Written answers

Monday, 15 July 2019

  • Department for Transport

    • Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse is for electric vehicle charging infrastructure through grants from the Office of Low Emissions Vehicles' in, (a)...

    • Railways: Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it is his policy that the rail (a) network and (b) supply chain will be net carbon neutral by 2050.

      Cycling and Walking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government remains on track to achieve its walking and cycling targets.

      Large Goods Vehicles: EU Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of commercial vehicle operators that will require European Conference of Ministers of Transport permits to...

      Driving: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people applied for an international driving licence in each month in each of the last five years.

      Driving: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of UK driving licence holders have an international driving licence.

      Driving Tests

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test centres have closed in each constituency in each of the last five years.

      Cycling and Walking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to include (a) horse-riding and (b) horse-drawn carriages in his Department's support for the development of active travel and local...

      Cycling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of regular cyclists in (a) Stroud constituency, (b) Gloucestershire, and (c) England.

      Road Traffic Offences: Foreign Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many motoring offences were committed in the UK by foreign nationals based overseas that did not lead to a conviction in each of the last three years.

      Railways: Electrification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of rail passenger journeys take place (a) wholly and (b) for at least 50 per cent of the journey by distance on electrified sections...

      Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many publicly available charge-points for electric vehicles there were in (a) Luton, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) the East of England in each year...

      Driving Offences: British Nationals Abroad

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department plans to provide to UK nationals accused of (a) driving offences and (b) exceeding the...

      Transport: Exhaust Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the total emissions from the transport sector of (a) PM2.5, (b) PM1 and (c) PM0.1 in the last three years for...

      Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of funding is available to support his Department's Clean Maritime Plan.

      Merchant Navy Day: Flags

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government will recognise Merchant Navy Day as an official UK flag-flying day.

      Bus Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise more people to use bus services.

      London Underground

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which areas of land around (a) High Barnet, (b) Cockfosters and (c) Finchley Central underground stations are classed as operational land by Transport...

      Railways: Surveys

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department will update the National Rail Travel Overview Survey Report.

      Severn Tunnel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingencies are in place for a complete structural failure of the Severn Tunnel.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Whirlpool Corporation: Tumble Dryers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason he decided to issue a recall notice to Whirlpool in relation to that company's tumble driers; and if he...

    • Supermarkets: Conditions of Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the he has made of the merits of the application of Oxfam’s supermarket scorecard on human...

      Business: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in April 2018 in Belfast, what progress he has made in...

      Maternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has held discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on extending the period of statutory maternity leave.

      Employment: Bullying

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban bullying in the workplace.

      Waste Heat Recovery

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 266065, what assessment he has made of the implications for his...

      Waste Heat Recovery

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason passive flue gas heat recovery systems technology is listed by the Building Research Establishment as...

      Carbon Emissions: EU Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which EU Member States have adopted targets for zero net emissions by (a) 2050, (b) 2040, (c) another date and (d) a...

      Artificial Intelligence: Skilled Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to support industry-led initiatives to close the artificial intelligence skills gap.

      Service Industries: Sexual Harassment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of the use of non-disclosure agreements for incidences of...

      Wind Power: Bats

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an annual estimate of the number of bats (a) killed and (b) injured by onshore wind turbines; and if he...

      Research: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what account he has taken of his Department's report entitled What is the relationship between public and private...

      Optoelectronics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been allocated to the optoelectronics industry in the UK in each year for which figures are available.

      Optoelectronics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the size of the optoelectronics industry in the UK.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Rockall: Fisheries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on international fishing fleets' access to waters around Rockall.

    • Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Interserve

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Interserve on (a) changes to its cleaners' working hours and (b) the effect of those changes...

      Persecution of Christians across the Globe Independent Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the evidential basis was for the downgrading of the impact of persecution of Christians in the Middle East between the the...

      Iran: Baha'i Faith

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on reports of the closure of a Baha’i-run elder care centre in Karaj, Iran.

