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Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Tuesday 16 December 2003
(the 'Questions Book')
Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Tuesday 16 December 2003
This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Tuesday 16 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 Tuesday 16 December of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper. For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Tuesday 16 December see Part 2 of this paper.
Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office 1
N | Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new recruits there were to the Civil Service in each year since 1997. | | (144657) | Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 2
N | Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the Exchequer was in tax receipts foregone of the 10 per cent. rate of corporation tax introduced in the 1999 Budget for the smallest companies, in each year since its introduction. | | (144655) | 3
N | Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many pay-as-you-earn schemes with one or two employees there were for companies, excluding unincorporated businesses, at April (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. | | (144656) | 4
N | Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date board members of Inland Revenue first began planning for Project ASPIRE or its antecedents; and who was responsible for project ASPIRE from that date up to 5th September 2002. | | (144692) | 5
N | Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the purpose was of the market making exercise run by Inland Revenue as part of Project ASPIRE; what objectives were set to judge its success; and whether these objectives were achieved. | | (144693) | 6
N | Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the potential suppliers who engaged in the market making exercise in support of project ASPIRE were made aware by Inland Revenue at the outset of the exercise of the identities of the other potential suppliers; whether the methodology adopted by Inland Revenue for the market making exercise provided for discussions between Inland Revenue and each of the potential suppliers engaging in the market making exercise; and whether the potential suppliers who responded to the Official Journal of the European Communities Notice placed by Inland Revenue with regard to Project ASPIRE were required in their submissions to provide indicative pricing information. | | (144694) | 7
| Mr Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North & Leith):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the progress being made in the establishment of an international financing facility. | | (144696) | 8
N | Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the organisations which responded to the consultation document, Simplifying the taxation of pensions: increasing choice and flexibility for all. | | (144663) | 9
N | David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps have been taken to ensure that high income earners pay the 40 per cent. income tax rate and not the standard one on the basis that a company is being run by them; and if he will make a statement. | | (144649) | 10
N | David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals in the last three tax years were informed by the Inland Revenue that, though claiming to be eligible to pay the standard income tax rate because of running a company, the amount they would have to pay was 40 per cent.; and if he will make a statement. | | (144651) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence 11
| Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects to make an announcement on the contract for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft project. | | (144698) | 12
N | Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on his plans to follow up the findings of the RAND Europe report on the Joint Strike Fighter. | | (144462) | 13
N | Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government remains committed to purchasing 232 Eurofighter Typhoons. | | (144463) | 14
N | Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will complete his review of the future numbers of aircraft to be deployed by the RAF over the period referred to in his statement of 11th December, Official Report, columns 1207-1222. | | (144464) | 15
N | Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many aircraft, of each type, will be deployed over the timescale covered by the Defence White Paper. | | (144465) | 16
N | Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will order Tranche II of the Eurofighter Typhoon; and how many aircraft he will order. | | (144466) | Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister 17
N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what evaluation he has made of the adequacy of the resourcing levels of the Building Inspectorate to allow it to carry out all its statutory monitoring functions in respect of the current building regulations. | | (142451) | 18
N | Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when legislation relating to high hedges will come into effect. | | (144022) | 19
| Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total change in Government funding for Kirklees Council was in each year since 1997; how much of this total came from revenue from taxation; and how much was targeted on (a) regeneration projects, (b) specific grants for education, (c) social services and (d) direct funds for education not accounted for in the local education authority budget. | | (144714) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 20
N | Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what advice he has issued to social services departments following the recent judgement that the Children Act 1989 applies to children in prisons. | | (144023) | 21
N | Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which local authorities have instituted child protection investigations with regard to children held in custody or removal centres during 2003. | | (144024) | 22
N | Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what research the Learning and Skills Council is carrying out into (a) the level of and (b) repayment arrangements for fees in (i) post-16 education and (ii) further education colleges. | | (144650) | 23
N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will list the work permits granted since January 2003 by country for (a) primary teachers and (b) secondary teachers in each Government Office region. | | (143191) | 24
N | Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will estimate the cost of servicing the debt outstanding on the income-contingent student loan scheme after the introduction of top-up fees; and if he will make a statement. | | (144383) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 25
