 House of Commons |
Session 1997-98 Publications on the internet The Order Book |
| Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on Tuesday 28 April 1998
Here you can browse the Written Questions for answer on Tuesday 28 April of which previous notice has been given in the Notices of Questions paper. They are arranged in alphabetical order of answering Department. For other Written Questions for answer on Tuesday 28 April, of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order of Business. For Written and Oral Questions for answer from Wednesday 29 April, see Part 2 of this Paper. |
| Notes: * Indicates a Question for Oral Answer. + Indicates a Question not included in the random selection process but accepted because the quota for that day had not been filled. [N] Indicates a Question for Written Answer on a named day, i.e. the Member has indicated under S.O. No. 22(4) the day on which he wishes the Question to be answered. [R] Indicates that a relevant interest has been declared. |
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| 1 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the value of the freehold property of the National Sound Archive building at 29 Exhibition Road; and when the freehold will be disposed of. |
| (40127) | |
| 2 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the costs of the development of the British Library's INSIDE CD-ROM products have been since 1984; and how much sales revenue has been generated from these products. |
| (40112) | |
| 3 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will list the contracts with publishers which the British Library has entered into (i) by value and (ii) by publisher in the last 10 years. |
| (40135) | |
| 4 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the costs of the British Library's digital library programme are for the current year; what they are estimated to be in future years; and how many British Library staff are presently engaged in the programme. |
| (40131) | |
| 5 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what are the annual revenue account costs of the British Library's new public affairs directorate. |
| (40132) | |
| 6 | Mr Francis Maude (Horsham): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total value of grants agreed by the Sportsmatch business sponsorship incentive scheme for sport has been since November 1992. |
| (40169) | |
| 7 | Mr Francis Maude (Horsham): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations his Department has received from (a) artists, (b) musicians, (c) dancers, and (d) related bodies, regarding the designation of (i) art, (ii) music, (iii) history, (iv) geography, and (v) physical education including dance as non-core subjects of the National Curriculum for primary schools; and if he has been consulted on the proposals by the Department of Education and Employment. |
| (40158) | |
| 8 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the life-expiry date of Pyridostigmine Bromide was in (a) 1990 and (b) 1995. |
| (40141) | |
| 9 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the impurities produced when Pyridostigmine Bromide is (a) exposed to intense sunlight, (b) subjected to large temperature variations and (c) stored for long periods under these conditions. |
| (40142) | |
| 10 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what were the liquid compounds of the COMBOPENS Autoject Nerve Agent Antidote L4AI produced by Duphar International Research BV of the Netherlands and supplied to the British Army in the Gulf War. |
| (40143) | |
| 11 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what were the refurbishment costs of the India Office Records building at the Cut in Blackfriars Road. |
| (40110) | |
| 12 N | Mr Menzies Campbell (North East Fife): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what new technology his Department is developing to assist in the clearance of landmines from the Falkland Islands. |
| (39358) | |
| 13 N | Mr Menzies Campbell (North East Fife): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made the number of landmines remaining on the Falkland Islands. |
| (39421) | |
| 14 N | Mr Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the 28 schools in Birmingham whose unsafe playgrounds are to be resurfaced with funds from the New Deal for Schools capital programme. |
| (40090) | |
| 15 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Task Force On Under-age Alcohol Misuse on (a) alcohol education at primary school level and (b) within teacher training courses. |
| (39590) | |
| 16 N | Mr David Lepper (Brighton, Pavilion): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what assessment he has made of the impact on opportunities for teachers' professional development and in-service training in the Brighton and Hove, East and West Sussex and neighbouring local education authorities areas of the provisional allocation of Teacher Training Agency Inset Funds announced in February. |
| [R] (39883) | |
| 17 | Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the members of the Countryside Commission and the criteria for their appointment. |
| (40171) | |
| 18 | Mr Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has for proposals on Lifelong Learning; and if he will make a statement. |
| (40129) | |
| 19 N | Mr Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what discussions his Department has had with transport operators about transport concessions for unemployed people on the New Deal programme, (a) in London and (b) across the UK. |
| (40030) | |
| 20 | Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will make a statement on the establishment of a statutory base for local authority youth services. |
| (40136) | |
| 21 | Mr Paul Truswell (Pudsey): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will extend the scope of funding for the replacement of outside toilets to include those schools which will continue to depend substantially on such facilities. |
| (40168) | |
| 22 | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what additional resources will become available to the Government as a result of introducing a system of formal resource accounting and budgeting in 2001 and 2002, under which student loans will be treated as a balance sheet asset; and what additional resources will be available to higher education. |
| (40123) | |
| 23 | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, when he expects to complete the sale of the remaining student loan debt portfolio; and which institutions are bidding for the remaining portfolio. |
| (40122) | |
| 24 N | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what progress has been made towards the implementation of the CrossRail project; and if he will make a statement. |