      State Visits: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much was spent from the public purse on (a) security, (b) accommodation and (c) transport for family members of President...

      USA: Detention Centres

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the US Administration on the treatment of (a) child and (b) other...

      India: Islam

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to recent reported acts of religious violence against Indian Muslims, what assessment he has made of the level...

      Diplomatic Service: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the process for (a) distributing and (b) grading of diplomatic telegrams of a...

  • Department for Exiting the European Union

    • Overseas Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what cross-party discussions have taken place on preparations for the UK leaving the EU on WTO terms.

    • Brexit: Parliamentary Scrutiny

      To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) Statutory Instruments and (b) Bills on leaving the EU that (i) have not yet be...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • HIV Infection: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of alternative public funding options for the provision of PrEP.

    • Magnetic Resonance Imagers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2019 to Question 270294, how many MRI machines there are in the NHS.

      Radiology: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July to Question 270295, how many radiologists (a) work for the NHS and (b) will be recruited in the next...

      Preventive Medicine

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is his timeframe is for the publication of the Prevention Green Paper.

      Obesity: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Childhood Obesity Plan: a plan for action, chapter 2, published on 25 June 2018, what progress he has made on...

      Prisons: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in custodial institutions that hold children.

      Accelerated Access Collaborative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list (a) the criteria and (b) the timelines for products to be considered in (i) the current and (ii) future review rounds of...

      Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Accelerated Access Collaborative has to prioritise products which help to control hospital-acquired infections.

      Accelerated Access Collaborative

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria the Accelerated Access Collaborative uses in relation to decision-making on (a) medicines, (b) diagnostic tools and (c)...

      Mental Health Services: Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that retired police personnel with mental illnesses receive adequate treatment.

      Learning Disability: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the recruitment of specialist learning disabilities nurses and support workers.

      Learning Disability: Community Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the social care system to allow people with learning disabilities to...

      Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a timeline for the implementation of the piloting of 4-week waiting time targets for adults with eating disorders.

      Mental Health Services: Mothers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve identification of maternal mental health problems and (b) increase funding maternal postnatal checks.

      Palliative Care: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that parents are responsible for the end-of-life decisions for their child.

      Influenza: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of (a) preparedness and (b) stocks of medicine for the administration of the winter flu jab in...

      Cancer: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions (a) Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships and (b) Integrated Care Systems have had with Cancer Alliances to...

      Heart Diseases: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Implementation Framework of the NHS Long Term Plan facilitates delivery of (a)...

      NHS: WiFi

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS wifi is rolled out to every (a) general practitioner practice and (b) community, mental health...

      Abortion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of women who have had abortions mandated by (a) a medical practitioner and (b) the courts...

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the administrative cost to the NHS Business Services Authority Loss Recovery Service of checking...

      Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policies his Department has implemented to tackle alcohol harm caused by social inequalities since 2010.

      Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 267305 on Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services, what the timetable will be for the...

      Dietary Supplements and Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on supplies of (a) synthetic protein supplements and...

      Phenylketonuria: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the extent of regional disparities in support for people with Phenylketonuria.

      Smoking: Pregnancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the projected change in smoking rates among pregnant women is over the next two years.

      Special Educational Needs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what outcomes NHS England plans to achieve for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities during the...

      Prisons: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the mental health of prisoners.

      Prisoners: Mental Illness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the prison population with mental health problems.

      Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when details of the funding arrangements for the planned pilots of four week waiting time standards to access adult community eating...

      Measles: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of measles cases in England.

      Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on vaccine research to tackle...

      NHS: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of staffing levels in the NHS.

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's announcement that NHS health information will be made available through Amazon’s Alexa, who...

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement that NHS health information will be available through Amazon’s Alexa, what assessment his...

      Parkinson's Disease: Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of Parkinson's disease nurse specialists employed by the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

      Cancer: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to employ more staff working on cancer (a) prevention, (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment in the NHS after 2021; and...

