Written answers

Tuesday, 7 January 2020

  • Department for Transport

    • Roads: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's planned review of the proposed Oxford to Cambridge Expressway.

    • Roads: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Roads Policing Review will be published.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line: Chesham and Amersham

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many community engagement meetings have been cancelled by (a) HS2 Ltd, (b) their agents and (c) their contractors in the last six months in...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line: Buckinghamshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether High Speed 2 requires any additional piling in the Great Missenden area of Phase One.

      Roads: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will bring forward a priority review of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway.

      Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to electrify all or part of the Great Western mainline between Penzance, Plymouth and Paddington in the next Network Rail control period.

      Bus Services: Fares

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the number of bus journeys made in the year to March 2019 of the increase in bus fares during that period.

      High Speed 2 Railway Line

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the locations are of areas of vegetation cleared by (a) HS2 Ltd and (b) their contractors in each of the last four months; and whether the...

      Animal Welfare: Buckinghamshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which (a) badger, (b) fox and (c) rabbit holes have been netted in each of the last two months in Buckinghamshire; what steps were taken to prevent...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many potential breaches of (a) wildlife and (b) environmental protection legislation have been reported against (i) HS2 Ltd and (ii) their...

      M20

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to instruct Highways England to remove the barrier on the M20 between Junctions 8 and 9; and if he will make a statement.

      Roads: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what effect his Department's planned review of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway will have on the delivery of the Lodge Hill diamond interchange...

      Railway Signals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) resilience of Network Rail’s signalling infrastructure and (b) the potential for failure of that...

      Railways: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to ensure that rail infrastructure is (a) secure and (b) fit for purpose.

      Roads: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what effect his Department's proposed review of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway will have on the (a) timescale and (b) viability of the...

      A34: Oxfordshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timescale is for the delivery of the Lodge Hill diamond interchange on the A34 following recent delays by Highways England.

      A27: West Sussex

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he next plans to report on proposals for upgrading the A27 between Worthing and Shoreham.

      Motor Vehicles: Lighting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure that replacement LED bulbs and modules fitted retrospectively to vehicle head, side and tail lights for use on the public...

      High Speed 2 Railway Line: Noise

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish all data the Department holds on expected noise levels from HS2; and what comparative assessment he has made of those expected...

      South Western Railway: Strikes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether South Western Railway has made an application in the last 12 months for reimbursement for revenues lost as a result of official industrial action.

      South Western Railway

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with South Western Railway; and how many of those discussions were with reference to the current...

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Social Rented Housing: Energy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department will match the £2,860 in funding per household in social housing to improve energy...

    • Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she will take to ensure the UK meets its target of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

      Post Office: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total legal costs were in the group litigation against the Post Office Ltd relating to accounting software...

      Energy: Meters

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on people on low incomes of increasing the minimum top up amount...

      Energy: Prices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department plans to commission an independent review into the cost of energy.

      Boeing 737

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the effect of Boeing's decision to stop production of the 737 Max aircraft on the UK's...

      Unpaid Work

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make it her Department's policy to ban the use of unpaid work trials at the outset of employment in UK...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Cyprus: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to support a solution to the division on the island of Cyprus.

    • Cameroon: Peace Negotiations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Cameroonian counterpart on a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict in Cameroon.

      China: Uighurs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) governance and (b) humanitarian situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang...

      China: Uighurs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on improving humanitarian access in Xinjiang province, China.

      India: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the Citizenship Amendment Act in India and its effect on minority...

      Kashmir: Telecommunications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 4 November 2019 to Question 7221, what steps the Government is taking in respect of the...

      Hong Kong: Demonstrations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) Hong Kong and (b) Chinese counterparts on the scale of protests in Hong Kong since the...

      Hong Kong: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has sought EU approval for sanctions against people who have been involved in breaches of human rights...

      Daphne Caruana Galizia

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to support the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia on 16 October 2017.

      Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Email

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of his Department's (a) employees and (b) contractors use non-secure email servers whilst on overseas missions.

