Order Book Part 1

House of Commons

Session 1999-2000
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The Order Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on Wednesday 15 December 1999

Here you can browse the Written Questions for answer on Wednesday 15 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 Wednesday 15 December, of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order of Business.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer from Wednesday 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.

WEDNESDAY 15th DECEMBER

1
   Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what his Department's policy is on the purchase and use of peat for its own operations and activities; and what performance targets his Department has set to reduce current peat use.

(103011)

2
N   Mr David Curry (Skipton and Ripon): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will list the CAP support regimes which will be subject to the modulation levy under the rural development regulation, together with the cash yield of a 1 per cent. levy for each regime, in respect of (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

(102465)

3
N   Mr John Healey (Wentworth): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many fast track civil servants have been recruited to government departments since May 1997.

(101558)

4
   Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how long the former Department of the Environment buildings in Marsham Street have been empty; what is their square footage; and what is the commercial rent lost as a result of them being empty.

(102866)

5
   Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's policy is on the use of peat in and around the Millennium Dome.

(103010)

6
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on what days of the year it is (a) required and (b) permitted for the Union flag to be flown from (i) government buildings, (ii) headquarters of public bodies, (iii) police stations and (iv) schools.

(101708)

7
N   Mr Jim Murphy (Eastwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the British Olympic Association on ensuring that a future British Olympic bid contains proposals to disperse major sporting events throughout the United Kingdom.

(102804)

8
N   Mr Jim Murphy (Eastwood): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the British Olympic Association and other interested parties on ensuring the availability of funding for Olympic facilities throughout the United Kingdom.

(102803)

9
N   Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what type of manned and unmanned aircraft or air vehicles were lost during operations over Kosovo in 1999; and what is their replacement value.

(101862)

10
N   Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the health and safety record of nuclear-related plants managed by Lockheed Martin in the USA; and if they have incurred fines or had plants closed for health and safety reasons by the Department of Energy.

(101863)

11
N   Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the replacement costs of (a) Paveway II, (b) Paveway III, (c) RBL 755, (d) 1000lb bomb, (e) Alarm and (f) sea-launched cruise missile.

(102674)

12
   Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on the purchase and use of peat for its own operations and activities; and what performance targets his Department has set to reduce current peat use.

(103013)

13
N   Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the items of equipment and furniture and their cost that (a) have been stolen and (b) are otherwise unaccounted for from his Department and its agencies during the last 12 months, identifying items valued at £5,000 or more, and separately identifying information technology material.

(102836)

14
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the decision was taken to stand down the Research Unit of the Army Intelligence Corps; and if he will make a statement.

(101865)

15
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the overall strength in September (a) 1998 and (b) 1999 was of military forces in Northern Ireland, broken down into the numbers attached to the (i) RAF, (ii) Royal Navy (iii) RIR, (iv) RIR part-time and (v) others.

(101866)

16
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the Army regiments currently deployed in Northern Ireland, indicating (a) the numbers attached to each and (b) the estimated duration of their tour of duty; and if he will make a statement on planned deployment during the next 12 months.

(101867)

17
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many patrols were carried out by each battalion stationed in Northern Ireland in the last month for which figures are available, broken down by police district and approximate district council constituencies.

(101868)

18
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Irish Regiment patrols were (a) accompanied by the RUC and (b) unaccompanied in the last month for which figures are available.

(101869)

19
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions in the past two years legal action has been taken to collect fees levied for use of badges, crests and insignia of Her Majesty's armed forces; and what penalties have been imposed for infringement of Crown copyright in such cases.

(101870)

20
   Bob Russell (Colchester): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Social Security about members of the armed forces claiming benefits; and if he will make a statement.

(102852)

21
   Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many children are claimed to be being educated at home, or elsewhere outside school, on the basis of their parent signing a form presented to them by an education official; and if he will make a statement.

(102970)

22
   Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what action he proposes to take to ensure that claims that children are receiving home education are not used to disguise truancy; and if he will make a statement.

(102971)

23
   Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, which local authorities currently include a special educational needs factor in their local management of schools formula on the basis of an SEN audit.

(102977)

24
   Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many employees of his Department availed themselves of early retirement packages and at what total cost in financial year 1996-97.

(102976)

25
   Dr Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what assessment he has made of the quality of education in (a) Middlesbrough, (b) Redcar and Cleveland, (c) Stockton and (d) Hartlepool local education authorities in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools since 1st May 1997, following the recent school inspections there.

(102912)

26
   Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his Answer of 6th December, Official Report, column 416W, on local education authority administration costs, if he will list, for each local education authority, the percentage of its education budget spent on administration, ranked in decreasing order.

(102859)

27
   Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list (a) the categories of specialist comprehensives, (b) the number of schools in each category and (c) the number and percentage of successful and unsuccessful applications for specialist school status.