      NHS: Computer Software

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of computers in the NHS that use the Windows XP operating system.

      Healthy Start Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to start the consultation on Healthy Start vouchers.

      Dental Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of the Smile4life Starting well pilot project in the 2017-18 financial year.

      Dental Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children aged five to nine have had to go to hospital for an emergency dental extraction in each of the last three years; and...

      Dementia: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it is policy to introduce a dedicated dementia fund as recommended by the Alzheimer's Society.

      Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Nusinersen

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 369611 on Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), what the evidential basis is that Spinraza...

  • Department for International Development

    • Sustainable Development: Cooperatives

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps are being taken to increase the number of worker co-operatives worldwide in order to promote sustainable development.

    • South America: Indigenous Peoples

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to support indigenous groups in the Amazon region whose ecosystems are potentially threatened by...

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the potential risk of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo spreading to...

      Developing Countries: Renewable Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to clean energy projects in developing countries.

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Mining

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support the Congolese authorities to ensure that mines in that country are (a) well regulated,...

      UN Convention on the Status of Refugees

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions his Department has had in the last three years with his counterparts in the Governments of other nations party to the...

      Sub-Saharan Africa: Water

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Millennium Development Goal targets on access to clean water by 2020 will be met in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Department for Education

    • Universities: Admissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making additional indicators of pupils’ disadvantage and under-representation in higher...

    • Disabled Students' Allowances

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to merge the allowances for non-medical, equipment and general support for disabled students’ allowance to permit more...

      Swimming: Primary Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils in year six met each of the three swimming and water safety national curriculum requirements in each of the last five years.

      Schools

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for each local authority (a) how many pupils studied in state schools in that local authority who lived in another local authority, (b) how many...

      Wakefield City Academies Trust: Deloitte and Touche

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 272217 on Wakefield City Academies Trust: Deloitte and Touche, how much the Education and Skills...

      Apprentices: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have registered on the Level two bricklayer apprenticeship standard in the last 12 months.

      Academies: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence his Department holds on the effectiveness of Multi Academy Trusts in improving educational outcomes for pupils.

      Academies: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to incentivise multi-academy trusts to deliver effective school improvements; and if he will make an assessment of the...

      Academies: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the five growth checks for multi-academy trusts.

      Artificial Intelligence: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to (a) update curriculums and (b) develop new courses to take account the evolution of artificial intelligence.

      Pupils: Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 8 July 2019, Children’s health and wellbeing in schools, HCWS 1695, what assessment he has made of...

      Mental Health: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of professional training for people who work...

      School Teachers' Review Body

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has received the 29th report of the School Teachers’ Review Body.

      Design and English Baccalaureate: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the correlation between the number of students studying (a) design and technology and (b) the English Baccalaureate.

      Universities: Racial Discrimination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of reports of racism against students and staff in UK universities in the last five years.

      Higher Education: Equality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of equality and diversity training provided by higher education institutions; and if he will make an...

      Universities: Ethnic Groups

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) terms and conditions for, (b) recruitment and (c) career advancement of BAME members of staff...

  • Treasury

    • Railways: Midlands

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the funding of the outline business case for the Midlands Rail hub; and if he will...

    • Aviation: Taxation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a green tax on air travel which would be invested in environmentally-friendly...

      Cash Genie

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps have been taken to ensure customers of Ariste Holding Ltd trading as Cash Genie are able to receive the compensation awarded by the Financial...

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to publish the minutes of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group meetings.

    • Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group has held.

      Local Government Finance: Cambridgeshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the amount of central government funding provided to (a) Cambridgeshire County...

      Buildings: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Housing of 6 June 2019, Official Report, column...

      National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of 16 June 2017 and 19 June 2019 to Questions 106178 and 263702 on the National Holocaust...

      UK Shared Prosperity Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund has been delayed; and what the new timetable is for...