N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evaluation she has made of the report 0022/2003(CNS) for the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, dated 24th September, by Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca MEP; and if she will make a statement on the recent recommendations of that committee on the proposals in so far as they affect United Kingdom policy. | | (142452) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 26
N | Mr David Chidgey (Eastleigh):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with his counterparts in the (a) United Nations, (b) European Union and (c) United States Administration with regard to the resolution of the border conflict within Ethiopia and Eritrea. | | (142639) | 27
N | Mr David Chidgey (Eastleigh):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the action that has to be taken with regard to the resolution of the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea over their border. | | (142640) | 28
N | Mr David Chidgey (Eastleigh):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the UN Border Commission in The Hague was acting within its remit in granting the border town of Badme to the Eritrean Government. | | (142641) | 29
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to discuss with the Sudanese authorities acts of flogging under their penal code, with particular reference to the case of Intisar Bakri Abdulgadir. | | (144155) | 30
N | Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's future relationship with Zimbabwe following its departure from the Commonwealth. | | (144049) | 31
N | Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to support the continuation of UN sanctions on Liberia, including timber; and if he will make a statement. | | (143494) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Health 32
N | Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many closures of midwifery-led units since 1997 were due to a shortage of staff; and what the other reasons for closure were. | | (144658) | 33
N | Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnant women have had as their first point of contact (a) a general practitioner and (b) a midwife in each of the last six years. | | (144659) | 34
N | Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the varying rates of caesarean section in England. | | (144660) | 35
N | Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether consultant-led midwifery units have had higher vacancy rates than midwife-led maternity units in each of the last six years; and what the average difference was for each year. | | (144661) | 36
N | Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many midwifery-led units have been closed since 1997; how many were transferred to hospitals to become consultant-led units; how many consultant-led units were closed; and how many have become midwifery-led units since 1997. | | (144662) | 37
N | Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the latest available figures are for the total number of people waiting for in-patient treatment in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area. | | (143752) | 38
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that every patient recommended by an NHS consultant for brachytherapy treatment has the treatment funded by a primary care trust. | | (144545) | 39
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Government's policy on the funding of brachytherapy treatment by the National Health Service is. | | (144546) | 40
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the definition of a stroke unit is under the National Service Framework for Older People's target for every hospital to have a stroke unit by April 2004. | | (143929) | 41
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specialist (a) equipment and (b) staff are needed in a stroke ward to change its designation to a specialist stroke unit. | | (143930) | 42
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the national professional guidance on head louse control and the subsequent guidelines based on the guidance and published in the Journal of Family Healthcare. | | (144161) | 43
N | Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on how grants made by his Department to the ADHD UK Alliance have been spent. | | (143804) | 44
N | Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the National Health Service was of hip braces imported from the United States of America in each of the last five years. | | (143805) | 45
N | Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons hip braces are not purchased from United Kingdom manufacturers. | | (143806) | 46
N | Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the (a) organisations and (b) expert professionals who have been consulted during his Department's review of specialised mental health care. | | (143852) | 47
N | Mrs Marion Roe (Broxbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Human Genetics Commission has been charged with (a) involving stakeholders, (b) conducting a public consultation and (c) developing a national policy on the use of genetic information by insurance companies. | | (142217) | 48
N | Mrs Marion Roe (Broxbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timescale is for (a) developing policy options involving stakeholders and (b) consulting the public before the moratorium on the use of genetic information by insurance companies comes to an end in 2006. | | (142218) | Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department 49
N | Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many convictions there have been of paedophiles as a result of photographs taken of children at (a) school nativity plays, (b) school sports days, (c) other community based sport activities, (d) school drama and cultural activities and (e) other community based drama and cultural activities in each of the last five years for which figures are available. | | (143950) | 50
N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list, for each police force in England and Wales, the total number of (a) male and (b) female police officers in post for each of the last 10 years. | | (142057) | 51
N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list, for each police force in England and Wales, the total number of (a) male and (b) female (i) CID and (ii) non-CID officers in post at each rank, for each of the last 10 years. | | (142058) | 52
| Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many failed asylum seekers were returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo in each of the last six years; and if he will make a statement. | | (144712) | 53
