 House of Commons |
Session 1998-99 Publications on the internet The Order Book |
| Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on Monday 14 December 1998
Here you can browse the Written Questions for answer on Monday 14 December 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 Monday 14 December, of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order of Business. For Written and Oral Questions for answer from Tuesday 15 December, 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. |
| |
| 1 | Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how many witnesses who have given evidence to the BSE Inquiry now work for (a) public sector agencies other than under his Department and (b) private sector employees. |
| (64077) | |
| 2 N | Mr Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, when he expects to publish the draft Bill to establish a food standards agency; and what period will be provided for pre-legislative scrutiny of it. |
| (63548) | |
| 3 N | Mr Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what form the pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill to establish a food standards agency will take. |
| (63547) | |
| 4 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63926) | |
| 5 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment he has made of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the National Federation of Fishing Organisation's joint proposal to operate a system of coastal state management of the fishing industry. |
| (64159) | |
| 6 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what plans he has to ensure that the six and twelve mile fishing limits will be retained after the renegotiation of the Common Fishing Policy in 2002. |
| (64155) | |
| 7 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, on what basis (a) he and (b) his Department's fisheries scientists calculated the effect of the precautionary principle for the purposes of negotiating the setting of the total allowable catches for 1999. |
| (64157) | |
| 8 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of individual transferable quotas; and what plans he has to introduce such quotas to the United Kingdom fishing fleet. |
| (64162) | |
| 9 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what estimate his Department has made of indicative total allowable catches for (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002; and if he will make those estimates available to the industry. |
| (64160) | |
| 10 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, on how many occasions British fisheries officers have visited fisheries enforcement officers of other EU nations in the last three years; and what reciprocal visits have taken place. |
| (64163) | |
| 11 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what plans he has for future decommissioning schemes for the British fishing fleet. |
| (64166) | |
| 12 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of decommissioning schemes in the last three years on the British fleet in terms of its (a) average age, (b) numbers of vessels, (c) overall effort of fleet, (d) effort of fleet by sector and (e) number of vessels by port; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64165) | |
| 13 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what plans he has to ensure an equality of fisheries monitoring and enforcement work across EU fishing nations. |
| (64164) | |
| 14 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what discussion (a) he and (b) his Department's officials have had with producer organisation representatives on industry proposals for coastal state management-based reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. |
| (64158) | |
| 15 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment his Department has made of future stock levels of each species of quota fish for the next four years. |
| (64161) | |
| 16 | Mr Andrew George (St Ives): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what plans he has for the future (a) operation and (b) funding of the Sea Fisheries Committees. |
| (64156) | |
| 17 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what steps he has taken to ensure that the British public is not buying contaminated pork or chicken in unprocessed, processed or pre-prepared food products imported from outside the UK. |
| (63836) | |
| 18 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will ensure that imported (a) pork and (b) chicken has not been reared and fed on bonemeal or other animal by-products. |
| (63835) | |
| 19 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will ensure that chicken pieces coming from Brazil meet the health and safety standards which apply to poultry farmers in the UK. |
| (63834) | |
| 20 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will list the representatives of the (i) poultry, (ii) lamb, (iii) beef and (iv) pork producers who sit on the Board of the Meat and Livestock Commission. |
| (63839) | |
| 21 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what testing and insection procedures are applied to (i) pork, (ii) chicken and (iii) beef being imported into the UK. |
| (63837) | |
| 22 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what new initiatives he is taking to improve the effectiveness of the Meat and Livestock Commission in promoting the sale of British meat products. |
| (63838) | |
| 23 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how much of the Comprehensive Spending Review monies allocated to his Department has been allocated for the financial years (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01 and (iii) 2001-02. |
| (63520) | |
| 24 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the ministers in his Department have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64136) | |
| 25 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63883) | |
| 26 | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his Answer of 7th December, Official Report, column 103, what assessment he has made of the proposal from the European Commission to ban the use of four antibiotic growth promoters from 1st January 1999. |
| (64123) | |
| 27 N | Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, and those of the Copenhagen Conference of EU Chief Medical Officers concerning the use of antibiotics in animal feed; and on what timescale. |
| (63180) | |
| 28 N | Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how anglers' landings are taken into account for quota management purposes when anglers' catches are unknown. |
| (63361) | |
| 29 N | Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, how much fish was caught by sea anglers in (a) January to June 1997, (b) June to December 1997, (c) January to June 1998 and (d) June to September 1998 or other periods in 1997 and 1998 for which figures are available. |
| (63359) | |
| 30 N | Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, which EU member states impose restrictions on sea angling. |
| (63360) | |
| 31 | Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment he has made of the use of organophosphates in grain stores. |
| (63993) | |
| 32 N | Mr Paul Tyler (North Cornwall): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will review the assessment, approval and monitoring mechanisms for veterinary medicines and agricultural pesticides, with particular reference to organophosphate products; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63662) | |
| 33 N | Mr Paul Tyler (North Cornwall): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the number of declared and undeclared BSE cases in other EU member states and (b) the control mechanism for the import of beef and beef extract products from those countries; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63663) | |
| 34 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask Mr Attorney General, if he will list the official visits paid to Buckinghamshire by Ministers in his Department since 2nd May 1997. |
| (64133) | |
| 35 N | Mr Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock): To ask Mr Attorney General, which law officers have met the Foreign Minister of Chile in the past two months; and for what purpose. |
| (63524) | |
| 36 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate for each month in the past five years the total miles covered by ministers' official cars. |
| (63656) | |
| 37 | Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make a statement on the administrative arrangements within his Department relating to (a) the Women's National Commission and (b) the Women's Unit. |
| (64091) | |
| 38 | Ms Margaret Moran (Luton South): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects to publish the Better Government White Paper. |
| (63782) | |
| 39 N | John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what market research on tourist guides has been undertaken (a) for and (b) by the English Tourist Board in the past three years. |
| (63681) | |
| 40 N | Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make a statement on his efforts to bring top-class sporting events to the UK. |
| (62145) | |
| 41 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what has been the average (a) number of books delivered per reader and (b) waiting time for the automated book delivery system in each month since the new British Library opened. |
| (63369) | |
| 42 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will list the fees paid to date to lawyers and consultants for advice or litigation concerning the British Library. |
| (63364) | |
| 43 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what requirements are placed on senior staff of the British Library to disclose shareholdings and other financial interests in the annual report of the Library. |
| (63365) | |
| 44 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what were the (a) total building costs and (b) fitting out costs when the new British Library was handed over to its new head; and what additional costs have been incurred in respect of (a) and (b) since that date. |
| (63363) | |
| 45 | Mr John Cummings (Easington): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make a statement on the method and formula used to determine funding for the regional arts councils. |
| (63984) | |
| 46 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63959) | |
| 47 | Mr John Grogan (Selby): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many National Lottery retailers there are in each parliamentary constituency ranked in order of the number of outlets. |
| (63774) | |
| 48 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has for establishing a centre of excellence for Rugby League. |
| (62137) | |
| 49 | Dr Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what initiatives are planned in each of the regions by his Department to encourage young men and women from the Asian community to develop their talents in the film and music industry; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63851) | |
| 50 | Dr Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what initiatives are planned by his Department to assist local authorities to develop tourism policies; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63821) | |
| 51 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the Ministers in his Department, have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64130) | |
| 52 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63880) | |
| 53 N | Mr Richard Spring (West Suffolk): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which overseas countries the Minister for Sport has visited as part of his ministerial duties since 1st May 1997; and when. |
| (63425) | |
| 54 N | Mr Richard Spring (West Suffolk): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on what dates he has had meetings with the DfEE to discuss the role of sport in the curriculum; and with whom such meetings have taken place. |
| (63424) | |
| 55 N | Mr Richard Spring (West Suffolk): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many task forces and review bodies are currently in place in his Department; if he will list them; and when they will be reporting their conclusions. |
| (63502) | |
| 56 N | Mr Richard Spring (West Suffolk): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make a statement on how the Government's objectives to eliminate social exclusion in sport are being realised. |
| (63426) | |
| 57 N | Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what action he has taken to increase access to Lottery funds for former coalfield communities in the East Midlands. |
| (62157) | |
| 58 | Mr Paul Clark (Gillingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the current status of the PHOENIX programme. |
| (64001) | |