(102865)

28
   Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if the surrender policy for waste management licences issues by the Environment Agency has been launched; and if it is his policy that licence holders who are waiting to surrender their licences having ceased trading should be required to continue paying for operating licences whilst the agency considers its surrender policy.

(102980)

29
   Mr Peter Bottomley (Worthing West): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 13th December, Official Report, column 63W, concerning Ladbroke Grove, what was the relevance of railway privatisation to the Answer and to the question and to which sentences in the Answer it related; and what references to the rail layout at Ladbroke Grove or the safety rules relevant to it or to its operational use were referred to Ministers' offices between May 1997 and the day of the Ladbroke Grove crash.

(103009)

30
   Mr Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, when the fully-staged incident involving all the emergency services was carried out on the A12 Hackney to M11 link road; what consideration was given to the possibility of such an incident being in a tunnel; what was the outcome; and if he will make a statement.

(102972)

31
N   Mr David Curry (Skipton and Ripon): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will list the money allocated to local authorities from central government in the form of (a) rate support grant and (b) specific grant in each of the 10 most recent years for which information is available.

(102466)

32
   Mr Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what was the outcome of the Environment Council held in Brussels on 13th and 14th December; and if he will make a statement

(103020)

33
   Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will list the property held by the CAA on behalf of the National Air Traffic Service or by NATS itself, indicating in each case (a) its location, (b) its present value, (c) whether it is leased or owned with details of any leases, (d) whether the property is wholly or partially occupied by NATS and (e) which company or consultancy has given advice on the property value recently.

(102913)

34
   Mr Ken Livingstone (Brent East): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what account the Government took, in developing its proposed public private partnership scheme for London Underground, of the bond-financed investment scheme set out in the report, The Way Out--An Alternative Approach to the Future of the Underground.

(103018)

35
   Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make a statement on the objection by the Government Office for the West Midlands to the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Minerals Local Plan 1996 to 2006.

(102991)

36
   Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his Answer of 26th November, Official Report, column 213W, concerning the Climate Change Levy, what role the Energy Technology Support Unit will have in determining cost-effective measures with respect to the Climate Change Levy.

(103019)

37
N   Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne): To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many rough sleepers there were in each of the last 30 months for which figures are available in (a) London, (b) Bristol, (c) Cardiff, (d) Glasgow, (e) Leeds, (f) Liverpool and (g) Birmingham.

(101524)

38
   Mr Tony Colman (Putney): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, to what parliamentary scrutiny he proposes the UK's Double Taxation Agreement with the US will be subject.

(102908)

39
N   Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the proportion of low birthweight babies in each health authority area of England, in each of the last five years.

(102228)

40
N   Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what statutory provisions restrict the ability of policyholders to make top-up payments to long-term endowment insurance plans; and what plans he has to review these provisions.

(102433)

41
   Mr Denzil Davies (Llanelli): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total amount of PES cover required over the period of nine years from 2000 in respect of the Objective One funding available for Wales over that period.

(102969)

42
   Mr Denzil Davies (Llanelli): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what, at the latest available date, was the proportion of people who said that they could speak Welsh in each of the counties of Wales.

(102968)

43
   Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's policy is in respect of passenger service vehicle operators who, having legally filled their vehicles with red diesel in Norway, have traces of red dye discovered in their fuel tanks by HM Customs and Excise in the United Kingdom.

(103015)

44
   Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to exempt horticulture from the Climate Change Levy.

(102988)

45
   Dr Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of people who will be able to benefit from the working families tax credit in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency; and if he will make a statement.

(102911)

46
   Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the new taxes introduced (a) between June 1992 and April 1997 and (b) from May 1997 to date.

(102863)

47
   Mr Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of (a) the projected receipts from the climate change levy and (b) the projected level of National Insurance refunds in each of the Government standard regions; and if he will make a statement.

(102861)

48
   Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the purchase and use of peat for its own operations and activities; and what performance targets his Department has set to reduce current peat use.

(103016)

49
   Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has, under the Joint Declaration, to monitor political structures and political activity in Hong Kong.

(102910)

50
   Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) list the current membership of the EU Charter Working Group, (b) list the dates and places of its meetings for 2000 and (c) publish the agendas for those meetings.

(102979)

51
   Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations the Government has made to the Government of Pakistan concerning the wellbeing of former ministers currently held in custody, pending trial.

(102864)

52
   Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on the purchase and use of peat for its own operations and activities; and what performance targets his Department has set to reduce current peat use.

(103012)

53
N   Mr David Chaytor (Bury North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research he has commissioned on the success rate for pre-operative diagnosis of breast cancer of the triple assessment method.

(101983)

54
N   Mr David Chaytor (Bury North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research he has commissioned on the success rate for pre-operative diagnosis of each of the following forms of assessment for breast cancer (a) clinical examination, (b) mamography or ultrasound and (c) fine needle aspiration or core biopsy.