      Kashmir: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) humanitarian and (b) political situation in Indian-administered Kashmir; and if...

      China: Uighurs

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

      India: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the human rights of Muslims in India of that Government's recent decision to pass...

      Persecution of Christians across the Globe Independent Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his timescale is for implementing the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review for the Foreign...

      Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) reappoint and (b) adequately resource the Prime Minister's Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief; and if he...

      Iran: Scientists

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Iranian counterpart on the cases of Iranian conservation scientists (a) Niloufar...

      Morad Tahbaz

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Iranian Government on the case of Morad Tahbaz, of the Persian Wildlife Heritage...

      India: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for protestors' human rights of the recent response by police and security...

  • Attorney General

    • David Duckenfield

      To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the (a) first, (b) second and (c) third prosecution against Mr David Duckenfield on manslaughter in...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Radiotherapy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library a list of each location, including postcode, at which radiotherapy commissioned via the NHS in England is...

    • Supported Housing: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) unexpected deaths and (b) serious injuries there have been in supported living in each year since 2010.

      Health Services: Shropshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on patient safety of the delays to the Future Fit process instigated by Telford Council.

      Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust: Nurses

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new nurses will be employed at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

      Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the budget for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has been in (a) 2005, (b) 2010, (c) 2015 and (d) 2018.

      Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust: Managers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many chief executives have (a) resigned, (b) retired early and (c) been sacked from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust since 2000.

      Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust: Managers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for the appointment of the new chief executive of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

      Drugs: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of drugs policy in reducing the rate of infection from blood borne viruses.

      NHS: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the individual targets for (a) cancer treatment, (b) A&E waiting times, (c) eliminating infection, (d) elective...

      NHS: Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of pension legislation on trends in the level of staffing in the NHS.

      Perinatal Mortality: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the review of the registration of pre-24 week stillbirths as legislated in the Civil Partnerships,...

      Screening: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of children receive their two to two-and-a-half year check from health visitors as part of the...

      Nurses: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Conservative Party manifesto 2019 and the background briefing to the Queen's Speech, how many of the 50,000 more...

      Social Services: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that no one will have...

      Psychiatric Hospitals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to announcement of reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, what plans the Government has to reduce the number inpatient...

      Primary Health Care: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Queen’s Speech 2019 background briefing notes, what proportion of the 6,000 new staff in primary care...

      Autism and Learning Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the background briefing notes on the Queen's Speech on 19 December 2019, what steps the Government plans to take to...

      Social Services: Waiting Lists

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of recent trends in waiting times for social care on the wellbeing of people requiring that care.

      Electronic Cigarettes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients treated by hospital A&E departments as a result of vaping fluids...

      HIV Infection: Urban Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to the Fast Track Cities Initiative for HIV/AIDS.

      Brain: Injuries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) funding and (b) guidance his Department has provided for neuro-cognitive rehabilitation services in the NHS.

  • Department for International Development

    • Middle East and North Africa: Locusts

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support his Department is providing to countries in the Middle East and North Africa to (a) counter plagues of locusts and to (b)...

    • Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the aid budget spent on (a) protecting endangered species, (b) projects in Commonwealth...

  • Department for Education

    • Foster Care: Self-employed

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason foster carers are classed as self-employed rather than employed.

    • Higher Education: Freedom of Expression

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to promote (a) diversity of thought and (b) freedom of expression on university campuses.

      Pupils: Per Capita Costs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average level of per pupil funding in schools (a) was in 2009-10 and (b) will be in 2022-23, in 2019-20 prices.

      Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the eligibility criteria will be for (a) 15 and (b) 30 hours of free childcare for children aged two to four in each year from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

      Arts: Secondary Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his plans are to introduce an arts premium for secondary schools.

      Teachers: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing the teacher starting salary to £30,000.

      Pupil Premium

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to increase the per pupil funding of the deprivation element of the Pupil Premium in each year from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

      Social Services: County Durham

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the Children’s Society in its report entitled Children and young people’s services: Funding and spending...

      Schools: Domestic Visits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to stop political visits to schools during general elections.

