Order Book Part 1

House of Commons

Session 2003 - 04
Publications on the internet
The Questions Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 5 January 2004

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.

Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Monday 5 January 2004
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 5 January 2004

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Monday 5 January 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 5 January of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Monday 5 January see Part 2 of this paper.

Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office

1
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of staff employed within the Office are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145769)

2
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Civil Service jobs have been relocated to Dumfries and Galloway since 1997.

(145680)

3
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list all regional (a) advisory non-departmental public bodies, (b) executive non-departmental public bodies and (c) other autonomous public bodies, identifying those which are related to health, broken down by region; if he will indicate those which have been created since 1st May 1997; and if he will list those bodies which have been (i) abolished since 1st May 1997 and (ii) abolished but whose functions have been transferred to other public bodies.

(145955)

4
N Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin & Harpenden):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list meetings and discussions that (a) his Department and (b) other Government departments have held on the report by Lord Hutton into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly, broken down by date; and if he will list those present at each meeting.

(145324)

5
N Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin & Harpenden):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library the official minutes for the series of running meetings on 7th and 8th July referred to during the inquiry by Lord Hutton into the death of Dr David Kelly (ref: Hutton Inquiry Evidence, CAB/7/0009-13).

(145325)

6
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of internet users have transacted with a government department online in each year since 1997; and what steps are being taken to increase this proportion.

(146132)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

7
Mr Harold Best (Leeds North West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the rate of economic activity was in the Leeds North West constituency in (a) 1997 and (b) 2002-03.

(146204)

8
Mr Harold Best (Leeds North West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of families in the Leeds North West constituency who will benefit from the child trust fund.

(146205)

9
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145924)

10
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the impact of his policies on the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington North since 1997.

(145421)

11
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the types of products that have been imported to the UK under preference according to the EU-Israel Association Agreement but which HM Customs and Excise has reason to believe have originated in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories.

(145398)

12
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many deaths from (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (b) lung cancer were recorded in each year since 1996, broken down by age; and how many deaths per 100,000 population there were in each case.

(146210)

13
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for his Department for each year since 1997.

(145330)

14
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his estimate is of the level of central government gross debt interest in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2008-09 derived from the projections for public sector net debt up to 2008-09 in Table B5 of the 2003 Pre-Budget Report.

(145179)

15
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the size of the increment in central government gross debt interest from 2004-05 to 2005-06 relative to the size of the increments for the years (a) 2002-03 to 2003-04 and (b) 2003-04 to 2004-05.

(145186)

16
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the size of the increment in central government gross debt interest between 2004-05 and 2005-06 indicated in the Pre-Budget Report 2003 relative to that indicated in Budget 2003.

(145187)

17
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many responses his Department received to the (a) Budget 2002 summary leaflets and (b) leaflets summarising the 2002 pre-Budget report.

(145326)

18
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the value of capital expenditure payments made under private finance initiative/public private partnerships contracts in each year since 1997.

(145471)

19
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will state the nature of the element of private finance initiative contracts that is stated when these contracts are shown on balance sheet.

(145479)

20
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total value is of (a) all private finance initiative contracts to maturity and (b) private finance initiative contracts shown on balance sheet; and what proportion of the total value is on balance sheet.

(145480)

21
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the (a) private finance initiative contracts, (b) on-balance sheet private finance initiative contracts and (c) off-balance sheet private finance initiative contracts; and what proportion of private finance initiative contracts are on balance sheet.

(145481)

22
N Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the projected payments under private finance initiative contracts shown in Table C20 of Budget 2003, HC 500, comprise (a) capital expenditure and (b) other payments; and if he will state what these payment are.

(145482)

23
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on his plans to look at the policy, funding and regulation activity which impacts on the private sector, referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145922)

24
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the sum spent on policy, funding and regulation activity which impacts on the private sector, referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003, was spent on each category; and if he will make a statement.

(145923)

25
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on his plans to seek to ensure significant improvements in the productive time of front line public service professionals by realising benefits from investments agreed in the 2002 Spending Review, referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the Pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145935)

26
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the £9 billion referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the Pre-Budget Report 2003 is broken down between (a) policy, (b) funding and (c) regulation activity.

(145942)

27
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on his plans to look at the way in which (a) policy is set for, (b) funding provided to and (c) quality regulated in front line public service delivery organisations, referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the Pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145943)

28
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reviews he has conducted since 1997 of the way in which (a) policy is set for, (b) funding provided to and (c) quality regulated in front line public service delivery organisations; what the scope of each review was; what the outcome of each review was; and what changes he has made as a result of each review, with particular reference to public spending.