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter of the honourable Member for Chesham and Amersham of 10th July. | | (144158) | 54
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter from the honourable Member for Chesham and Amersham of 15th September, reference PO 13772/3. | | (144160) | 55
| Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times stop and search powers under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 were used in the vicinity of RAF Fairford between 6th March and 27th April. | | (144695) | Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development 56
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance his Department is giving to (a) the Government of Eritrea and (b) aid agencies operating within Eritrea. | | (144156) | 57
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with the Government of Eritrea on development aid; and what plans he has to link aid to progress on human rights issues in that country. | | (144157) | 58
| Julia Drown (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reasons the UK has made no contribution to the World Bank's Fast Track Initiative for countries with serious education needs and strong education plans. | | (144697) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 59
N | Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to introduce pilot schemes for electronic counting of votes in future (a) local government, (b) Assembly, (c) Westminster and (d) European Parliament elections; and if he will make a statement. | | (144007) | 60
N | The Reverend Martin Smyth (Belfast South):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) residential places were available for the elderly and (b) beds were blocked by elderly patients on the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by parliamentary constituencies. | | (144262) | 61
N | The Reverend Martin Smyth (Belfast South):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what action has been taken to address the issues raised on the use of operating theatres by the Audit Office in April. | | (144263) | 62
N | The Reverend Martin Smyth (Belfast South):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the impact on the Health Service in Northern Ireland of the restriction in working hours of junior doctors under the European Working Time Directive, with particular reference to (a) ward numbers and (b) specialist services. | | (144264) | Questions to the Solicitor General 63
N | Ms Oona King (Bethnal Green & Bow):To ask the Solicitor General, if the Attorney General will review the cases of children separated from their parents following evidence from Professor Sir Roy Meadow used in Family Court judgements. | | (144467) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 64
N | Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the decision to site the next International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor fusion research reactor at Cadarache in France; and what financial commitment has been made by the United Kingdom in its support. | | (142450) | 65
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how her Department is working with the (a) EU and (b) Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that all EU member states implement the law against discrimination in employment on the grounds of age. | | (143928) | 66
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when she will provide the information referred to in her Answer to the honourable Member for Chesham and Amersham of 18th September, Official Report, column 880W, on personnel administration. | | (144159) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport 67
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on the teenage cycling safety campaign in 2003; how much was spent on preparing a television advertisement campaign on cycle helmets; and what plans he has to promote the wearing of cycle helmets by teenagers in 2004. | | (144544) | 68
| Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the location was of each incident resulting in the death or serious injury of a child pedestrian on UK roads in 2002; what the posted speed limit was at each of these locations; and what the actual speed was at which the vehicle involved was travelling at the time of incident. | | (144713) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 69
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the honourable Member for Christchurch will receive a reply to his inquiries on behalf of Mrs Pitson about the Child Support Agency. | | (144543) | 70
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department intends to help lower earners build up their entitlement to the state pension. | | (143927) | 71
N | Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners receiving housing and council tax benefit became entitled to pension credit in October; and of that number how many received an increase in their housing and council tax benefit entitlement to reflect the increased thresholds for these benefits. | | (144652) | 72
N | Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether pension credit counts as income when assessing housing and council tax benefit. | | (144653) | 73
N | Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cold weather payments have been made in each of the last six years, (a) in total and (b) broken down by region; and what the real terms expenditure on those payments was in each case. | | (144654) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 74
N | Mr David Borrow (South Ribble):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action he is taking to help resolve the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea. | | [Question Unstarred] (144048) | 75
N | Helen Jackson (Sheffield, Hillsborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further consultation he has had with Palestinian and Israeli authorities on the impact of the security wall built by the Israelis. | | [Question Unstarred] (144052) | 76
N | Mr Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North & Leith):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the Geneva Accord. | | [Question Unstarred] (144055) | Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department 77
N | Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when Kent County Council will receive central government funding in respect of the costs of asylum seekers outstanding for the financial years (a) 2001-02 and (b) 2002-03; when funding will be received for the 2003-04 financial year; and what estimate he has made of the cost to Kent County Council in respect of support of asylum seekers between April and November. | | [Transferred] (144468) |
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