      Buildings: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to provide financial support to leaseholders with properties cladded with a flammable material and...

      Buildings: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to ensure that all residential properties are not cladded with flammable materials.

      Temporary Accommodation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Justlife's report or April 2018, Lifting the Lid on Hidden Homelessness: A New Analysis and its...

      Temporary Accommodation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to collect data on households living in unsupported temporary accommodation who...

      Homelessness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.6 on page 14 of the National Audit Office's report of Session 2017-18, Homelessness,...

      Temporary Accommodation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to collate statistics on the number of families who are not owed a statutory duty by a local...

      Loneliness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to A connected society: A Strategy for tackling loneliness – laying the foundations for change,...

      Loneliness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to A connected society: A Strategy for tackling loneliness – laying the foundations for change,...

      Housing: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that housebuilders take account of (a) heatwaves, (b) flash flooding and (c) other...

      Planning Permission: Hatfield Peverel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the three planning decisions announced on 8 July 2019 for two sites in Hatfield Peverel, for what...

      Buildings: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions have taken place between (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have held with (i) TfL and...

      Buildings: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish correspondence between his Department and (a) TfL and (b) the Mayor of London on plans to build on...

      Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to Question 268565 on buildings: insulation, tabled by the hon Member for Croydon North on 24...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • EU Defence Policy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the merits of UK participation in EU defence structures after the UK has left the EU.

    • Army

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what criteria or process her Department chose 82,000 as the optimum number of personnel for the army.

      Type 45 Destroyers: Deployment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times the UK's six Type 45 destroyers have been put to sea in the last twelve months.

      Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many F-35 aircraft are currently available for operations.

      EU Defence Policy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on parliamentary accountability of the EU defence structures that the UK has joined since the EU...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Social Security Benefits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2019 to Question 268401, what information she holds on the reasons why those 156,000 claimants with...

    • Welfare Assistance Schemes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ringfence funding allocated to local authorities for local welfare assistance schemes.

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Personal Independence Payment Administrative Exercise data release of 4 July 2019, what accounts for the difference...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Personal Independence Payment Administrative Exercise data release, published by her Department on 4 July 2019, if she...

      Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 43 of the NAO report on the cost of administering benefit sanctions published in 2016, what estimate she has made of...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 272815 on Personal Independence Payment, what assessment he has made of the effect of the...

      Welfare Assistance Schemes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of local authorities that run local welfare assistance schemes.

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants have successfully applied for universal credit (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three or more times in the last 12 months.

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons claimants of personal independence payments who have received a tribunal decision since the Upper Tribunal’s judgments...

      Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timetable is for the publication of its final report on the effectiveness of programmes to protect former SSI steelworkers from...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Questions 272897 and 272898, what assessment she has made of whether the feedback of Presenting...

      Flexible Support Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for funding from the Flexible Support Fund have been received for up-front childcare costs in each of the last 12...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have people on universal credit who have turned down a job offer in the last 12 months have cited lack of affordable childcare...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2019 to Question 263677, for what reason the letter sent to a universal credit claimant’s journal to...

      Universal Credit: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the extent to which fraudulent claims for universal credit have been made by people using a loophole...

      Universal Credit: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the proportion of successful universal credit claims which are fraudulent; and how that figure...

      Poverty: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the accuracy of the findings of the End Child Poverty Group's report, Local indicators of child poverty,...

      Unemployment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will (a) make representations to the Office for National Statistics on (a) compiling and (b) publishing monthly data on long-term...

      Personal Independence Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to implement the Order made by Judge Ashley in the Poole First Tier Tribunal on 28 May 2019, reference...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Water: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's paper, Water conservation report, action taken and planned by Government to encourage...

    • Air Pollution: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect children from the effect of toxic air on their health.

      Nature Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to authorise the General Licence for land designated as (a) Special Areas of Conservation and (b) Special...