(145944)

29
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether savings expected from implementation of the findings of the Gershon Review have been taken into account in the public expenditure totals for future years published in the Pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145945)

30
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Gershon Review is expected to report.

(145946)

31
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) its contractors have been allocated to work on tax credits for each year since their introduction.

(145947)

32
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what deadline he has set for the significant improvements in the productive time of front line public service professionals referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145948)

33
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he will measure the significant improvements in the productive time of front line public service professionals referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145949)

34
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he intends to set targets for the significant improvements in the productive time of front line public service professionals referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003.

(145950)

35
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reviews he has conducted since 1997 of the (a) policy, (b) funding and (c) regulation activity which impacts on the private sector; what the scope of each review was; what the outcome of each review was; and what changes have been made as a result of each review, with particular reference to public spending.

(145951)

36
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the annual spend on hospitals, schools and police forces referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003 is spent on each category.

(145952)

37
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cost to the private sector of the (a) policy, (b) funding and (c) regulation activity which impacts on the private sector as referred to in paragraph 6.47 of the pre-Budget Report 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(145954)

38
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the £11 billion of payments for transactional services referred to in paragraph 6.46 of the Pre-Budget Report 2003 is composed by (a) sector, (b) benefits, (c) tax collection, (d) tax credits and (e) other services.

(146019)

39
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what timetable the Treasury has set for reviewing the audit requirements for industrial and provident societies once the Department of Trade and Industry has completed its review of company law.

(145525)

40
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information will be provided to (a) children and (b) parents to show them how different investment scenarios will affect the return on their child trust funds, with particular regard to how (i) equities, (ii) cash and (iii) bonds are likely to perform.

(145697)

41
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will offer incentives for contributions to child trust funds for those in receipt of child tax credit.

(145698)

42
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish a website dedicated to providing financial education for (a) children and (b) parents on child trust funds.

(145699)

43
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for those on non-family benefits should they wish to make contributions to child trust funds.

(145700)

44
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which parent will have legal responsibility for their child's trust fund should they divorce.

(145701)

45
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what scoping exercise his Department has conducted to assess the likely contributions those on low incomes will make to child trust funds.

(145702)

46
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what will happen to contributions and interest payments made to a child trust fund whilst the Inland Revenue is considering whether or not a child is eligible for the topped-up endowment.

(145703)

47
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allow investment companies to charge a basic administration fee for child trust funds which would be topped up by a performance-related administration fee.

(145704)

48
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether parents under 18 will be able to make decisions on trust funds for their children.

(145705)

49
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with business organisations about the impact the European Investment Services Directive will have on their companies, with specific reference to the impact that the end of execution-only sales will have.

(145706)

50
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of how the European Investment Services Directive and the end of execution-only sales will affect (a) banks, (b) internet companies, (c) consumers and (d) the City of London.

(145709)

51
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax incentives are available to companies providing free financial education for (a) children and (b) adults; and how these fit into the Government's policy to reduce financial illiteracy.

(145710)

52
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what resources he is allocating to increase adult financial literacy so that parents of children with child trust funds can make informed decisions about investments for their children.

(145711)

53
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Skills about using the child trust fund to improve financial literacy for children and teenagers.

(145713)

54
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assistance the Treasury offers local authorities in developing (a) ethical and (b) environmental (i) investment, (ii) banking and (iii) procurement policies.

(145715)

55
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research his Department has undertaken to assess the benefits consumers perceive of financial products, with particular reference to equity release policies, are regulated by the Government.

(145717)

56
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what resources will be available to teachers to increase their financial literacy so they are able to inform their pupils about child trust funds.

(145719)

57
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what regulation there is to protect Muslims from mis-selling of housing finance that complies with Sharia law.

(145720)

58
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he has received from consumer organisations for his plan for the Financial Services Authority to require a valuation of properties used as collateral for home reversion plans.

(145721)

59
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will draw up tables of guidance on the amount of money people should expect when taking out home reversion products; and if he will discuss this with (a) consumer groups, (b) mortgage companies and (c) financial advisers.

(145722)

60
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average income was in the (a) 50 most deprived and (b) 50 most affluent wards in England in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the percentage of that income which was spent on food.

(145980)

61
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(146002)

62
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last five years for which there are records for (a) the production and (b) the use of red diesel on which duty has not been paid; what the amounts of duty involved were; and what penalties were imposed on those convicted.