      Apprentices: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many women over the age of 60 have taken up apprenticeships in the last five years.

      Special Educational Needs: Suffolk

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to improve SEND provision in Suffolk; and if he will make a statement.

      Adult Education: Hounslow

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department has made available to support English language classes for adults in Hounslow.

      Teachers: Rother Valley

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary teachers there are in Rother Valley.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Criminal Proceedings: Interpreters

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether translators in criminal trials are remunerated in cases where the foreign-speaking defendant does not turn up for their trial.

    • Duty Solicitors: West Midlands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure sufficient numbers of criminal duty solicitors are available in the West Midlands.

      Miscarriages of Justice: Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Miscarriage of Justice Service received the application from Mr David Bryant of Christchurch for compensation; what the timeframe is...

      Television: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions for television licence fee evasion were made by magistrates' courts in (a) Dorset and (b) England in the last 12 months for which...

      Prisoners: Literacy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of the prison population who are illiterate; and what steps he is taking to tackle illiteracy in the...

      Criminal Cases Review Commission

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the results of any review that has been carried out by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, or other public authority within his...

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • High Rise Flats: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many emails were received by the email address set up to allow tower block residents to report safety fears...

    • High Rise Flats: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many applications from privately owned housing blocks have been made to his Department's fund to pay for the...

      Buildings: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the fires at Samuel Garside House in Barking Riverside, Beechmere retirement complex in Crewe and...

      Vandalism: Prosecutions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the powers available to local authorities to prosecute people...

      High Rise Flats: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds figures on the number of blocks over 18m in height in England and Wales that have the...

      Housing: Students

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will undertake an assessment of fire safety in blocks of student accommodation owned by private providers.

      Religious Hatred: Islam

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to establish a working definition of Islamophobia; and if he will make a statement.

      Help to Buy Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what checks his Department carries out on homes purchased under the Help to Buy scheme to ensure that they comply with...

      High Rise Flats: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to give financial support to owners of housing blocks clad in HPL to enable the removal of that cladding.

      Buildings: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to provide assistance to leaseholders unable to sell their properties as a result of uncertainty...

      Housing: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many complaints have been received by his Department on (a) building defects and (b) fire safety issues relating...

      Mobile Homes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to prevent park homes from being advertised as bungalows in promotional marketing;...

      Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to enable tenants of Housing Associations in England to have a Right to Buy; and if he will...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans to announce the location for a new dry dock facility capable of housing HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth.

    • HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to vary the published out of service dates for (a) HMS Albion and (b) HMS Bulwark.

      Shipbuilding

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any UK shipyard has the capability to build a Cantabria-class Combat Support Ship.

      Armed Forces Covenant

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which component of the Armed Forces Covenant he plans to place under statutory law.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will introduce a national strategy on tackling barriers faced by disabled people.

    • State Retirement Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing by 25 pence the state pension for people over the age of 80.

      Personal Independence Payment: Parkinson's Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for people with Parkinson’s disease to receive personal independence payments.

      Poverty: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to (a) identify and (b) tackle the causes of child poverty in Easington...

      Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit on low income families.

      Food Banks: Glasgow

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been signposted to a food bank by staff at Shettleston Jobcentre in the last 12 months.

      Older Workers and Social Security Benefits: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women between 60 and 66 years old are in (a) full-time employment, (b) part-time employment, (c) receipt of in-work benefits and (d)...

      Pension Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the take-up of pension credit.

      Employment: Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to tackle in-work poverty.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals on clean air.

    • Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118358 on Agricultural Products: UK Trade With EU, what...

      Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2017 to Question 118331, what progress has been made on getting the best...

      Potatoes: Exports

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

      Animals: Exports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 4 October 2019 to Question 290388, what replies have been received from those third...

      Fisheries: Navy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290370 on Fisheries: Navy, how many additional frontline...

      Hunting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to amend the Hunting Act 2004 with regard to fox hunting.

      Farms: Fly-tipping

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help farmers tackle fly-tipping.

      Fishing Catches

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce (a) catch recording and (b) reporting requirements on charter angling boats.