| 59 | Tom Cox (Tooting): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total cost to the British Army of polo ponies stabled at bases (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) overseas; and how many polo ponies are stabled at its bases in total. |
| (63991) | |
| 60 | Tom Cox (Tooting): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many polo ponies the British Army owns; and in which countries they are based. |
| (63990) | |
| 61 | Tom Cox (Tooting): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the cost of the maintenance of polo ponies in British military bases (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) overseas is paid by individual polo players. |
| (63992) | |
| 62 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63925) | |
| 63 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect on travelling costs of the transfer of 101 Battalion REME from Chorley Barracks to Queensferry. |
| (63623) | |
| 64 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what evidence he has received from Land Command that the decision to move 101 Battalion REME from Chorley to Queensferry will bring value for money. |
| (63651) | |
| 65 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what are his plans for the future army cadet presence at the Devonshire Road Barracks in Chorley. |
| (63626) | |
| 66 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the REME cadets based at the Devonshire Road Barracks, Chorley, will continue to operate from that barracks. |
| (63625) | |
| 67 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officer vacancies exist in TA centres in North Wales; what proportion this represents of total officer positions in North Wales; and what is the shortfall of officers in each TA centre in North Wales. |
| (63653) | |
| 68 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the costs of the extension and conversion of the existing premises at Queensferry Barracks to accommodate 101 Battalion REME after its transfer from Chorley. |
| (63624) | |
| 69 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimates he has made of (a) the total cost of transfer of equipment and (b) the cost of transferring IT equipment, in the move of 101 Battalion REME from Chorley Barracks to Queensferry. |
| (63652) | |
| 70 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what day and by whom the decision was taken to move 101 Battalion REME from Chorley Barracks to Queensferry. |
| (63650) | |
| 71 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what are the projected operating costs for 101 Battalion REME operating out of Queensferry in the first three financial years of operation. |
| (63622) | |
| 72 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what alternative attachments he proposes for 101 REME army cadets, Chorley, following the transfer of 101 Battalion REME from Chorley to Queensferry. |
| (63616) | |
| 73 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the estimated cost of proposed redundancies of civil servants arising from the transfer of 101 Battalion REME from Chorley Barracks to Queensferry. |
| (63621) | |
| 74 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proposals for the future of 101 Battalion REME at the Devonshire Road Barracks, Chorley were included in earlier drafts of his review of the Territorial Army. |
| (63619) | |
| 75 | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the benefits of transferring a battalion headquarters from South Wales to North Wales. |
| (63812) | |
| 76 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations his Department has received in favour of retaining 101 Battalion REME and Cadet Force at Devonshire Road Barracks, Chorley. |
| (63620) | |
| 77 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many TA centres will remain open (a) in South Lancashire and (b) in the parliamentary constituencies of (i) Chorley, (ii) South Ribble, (iii) West Lancashire, (iv) Rossendale and Darwen and (v) Ribble Valley. |
| (63618) | |
| 78 N | Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria he used to select Chorley TA for closure in the review of the Territorial Army. |
| (63617) | |
| 79 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the ministers in his Department have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64138) | |
| 80 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times the armed forces have used CR tear gas since 1968; on what dates CR gas was used; for what reasons; and in what circumstances the armed forces have been authorised to use CR tear gas since 1968. |
| (63842) | |
| 81 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much CR tear gas has been manufactured by his Department since 1968; and at which establishment it was manufactured. |
| (63843) | |
| 82 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the clinical data on the long-term health effects on the victims of the nerve gas attacks on the Tokyo subway and Matsumato in 1994 and 1995; if his Department has reached any conclusions; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63841) | |
| 83 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons CR gas was selected from the available riot control gases to be stockpiled for the counter-terrorist response capability. |
| (63844) | |
| 84 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons plastic baton rounds replaced rubber bullets for use by the armed forces in Northern Ireland. |
| (63931) | |
| 85 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many papers in the Technical Memoranda series of technical papers produced by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down, are currently unclassified; when the series of papers (a) started and (b) finished; and how many papers have so far been produced in the series. |
| (63933) | |
| 86 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place a list of the 49 unclassified papers in the DERA reports series in the Library, specifying the title of each paper and the date on which it was produced. |
| (63932) | |
| 87 N | Mr Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the names of each Royal Navy vessel which has visited Chile in the last five years and the dates and duration of the visits; and what future visits to Chile by Royal Navy vessels are planned. |
| (63409) | |
| 88 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63878) | |
| 89 | Mr Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the outcome of the periodic review of the Defence Bills Agency. |
| (64087) | |
| 90 | Mr Syd Rapson (Portsmouth North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the Defence Medical Services. |
| (63988) | |
| 91 | Christine Russell (City of Chester): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on his Department's new post-doctoral research fellowship scheme. |
| (63989) | |
| 92 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letter dated 30th November from the Minister of State for the Armed Forces to the honourable Member for Nottingham South concerning nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the former Soviet Union. |
| (63900) | |
| 93 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons Ministry of Defence Police forcibly entered the homes of Gulf War veterans at the beginning of December. |
| (63911) | |
| 94 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the United Kingdom and France have reciprocal rights for their nuclear-powered submarines to use docking facilities in (a) either country and (b) their overseas dependent territories. |
| (63901) | |
| 95 | Mr Bowen Wells (Hertford and Stortford): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the Government chartering business jets when RAF jet aircraft of 32 (The Royal) Squadron Aircraft were unavailable in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will list the number of charters hired for that purpose; and the Ministers involved. |
| (63695) | |
| 96 | Mr Bowen Wells (Hertford and Stortford): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for how many flight hours during 1997-98 Government ministers have used the aircraft of 32 (The Royal) Squadron based at Northolt Airport; which Government officers used it the most; how much per hour the RAF charges ministers; and how much of this figure relates to Northolt Airport costs. |
| (63696) | |
| 97 N | John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what was the take up by sector and subject of NVQ Level 4 in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available; and how many candidates were registered with the awarding bodies for NVQ Level 4. |
| (63680) | |
| 98 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans his Department has to raise the standards of care and safety for over-eight year olds in childcare provision. |
| (64115) | |
| 99 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has to extend the regulations of childcare to those providing care for the over-eights. |
| (64116) | |
| 100 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what research his Department has commissioned on parents' views about (a) the quality of childcare provision and (b) the system of registration of child carers. |
| (64117) | |
| 101 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of registering those caring for children over eight years of age. |
| (64118) | |
| 102 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many requests his Department received prior to the United Kingdom presidency of the European Union, to update material available on the EU; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64092) | |
| 103 | Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what assessment he has made of the means by which the additional funding for the reduction of class sizes will be met by local education authorities and diocesan authorities. |
| (63773) | |
| 104 N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the administrative costs, as a percentage of the total budget, for (a) the Higher Education Funding Council, and (b) the Further Education Funding Council; and what is the national average for training and enterprise councils. |
| (63270) | |
| 105 N | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what steps he is taking to prevent convicted sex offenders obtaining placements working with children under the New Deal programme. |
| (63887) | |
| 106 | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his Answer of 3rd December, Official Report, colum 85, on secondary school pupils, if he will list the six maintained schools in England with more than 2,000 pupils in January. |
| (64192) | |
| 107 N | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, in how many cases convicted sex offenders have been offered placements working with children under the New Deal programme; and when he was informed of such cases. |
| (63886) | |
| 108 N | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what assessment he has made of the risk of convicted sex offenders being offered placements working with children under the New Deal programme; and what steps he is taking to prevent such placements being made. |
| (63888) | |
| 109 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, by what means the National Childcare Strategy will be targeted, with particular reference to the City of Coventry. |
| (63503) | |
| 110 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimate he has made of the net expenditure effects over the next four years of the New Deal for (a) youth and long-term unemployed, (b) lone parents and (c) people with disabilities. |
| (63504) | |
| 111 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63924) | |
| 112 N | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list by local education authority how many Key Stage One and Key Stage Two pupils in maintained schools were being educated in the same class in January (a) 1997 and (b) 1998. |
| (63515) | |
| 113 N | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many of his Department's initiatives relating to schools announced to date for (i) 1998-99 and (ii) 1999-2000 include opportunities for competitive bidding by (a) education action zone, (b) the Funding Agency for Schools and (c) others, excluding local education authorities. |
| (63536) | |
| 114 N | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what percentage of, and how many primary school pupils were in classes of over (i) 30, (ii) 36 and (iii) 40 in September 1998 in each local education authority and in total; and what was the actual and percentage change in numbers compared with September (a) 1996 and (b) 1997 in each local education authority and in total. |
| (63500) | |
| 115 N | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list by local education authority how many primary school pupils in maintained schools were educated in classes with children from more than one year group in January (a) 1997 and (b) 1998. |
