the modern industrial strategy.

      Industry: Scotland

      What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Scottish Government Ministers on the economic effect of the industrial strategy on Scotland.

  • Church Commissioners

    • Jeremy Pemberton

      To ask the Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, how much the Church of England spent on the employment tribunal involving Jeremy Pemberton; and if she will make a...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Cabinet Office: Apprentices

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprentices his Department directly employs; and how many of this apprentices have been placed within each group in his Department.

    • Public Sector: Recruitment

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2018 to Question 138406, what steps he has taken to encourage the public sector beyond the civil service to adopt the...

      Devolution: Wales

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Devolution Guidance Note: Parliamentary and Assembly Primary Legislation Affecting Wales, for what reason only the devolution...

      Infrastructure: Environment Protection

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the risk posed by climate change to highly interconnected nationally significant infrastructure.

      Civil Service: Scotland

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on working practices of the civil service in Scotland.

      Government Departments: Databases

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, under what circumstances citizens’ data held by companies (a) supplying cloud services to the Government and (b) contracted to deliver cloud...

      Cabinet Office: Government Chief Scientific Adviser

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings he had with the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

      Government Departments: Reviews

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of independent or Government-led reviews which are under consultation or awaiting a government...

  • Department for International Trade

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Youth Services: Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) open access youth work for 13 to 19 year olds, (b) wages for...

    • Voluntary Work

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to the recommendations of the January 2018 Independent review of Full-Time Social Action.

      Martial Arts: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether steps have been taken to improve the child protection regime in martial arts; and if he will make a statement.

  • House of Commons Commission

    • Parliamentary Tours

      To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, with reference to the ongoing discussions in the Administration Committee on the future...

    • House of Commons: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the Commission has made of cost to the public purse of redundancy payments...

      Members

      To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many and what proportion of room bookings made by hon. Members were cancelled with...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Emergency Services: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Government holds information on the number of times the (a) Police Service of Northern Ireland, (b) Northern Ireland Fire and...

  • Department for Transport

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 8 May, whether the budget for compensation and costs for land or businesses purchased, relocated or...

    • High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the undertakings and assurances provided by HS2 to petitioners during the passage of the HS2 Bill for Phase 1 allow all...

      High Speed Two

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any members of HS2 staff have been dismissed for making public interest or protected disclosures about discrepancies in the project’s stated budget.

      Railways: Sheffield

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of recent changes to train timetables on the total journey time of trains from Sheffield to London.

      Aviation: Facilities

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many new aerodromes have been built in the last ten years for which data is available.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Bahrain: Technical Assistance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they provided in technical assistance funding to Bahrain in the financial year 2017–18; and how much funding they intend to allocate to Bahrain for...

    • Israel: Borders

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by the Minister of State for the Middle East on 15 May (HC Deb, col 138) confirming the Government’s support for Israel’s right...

      Denmark: Islam

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Denmark regarding integration minister Inger Stojberg's statement on Muslims fasting during the month of...

      Armed Forces: Detainees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish revised Consolidated Guidance to Intelligence Officers and Service Personnel on the Detention and Interviewing of Detainees...

      Saudi Arabia: Females

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia following the arrests of women's rights activists in connection with the decision to allow...

      Sayed Alwadaei

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 May (HL7774), whether the investigations by the oversight bodies in Bahrain into the torture...

      Bahrain: Nationality

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of citizenship revocations in Bahrain; and what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain about them.

      Bahrain: Torture

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 April (HL6557), on what basis they consider the Bahraini Special Investigation Unit’s...

      Bahrain: Technical Assistance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the allocated budget for Bahrain from the Integrated Activity Fund in 2016-17.

      Gaza: Israel

      To ask Her Majesty's Government for what reasons they abstained from voting on the resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council held on 18 May, calling for an independent investigation...

      Gaza: Israel

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution of 18 May that the use of force by Israel in Gaza was disproportionate...

      Turkey: Security

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with the government of Turkey ways in which its legitimate interests in border security can be satisfied from within its own frontiers.

  • Department for Education

    • Apprentices: Small Businesses

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage small and medium sized enterprises to offer more apprenticeships.

    • Apprentices: Taxation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of total apprenticeship levy funds paid from April 2017 have been drawn down so far by employers.

      Apprentices: Taxation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to meet with the British Chambers of Commerce to discuss its concerns about the apprenticeship levy, in particular the need for it to be made...

  • Department for International Trade

    • Trade Promotion: Democratic Republic of Congo

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to appoint a trade envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what role such an envoy would play in ethically reliable extraction...

    • Customs Unions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of any backstop period, when the UK remained part of the Customs Union after leaving the EU, on the UK’s ability...

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Affordable Housing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of councils to set housing policies that provide stakeholders with clarity over what affordable housing level should...

    • Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of public awareness of current carbon monoxide alarms only identifying acute episodes not chronic exposure.

      High Rise Flats: Insulation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to financially assist public sector housing bodies to pay for re-cladding as a result of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, what...

  • Home Office

    • Security: Turkey

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Secretary, or any other minister, has signed a declaration of intention with the government of Turkey concerning security cooperation; and whether...

    • Female Genital Mutilation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the intentions set out in their 2015 Counter Extremism Strategy, they intend to refuse entry visas to foreign preachers or teachers who are...

      Asylum

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers were removed from the UK while their applications were still being processed in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  • Department for Exiting the European Union

    • Customs Unions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what would any backstop period, when the UK remained part of the Customs Union after leaving the EU, entail; and how would it differ from any transition period.

  • Treasury

    • Vat

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 May (HL7676), which crown bodies using the single series of VAT registration numbers are in the private sector.

    • Financial Markets: Corruption

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of the UK’s financial markets for corrupt transactions by overseas investors; and what steps they are taking to...

      Lloyds Banking Group

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Sally Masterton on alleged fraud and misrepresentation at Lloyds Banking Group; and what steps they intend to...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • 5G

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to provide sufficient back-up power generation for the 5G mobile system to ensure that the emergency communication system can...

    • Charities: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what obligations charities have to disclose weak financial stability to donors.

      Gaming Machines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed changes to maximum stakes for gaming machines on employment in and the economy of market towns.

      Gambling: Internet

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to bring forward detailed proposals for the regulation of online gambling.

      Google

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to Google about that company's autocomplete and related search features revealing the names of victims involved in sexual...

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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