(101982)

55
N   Mr David Chaytor (Bury North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what precentage of breast cancer assessments are made by the use of the triple assessment method; and if he will list the figures for each NHS trust.

(101984)

56
N   Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the life expectancy of new baby (a) boys and (b) girls, broken down by health authority area of England.

(102229)

57
N   Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he will take to offset the impact of a rise in the price of generic drugs in those health authority areas with a high use of such drugs.

(102447)

58
N   Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many products have been transferred from Category A of the Drug Tariff to Category D; and what was the cost per head of population in each category for the last financial year for each health authority area as recorded by the Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.

(102388)

59
   Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Health Services Directorate will reply to the letter dated 15th September from Mr Trevor Mytton of the Shropshire Wheelchair Users Group regarding the Wheelchair Service and Voucher Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

(102990)

60
   Mr Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid Kent): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much is being spent on research into the causes and elimination of MRSA in the current financial year.

(102857)

61
   Mr Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid Kent): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is the estimated annual cost to the NHS of MRSA (a) in each of the last three financial years and (b) estimated for the current financial year; and how many NHS trusts in Kent are in financial difficulties as a result of MRSA.

(102856)

62
   Mr Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid Kent): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) beds and (b) wards are currently out of service due to MRSA.

(102854)

63
   Mr Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid Kent): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients are currently in intensive care due to MRSA.

(102855)

64
   Mr Andrew Rowe (Faversham and Mid Kent): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients died in 1997 and 1998 as a result of MRSA.

(102858)

65
   Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the studies carried out at Warwick University concerning the vulnerability of human beings to external electrical fields.

(102862)

66
   Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the impact of the microwave pulses used in mobile phone masts on the parts of the brains of children which are not stable until they reach the age of 12 years.

(102860)

67
   Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of existing residential capacity that will be lost if his Draft Required Standards for Residential and Nursing Care are implemented.

(102994)

68
   Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received regarding the methodology used by his Department in making their regulatory impact assessment in respect of the Draft Required Standards for Residential and Nursing Homes; and if he will make a statement.

(102993)

69
   Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's policy is on the purchase and use of peat for its own operations and activities; and what performance targets his Department has set to reduce current peat use.

(103017)

70
   Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will introduce a new hardback UK passport incorporating the existing pages of national identification.

(102915)

71
   Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consult the public to establish whether there is demand for a hardback UK passport.

(102916)

72
   Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will investigate the cost of re-introducing an optional hardback UK passport.

(102914)

73
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what were the principal conclusions and recommendations of the review of the interpretation of section 133(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 that was concluded in April 1999; and if he will place a copy of that review in the Library.

(101709)

74
   Mr Jim Murphy (Eastwood): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on when the Glasgow Airport Immigration Service will be re-opened to the public.

(102851)

75
   Sir Michael Spicer (West Worcestershire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 13th December, Official Report, column 9W, on 2 Marsham Street, how much longer he expects these costs to be maintained in order to protect the empty office blocks at 2 Marsham Street.

(102989)

76
   Mr Tony Colman (Putney): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her oral Answer of 8th December, Official Report, column 811, which products will be excluded when the EU offers tariff-free access for essentially all products to the least developed countries.

(102995)

77
   Mr Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid has been provided to (a) Indian-controlled Kashmir and (b) Azad Kashmir since May 1997.

(102978)

78
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will place a copy of the judgement of the Court of Appeal on the 1980 conviction of Billy Gorman and Paddy McKinney in the Library.

(101871)

79
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what correspondence he has received from outgoing members of the Parades Commission; and if he will place copies in the Library.

(101889)

80
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reason he is to review the workings of the Parades Commission; what are the terms of reference of this review; what organisations and individuals have been consulted over the terms of reference; and what body has been appointed to conduct the review.

(101887)

81
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what is the estimated cost of (a) installing and operating for one quarter the additional telephone lines and 0845 number and (b) printing by the Police Federation in connection with its campaign against the Patten Commission.

(101762)

82
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what were the staffing levels of the RUC Special Branch in September 1994 and September 1999 in total and broken down (a) into component operational units, (b) by grade or rank, (c) by perceived religious or community origin and (d) by gender.

(101882)

83
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what was the composition of the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade by (i) gender and (ii) by perceived community origin (a) in the last month for which figures were available, (b) for the same month five years ago and (c) 10 years ago.

(101886)

84
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what rules and guidelines govern the use of RUC insignia; and what penalties apply to the use of insignia without permission.

(101879)

85
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what days in the last year the Union flag was flown (a) from the headquarters of each public body, (b) at each RUC station and (c) in each school authority.

(101873)

86
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officers attached to RUC Special Branch in September joined the Special Branch in (a) each of the last 10 years, (b) the previous 15 years and (c) the previous 20 years.