| (63516) | |
| 116 N | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list for each annual programme of specific grants for education since 1985 (a) whether there was a period of consultation before a circular was issued, (b) which grants were included, (c) for how many grants competitive bidding was required and (d) what percentage of the funds were (i) directly available to schools, (ii) allocated through local education authorities and (iii) made available by other routes. |
| (63514) | |
| 117 N | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many of his Department's initiatives relating to schools announced for the year 1997-98 included opportunities for competitive bidding by (a) education action zones, (b) the Funding Agency for Schools and (c) others, excluding local education authorities. |
| (63657) | |
| 118 N | Mr Damian Green (Ashford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what percentage increase he expects in employer contributions to staff training for NVQs between December 1997 and December 1998. |
| (63368) | |
| 119 N | Mr Damian Green (Ashford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has to mitigate the effect of high debt levels on dental students incurred through the student loan scheme; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63371) | |
| 120 N | Mr Damian Green (Ashford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what percentage of university teachers are engaged purely in research and have no teaching responsibilities; and how this percentage compares with (a) 1997, (b) 1996, (c) 1995 and (d) 1990. |
| (63366) | |
| 121 N | Mr Damian Green (Ashford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what is the average level of debt incurred by dental students through the student loan scheme when they graduate. |
| (63372) | |
| 122 N | Mr Damian Green (Ashford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what guidance he has given universities about the appropriate balance between research and teaching activities. |
| (63367) | |
| 123 N | Mr Damian Green (Ashford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has to instigate a review of New Deal placements involving contact with children. |
| (63370) | |
| 124 N | Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list by region and up to the latest date for which the figures are available the numbers of young people leaving the New Deal for unsubsidised employment who have subsequently re-entered the Gateway, indicating the average time such people have spent in employment before returning to the Gateway. |
| (63272) | |
| 125 N | Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will publish league tables of units of delivery for the New Deal in such a form as to enable a comparison to be made between the performance of the private sector, the Employment Service and other providers. |
| (63273) | |
| 126 N | Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list those areas for which (a) the New Deal Gateway and (b) one or more New Deal options are delivered entirely by private sector providers; and if he will list monthly expenditure and client outcomes for each of these private sector providers up to the latest date for which the figures are available. |
| (63275) | |
| 127 N | Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the monthly expenditure on (a) Gateway provision and (b) other provision for the New Deal for young people by region from January to the end of September. |
| (63276) | |
| 128 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the ministers in his Department have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64137) | |
| 129 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63875) | |
| 130 | Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will review the future structure and funding of the land-based and agricultural colleges. |
| (63814) | |
| 131 | Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many people have started on the New Deal scheme in Shrewsbury and Atcham broken down by (a) employer, (b) full-time education/training, (c) voluntary sector, (d) environmental task force and (e) other. |
| (64076) | |
| 132 | Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the local authorities which permit British beef to be served on school menus. |
| (64114) | |
| 133 N | Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will make a statement on his policy on the provision of free milk in schools. |
| (63897) | |
| 134 | Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what consultation he undertook and representations he received prior to the publication of his Green Paper on the future remuneration of teachers. |
| (64119) | |
| 135 | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimates he has made of the incidence of child labour in the United Kingdom. |
| (63986) | |
| 136 N | Mr Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he intends to carry out a full audit of how the funding under the Schools Access Initiative has been used throughout England and Wales. |
| (63826) | |
| 137 N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how much of the additional expenditure for education announced in the July Comprehensive Spending Review for England has already been allocated to (a) local authority expenditure, (b) class size reduction, (c) school buildings and repairs, (d) standards fund grants, (e) early years education, (f) further education, (g) higher education and (h) other spending by his Department; and how much has been allocated to no specific purposes as yet. |
| (63326) | |
| 138 N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what is the total amount of public subsidy to United Kingdom higher education institutions resulting from means-testing student tuition fees under the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998; and what is the total amount students and parents are expected to contribute under that Act. |
| (63327) | |
| 139 N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the bids made by local education authorities before 20th November for capital expenditure to meet the Government's class size pledge. |
| (63328) | |
| 140 N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many temporary classrooms (a) have been built and (b) are planned to be built to meet the Government's pledge on class sizes. |
| (63329) | |
| 141 N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate and Knaresborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will publish his current estimate of the revenue savings he expects to accrue as a result of the abolition of the assisted places scheme in the years (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000, (c) 2000-01 and (d) 2001-02; and if he will list the assumptions underlying his estimates. |
| (63330) | |
| 142 N | Mr Shaun Woodward (Witney): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how much money is being made available in the 12 months from 1st December for lone parents with children of school age receiving income support in Oxfordshire. |
| (63648) | |
| 143 N | Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what is his Department's definition of brownfield sites. |
| (63615) | |
| 144 N | John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what estimate he has made of the number of open-top sightseeing buses operating in London per day and of the average payload per bus in each of the last 12 months. |
| (63682) | |
| 145 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 8th December, Official Report, column 118, on the Energy Savings Trust, what was the value of the grants awarded for the purchase or conversion of electric vehicles. |
| (64142) | |
| 146 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many grants, and of what value, have been awarded as part of the Powershift programme to overseas-based companies for the conversion of vehicles to run on electricity. |
| (64005) | |
| 147 | Mr David Borrow (South Ribble): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many staff were employed by valuation tribunals in England on (a) 1st May 1997, (b) 1st April 1998 and (c) 1st December 1998. |
| (63691) | |
| 148 | Mr David Borrow (South Ribble): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many offices served valuation tribunals in England on (a) 1st May 1997, (b) 1st April 1998 and (c) 1st December 1998. |
| (63692) | |
| 149 | Mr David Borrow (South Ribble): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many (a) staff and (b) offices he expects to be required to serve valuation tribunals in England on (i) 1st April 1999 and (ii) 1st April 2000. |
| (63690) | |
| 150 N | Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make a statement on the progress made in achieving the CO2 reduction targets agreed at Kyoto for the United Kingdom. |
| (63614) | |
| 151 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many near misses were reported in each quarter of 1997-98 and 1998-99 to date in (a) United Kingdom air space, (b) Greater London and (c) the home counties; what type of aircraft were involved in each case; and from which airport they were flying. |
| (63362) | |
| 152 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 1st December 1998, Official Report, column 115, concerning rolling stock companies, what responsibility the ROSCOs have to comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive. |
| (63413) | |
| 153 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 1st December, Official Report, column 115, concerning rolling stock companies, what responsibility the Franchise Director has to the Franchisee if the HSE's requirements in respect of rolling stock change during the life of a franchise. |
| (63412) | |
| 154 | Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, under what circumstances new or revised bids can be submitted for shortlisting for the headquarters of London government. |
| (64085) | |
| 155 | Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what is the latest estimated total cost for the construction of the Jubilee Line extension; and from what sources the funds will be derived. |
| (63697) | |
| 156 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63923) | |
| 157 N | Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will provide a breakdown of the changes to the criteria for calculating the other education SSA block in the local government settlements for 1999-2000. |
| (63830) | |
| 158 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what powers he has to override decisions made by the South West Regional Planning Conference. |
| (64147) | |
| 159 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what guidance he has given the South West Regional Planning Conference on the effect of the future household projections on each county in the region. |
| (64146) | |
| 160 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what response he has made to the draft Devon County Structure Plan. |
| (64152) | |
| 161 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what guidance he has given the South West Regional Planning Conference on how to meet the needs assumed by his projections for future household numbers. |
| (64145) | |
| 162 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what representations he has received regarding his projections for the South West Region future household numbers. |
| (64144) | |
| 163 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will allow local authorities in the South West to postpone development plans until regional planning guidance is revised following the result of his survey of brownfield land. |
| (64149) | |
| 164 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what guidance he has given local authorities in the South West Region on sustainable means of meeting the housing needs of their community. |
| (64148) | |
| 165 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what plans he has to assist local planning authorities in delivering more sustainable patterns of development. |
| (64150) | |
| 166 | Mr Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, when he plans to issue guidance on a sequential approach to selecting locations for new housing development and sites. |
| (64151) | |
| 167 | Mr David Kidney (Stafford): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will issue guidance to local authorities, transport authorities and public transport bodies pending the introduction of legislation to encourage greater consistency in concessionary fares schemes for pensioners. |
| (63998) | |
| 168 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what representations he has received from national motorway and road haulage organisations concerning the A14 in Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63527) | |