      Fishing Catches

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on the implementation of the new catch recording app for fishing vessels under 10 metres...

      Business: Recycling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to offer incentives...

      Incinerators: Licensing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licences for (a) domestic (b) commercial and (c) industrial waste incineration were (i) granted and (ii) refused in...

  • Home Office

    • Taxis: Hate Crime

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow taxi drivers to audio record their...

    • Police: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to make an announcement on the Police Provisional Grant Settlement for 2020-21; and if she will make a statement.

      Drugs: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she next plans to attend a drugs task force meeting in Glasgow.

      Drugs: Misuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to make provision for a supervised drug consumption facility in Glasgow.

      British Nationality: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will refund child citizenship fees in light of the decision of the High Court that they are unlawful.

      Fire Stations: Closures

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of recent trends in fire station closures on the ability of the fire service to safeguard the public.

      Fire and Rescue Services: Hampshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of recent trends in funding from the public purse for Hampshire fire service on the number of fire fatalities...

      Fire and Rescue Services: Floods

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent trends in funding from the public purse of the Fire Brigade on their ability to deal...

      Fire and Rescue Services: Floods

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of introducing a statutory duty for firefighters in England to respond to flooding on...

      Police: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for police officer recruitment in Suffolk; and if she will make a statement.

      Antisocial Behaviour: Feltham and Heston

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce anti-social behaviour in Feltham and Heston constituency.

  • Scotland Office

    • Food Banks: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in December 2019.

    • Food Banks: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in January 2020.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Proof of Identity: Polling Stations

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a requirement for voter identification at polling...

    • Office for Veterans' Affairs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps the Office for Veterans Affairs has taken to provide lifelong support to military personnel.

      Early Years Ministerial Group On Family Support

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the report of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Early Years formerly chaired by...

      Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to repeal the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011; what...

  • Treasury

    • Dividend Tax Credit

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit overpayments were made in each of the last 12 months; and what the average repayment was.

    • Disguised Remuneration Loan Charge Review

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish Sir Amyas Morse's review of the Loan Charge on 8 January 2020; and if he will make an oral statement on that day.

      Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments is planned to come into force; what the timeframe is for the publication of the Government...

      Disguised Remuneration Loan Charge Review

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish Sir Amyas Morse's review of the Loan Charge.

      Motorhomes: Excise Duties

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to classify motorhomes as commercial vehicles for taxation purposes; and if he will make a statement.

      Pupils: Per Capita Costs

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase the level of per pupil funding.

      *No heading*

      Whether he has plans to undertake a review of HMRC's IR35 Tax Regulations.

      Revenue and Customs: Cumbernauld

      What discussions he has had with (a) HMRC and (b) the Secretary of State for Scotland on proposals to close HMRC's Cumbernauld office.

      Broadband: Rural Areas

      What fiscal steps he is taking to improve broadband connections in rural communities.

      *No heading*

      What steps he is taking to ensure that HMRC has adequate (a) powers and (b) resources to investigate tax avoidance enablers.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Video Games: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that pop-up adverts in mobile gaming apps for children are age appropriate.

    • Charities: Lotteries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to raise the maximum amount that can be raised each year by an individual charity lottery...

      5G: Suffolk

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has for the roll-out of 5G in rural areas in Suffolk.

      Community Development: Grants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that community groups in receipt of large grants from...

      Loneliness: Hounslow

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department has made available to help tackle loneliness in Hounslow.

      Broadband

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of the number of households affected by broadband not-spots in each local authority area.

  • House of Commons Commission

    • Big Ben

      To ask the hon. Member, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission has received a request from the Government to arrange for Big Ben to chime to mark the UK's departure...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Agriculture: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) the Northern Ireland Administration on...

  • Prime Minister

    • Climate Change

      To ask the Prime Minister, when the first meeting of the cross-Cabinet Committee on climate change will take place.

    • SPAC Nation

      To ask the Prime Minister, what the purpose was of the visit by SPAC Nation to Downing Street on 9 May 2018.