| (39995) | |
| 25 N | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will assess the advantages of allowing an application under the Transport and Works Act 1992 for powers to build CrossRail. |
| (40091) | |
| 26 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what has been the level of investment by British Rail and Thameslink in the Farringdon/Bishopsgate branch line has been over the last 10 years. |
| (40146) | |
| 27 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make it his policy to strengthen the statutory rights and means of redress for rail travellers, not holding season tickets, for delays, and cancellations under the present National Conditions of Carriage. |
| (40147) | |
| 28 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what steps he is taking to ensure that small and medium sized firms carry out a full assessment of workplace hazards to women of child-bearing age, in accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1994. |
| (39592) | |
| 29 N | Miss Melanie Johnson (Welwyn Hatfield): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 21st April, Official Report, column 552, if he will list the Government departments, industry representatives and technical and design experts with whom consultations on publicising the dangers of lead in painted surfaces have taken place. |
| (40031) | |
| 30 N | Miss Melanie Johnson (Welwyn Hatfield): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 21st April, Official Report, columns 551-2, if he will list the representations he has received in the 12 months prior to October 1997 on the dangers of lead in painted surfaces. |
| (40032) | |
| 31 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what plans he has to ensure that the information services provided at railway stations are improved. |
| (40105) | |
| 32 | Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what advice his Department has given to the Countryside Commission on policy on access to the countryside for people with disabilities. |
| (40170) | |
| 33 N | Mr Richard Ottaway (Croydon South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will give the reasons for the dismissal of Mr Peter Ford as Chairman of London Regional Transport and the level of compensation paid. |
| (39969) | |
| 34 | Mr Richard Ottaway (Croydon South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 20th April, Official Report, column 422, on Eurostar, if he will publish the independent inquiry which the Government commissioned into the Eurostar traffic forecasts produced by the parties. |
| (40148) | |
| 35 N | Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge and Malling): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what is the planned figure for new housing in Kent over the next (a) 10 years and (b) 20 years; and in each case what number is planned for single person households and what number for families. |
| (39993) | |
| 36 N | Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge and Malling): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what proportion of the planned new housing in Kent he estimates will be built on brown field sites and what proportion on green field sites. |
| (39994) | |
| 37 | Mr David Amess (Southend West): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what amount the real value of the over 65 married couples allowance will have changed between 1990-91 and (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000 taking account of the reduction in the rate at which the allowance is given and assuming that the allowance is increased in 1999-2000 in line with inflation and that it is increased to protect its real value to pensioners, when the rate at which the allowance is given is reduced. |
| (40161) | |
| 38 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the total value of H. M. Tax Inspector's Estates; and what percentage of the accommodation is not presently occupied. |
| (40126) | |
| 39 | Mr Francis Maude (Horsham): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how much revenue would be raised in (i) 1998-99, (ii) 1999-2000, (iii) 2000-1, (iv) 2001-2, and (v) 2002-3, if the supply of sporting facilities was subject to VAT liability at 17.5 per cent. |
| (40159) | |
| 40 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the improvements in the purity of Pyridostigmine Bromide have resulted in improved resolutions in the medical treatment of myasthenia gravis. |
| (40109) | |
| 41 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what was the average number of patients seen per qualified nurse working in community psychiatry for each NHS trust in each year of their operation. |
| (40092) | |
| 42 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the cost to the Health Service of treating asthma (a) nationally and (b) in London in (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96, (c) 1996-97 and (d) 1997-98. |
| (40155) | |
| 43 N | Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many social care waiters there are in acute hospitals in Essex; and what the figure is for each of the home counties and each London borough. |
| (40094) | |
| 44 N | Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of special transitional grant relating to care in the community has been spent in each year since 1993-94 on elderly people (a) in Essex and (b) in the rest of England; and if he will make a statement. |
| (40093) | |
| 45 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many dentists ceased to provide NHS services in each year between 1993 and 1997. |
| (40125) | |
| 46 | Mr Francis Maude (Horsham): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of an increase in the price of Britain's sports facilities on the efficacy of advice given to take regular exercise. |
| (40160) | |
| 47 N | Mr Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what objectives he has set for the Health Action Zone in East London and the City. |
| (38683) | |
| 48 N | Mr Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will provide a breakdown, by nationality, of the number of asylum-seekers who were detained under Immigration Act powers between January and December 1997 and who were subsequently (a) recognised as refugees and (b) granted exceptional leave to remain. |
| (40029) | |
| 49 | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is his estimate of the number of drug treatment orders which will be made in the first full year of operation of the orders. |
| (40139) | |
| 50 | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is his estimate of the number of drug testing and treatment orders which will be made in each of the pilot areas under the Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords] in (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000. |