| 169 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what reports he has received from the Highways Agency concerning recent fatal accidents on the A14 in Cambridgeshire; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63529) | |
| 170 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, which two-lane dual carriageways in England, not of motorway standard, presently carry the highest levels of road traffic. |
| (63532) | |
| 171 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will institute contingent plans for the design and routing of an upgrade of the A14 in Cambridgeshire, pending the outcome of multi-modal study for that traffic corridor. |
| (63526) | |
| 172 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what discussions he has held with the Standing Conference of East Anglian Local Authorities on terms of reference for a multi-nodal study of the A14 corridor in Cambridgeshire. |
| (63530) | |
| 173 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what safety improvements on the A14 in Cambridgeshire have been commissioned by the Highways Agency. |
| (63535) | |
| 174 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what studies he has evaluated concerning the potential for improvements in safety on the A14 in Cambridgeshire; and what action he proposes to take on those studies. |
| (63531) | |
| 175 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what increase in (a) noise and (b) pollutant emissions has occurred along the A14 in the last five years. |
| (63528) | |
| 176 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what change in traffic levels on the A14 in Cambridgeshire is predicted as a result of the opening of the A1(M) south of Peterborough. |
| (63534) | |
| 177 N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what is his estimate of the growth of (a) HGV traffic and (b) all road traffic on the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge in the last three years. |
| (63533) | |
| 178 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the Ministers in his Department, have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64128) | |
| 179 N | Mr Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities regarding the siting of public refuse incinerators. |
| (63410) | |
| 180 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63870) | |
| 181 | Mr Tony McNulty (Harrow East): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, when he will make an announcement about the membership of the boards of the regional development agencies. |
| (64082) | |
| 182 | Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will take steps to prohibit the landing of Type 747 aeroplanes at Heathrow Aiport before 7 a.m. on (a) Christmas and (b) New Year's day mornings. |
| (64084) | |
| 183 | Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will place in the Library the summary of the findings of the National Review of Voluntary and Community Transport as presented to delegates at the Annual Community Transport Conference. |
| (63813) | |
| 184 N | Dr John Marek (Wrexham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will list for each train operating company the number of days in the last 12 months which the company excluded from its calculation of punctuality statistics on the grounds that there was no effective service. |
| (63419) | |
| 185 | Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what increased provision was made in the local government financial settlement for each local authority to manage current and improved public access to the countryside. |
| (63832) | |
| 186 | Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will publish the response to the Government's consultation on improving public access to the countryside; and if he will list the main concerns raised by local authorities. |
| (63831) | |
| 187 | Mr Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, when he expects to consult on the introduction of resource accounting for local authority housing. |
| (64079) | |
| 188 | Mr Edward O'Hara (Knowsley South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will estimate how many dwellings in which the household is headed by a person aged over 65 years are leasehold; and how many of these are (a) flats and (b) houses. |
| (64003) | |
| 189 | Mr Edward O'Hara (Knowsley South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what percentage of all leaseholders are aged over 65 years. |
| (64002) | |
| 190 N | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will place copies of the responses to his consultation document on Access to the Open Countryside in England and Wales in the Library. |
| (63784) | |
| 191 N | Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will list in real terms (a) the amount of support given for social housing in the period 1992 to 1997 and (b) the proposed levels of support for social housing in the period 1997 to 2000. |
| (63422) | |
| 192 | Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what discussions he has had with train operators regarding access to first aid equipment on trains. |
| (63811) | |
| 193 | Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many incidents of passengers being taken seriously ill on train journeys have occurred in each of the past five years. |
| (63810) | |
| 194 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what timetables were agreed at the Buenos Aires Climate Change Conference to implement (a) the clean development mechanism, (b) national compliance with greenhouse gas reduction targets and (c) technical advances on climate monitoring. |
| (63776) | |
| 195 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many countries are required to ratify the Kyoto Climate Change Convention Protocol for it to enter into force; and which countries have done so to date. |
| (63775) | |
| 196 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what discussions took place at the heads of delegation meeting for the OSPAR convention held on 12th and 13th November in London, in respect of the disposal to sea of chemical and conventional explosive munitions; and if he will place in the Library copies of the United Kingdom submissions made on this matter to OSPAR. |
| (63902) | |
| 197 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make a statement on his plans for further public consultation on the application by BNFL to operate its MOX plant at Sellafield. |
| (63904) | |
| 198 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what assessment he has made of the analysis in The Lancet of 8th August concerning the risk of congenital anomalies near hazardous waste landfill sites in Europe, including the United Kingdom. |
| (63903) | |
| 199 | Dr Desmond Turner (Brighton, Kemptown): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what representations he has made to secure the OSPAR agreed cessation of radioactive discharges from the reprocessing plant at Cap de La Hague in France. |
| (64104) | |
| 200 | Dr Desmond Turner (Brighton, Kemptown): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make a statement on progress towards the cessation of (a) liquid and (b) gaseous radioactive discharges from (i) nuclear reproceessing plants and (ii) nuclear generating stations in accordance with the OSPAR agreement. |
| (64103) | |
| 201 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library the minutes of meetings of the Euro Preparations Unit since 27th January. |
| (64187) | |
| 202 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the (a) costs (b) purpose and (c) results of the Rotherham Euro Experiment; and if he will list the organisations involved. |
| (64190) | |
| 203 N | Mr Malcolm Bruce (Gordon): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what are the reasons for changes in the policy responsibilities of the Paymaster General in relation to tax matters in the last eight months; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63497) | |
| 204 N | Mr Malcolm Bruce (Gordon): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Minister is responsible for the review of corporate taxation; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63499) | |
| 205 N | Mr Malcolm Bruce (Gordon): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the areas of tax policy in which the Paymaster General has been involved since 2nd May 1997; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63498) | |
| 206 | Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the disciplinary provisions contained in the proposed Financial Services and Markets Bill with the European Convention on Human Rights in the form in which the Convention will be incorporated into the United Kingdom law under the Human Rights Act 1998, with particular reference to Article 6 of the Convention. |
| (64086) | |
| 207 N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to publish a Green Book alongside the Red Book in the March 1999 Budget. |
| (63271) | |
| 208 N | Mr Ron Davies (Caerphilly): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what were the percentage increases in (a) the total expenditure of Department of Trade and Industry, Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Education and Employment in 1999-2000 and in the Welsh block for the same year, (b) each Department's expenditure relevant to the purposes of calculating the formula consequences for the Welsh block and (c) the expenditure within the Welsh block comparable to (b) above. |
| (63613) | |
| 209 N | Mr Ron Davies (Caerphilly): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what changes he has made in the method of calculating the formula consequences for the Welsh block of expenditure by the DTI, DFEE, DETR and DCMS. |
| (63550) | |
| 210 N | Mr Ron Davies (Caerphilly): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparability factor he used in calculating the formula consequences for the Welsh block of expenditure by the DTI, DETR, DCMS and DFEE in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000. |
| (63549) | |
| 211 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63916) | |
| 212 N | Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he will publish the changeover plans regarding preparations for British entry into the single currency. |
| (63865) | |
| 213 N | Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will define harmful tax competition in the context of the EU. |
| (63513) | |
| 214 N | Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the changeover plans regarding preparations for British entry into the single currency will contain details of the Government's convergence strategy. |
| (63866) | |
| 215 N | Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how many families with earnings above £20,000 will be eligible for an element of the working families tax credit. |
| (63512) | |
| 216 N | Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what changes he plans in the responsibilities of the Paymaster General. |
| (63511) | |
| 217 N | Mr Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many CAFOD Fair Deal on Third World Debt Postcards he has received. |
| (63373) | |
| 218 N | Mr David Heathcoat-Amory (Wells): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the seminars and the dates on which they were held on bridging the productivity gap referred to on page 12 of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report 1998. |
| (63840) | |
| 219 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the inclusion of the Irish as an ethnic category in the next census. |
| (63868) | |
| 220 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63871) | |
| 221 N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the excess winter deaths for each region within Great Britain for the last three years, and the forecasts for (a) this winter, (b) 1999-2000 and (c) 2000-01; and if he will list the estimated cost to the NHS as a result. |
| (63411) | |
| 222 | Mr William Ross (East Londonderry): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list for each country in the European Union for each of the last 10 years and the current year (i) their net contribution, (ii) their net receipts from the EU Budget, (iii) what percentage these sums represented of the GDP of each nation in each year and (iv) what each sum in each case was in pounds sterling per capita of the country's population. |
| (64194) | |
| 223 | Mr William Ross (East Londonderry): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list for each country in the EU the percentage tax or taxes paid on the price of a new car by the citizens of (a) that country and (b) other countries. |
| (64201) | |
| 224 N | Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Paymaster General intends to reply to the letter of 20th July from the honourable Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent Mr Hutchison. |