(145484)

63
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated loss to his Department was from the fraudulent manufacture and use of red diesel in each of the last five years for which there are records.

(145485)

64
N Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value was of financial concessions to the UK shipping industry through the tonnage tax scheme in each financial year since the concession was introduced.

(145245)

65
N Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value was of (a) the tonnage tax scheme in (i) 2001-02 and (ii) 2002-03 and (b) tax paid by shipping companies in the last financial year of the previous arrangements.

(145246)

66
Dr Brian Iddon (Bolton South East):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many respondents to the recent Treasury consultation on economic instruments to improve household energy efficiency supported domestic business tax allowance.

(145423)

67
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what money was paid to private contractors in (a) 2002-03 and (b) so far in 2003-04; and what the expected total payment is in 2003-04 for the delivery of the tax credit programme.

(145812)

68
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Inland Revenue information technology systems are being privatised; and for what reasons.

(145813)

69
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145809)

70
N Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the level of gross administrative expenditure in central government as a proportion of total managed expenditure was for (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2003-04.

[R] (145608)

71
N Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the loss to public funds was of gross administrative expenditure in central government for (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2003-04.

[R] (145609)

72
N Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total expenditure on (a) information campaigns and (b) advertising was for his Department in each year since 1997.

(145708)

73
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proposals he has to amend industrial and provident society legislation to make it consistent with existing company law; and if he will make a statement.

(145372)

74
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to review the law relating to industrial and provident societies; and if he will make a statement.

(145495)

75
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to bring forward proposals to update legislation relating to industrial and provident societies; and if he will make a statement.

(145496)

76
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the Treasury, (b) the whisky industry and (c) others of the proposed tax stamps on whisky.

(145618)

77
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who will pay the cost of the strip stamps on whisky.

(145619)

78
Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to compensate Amber Valley Housing Ltd for the loss of funds resulting from the Inland Revenue ruling of 24th October to enable them to fulfill their business plan.

(145465)

79
Diana Organ (Forest of Dean):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government will take to compensate Forest of Dean Housing for the loss of funds arising from the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October.

(145607)

80
N Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford & Stortford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many postal addresses in the UK have been sent (a) a copy and (b) multiple copies of the Pre-Budget Report Summary Leaflet, The Strength to Take the Long-Term Decisions: Seizing the Opportunities of the Global Recovery; and what the total cost of postage was to his Department.

(145443)

81
N Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford & Stortford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many copies of the Pre-Budget Report Summary Leaflet, The Strength to Take the Long-Term Decisions; Seizing the Opportunities of the Global Recovery, were printed ahead of the Chancellor's statement to the House; and how many such summary leaflets were printed in each of the last six years.

(145444)

82
N Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford & Stortford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total cost was of (a) printing and (b) distributing the Pre-Budget Report Summary Leaflet, The Strength to Take the Long-Term Decisions; Seizing the Opportunities of the Global Recovery.

(145445)

83
Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford & Stortford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of tax likely to be repaid as a consequence of the European Court of Justice judgment in the Hoechst case; and how much has been repaid to date.

(145732)

84
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Inland Revenue's Code of Practice 26 will be made available to members of the public at local tax offices.

(146331)

85
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146200)

86
Mr Marsha Singh (Bradford West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government will compensate Bradford for the loss of funds available to the Bradford and Northern Housing Association that will result from the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October.

(145341)

87
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will break down the figures for the take-up of stakeholder pensions released by the Inland Revenue by (a) earnings, (b) age and (c) gender.

(146085)

88
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average council tax was (a) gross and (b) net of rebates as a percentage of equivalised disposable income in each income quintile for (i) pensioner households and (ii) non-pensioner households in 1997-98.

(146086)

89
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) average equivalised disposable income and (b) gross council tax in money terms was for each income quintile in 2001-02; and if he will make a statement.

(146153)

Questions to the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners

90
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church Commissioners have made representations to the Government about changing the law to enable the courts to declare bankrupt a cathedral or other Church of Body that becomes unable to pay its debts.

(146236)

91
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church Commissioners have had about the financial position of Bradford Cathedral and its failure to pay its debts to Past Forward and other small businesses for the work they were contracted to provide for the Life Force Exhibition; and what action the Church Commissioners intend to take to ensure that the Cathedral is able to pay to Past Forward the sum specified in the county court judgement issued against the Cathedral.