| (40138) | |
| 51 | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is his estimate of the number of criminally-active drug users who were convicted of offences in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available. |
| (40137) | |
| 52 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action he is taking to promote the use of proof of age identity cards as a means of reducing under-age drinking; and to what timescale. |
| (39589) | |
| 53 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences were committed by children under the age of 16 years in England and Wales (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the total number of crimes committed. |
| (40124) | |
| 54 | Mr Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will reduce the age of candidature for public elections to 18 years; and if he will make a statement. |
| (40130) | |
| 55 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what has been the outcome of her discussions with the Patent Office about the proposed EC Directive concerning the protection of biotechnological inventions and the potential implications for developing countries. |
| (40152) | |
| 56 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations she has made to the European Commissions about the findings of the WTO Appellate Body on the EU banana regime; and if she will make a statement. |
| (40157) | |
| 57 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has made to the Generalised System of Preferences Working Group about the proposed regulation; and if she will make a statement. |
| (40149) | |
| 58 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has made to the (i) WTO, (ii) UNCTAD, (iii) ITC, (iv) IMF, (v) World Bank and (vi) UNDP about the implementation of the Integrated Framework for the co-ordination and delivery of trade-related development co-operation; and if she will make a statement. |
| (40154) | |
| 59 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has made to the WTO about the forthcoming review of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property; and if she will make a statement. |
| (40151) | |
| 60 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with (i) the Department of Trade and Industry (ii) the WTO and (iii) multilateral and bilateral aid donors about ways to achieve further reductions in trade barriers faced by LDCs; and if she will make a statement. |
| (40150) | |
| 61 | Sir Alastair Goodlad (Eddisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she proposes to take to strengthen the roles of (a) the UN Commission on Human Settlements and (b) the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. |
| (40153) | |
| 62 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will make a statement on the public holding arrangements for the Great Seals for the period 1617 and 1831 concerning patents granted. |
| (40133) | |
| 63 | Mr Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire): To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what plans he has to increase the funding of the National Mediation Service; and if he will make a statement. |
| (40128) | |
| 64 N | Mr Colin Pickthall (West Lancashire): To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will list the (a) 20 solicitors' firm and (b) 20 barristers who have received the largest sums of money from legal aid in the most recent year for which information is available. |
| (38635) | |
| 65 | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many children have been stopped to date by the safety initiative pilot undertaken by the South Lanarkshire Council and Lanarkshire police; and how many of these children have been involved in criminal activity. |
| (40140) | |
| 66 N | Mr John Swinney (North Tayside): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what was the income and expenditure of each of the five NHS healthcare trusts in the area of Tayside Health Board in each financial year since their establishment. |
| (39781) | |
| 67 | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many claims for war disablement pension in respect of deafness have failed to reach the threshold of 20 per cent. in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. |
| (40156) | |
| 68 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what action she is taking to prevent the misuse of confidential information regarding employees' private lives in the workplace. |
| (39591) | |
| 69 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many training providers are currently on the promotional file of Business Connect. |
| (40108) | |
| 70 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many training providers have received contracts from each TEC in Wales for the year 1998-99. |
| (40111) | |
| 71 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what factors underlie the differences in the administration arrangements of the assisted places scheme in Wales. |
| (40107) | |
| 72 N | Mr Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what aggregate changes he forecasts in the levels of health authority budgets for mental health and care expenditure in 1999. |
| [Question Unstarred] (38692) | |
| 73 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the memoranda negotiated by the then Secretary of State of the Department of National Heritage relating to the purchase of the freehold property near Chancery Lane formerly known as the Great Seal Patent Office and Library by the British Library. |
| [Transferred] (40144) | |
| 74 | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has for the future use of the unoccupied Public Record Office in Chancery Lane; and what estimate he has made of the freehold value of (a) that site and (b) the tenant-free accommodation of the Science Reference Library and Patent Office, at 25 Southampton Buildings and Furnival Street, London WC2. |
| [Transferred] (40145) | |
| 75 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what was the average cost to public funds of training an NHS dentist in the last year for which figures are available. |
| [Transferred] (40104) | |
| 76 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Milk Development Council will be exempt from corporation tax. |
| [Transferred] (40103) | |
| 77 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, when his Department's guidelines for the Milk Development Council will be published. |
| [Transferred] (40106) | |
| 78 | Mr Richard Livsey (Brecon and Radnorshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what plans he has to reverse the trend of rural shop closures. |
| [Transferred] (40134) | |
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| © Parliamentary copyright 1998 | Revised 28 April 1998 |