| (63649) | |
| 225 N | Steve Webb (Northavon): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the maximum earnings level at which the total amount payable in working families tax credit would exceed the total amount payable in income tax and employee and employer national insurance contributions for each of the following family types (a) married couples with a (A) one child at secondary school, (B) one child at secondary school and one child at primary school and (C) two children at secondary school and one child at primary school and (b) a lone parent with (1) one child at secondary school, (2) one child at secondary school and one child at primary school and (3) two children at secondary school and one child at primary school assuming (i) no childcare expenditure and (ii) childcare expenditure at the average level for those with childcare expenditure. |
| (63416) | |
| 226 N | Steve Webb (Northavon): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) proportion of recipients of Working Families Tax Credit who will have expenditures on registered childcare, and the average expenditure among those with such expenditures. |
| (63417) | |
| 227 N | Steve Webb (Northavon): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the extent to which those who move from welfare to work as a result of the working families tax credit will (a) move into newly-created jobs and (b) displace existing employees; and in the case of displacement, what assessment he has made of the characteristics of those who are likely to be displaced. |
| (63660) | |
| 228 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Vademecum for the European Communities budget line B2-5122. |
| (64188) | |
| 229 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list those publications from the European Information Association to which his Department subscribes; and if he will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library. |
| (64093) | |
| 230 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the matters currently being discussed by European Community working groups which await treaty base pending the ratification of the Treaty of Amsterdam; and what level of representation his Department provides to these groups. |
| (64193) | |
| 231 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the resources available (a) from Her Majesty's Government and (b) from the European Communities to Relay Europe; what is the intended audience for its services and the scale of its activities; what contribution his Department makes to the subject matter distributed; if he will deposit in the Library a copy of the videos distributed; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64126) | |
| 232 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the acquis of the Schengen Agreement that has not been deposited in the Library. |
| (64189) | |
| 233 | Mr John Bercow (Buckingham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason European Communities budget lines (i) B3-300 and (ii) B3-301 are not broken down by member state; what elements of these budget lines are known by his Department to have been distributed in the United Kingdom; and for what purpose. |
| (64094) | |
| 234 N | Mrs Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library the advice given to Granger Telecom, Surrey in respect of the safety of British nationals working in Chechnya. |
| (63627) | |
| 235 | Tom Cox (Tooting): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Turkish government on the imprisonment of (a) Mrs Leyla Zana and (b) other members of the Turkish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64121) | |
| 236 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63922) | |
| 237 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what dates the diplomatic posts will be closed in (a) Chaing Mai (b) Cleveland, (c) Kuching, (d) Pusan and (e) Seville. |
| (63824) | |
| 238 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from (a) governments, (b) industry and (c) other interested parties on the proposed closures of the diplomatic posts at (a) Chaing Mai, (b) Cleveland, (c) Kuching, (d) Pusan and (e) Seville; and what consultation he has undertaken in each case. |
| (63825) | |
| 239 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list (a) the selling agents, (b) the sale price and (c) the reserve price of each of his Department's properties currently for sale in (i) Dublin, (ii) Bonn and (iii) Casablanca. |
| (63819) | |
| 240 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether North Korea is meeting its obligations under the non-proliferation agreement. |
| (63816) | |
| 241 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to close the High Commission in Port Vila in Vanuatu. |
| (63822) | |
| 242 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to reduce the British diplomatic presence in Papua New Guinea. |
| (63820) | |
| 243 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Egyptian government concerning the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt. |
| (63815) | |
| 244 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) departmental officials, (b) locally-engaged staff and (c) officials from other departments are currently engaged in the diplomatic posts in (i) Chaing Mai, (ii) Cleveland, (iii) Kuching, (iv) Pusan and (v) Seville. |
| (63823) | |
| 245 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the discussions held between Colonel Gadaffi and Kofi Annan about Lockerbie. |
| (63818) | |
| 246 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held over the past two months with Madeline Albright on North Korea's nuclear programme; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63817) | |
| 247 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese authorities concerning individuals imprisoned for counter-revolutionary offences. |
| (63537) | |
| 248 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese authorities on their implementation of the United Nations Convention on Human Rights. |
| (63538) | |
| 249 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the detention of members of the Democratic Party of China. |
| (63539) | |
| 250 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese authorities concerning the detention of (a) Xu Wenli, (b) Lu Decheng, (c) Yu Dongyue and (d) Yu Zhijan. |
| (63540) | |
| 251 | Dr Stephen Ladyman (South Thanet): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement about recent achievements of British business in Vietnam. |
| (64090) | |
| 252 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63872) | |
| 253 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Indian government on human rights issues in relation to the Dalit community. |
| (63867) | |
| 254 | Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 1st December, Official Report, column 161, on European elections, if he will list the terms of the mandate given to the General Affairs Group by the Committee of Permanent Representatives; by whom that mandate was approved; and what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the European Parliament's proposed common principles. |
| (64095) | |
| 255 N | Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response he has received from the Government of Dubai consequent upon his note verbale regarding the arbitrary detention of George Atkinson; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63415) | |
| 256 N | Mr John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on King Juan Carlos's proposed visit to Cuba. |
| (63699) | |
| 257 N | Mr John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the British Ambassador to Chile moved into the Hyatt Hotel in Santiago; for what reason; how long she intends to stay there; and what are the additional costs to public funds. |
| (63700) | |
| 258 N | Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd December, Official Report, column 210, concerning hospital readmissions, if he will list the figures for the total number of people aged over 75 years discharged in each quarter since emergency readmissions statistics were first collected, (a) in total and (b) by region. |
| (63423) | |
| 259 | Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are used for holding care history information centrally on children in care homes. |
| (64213) | |
| 260 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63921) | |
| 261 | Jane Griffiths (Reading East): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what have been the net development and running costs of the NHS in each of the last five years; what the expected costs are for the next two years; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63852) | |
| 262 | Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specific support his Department is able to give to the sufferers of colitis and Crohn's disease. |
| (63661) | |
| 263 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many outbreaks of food poisoning there were in each county in each of the last five years. |
| (63519) | |
| 264 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish a monthly breakdown of outbreaks of food poisoning in each of the last five years. |
| (63333) | |
| 265 N | Mr Robert Key (Salisbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library all guidance given to health authorities on (a) methods of recruitment and (b) criteria for recruitment of lay members of primary care groups. |
| (63179) | |
| 266 | Mr Bob Laxton (Derby North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to publish lists for each region indicating the performance of each hospital in each waiting list category. |
| (64006) | |
| 267 | Mr Bob Laxton (Derby North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to publish the patient waiting lists for each acute hospital broken down by type of operation awaited. |
| (63999) | |
| 268 | Mr Bob Laxton (Derby North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what details are currently made publicly available for each acute hospital on the order of patients on a waiting list. |
| (64000) | |
| 269 N | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health hospitals or psychiatric units in England have mixed-sex wards; and if he will list them. |
| (63789) | |
| 270 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the Ministers in his Department have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64139) | |
| 271 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions the Chief Medical Officer has compiled an assessment of, or report into, the safety of CS sprays since January 1993. |
| (63779) | |
| 272 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what work his Department has funded (a) to treat the victims of Halabja in northern Iraq following the chemical weapons attack by Iraqi military forces on the town in March 1998 and (b) to monitor the long-term effects of the chemical weapons on the residents of the town; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63778) | |
| 273 | Sir Nicholas Lyell (North East Bedfordshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is given out of public funds to the National Fetal Anti-Convulsant Syndrome Association; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63937) | |
| 274 | Sir Nicholas Lyell (North East Bedfordshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received concerning the effects of prescribing sodium valproate to epileptics during pregnancy; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63944) | |
| 275 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63879) | |
| 276 | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what input his Department intends to have into the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's discussions on the forthcoming clinical trials of cannabis; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63987) | |
| 277 | Miss Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone and The Weald): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for the continuation of GP fundholding after 31st March 1999. |
| (63689) | |
| 278 | Miss Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone and The Weald): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if, in the event of the bill to abolish fundholding not having received Royal Assent by 31st March 1999, GP fundholders will receive their fundholding budget for 1999-2000. |
| (63684) | |
| 279 | Miss Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone and The Weald): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultations he has had with representatives of general practitioners about retaining fundholding after 31st March 1999. |
| (63688) | |