(146237)

92
N Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent representations he has received on clergy pensions.

(145966)

Questions to the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs

93
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what process is in place (a) to monitor how many times a judge is known to have been successfully appealed against and (b) to investigate the reasons for the appeals to find out whether they are (i) on the basis of circumstances beyond the knowledge of the judge at the time the sentence was passed and (ii) on the basis of inappropriate sentences given.

(146016)

94
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many appeals (a) against sentence and (b) against conviction have been (i) successful and (ii) allowed in each of the last five years as a percentage of the total number of committals for trial for (A) the crown court and (B) magistrates court.

(146017)

95
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what plans the Secretary of State has to introduce a system of formal appraisal and scrutiny of circuit judges' performances.

(146057)

96
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether a judge may be removed from office for inappropriate sentencing.

(146058)

97
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether the Lord Chancellor has received complaints in relation to the use by judges of wasted costs orders.

(146059)

98
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many sentencing decisions were made by each judge in the (a) crown court and (b) Court of Appeal in each of the last five years.

(146060)

99
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many sentencing decisions each serving circuit judge in England and Wales made in each of the last five years.

(146061)

100
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether the plans to widen the scrutiny, formal appraisal and accountability of judges will include scrutiny by, and accountability to, a body or panel which includes non-judges.

(146062)

101
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether his Department keeps records of wasted costs orders imposed against barristers or solicitors.

(146063)

102
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what criteria are used to define misconduct and inability in relation to the removal of judges from office; and whether either category includes a pattern of inappropriate sentencing by a judge.

(146064)

103
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what sanctions may be taken against circuit judges whose professional performance regularly falls below acceptable standards.

(146065)

104
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, which circuit judges are authorised to hear child custody cases; and whether any have had authorisation withdrawn because of concerns over their ability to handle such cases.

(146066)

105
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how the attention of the Lord Chief Justice is drawn to the suitability of a circuit judge to try rape cases.

(146067)

106
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether any circuit judges have had their rape case authorisation withdrawn because of concerns over their ability to handle such cases sensitively.

(146068)

107
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what action would be taken in the event that (a) a judge had been successfully appealed more than 50 times in six or seven years, (b) a judge had been found to have been unduly lenient in relation to the same kind of offence on four separate occasions and (c) a judge had been criticised for pressurising counsel on more than one occasion.

(146069)

108
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many complaints against judges the Lord Chancellor has heard in each of the previous five years; and what details of these complaints and the outcome are publicly available.

(146070)

109
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, which circuit judges hold a rape case authorisation authorising them to hear cases involving rape and other class 2 crimes.

(146071)

110
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what recent action has been taken to ensure consistency in sentencing; and what further action is planned.

(146072)

111
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what systems are in place to ensure that circuit judges are accountable for their professional performance.

(146073)

112
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what disciplinary procedure is followed in the event that a judge continuously sentences inappropriately.

(146074)

113
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many and which circuit judges and recorders have undergone additional specialist training that enables them to hear cases involving rape and other serious sexual offences.

(146075)

114
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what (a) complaints and (b) disciplinary procedures will be put in place after the abolition of the post of Lord Chancellor.

(146076)

115
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how the (a) effectiveness and (b) suitability of specialist training given to circuit judges and recorders is monitored.

(146077)

116
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what percentage of staff employed within the Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145772)

117
N Mr Alan Duncan (Rutland & Melton):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the total expenditure on (a) information campaigns and (b) advertising was for the Lord Chancellor's Department in each year since 1997.

(145384)

118
N Mr Alan Duncan (Rutland & Melton):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the total expenditure on (a) information campaigns and (b) advertising was for his Department since its creation.

(145385)

119
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, who took the decision to ask the Electoral Commission to determine which regions should be selected for postal voting pilot schemes in the forthcoming European parliamentary elections in 2004.

(145550)

120
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many appeals against the refusal of entry clearance from Pakistan for (a) spouses, (b) fiancés, (c) dependent children and (d) dependent elderly relatives are now awaiting consideration by the Independent Appellate Authority; what the average time taken between the IAA receiving papers and an appeal being heard was in 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(145396)

121
N Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many asylum appeal cases remitted back to the Immigration Appellate Authority by the Immigration Appeals Tribunal were (a) reconsidered by an adjudicator and (b) withdrawn by (i) the Home Office and (ii) the applicant in the last year for which figures are available; and of those asylum appeal cases remitted and reconsidered by the Immigration Appellate Authority; how many were (A) successful and (B) unsuccessful.