      Forests: Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of The global tree restoration potential...

      Plastics: Rivers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled, Upstream: Microplastics in UK Rivers, published by Greenpeace UK on 18 June 2019,...

      Litter: Tobacco

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of discarded cigarettes on ocean plastic pollution.

      Whales: Meat

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will ban the transit of whale meat through UK ports.

      Whales: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the population of Orcas off the coast of Scotland.

      Pets: Travel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many and what proportion of cars travelling from the UK to (a) France and (b) the EU...

      Agriculture

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to support UK farmers in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

      Fish: Consumption and Overseas Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) value and (b) proportion by value of the fish caught in UK waters is (i) consumed domestically, (ii) exported to...

      Climate Change

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Committee on Climate Change entitled, Progress in preparing for climate change,...

      Recreation Spaces

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of increasing green spaces in the UK to reduce the effect of flash flooding.

      Office for Environmental Protection: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Office of Environmental Protection will take account of Northern Ireland’s...

      Office for Environmental Protection: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he will take to ensure that (a) Northern Ireland is represented on the Office of Environmental Protection’s...

      Environment (Principles and Governance) Bill (Draft)

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to add additional principles to those included in the Draft Environment (Principles and...

      Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor antibiotic resistant bugs in seagull faeces in the UK.

  • Home Office

    • Agriculture: Working Conditions and Exploitation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking in (a) the UK and (b) overseas to tackle (a) working conditions and (b) exploitation in the food supply...

    • Prosecutions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time was between arrest and charge in each of the last five years.

      Bail

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were on police bail in each of the last three years.

      Crime and Police: Cambridgeshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on (a) police force strength and (b) recorded crime in Cambridgeshire for each year since 2010.

      Children: Exploitation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to issue national guidance to local authorities on tackling child criminal exploitation through county lines.

      Children: Exploitation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to create a statutory definition of child criminal exploitation.

      Extradition: USA

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2019 to Question 271379, how many people were extradited from the UK to the US for non-violent crimes in...

      Radicalism: Germany

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of recent reports that the extreme right-wing Nordkreuz network in Germany (a) compiled a...

      Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which security tools and data systems the UK will no longer have access to in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

      Sleeping Rough: Oxfordshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many rough sleepers in (a) Oxfordshire and (b) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency have (i) had their data processed and (ii) been...

      UK Visas and Immigration: Biometrics

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department uses to determine the locations in the UK where biometric information for visa or immigration applications can...

      Visas: Applications

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2019 to Question 263146 on Visas: Applications, if he will ensure that the processing of in-country visa...

      Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted as a result of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland in the last two years.

      Refugees: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on filling the 480 child refugee places in the Immigration Act 2016; and if he will make a statement.

      British Nationality: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing child citizenship fees for children born or raised in the UK to avoid any...

      *No heading*

      What recent assessment he has made of the effect on asylum seekers of his Department's policy on the right to work.

      *No heading*

      What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of reported disability hate crime.

      *No heading*

      What progress he has made on his review of the treatment of overseas students accused of cheating in the Test of English for International Communication between 2011 and 2014; and if he will make...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Writers: Self-employed

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are self-employed as writers.

    • Cybercrime: Departmental Coordination

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister or official is responsible for ensuring cross-governmental compliance with the Minimum Cyber Security Standard.

  • Department for International Trade

    • Department for International Trade: Overtime

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the amount of unpaid overtime worked by staff in his Department in the last 24 months.

    • EU External Trade

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which of the EU's trade agreements with third countries has the Government not yet secured agreement with those countries to roll over.

      Trade Agreements: Canada

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has set performance targets for the increase in bilateral trade between Canada and the UK through a comprehensive...

      Iron and Steel: Exports

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support UK steel exports.

      Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether representatives from Saudi Arabia (a) have been or (b) will be invited by the Government to send a delegation to the Defence and...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Data Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the consequences of data spillages.