| 280 N | John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last five years for contravention of paragraph 4 of the Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990. |
| (63679) | |
| 281 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the real terms change in funding from central government funds for each police force in the next financial year; what was the real terms change in funding from central government funds for each police force between 1997-98 and 1998-99; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63674) | |
| 282 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many drug free units there are in England and Wales; if he will list the prisons in which they operate; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63670) | |
| 283 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of reported drug use there were in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales (a) in each of the last 12 months and (b) in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63685) | |
| 284 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of local child curfews which will be introduced in the next year; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63686) | |
| 285 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred from Feltham Young Offenders Institution needing psychiatric help as defined under the Mental Health Act in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63676) | |
| 286 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers there were in each police force on (i) the last day for which figures are available, (ii) 31st March 1998, (iii) 30th September 1997, (iv) 31st March 1997 and (v) 31st March 1992; if he will give the figures in total and per head of population; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63672) | |
| 287 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received about the length of delays for transferring individuals from young offenders institutions who have been assessed as requiring psychiatric assistance; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63675) | |
| 288 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the level of purposeful activity per week undertaken by prisoners, broken down into (a) education, (b) work, (c) training and (d) rehabilitation programmes in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63671) | |
| 289 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many responses were received and from whom, to the consultation documents, Joining Forces to Protect the Public, and The Future Organisation of Family Courts. |
| (63927) | |
| 290 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average length of time taken for transfers to take place from Feltham Young Offenders Institution of individuals needing psychiatric help as defined under the Mental Health Act; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63783) | |
| 291 | Mr A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of each police force budget has been spent on pensions in each of the last three years; what estimate he has made of the average proportion of police budgets which will be spent on pensions in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63673) | |
| 292 | Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park and Kensington North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of section 11 funding was spent in each education authority area in England and Wales in 1997-98; and what percentage of pupils were covered by the grant in each case. |
| (63694) | |
| 293 | Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what standards he has specified for the accommodation of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63934) | |
| 294 N | Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he was notified by the Department for Education and Employment of cases in which convicted sex offenders have been offered placements working with children under the New Deal programme. |
| (63889) | |
| 295 | Tom Cox (Tooting): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reported cases of bullying of prison inmates by fellow inmates there have been in England and Wales in each of the last three years. |
| (64122) | |
| 296 | Tom Cox (Tooting): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been in the United Kingdom for sexual offences committed against children by United Kingdom nationals in countries overseas in the past three years; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64120) | |
| 297 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63920) | |
| 298 | Ms Jackie Lawrence (Preseli Pembrokeshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on progress in introducing a sparsity factor into the budgets for rural police authorities. |
| (63687) | |
| 299 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the Ministers in his Department, have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64127) | |
| 300 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many studies have been performed into solvents as potential alternatives to CS sprays; which agency or organisation carried out each study; and when each study was completed. |
| (63928) | |
| 301 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which UK police forces have had CS gas issued to them since 1968. |
| (63929) | |
| 302 | Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department collates statistics on the number of times each police force has used CS sprays in public since January 1996. |
| (63930) | |
| 303 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63874) | |
| 304 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many persons have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted of conspiracy in the UK to commit offences abroad. |
| (64203) | |
| 305 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions (a) the opinion of a senior police officer has been given in court as evidence of a person's membership of a specified organisation and (b) a court has been asked to draw an inference from the failure of a person suspected of belonging to a specified organisation to mention a relevant fact; how many persons have been (i) charged and (ii) convicted of belonging to a specified organisation since September 1998; and on how many occasions a court has ordered forfeiture of property following conviction for belonging to a specified organisation. |
| (64202) | |
| 306 N | Dr John Marek (Wrexham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of neighbourhood watch schemes. |
| (63420) | |
| 307 N | Dr John Marek (Wrexham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of neighbourhood watch schemes, with particular reference to security for the elderly. |
| (63421) | |
| 308 | Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects to make an announcement on the future of pensions for the Fire Service; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64083) | |
| 309 | Mr Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what circumstances a shotgun licence can be revoked; what guidelines have been issued to the police concerning the revocation of shotgun licences; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63983) | |
| 310 N | Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to date to public funds is for the extradition proceedings against Senator Pinochet; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63833) | |
| 311 | Dr Desmond Turner (Brighton, Kemptown): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to provide for criminal record checks by implementing Part V of the Police Act. |
| (64102) | |
| 312 | Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the liability of his Department in relation to policing costs arising from the Birmingham Northern Relief Road; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63899) | |
| 313 | Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the liability of MEL in respect of the policing costs arising from the Birmingham Northern Relief Road; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63910) | |
| 314 | Mr Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which of his Department's expenditure responsibilities will be transferred to the National Assembly for Wales once that body has been established. |
| (63658) | |
| 315 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in her Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63919) | |
| 316 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on concessional financing in China. |
| (63847) | |
| 317 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will set out the basic principles of good governance required by her Department of a country in which she is considering aid provision. |
| (63790) | |
| 318 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will list the Commonwealth Development Corporation's investments in China. |
| (63848) | |
| 319 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on promotion of United Kingdom trade in developing countries. |
| (63849) | |
| 320 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress she has made in the promotion of human rights in China; and if she will make a statement. |
| (63845) | |
| 321 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department was given new powers to object to proposed arms exports; what these powers entail; and if she will make a statement. |
| (63846) | |
| 322 N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will list the countries in which the Commonwealth Development Corporation currently invests. |
| (63791) | |
| 323 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will list (a) the countries she has visited since 1st May 1997, (b) the duration of her stay in those countries and (c) the cost of travel to those countries. |
| (63542) | |
| 324 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action she has taken to work with British business to strengthen support for investment and trade which contributes to sustainable development. |
| (63646) | |
| 325 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what consultations she carried out with the private sector when preparing her country strategy for China. |
| [R] (63544) | |
| 326 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what consultations she has carried out with the private sector when preparing her country strategies. |
| [R] (63545) | |
| 327 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to encourage British business to enter into joint ventures and invest in Central Asia. |
| [R] (63546) | |
| 328 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will list (a) the countries which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development has visited since 1st May 1997, (b) the duration of his stay in those countries and (c) the cost of travel to those countries. |
| (63541) | |
| 329 N | Mr Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to ensure that multilateral development projects make full use of the skills of United Kingdom business. |
| (63543) | |
| 330 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to include Irish as a category in her Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63881) | |
| 331 | Mr Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will provide financial assistance to the International Disability Foundation to disseminate their world disability report. |
| (63693) | |
| 332 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will list the official visits which Ministers in his Department have paid to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997. |
| (64132) | |
| 333 | Sir Nicholas Lyell (North East Bedfordshire): To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department, what the failure rate is in legally aided personal injury cases; and what was the cost to the Legal Aid Fund of such cases in each of the past five years. |
| (63942) | |
| 334 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63873) | |
| 335 | Jacqui Smith (Redditch): To ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department, when the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct intends to publish its Seventh Annual Report. |
| (64007) | |
| 336 | Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans she has to introduce the Sure Start programme in Northern Ireland. |
| (64143) | |
| 337 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in her Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63914) | |
| 338 N | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many mental health hospitals or psychiatric units in Northern Ireland have mixed-sex wards; and if she will list them. |
| (63788) | |
| 339 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will list for district partnership areas in the last financial year (a) the spending on community businesses and (b) the percentage of the productive investment budget this represents. |