  • Department for Transport

    • Railways: North of England

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to receive the consultant's report into the proposed freight line between Liverpool Docks and Yorkshire, via a reinstated Colne–Skipton...

    • Railways: North of England

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the report produced by Steer on the proposed freight line from Liverpool to Yorkshire, via the reinstated Colne–Skipton line.

      South Western Railway: Strikes

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) social, and (2) economic, effects of the South Western Railways strikes which began on 2 December.

      Railways: Strikes

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban strikes on the railways.

      Abellio Greater Anglia: Standards

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Abellio Greater Anglia about the service disruptions to rural routes within their franchise area.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Higher Education: Admissions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysis, if any, they have conducted into whether there is any relationship between increases in the number of university students in the UK and levels of...

    • Ayrton Fund

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many least developed countries are benefiting, or will benefit, from the Ayrton Fund, announced at the UN General Assembly in September; and what forms of...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Hong Kong: Health Professions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the description of the arrests of medical personnel during a confrontation at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University on 17...

    • Hong Kong: Health Professions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of medical professionals in Hong Kong; and what representations they intend to make to the government of China...

      Iraq: Islamic State

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to respond to statements by victims of ISIS genocide in Mosul and Sinjar provided by Lord Alton of Liverpool; whether any victims of such crimes...

      Persecution of Christians across the Globe Independent Review

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how, and when, they intend to fully implement all of the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for...

      Syria: Sanctions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 October (HL17990), what further steps they have taken to minimise the impact on civilians of...

      Nigeria: Violence

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria about reports of multiple attacks, by Fulani militia in Northern and Central Belt states, of...

      Syria: Chemical Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that evidence gathered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Fact Finding Mission was suppressed or...

      Syria: Chemical Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that chlorine levels found in Douma, Syria, were equivalent to those found in common household cleaning products.

      Mediterranean Sea: Offshore Drilling

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported agreement between Turkey and Libya concerning undersea resources in the Mediterranean; and what plans they have to...

      Russia: Ukraine

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Paris negotiations between Russia and Ukraine; how they reached any such assessment; and what consideration they have given...

      China: Uighurs

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement delivered by the UK Permanent Representative to the UN at the Third Committee session on the Committee for the...

      South Sudan: Politics and Government

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage opposition factions in South Sudan led by Riek Machar to form and maintain a unity government; and what...

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the funds allocated to Northern Ireland in support of the Confidence and Supply Agreement of June 2017 have been drawn down, broken down by...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Health Professions: Training

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the announcement that nursing bursaries are to be reintroduced, what plans they have to support nurses, midwifes and other healthcare professionals with...

    • NHS: Amazon

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards to protect (1) patient confidentiality, (2) intellectual property, (3) data, and (4) other materials, from inappropriate use have been built into...

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what income they have received as a result of the agreement to share NHS data with Amazon.

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what monitoring arrangements in relation to (1) patient confidentiality, (2) intellectual property, and (3) other data, have been built into the agreement to share...

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the contract with Amazon to share health data from the NHS was put out to competitive tender.

      NHS: Amazon

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they gave any consideration to the potential development of an NHS app to provide the service that has now been contracted to Amazon to share health data...

      Cheltenham Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what factors led to their consideration of removing the consultant-led Accident and Emergency service at Cheltenham General Hospital.

      Physiotherapy

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many physiotherapists are required by the NHS.

      Physiotherapy

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many physiotherapists are employed by the NHS.

      Physiotherapy

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the target waiting time for an appointment with an NHS physiotherapist.

      Physiotherapy: Private Sector

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of physiotherapists employed in the private sector.

      Health Services: British Nationals Abroad

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure continued access for British citizens to health services in the EU after Brexit, including continued access to the...

      Air Pollution: Mental Health

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research by Environmental Health Perspectives, published on 18 December, which links air pollution with higher rates of...

      Air Pollution: Health Hazards

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of air pollution on the NHS, particularly in the winter.

  • Department for International Development

    • UK-Africa Investment Summit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the UK–Africa Investment Summit being hosted by the UK in January 2020.