    • Tourism: Coastal Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the tourism economy of bringing forward policies to enable children...

      National Gallery: Conditions of Employment

      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 employment tribunal decision, Ms A Braine and others v The...

      Television: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will hold further discussions with the BBC to ensure that free TV licences are provided to all people over the age of...

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in advance of the decision to use of Amazon...

  • Department for Transport

    • Roads: Accidents

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what statistics they have on accidents caused by litter or debris on roads in the UK.

    • Tyres: Safety

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statistical risk of a heavy goods vehicle or coach tyre having a "blow out" for each of the first 20 years after...

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Directors: Females

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to require businesses to appoint equal numbers of men and women at board level.

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Pakistan: Royal Visits

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, during their forthcoming visit to Pakistan, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit (1) the slums inhabited by the minority Christian community, and...

    • Pakistan: Minority Groups

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last raised the plight of minorities in Pakistan with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth; what response they received; and whether they asked the...

      Pakistan: Blasphemy

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the sentencing of Shagufta Kauser and her husband to death in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy; what assessment they have made of...

      China: Prisoners

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to updating their travel advice for China to include the findings of the Independent Tribunal into Forced Organ...

      Christian Michel

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of India to ensure that a trial date is set for Christian Michel following his arrest in July 2018 and...

      China: Prisoners

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Final Judgment of the Independent Tribunal into Forced Organ Harvesting, published on 17 June; and what actions they plan to...

      Middle East: British Nationals Abroad

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the recent statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 24 June, what plans they have to repatriate the children of...

      Pakistan: Royal Visits

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to seek assurances from the government of Pakistan about measures being taken to protect Christian minorities before confirming any visit by...

      South America: Roman Catholic Church

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the forthcoming Roman Catholic Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region for (1) the survival of...

      Northern Cyprus: Guided Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they still have guarantor responsibilities in Cyprus under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee; what assessment they have made of reports that a Russian-made...

      Israeli Settlements

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether settlement expansion on Palestinian lands in the West Bank is higher than population growth in Israel; and what...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports that a seven month old Palestinian infant was shot whilst sitting on her...

      Gaza: Poisoning

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the dangers of lead poisoning for children living in Gaza.

      Embassies: Surveillance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the recording of events surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, what assessment they have made of the...

      Syria: Chemical Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda, and Media How the OPCW's investigation of the Douma incident was...

      Syria: Chemical Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' Remarks of the Director-General at the Briefing for States...

      Syria: Chemical Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have employed, or made any direct or indirect payment to, Len Phillips, a former official of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical...

      South African Revenue Service: Bain and Company

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to instruct Her Majesty's High Commissioner to South Africa to compile a report to the Prime Minister on the probity and quality of Bain...

      Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to include the presence of survivors of sexual violence from conflict zones at the Preventing Sexual Violence In Conflict...

      Abdel Moneim Aboul Foutouh

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Egypt about the case for transferring Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh from prison to hospital for...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Offences against Children: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 20 June (HL Deb, col 835), whether the issues relating to institutional child abuse in Northern Ireland...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Continuing Care: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of applications received for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding in England in each of the last three years.

    • Continuing Care: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients were in receipt of continuing healthcare payments in England in (1) 2010, (2) 2015, (3) 2016, (4) 2017, (5) 2018, and (6) 2019.

      Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place a copy of the World Health Organisation Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety 2019 review of HPV vaccine safety in the Library of the...

      Furniture: Fire Resistant Materials

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to the neurological development of (1) foetuses, and (2) new-born children, of exposure to polyurethane mattresses...

      Medicine: Research

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what governance arrangements they have proposed for the newly designated Academic Research Collaborations.

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 3 July (HL Deb, col 1435), what assessment they have made of the finding of the House of...

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received about prescription charges for people with lifetime health conditions in the last two years; whether they record the...