| (64210) | |
| 340 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what targets she has set for reducing the unemployment differential between Catholics and Protestants; and by what criteria she will measure the impact of fair employment legislation. |
| (64209) | |
| 341 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what dates since April ministers attended meetings at which the review of military strategy in Northern Ireland was an agenda item, indicating which of these meetings were attended by (a) the Chief Constable of the RUC and (b) the general officer commanding. |
| (64211) | |
| 342 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will indicate (a) on what date she sought legal advice on possible conflicts between the recommendations of the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights on contract compliance measures and European Union law, (b) on what date advice was received and (c) what were the principal conclusions; and if she will place a copy of the opinion in the Library. |
| (64208) | |
| 343 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many persons have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted of conspiracy in the UK to commit offences abroad. |
| (64207) | |
| 344 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will list the measures taken in each month since February to reduce security activity. |
| (64205) | |
| 345 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions (a) the opinion of a senior police officer has been given in court as evidence of a person's membership of a specified organisation, (b) a court has been asked to draw an inference from the failure of a person suspected of belonging to a specified organisation to mention a relevant fact; how many persons have been (i) charged and (ii) convicted of belonging to a specified organisation since September and on how many occasions a court has ordered forfeiture of property following conviction for belonging to a specified organisation. |
| (64206) | |
| 346 | Ms Sandra Osborne (Ayr): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will make a statement on the launch of the Northern Ireland Compact. |
| (64124) | |
| 347 | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to increase access to the open countryside in Northern Ireland. |
| (63785) | |
| 348 | Mr William Ross (East Londonderry): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will list for the weeks ending (a) 5th December and (b) 12th December the number of punishment (i) beatings and (ii) shootings which took place in Northern Ireland; and how many in each category were committed by (i) Loyalists and (ii) Republicans. |
| (64196) | |
| 349 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the President of the Council, if she will list the official visits to Buckinghamshire which (a) she and (b) her predecessor have made since 2nd May 1997. |
| (64134) | |
| 350 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will estimate the numbers of duty free cigarettes per month brought into the United Kingdom by EU travellers in the past year. |
| (64097) | |
| 351 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Prime Minister, when he took the decision to support a continuation of EU duty free purchases of cigarettes for travellers. |
| (64096) | |
| 352 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make it his policy to oppose the continuation of duty free personal imports of cigarettes. |
| (64101) | |
| 353 | Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): To ask the Prime Minister, what arrangements he has made to visit South Africa in 1999; if he will list those who will accompany him and their travel arrangements; and what estimate he has made of the cost of the visit. |
| (63678) | |
| 354 | Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to use RAF planes between 17th December 1998 and 11th January 1999; and if he will list those who will accompany him and the estimated cost of the journeys. |
| (63677) | |
| 355 N | Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet): To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer of 9th December, Official Report, column 219, what case for looking again at the 1991 decision to abolish duty-free sales within the European Union at the end of June 1999 is available now that was not available at the time of his written Answer of 19th May, his oral Answer of 20th May, his written Answer of 3rd June or during the last United Kingdom Presidency of the European Union. |
| (63948) | |
| 356 | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will amend the Ministerial Code to provide guidance to Ministers on how to respond to questions about past affiliations to pressure groups. |
| (64088) | |
| 357 | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list, by Department, all special advisers, together with their salaries. |
| (63912) | |
| 358 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list the official visits which he has made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997. |
| (64131) | |
| 359 | Mr Richard Ottaway (Croydon South): To ask the Prime Minister, if he has appointed Councillor Jeremy Beecham to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Local Government. |
| (64089) | |
| 360 N | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will review the criteria used in formulating advice on appointments to the Privy Council. |
| (62165) | |
| 361 | Mr Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon): To ask the Prime Minister, where responsibility will lie for determining what programmes and bodies will be ultra-vires for the purpose of UK-wide funding after the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63659) | |
| 362 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63915) | |
| 363 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will publish a monthly breakdown of the outbreaks of food poisoning in each of the last five years. |
| (63331) | |
| 364 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many outbreaks of food poisoning there were in each county in each of the last five years. |
| (63518) | |
| 365 N | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many mental health hospitals or psychiatric units in Scotland have mixed-sex wards; and if he will list them. |
| (63787) | |
| 366 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63876) | |
| 367 | Mr Michael Moore (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale): To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many step-down beds were available in each health board area in Scotland in each year since 1990-91. |
| (63683) | |
| 368 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many people in receipt of disability living allowance have been reviewed under the Benefits Integrity Project since its introduction. |
| (63506) | |
| 369 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what percentage of cases reviewed under the Benefits Integrity Project have resulted in claimants (a) losing their entitlement, (b) having the level of their entitlement reduced and (c) having the level of their entitlement increased. |
| (63507) | |
| 370 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what measures he has introduced to assist with the additional costs faced during early years of parenthood. |
| (63505) | |
| 371 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what measures he has introduced to increase the level of assistance made available to support severely disabled young children. |
| (63510) | |
| 372 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Benefits Integrity Project in generating cost savings and reducing the level of benefit fraud. |
| (63509) | |
| 373 N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many complaints have been lodged by disability living allowance claimants as a result of decisions reached as a result of the Benefits Integrity Project, in each month since its introduction. |
| (63508) | |
| 374 N | Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what are the (a) numbers and (b) percentages of families claiming family credit where the family credit payment is equal to (i) up to 75 per cent. of the weekly wage, (ii) from 76 to 100 per cent. of the weekly wage and (iii) over 100 per cent. of the weekly wage; and if he will break down these figures between two parent and single parent families. |
| (63501) | |
| 375 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63918) | |
| 376 N | Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many people leaving the New Deal to claim benefits other than job seekers allowance have made such claims (a) by month and (b) by type of benefit claim, from January up to the latest date for which figures are available. |
| (63274) | |
| 377 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will list in respect of each financial year since 1990 (a) the level of the married woman's retirement pension, (b) the level of that pension if upratings had been rounded to the nearest one pence and (c) his estimate of the net effect on public funds in each financial year if upratings had been carried out as in (b). |
| (64140) | |
| 378 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will list in respect of each financial year since 1990 (a) the level of the basic retirement pension, (b) the level of that pension if upratings had been rounded to the nearest one pence and (c) his estimate of the net effect on public funds in each financial year if upratings had been carried out as in (b). |
| (64141) | |
| 379 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the Ministers in his Department, have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64129) | |
| 380 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63882) | |
| 381 N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what assessment he has made of the annual running costs of the proposed new Child Support Service outlined in the Green Paper, Children First; and what plans he has for a new computer system to handle the new procedures. |
| (63892) | |
| 382 N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if the NIRS II computer system is currently able to handle all enquiries about national insurance numbers. |
| (63895) | |
| 383 N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will define the term, substantial change, used in Chapter 5, paragraph 18, of the Green Paper, Children First; what representations he has received concerning this term; and if he will publish those representations. |
| (63890) | |
| 384 N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, which of the considerations which can affect child support maintenance payments under the current procedures will not come within the definition of exceptional expenses that tribunals will be allowed to take into account under the new proposals set out in Children First. |
| (63894) | |
| 385 N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what plans he has to alter the amount by which a weekly maintenance payment must change before the maintenance liability is reset by the CSA. |
| (63891) | |
| 386 | Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Sutton and Cheam of 10th November, Official Report, column 167, if people affected by motor neurone disease will be selected for reassessment under the Benefits Integrity Project, or its replacement, regardless of the rate of disability living allowance received. |
| (64191) | |
| 387 | Steve Webb (Northavon): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will update his estimates based on Family Resources Survey 1996-97 of (a) median pensioner incomes, excluding means-tested benefits, by age, sex and marital status, consistent with his Answer of 12th November, Official Report, columns 295-98, and corresponding estimates of the size of each group, (b) non take-up of income support by pensioners in each age, sex and marital status group, consistent with his Answer of 19th October, Official Report, columns 597-98 (c) receipt of means-tested benefits and liability for income tax among pensioners, consistent with his Answer of 5th November 1997, Official Report, columns 249-50 and (d) patterns of pensioner savings, consistent with his Answer of 30th October 1997, Official Report, columns 850-52. |
| (63943) | |
| 388 N | Steve Webb (Northavon): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will estimate, on the basis of the Family Resources Survey, and pooling years of data, the number of benefit units which contain at least one employee and at least one dependent child, whose total income as measured for the purposes of the Working Families Tax Credit in each £5,000 band up to £30,000 and above, indicating separately the figures for (i) lone parent families, (ii) two parent families with one child, (iii) two parent families with two children and (iv) two parent families with three or more children, providing within each category separate figures for those in (A) firms of up to 25 employees and (B) firms of 25 employees or more. |