    • UK-Africa Investment Summit

      To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) governments, (2) international organisations, and (3) businesses, have been invited to attend the UK–Africa Investment Summit being hosted by the...

      Syria: Terrorism

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what humanitarian resources they have committed, bilaterally and multilaterally, to victims of terrorism in northern Syria since the withdrawal of the United...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution the Department for International Development made to (1) core, and (2) non-core, funding in (a) 2017–18, and (b) 2018–19, to the (i)...

      Developing Countries: HIV Infection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much bilateral expenditure the Department for International Development spent directly targeting HIV and AIDS in (1) 2016–17, and (2) 2017–18.

      Developing Countries: Health Services

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much bilateral expenditure the Department for International Development spent directly targeting reproductive health in (1) 2016–17, and (2)...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the actual UK Official Development Assistance level from 1989 to 2019 inclusive.

      Development Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the actual Overseas Development Assistance from Development Assistance Committee donors in (1) 2018, and (2) 2019.

      Development Aid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the actual net Overseas Development Assistance and gross national income ratios from Development Assistance Committee donors from (1) 2018, and...

  • Department for Education

    • Universities: Admissions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with UK universities about combating the student wealth divide in those applying to university.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Bronzefield Prison: Maternity Services

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken following the disclosure of incidents involving pregnant women prisoners and their children at HMP Bronzefield.

    • Marriage

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their commitment in the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper to "explore the legal and practical challenges of limited...

  • Department for International Trade

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Educational Institutions: Fire Prevention

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in removing cladding made from Aluminium Composite Material from educational buildings.

    • National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service: Planning Permission

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their decision to call in the planning application for a UK Holocaust Memorial, whether all the evidence submitted to Westminster City Council will be...

      Housing: Construction

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they take, and intend to take, to encourage private housebuilders to preserve existing trees and plants in English cities during construction.

      Buildings: Floods

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for ensuring that flood proofing is included in the designs for new domestic and commercial buildings.

      Homelessness

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to combat the rise in homelessness.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Weapons

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Humanity International's call for the development of an international political declaration to end the use of explosive weapons...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Employment: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make the framework for voluntary reporting on disability, mental health and wellbeing a mandatory requirement for Disability...

    • Employment: Disability

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation, if any, they are undertaking into the Disability Confident scheme, including how the scheme is viewed by disabled people.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Game: Birds

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission an independent review into the economic, environmental and wildlife impacts of driven grouse shooting.

    • Trees: Urban Areas

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefit of trees in English cities; and what steps they intend to take to prevent any large-scale felling of such trees.

      Pet Travel Scheme

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure continued access for British citizens to the EU pet passport scheme after Brexit.

      Agriculture

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Agriculture Bill will be introduced to Parliament.

  • Home Office

  • Cabinet Office

  • Treasury

    • Exchange Rates

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require that all currency conversion rates should be expressed as a percentage mark-up on the interbank rate applying at the time...

    • Freezing of Assets: Libya

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total amount of tax collected from frozen Libyan assets held in the UK since the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) S/RES/1973(2011).

      Libya: Freezing of Assets

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current value of Libyan assets frozen in the UK as a result of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) S/RES/1973 (2011).

      Social Security Benefits: Children

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what was their total spending, in constant prices, on (1) child benefit, and (2) income-related benefits, for children for each year since 2000.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Sports: Racial Discrimination

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to promote anti-racism in sport.

    • Data Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend the Data Protection Act 2018, following the introduction of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill.

      Data Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ask the Information Commissioner's Office to issue further guidance on the scope of exemptions to the Data Protection Act...

      Data Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to transfer responsibility for data protection from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to another Government Department.

      Data Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Court of Appeal judgment in Lloyd v Google; and what action, if any, they intend to take as a result.

      Data Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to replicate the provisions in the Republic of India's Data Protection Bill in relation to the state's right to access, control and...

      Data Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the data localisation restrictions on sensitive personal and biometric data in place in India and China; and what plans they...

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.

January 2020
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031