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the annual cost to the NHS of providing free prescriptions to those with (1) asthma, and (2) long-term health conditions.

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much it costs NHS England annually to (1) collect payments for free prescriptions, (2) administer the system of medical exemption certificates, and...

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any savings made by the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as a result of not charging for prescriptions.

      Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost to NHS England of GP appointments and hospital admissions arising from people with asthma and other...

      Orkambi

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a date has been set for Vertex pharmaceuticals, NICE and NHS England to convene a further meeting to discuss how the cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi can...

  • Department for International Development

    • Gaza: Recycling

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they intend to provide to Palestinians in Gaza to create the means to recycle materials in order to reduce the amount of waste and increase the...

    • Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights in countries receiving Department for International Development Official...

      Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the Department for International Development's total overseas development aid was spent on sexual and reproductive health and rights in (1)...

      Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for International Development spent directly targeting reproductive health under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and...

      Developing Countries: HIV Infection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for International Development spent directly targeting HIV and AIDS under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's...

      UN Population Fund: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they made to (1) the core, and (2) non-core, funding of the UN Population Fund in (a) 2016–17, (b) 2017–18, and (c) 2018–19.

  • Department for Education

    • Disabled Students' Allowances

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the combining of the Disabled Students’ Allowance budget for specialist equipment and non-medical helpers in relation to postgraduate students,...

  • Department for International Trade

    • Trade Agreements: Mercosur

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to secure a free trade agreement with the Mercosur trade bloc; and whether any such agreement would include measures to support...

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Housing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase growth in the UK housing market after Brexit.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Pension Credit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those who are entitled to claim (1) pension credit, and (2) a TV licence from June 2020, but currently do not, take up...

    • Pension Credit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they provided to charities that work with older people to support the take-up of Pension Credit in (1) 2015–16,(2) 2016–17, and (3)...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Lions: Hunting

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider banning the importation of lion trophies to the UK, following the decision by Australia, France, and the Netherlands to ban such imports.

  • Home Office

    • Immigrants: Detainees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a petition signed by 100,000 people opposing indefinite immigration detention presented to the Home Secretary in May;...

    • Immigrants: Detainees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual cost of immigration detention lasting more than four months in (1) detention centres, and (2) prisons.

      Immigration: Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether children applying for settled status are subject to automatic criminal records checks; and whether such children are required to declare (1) if...

      Cannabis: Misuse

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review policy surrounding the use of cannabis, including the implementation of tougher sentences and penalties for drug use.

      Riot Control Weapons: Health Hazards

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any long-term health effects of the frequent use of tear gas on civilian populations.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Government Departments: Bain and Company

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many consultancy contracts they have with Bain & Company, broken down by each government department.

    • Government Departments: Bain and Company

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to the probity and quality of Bain & Company's consultancy work for the South African Revenue Service in regard to...

      Legislation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many post-legislative reviews by Government departments have been completed and published since 1 January 2018; and in what form they were published.

      Whitehall History Publishing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Whitehall History Publishing still exists; if so, (1) what is its role, and (2) how is it managed and by whom; and if not, who is responsible for the...

      History: Publications

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed the possible resumption of producing official histories.

  • Treasury

    • Income Tax: Pensioners

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of pensioners paid tax at (1) the 40 per cent, and (2) the 45 per cent, rate in each of the last three years.

    • Married People: Tax Allowances

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people claimed the Marriage Allowance in the 2018–19 financial year; and what steps they are taking to increase the uptake of...

      Married People: Tax Allowances

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Marriage Allowance; and what plans they have to review that allowance.

      Freezing of Assets: Libya

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much revenue has been raised from frozen Libyan assets in London in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

      Facebook: Cryptocurrencies

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of Facebook’s proposed Libra cryptocurrency on the management of monetary and financial stability...

      H2O Asset Management

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to conduct, or commission, an investigation into the management of investment portfolios by H2O Asset Management with particular reference to...

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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