(145065)

122
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146198)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

123
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Millennium Commission contributed to Bradford Cathedral's Life Force Exhibition; what checks were carried out on the exhibition's financial viability before the grant was given; who carried out the financial viability study; how many visitors the exhibition expected to attract; how many attended; what plans she has to change the procedures for financial scrutiny of lottery grant applications; and if she will make a statement.

(146234)

124
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what percentage of staff employed within her Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145771)

125
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on the impact of her Department's policies on the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington North since 1997.

(145419)

126
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in her Department.

(145995)

127
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take into account employment considerations when considering whether to make special intervention notices in the case of media mergers under the terms of the Communications Act 2003.

(145780)

128
N Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff in her Department are working solely on the BBC Charter review process.

(145461)

129
N Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will estimate the cost of the BBC Charter (a) review process and (b) public consultation.

(145462)

130
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the BBC meets its requirements with regard to the independent productions quotas.

(145477)

131
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the BBC about the BBC Charter review process; and if she will make a statement.

(145478)

132
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the projected total annual salary bill of Ofcom is for its first year of operation.

(145499)

133
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many Ofcom employees will have an annual salary of £100,000 or over.

(145500)

134
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people will be employed by Ofcom.

(145501)

135
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the estimated total cost is of setting up Ofcom.

(145502)

136
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will estimate the (a) set-up and (b) annual running costs of the Ofcom buildings.

(145503)

137
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) analogue and (b) digital transmitters there are in the UK.

(145504)

138
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the timescale is for achieving full analogue switch-off; and if she will make a statement.

(145505)

139
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made in the switchover to digital in the last five years.

(145506)

140
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what percentage of households are converted to digital broken down by (a) ITV region and (b) constituency.

(145507)

141
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will estimate (a) the number of households that have access to digital television, (b) the total number of television sets in use and (c) the proportion of television sets in use that have access to digital services.

(145508)

142
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which organisations have paid for the conversion of analogue transmitters; and how much each has spent in the last 10 years.

(145509)

143
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many households have transferred from analogue to digital television in each of the last five years.

(145510)

144
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has received regarding the Government's museums policy.

(145555)

145
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets the Government has set to increase social inclusion through museum policy.

(145556)

146
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on the Elgin Marbles.

(145557)

147
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what financial incentives are in place to encourage museums to increase the number of visitors from different sections of the community.

(145558)

148
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on museums and social inclusion.

(145559)

149
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many museums have closed since 1997.

(145560)

150
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact on collections in museums of the Government's free admission policy.

(145561)

151
N Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the Government's free admissions policy on museums that are not included in the policy.

(145562)

152
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list the total Government funding to museums in real terms in each year since 1992.

(145563)

153
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has had from charities about (a) the funding they are able to generate and (b) the impact of the National Lottery on donations.

(145564)

154
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much National Lottery funding has been distributed (a) in each constituency, (b) in each region and (c) to each good cause since 1997.

(145565)

155
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much revenue was generated by the National Lottery in each year since its launch; and what the projected figures are for the next five years.

(145566)

156
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money has been distributed to good causes in each year since the launch of the National Lottery.

(145567)

157
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will set out her plans to give Lottery players more choice in determining where the money to good causes goes.

(145568)

158
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on her plans to merge the New Opportunities Fund and the Community Fund.

(145569)

159
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to reform the National Lottery; and if she will make a statement on the timetable for the reforms.

(145570)

160
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on sport in school.

(145571)

161
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many school playing fields were sold between 1992 and 1997.

(145572)

162
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to change the current regulations on the advertising of food to children.

(145573)

163
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations she has received from (a) broadcasters, (b) food manufacturers, (c) advertisers and (d) pressure groups about the regulation of food advertising to children.

(145574)

164
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of whether food advertising contributes to child obesity.

(145575)

165
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, upon what evidence the Government bases its view that the regulation of food advertising to children must be tightened.

(145576)

166
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on football broadcasting rights and the role of the EU Commission.

(145577)

167
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets she has set for the roll-out of audio description.

(145578)

168
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on the issues that prevent a faster roll-out of audio description.

(145579)

169
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to encourage an increase in the provision of subtitling on television.

(145580)

170
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets the Government has set for the amount of time children participate in sport at school.

(145581)

171
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average amount of time a child spent taking part in sport at school was in 2002-03 at key stage (a) 1, (b) 2 and (c) 3, broken down by (i) region, (ii) local education authority and (iii) constituency.