| (63418) | |
| 389 N | Mr Shaun Woodward (Witney): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many lone parents with children of school age were receiving income support in Oxfordshire on 1st December. |
| (63647) | |
| 390 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on target delivery times for postal rounds in rural areas. |
| (63885) | |
| 391 | Jackie Ballard (Taunton): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment he has made of change in the quality of postal services in rural areas in the past three years in terms of the time of day by which deliveries are made. |
| (63869) | |
| 392 N | Mrs Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on what date his Department was informed of negotiations relating to the contract between Granger Telecom, Surrey and Chechen Telecom. |
| (63628) | |
| 393 N | Mrs Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will place in the Library the written advice his Department gives to British companies considering contracts in Chechnya. |
| (63630) | |
| 394 N | Mrs Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what advice his Department gave to Granger Telecom, Surrey in respect of the safety of British Nationals working in Chechnya. |
| (63629) | |
| 395 | Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans he has to review the rules and regulations in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 governing the granting of licences to credit reference agencies. |
| (64078) | |
| 396 N | Mr David Chidgey (Eastleigh): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if responsibility for the Pathway project will be vested in the Post Office under his proposals for the future of the Post Office. |
| (63702) | |
| 397 N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will investigate plans by OFTEL to alter freephone numbers. |
| (63655) | |
| 398 N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if officials from his Department were present at the December meeting of the Wassenaar Arrangement in Vienna. |
| (63523) | |
| 399 N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on the implications for the competitiveness of electronic commerce in the United Kingdom of the decisions made at the December meeting of the Wassenaar Arrangement. |
| (63525) | |
| 400 N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what research his Department has undertaken to ascertain the impact upon business of changes proposed to the system of freephone numbers by OFTEL. |
| (63521) | |
| 401 N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many responses have been received to OFTEL's consultation document, Freephone Numbers: Options for the Future, from (a) businesses, (b) network operators, (c) telecom advisory committees and (d) others; and how many responses from each group (i) supported and (ii) opposed options 1 and/or 2. |
| (63522) | |
| 402 N | Mr Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps he has taken to prevent companies trading fraudulently on the Internet by using as a domain name the registered name or trademark of another company. |
| (63414) | |
| 403 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63917) | |
| 404 | Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North and Fleetwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment he has made of the impact of the national minimum wage on the activity holiday industry; what representations he has received from the industry in relation to the draft national minimum wage regulations; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63698) | |
| 405 | Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North and Fleetwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what research his Department has conducted on the commercial cost of board and lodging; and if he will make a statement on the level to be included in the national minimum wage regulations for accommodation. |
| (63780) | |
| 406 | Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North and Fleetwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations his Department has received on the amount that is deductible for meals provided by an employer under the draft national minimum wage regulations; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63777) | |
| 407 | Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North and Fleetwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations he has received on the range of training programmes designated as accredited training under the draft national minimum wage regulations; and if he will make a statement on the reasons which underlay the decision not to designate as accredited training programmes, the full list of programmes recommended by the Low Pay Commission. |
| (63701) | |
| 408 | Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North and Fleetwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the representations received by his Department on the draft national minimum wage regulations concerning the level of the proposed accommodation deduction, indicating the balance of opinions submitted on the level of the proposed amount; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63781) | |
| 409 | Dr Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proposals he has evaluated for setting up an Academy of Invention; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63850) | |
| 410 | Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many official visits (a) he and (b) the ministers in his Department have made to Buckinghamshire since 2nd May 1997; and if he will list them. |
| (64135) | |
| 411 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63884) | |
| 412 | Mr Eric Martlew (Carlisle): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his oral statement of 9th December, Official Report, column 295, from whom the report published by Verdict Research was commissioned; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library. |
| (63997) | |
| 413 | Ms Sandra Osborne (Ayr): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what action he proposes to take to further the adoption of global standards on tobacco marketing. |
| (64125) | |
| 414 | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what grants or other assistance have been given or promised by his Department or by the European Commission to (a) Ford and (b) its suppliers in connection with the new manufacturing and assembly lines for the Baby Jag. |
| (63985) | |
| 415 | Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his Answer of 7th December, Official Report, column 69, concerning BNFL's reprocessing contract, if he will place in the Library copies of each of the intergovernmental exchanges of letters on nuclear waste to which the Answer refers. |
| (63898) | |
| 416 | Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what actions he will take to ensure that Science and Technology issues are taken into account in the work of government departments. |
| (64081) | |
| 417 | Mr Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations he has received regarding claims about energy saving by British Gas Trading Ltd. in promotional material. |
| (64004) | |
| 418 | Ms Rosie Winterton (Doncaster Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on forthcoming changes to the Hallmarking Act 1973. |
| (64080) | |
| 419 | Mr Don Foster (Bath): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. |
| (63913) | |
| 420 | Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the standard spending assessment for education is per pupil in Flintshire local education authority; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63939) | |
| 421 | Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what was the total cost of (a) the new River Dee Bridge in Flintshire and its associated road works, (b) the Grade Interchange at the entrance to the Deeside Industrial Park, (c) the Queensferry Flyover and (d) the Hawarden By-Pass, at current prices; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63938) | |
| 422 | Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what measures he is taking to reduce delays in the statementing of children; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63940) | |
| 423 | Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much state and agency aid, including Regional Selective Assistance has been given to projects in the counties of (a) Clwyd and (b) Flintshire since 1990; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63936) | |
| 424 | Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what percentage of Wales currently has assisted area status; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63935) | |
| 425 | Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he estimates that the former railway from Shotton Steelworks to Chester will be converted into a dedicated bus route; at what cost; and if he will make a statement. |
| (63941) | |
| 426 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will publish a monthly breakdown of the outbreaks of food poisoning in each of the last five years. |
| (63332) | |
| 427 N | Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many outbreaks of food poisoning there were in each county in each of the last five years. |
| (63517) | |
| 428 N | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many mental health hospitals or psychiatric units in Wales have mixed-sex wards; and if he will list them. |
| (63786) | |
| 429 | Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans he has to include Irish as a category in his Department's ethnic monitoring of staff recruitment. |
| (63877) | |
| 430 N | Mr Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will make a statement on the use of funding by Welsh schools under the Schools Access Initiative. |
| (63827) | |
| 431 | Mr Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans he has for allocating the Welsh budget provision in 1999-2000, and provisionally for the years (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2001-02; and if he will make a statement. |
| (64154) | |
| 432 N | Mr Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what records his Department has kept of the use of the £500,000 per year granted to Welsh schools under the Schools Access Initiative. |
| (63829) | |
| 433 N | Mr Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he intends to audit the use of the £500,000 per year granted to Welsh schools under the Schools Access Initiative. |
| (63828) | |
| 434 | Mr Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans he has for individual local authority spending in 1999-2000, for council tax damping and arrangements for council tax benefit subsidy. |
| (64153) | |
| 435 | Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby): To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee, what steps have been taken to recycle paper from honourable Members' offices. |
| [Transferred] (63996) | |
| 436 | Mr William Ross (East Londonderry): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent by each nation in the EU in each of the last 10 years in pounds sterling on defence (a) in total and (b) per head of the population. |
| [Transferred] (64195) | |
| 437 | Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total annual cost of staffing and maintaining surveillance towers (a) at the hilltop sites in the South Armagh area, (b) the two towers in Derry and (c) the three posts mounted on blocks of flats in Belfast. |
| [Transferred] (64204) | |
| 438 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of death certificates each year that refer to smoking as a cause of death. |
| [Transferred] (64100) | |
| 439 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the average daily number of cigarettes smoked by a person who has died from a tobacco-related illness. |
| [Transferred] (64098) | |
| 440 | Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of premature deaths each year associated with smoking. |
| [Transferred] (64099) | |
| 441 | Mr John Healey (Wentworth): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if the training undertaken by the advisers for the New Deal for Lone Parents is accredited towards a national vocational qualification. |
| [Transferred] (63994) | |
| 442 | Mr John Healey (Wentworth): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what proportion of the advisers for the New Deal for Lone Parents have been recruited from (a) the Benefits Agency, (b) the Employment Service, (c) the Child Support Agency and (d) other backgrounds. |
| [Transferred] (63995) | |
| |
| © Parliamentary copyright 1998 | Revised 14 December 1998 |