(101883)

87
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who is the appointed auditor for the (a) Northern Ireland Police Federation, (b) the Police Association for Northern Ireland and (c) Northern Ireland Police Authority; and what recommendations have been made by each of those auditors concerning the guidelines for expenditure on political campaigning.

(101876)

88
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, (a) when, (b) how many and (c) for what periods RUC officers will be deployed in the former Yugoslavia; under whose discipline they will operate; and in which areas they will be deployed.

(101880)

89
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make it his policy to refuse permission for use of the RUC insignia in association with political campaigns.

(102082)

90
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what action he plans to take as a result of receiving reports of the likely cause of the fire at Carrickfergus police station on 10th January 1990.

(102083)

91
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations he has received from the US Congress concerning US-sponsored training and exchange programmes with the RUC.

(101875)

92
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons the RUC were unable to identify persons involved in illegal parades in 1999; and if he will make a statement.

(101874)

93
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make available to the Irish judicial investigation into the 1976 murder of Seamus Ludlow (a) the interview notes made by the RUC relating to men arrested but not charged in 1999 and (b) case papers prepared for the DPP.

(101872)

94
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what days the Union flag was flown at RUC Garnerville in the last year; what body is responsible for policy on flags and emblems at this establishment; and on what date policy on the flying of flags was last reviewed.

(101758)

95
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what (a) funds and (b) benefits in kind have been provided from public funds to the Police Federation for Northern Ireland in the past two years; what rules govern the Federation and its staff; how many staff are employed by the Federation, at what cost; what payments have been made by the Federation to assist the Daily Telegraph Defend the RUC campaign; and what payments were made by the Federation to cover the expenses of staffing phonelines associated with the campaign.

(101759)

96
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many advertisements entitled, Where Patten Got it Wrong, have been placed in which newspapers by the Police Federation; and what the cost of each was.

(101760)

97
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times since 1st September the Police Federation of Northern Ireland has met; and what decisions have been made concerning the allocation of funds for a public campaign against the findings of the Patten Commission.

(101761)

98
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what are the functions of the Security Policy and Operations Department; how many staff, at what grades, are assigned to this unit; and how many additional staff have been (i) appointed and (ii) seconded in the last six months.

(101888)

99
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much money has been received in donations by the Police Federation since 1st September; and what arrangements have been made for financial oversight of the allocation of these funds.

(101763)

100
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what are the terms of reference of the review of the composition of the senior grades of the Civil Service; what is the composition of the senior grades of the Civil Service; what is the composition of the review team; when the review began; when it will report; and when its recommendations will be published.

(101884)

101
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what is the membership of the working group announced on 4th November 1998 to consider the implementation of the recommendations of the Third Report of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of session 1997-98 (HC337); how many times the group has met; what representations it received from the Northern Ireland Police Federation; and if he will make a statement on its terms of reference and work to date.

(101877)

102
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list the measures taken in each month since November 1998 (a) to reduce security activity and (b) to remove security installations.

(101881)

103
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what body has responsibility for overseeing the financial arrangements entered into by the Police Federation; and what powers he has to prevent the Federation from making ultra vires payments.

(101764)

104
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when the emblem of the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade was introduced.

(101885)

105
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many patrols were carried out in the last month for which figures are available, broken down by (a) police division and (b) corresponding district council constituency areas, indicating which of those patrols were accompanied by a military presence.

(101878)

106
N   Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North): To ask the Prime Minister, what is the membership of each cabinet committee.

(101710)

107
   Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle): To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 15th December.

(102584)

108
N   Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many full-time employees were employed in each metropolitan, unitary or county area in North-East England by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies, in each of the last three years for which information is available.

(102432)

109
   Mr Hilary Benn (Leeds Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans he has to require manufacturers clearly to label any product which has been tested, or contains ingredients which have been tested, on animals; and if he will make a statement.

(102992)

110
N   Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud, including fraudulent use of computer chips and (c) theft his Department has recorded in the last five years.

(102835)

111
N   Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on how many occasions in each of the past five years computer systems in his Department have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (a) within and (b) outside the Department.

(102834)

112
N   Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on DTI-DSS co-ordination in relation to the Post Office.

(101554)

113
   Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what his proposed date is for the dissolution of the electricity pool and the commencement of the Electricity Trading Arrangements.

(103014)

114
N   Dr Nick Palmer (Broxtowe): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps she is taking to ensure wider diversity in appointments to quangos.

[Question Unstarred] (101547)

115
   Mr Huw Edwards (Monmouth): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families in Monmouthshire are currently in receipt of the working families tax credit.

[Transferred] (102909)

116
   Bob Russell (Colchester): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many members of the armed forces at the Colchester Garrison he estimates are entitled to the working families tax credit; and if he will make a statement.

[Transferred] (102853)