(145582)

172
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many school playing fields have been sold in each year since 1997.

(145583)

173
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many visitors the United Kingdom received from abroad in the last five years, broken down by (a) continent and (b) country.

(145587)

174
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding (a) VisitBritain, (b) the Scottish Tourist Office and (c) the Welsh Tourist Office will receive in 2003-04.

(145588)

175
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of VisitBritain's funding is spent solely on English tourism.

(145589)

176
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on the repatriation of human remains.

(145590)

177
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on taxis for officials in each year since 1997.

(145591)

178
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on train tickets (a) in the last year and (b) since 1997.

(145592)

179
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on mobile phone calls (a) in the last year and (b) since 1997.

(145594)

180
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on (a) Christmas cards and (b) Christmas parties (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145595)

181
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on the postage of Christmas cards (a) in the last year and (b) since 1997.

(145596)

182
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on gifts to foreign governments (a) in the last year and (b) since 1997.

(145597)

183
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total departmental budget was for each year since 1997; and what the projected figures are for the next five years.

(145598)

184
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets the Department must meet in relation to the employment of people with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on her Department's progress in meeting these targets.

(145599)

185
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list the ministerial visits (a) she and (b) her Ministers have made in the last 12 months.

(145600)

186
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total Departmental cost was of visits to Australia for the Rugby World Cup.

(145601)

187
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what ministerial visits she has planned for the next six months.

(145602)

188
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets (a) her and (b) her Ministers' offices have for responding to constituency mail; and if she will set out the performance achieved in the last 12 months against these targets.

(145603)

189
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by her Department on the Government car service in the past year.

(145605)

190
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many more analogue transmitters need to be converted to digital to achieve the same reach as the current analogue transmitters.

(145617)

191
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list information technology contracts in her Department and its predecessors with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146188)

192
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to enlist the help of vocational divers in South Devon in investigating historic wrecks off the South Devon Coast.

(145774)

193
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what considerations resulted in her Department stopping vocational divers investigating (a) the wreck of a suspected Barbary Pirate ship off Gara rock in South Devon and (b) the Salcombe Canon site shipwreck.

(145775)

194
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of those on the Advisory Committee for Historic Wreck Sites are (a) vocational divers and (b) archaeologists.

(145776)

195
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who the members of the Advisory Committee for Historic Wreck Sites are; and what practical experience each member has in diving for historic wrecks.

(145818)

196
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the role is of English Heritage regarding applications for licences to investigate shipwrecks off the South Devon coast.

(145819)

197
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the additional cost to public funds is of involving English Heritage in the process of licensing historic wreck sites; and what the advantages are.

(145820)

198
Pete Wishart (North Tayside):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will withdraw the Departmental Minute dated 2nd December, reporting contingent liabilities in the event of London winning the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.

(145521)

199
Pete Wishart (North Tayside):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will withdraw the policy of an unlimited funding commitment by the taxpayer to hosting the Olympic Games in the event that the cost exceeds £2.375 billion.

(145522)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

200
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the sites in the UK occupied by the US, giving in each case the (a) acreage and (b) purpose of occupation.

(145147)

201
Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether the epidemiological evidence available supports the existence of Gulf War Syndrome.

(145404)

202
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145770)

203
Paul Flynn (Newport West):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many prisoners are being held by coalition forces in Iraq.

(145337)

204
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the serving of beer at official functions.

(145779)

205
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Arabic speakers are employed by British forces in Iraq; in what situations they are employed; and from where they have been recruited.

(145493)

206
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) adults and (b) children under 16 have been (i) killed and (ii) maimed by unexploded cluster bombs dropped by British aircraft in (A) Kosovo, (B) Afghanistan and (C) Iraq since their invasion by coalition forces.

(145494)

207
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent upgrading and building accommodation for the junior ranks of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force, in each of the last three years; how much is provided in the forward programme; and if he will make a statement.

(146166)

208
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget for the Defence Fire Service was in 2003; what the anticipated outturn is; how much is budgeted for 2004; and what additional costs have been incurred as a result of Operation TELIC.

(146167)

209
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much compensation is paid to families of (a) adults and (b) children under 16 years of age, who are (i) killed and (ii) injured as a result of unexploded British cluster bombs in (A) Kosovo, (B) Afghanistan and (C) Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(146168)

210
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reservists lost their civilian jobs as a result of serving in the armed forces, in each of the last five years; how many filed claims for compensation; what the average time taken to settle each case was; how much was received by each of the claimants, net of legal expenses; and if he will make a statement.

(146178)

211
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training members of employment tribunals receive to enable them to sit on reinstatement committees.

(146179)

212
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department gives to a reservist prevented from returning to his previous employment; and if he will make a statement.

(146180)

213
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to revise the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985, with particular reference to (a) simplifying the procedure, (b) taking into account loss of (i) pension and (ii) benefits and (c) the legal expenses required in progressing a defended case to a final hearing.

(146181)

214
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what briefings are given to reservists on the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

(146182)

215
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985 in ensuring that (a) reservists' jobs are safeguarded, (b) adequate compensation is payable when they are not, (c) the procedure to be followed is as simple as possible and (d) employers do not misuse economic restructuring to minimise compensation.

(146183)

216
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in what circumstances the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq will be deemed to have been completed.

(146184)

217
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the whereabouts of the sets of body armour bought since 1999.

(145642)

218
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what major design modifications have been made to the hull of the Type 45 destroyer in the past two years.

(145643)

219
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what stability problems have been encountered on test flights of the Typhoon when flying with combat loads.

(145644)

220
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of (a) improved oil filters and fans, (b) oil health monitoring equipment and (c) extended side skirts used in the dust mitigation package for the Challenger II tanks deployed on operation Telic.

(145645)

221
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current funded flying hours are for (a) Hercules, (b) Nimrod, (c) Chinook, (d) Sea King, (e) Puma, (f) Lynx, (g) Tornado F3, (h) Tornado GR4, (i) Harrier GR7, (j) Sea Harrier and (k) Jaguar aircraft of each type; and what amount of funded flying hours these aircraft had in each of the preceding three years.

(145646)

222
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether HMS Bridport will be made available for use by sea cadets.

(145647)

223
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the pay-off dates are for (a) HMS Sovereign, (b) HMS Superb, (c) HMS Spartan, (d) HMS Sceptre, (e) HMS Invincible, (f) HMS Newcastle, (g) HMS Cardiff, (h) HMS Glasgow, (i) HMS Liverpool, (j) HMS Exeter, (k) HMS Southampton, (l) HMS Nottingham, (m) HMS Manchester, (n) HMS Gloucester, (o) HMS Edinburgh and (p) HMS York.

(145652)

224
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for his Department for each year since 1997.

(145673)

225
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the case of Grieves v. the United Kingdom; what effects he anticipates this will have on naval courts martial; and what further legislation he anticipates will be necessary to protect service law from challenges from the European Court of Human Rights.

(145958)

226
Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the procedures are for (a) officers and (b) other ranks in the Army to appeal against army redress decisions; and if he will make a statement.

(145730)

227
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many modifications have been carried out to the SA80 rifle in the last five years.

(145743)

228
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department provides to Territorial Army soliders returning from overseas duty to secure employment.

(145744)

229
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding is provided to Territorial Army personnel returning from service in the Gulf.

(145762)

230
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many training days Territorial Army personnel underwent in advance of deployment to the Gulf.

(145765)

231
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Territorial Army doctors are serving in the Gulf.

(145767)

232
Alice Mahon (Halifax):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military aid the UK has provided to Uzbekistan since 2001.

(145754)

233
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to change the system of budget and stock controls undertaken by (a) the Medical Supplies Agency and (b) military units whom they serve in the ordering, delivery, storage and use of materials, equipment, drugs and other medical items; and if he will make a statement.

(145346)

234
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what budget and stock controls are undertaken by (a) the Medical Supplies Agency and (b) military units whom they serve in the ordering, delivery, storage and use of materials, equipment, drugs and other medical items; and if he will make a statement.

(145347)

235
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his proposals are for the future of (a) medical distribution centres and (b) the Medical Supplies Agency.

(145348)

236
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what evaluation he has made of (a) the Medical Supplies Agency as a whole and (b) the specific operational capabilities of medical distribution centres.

(145349)

237
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procedures are in place to ensure that suitably qualified personnel are used by military units in the ordering, delivery, storage and use of materials, equipment, drugs and other medical items; and if he will make a statement.

(145350)

238
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146189)

239
N Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his best estimate is of the number of Iraqis (a) killed and (b) injured as a result of the battle for Basrah; and whether compensation is being paid to the (i) injured victims and (ii) families of those killed.

(145180)

240
N Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what access is being given to Iraqi (a) civilians and (b) former military personnel to the type of biological monitoring for depleted uranium contamination that is afforded to United Kingdom personnel who served in Iraq.

(145182)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

241
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield, Attercliffe):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to include measures of (a) the state of the physical environment and (b) crime and disorder in revised indices of deprivation; and what methodology will be used to measure these.

(146108)

242
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield, Attercliffe):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made in taking housing costs into account when measuring income levels in revised indices of deprivation.

(146109)

243
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield, Attercliffe):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made in publishing indices of deprivation by Super Output Area level.

(146110)

244
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145927)

245
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the impact of his policies on the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington North since 1997.

(145420)

246
Mrs Helen Clark (Peterborough):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what impact the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October will have on the standard of housing in Peterborough.

(145740)

247
Mrs Helen Clark (Peterborough):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what impact the delay in the transfer of homes to Crosskeys Homes will have on the local authority's short-to-medium term housing policy.

(145741)

248
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, in relation to the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, what the total Government grant was in the last financial year; for what purposes it was given; for what reason the college made a loss in the last financial year; and why the annual acounts for the year ended March 2003 state that the college is unlikely to do better than break-even in the year to 31st March 2004.

(145789)

249
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps are being taken to integrate the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, training facilities with regional fire service training facilities; what steps are being taken to encourage foreign fire service training business to the college; what investigations are being undertaken into the feasibility of privatising or other alternative trading methods for the college; and what other trading opportunities the college is investigating.

(145790)

250
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the commandants and chief executives of the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, since 1992, stating whether they were a temporary or permanent appointment; what steps he is taking to secure a permanent appointment as chief executive; and whether payments have been made in respect of (a) early retirement and (b) unfair dismissal of senior officers at the college in the last 10 years.

(145791)

251
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the cost was of establishing a website for the Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say campaign.

(145987)

252
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many copies of the information leaflet Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say have been (a) printed and (b) distributed in (i) Yorkshire and the Humber, (ii) the North West and (iii) the North East.

(145988)

253
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the cost was of literature printed for the information campaign, Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say.

(145989)

254
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list external (a) public relations and communications companies, (b) advertising and marketing companies, (c) management consultancies, (d) accountancy companies, (e) banking firms, (f) individual consultants and (g) other specialist consultancies used by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister since May 2002, indicating in each case the work performed.

(145990)

255
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many civil servants were employed in his Department, broken down by (a) gender, (b) age, (c) Civil Service classification and (d) tenure since May 2002.

(145991)

256
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the information or public relations campaigns conducted by his Department since May 2002.

(145992)

257
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the information and public relations campaigns conducted by (a) non-departmental bodies and (b) executive agencies within his Department in each year since 1997, showing the annual cost of each campaign.

(146024)

258
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the annual cost of periodicals that (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have subscribed to since 1997.

(146025)

259
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by his Department in each year since 1997.

(146026)

260
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Audit Commission in each year since 1997.

(146027)

261
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Housing Corporation in each year since 1997.

(146028)

262
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by English Partnerships in each year since 1997.

(146029)

263
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Standards Board for England in each year since 1997.

(146030)

264
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by Castle Vale Housing Action Trust in each year since 1997.

(146031)

265
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by Liverpool Housing Action Trust in each year since 1997.

(146032)

266
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Stonebridge Housing Action Trust in each year since 1997.

(146033)

267
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Tower Hamlets Housing Action Trust in each year since 1997.

(146034)

268
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Boundary Commission for England in each year since 1997.

(146035)

269
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Boundary Commission for Wales in each year since 1997.

(146036)

270
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Residential Property Tribunal Service in each year since 1997.

(146037)

271
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) press officers and (b) public relations officers were employed by the Valuation Tribunals in each year since 1997.

(146038)

272
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the estimated annual Government grant is to the proposed regional assemblies in (a) the North West, (b) the North East and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber.

(146039)

273
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the cost was of each item of promotional material for the information campaign, Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say.

(146046)

274
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total cost of expenditure has been on promoting regional assemblies in each year since May 2002.

(146047)

275
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the budget of the information campaign, Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say, is (a) in total, (b) for the North West, (c) for the North East and (d) for Yorkshire and the Humber.

(146048)

276
Mr David Curry (Skipton & Ripon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the cost of information and public relations campaigns conducted by his Department was since May 2002.

(146049)

277
Denzil Davies (Llanelli):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many persons applied for the recently advertised post of non-executive director to serve on the Management Board and Audit Committee of the Planning Inspectorate.

(145464)

278
Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the extra amounts given to each local authority in the Pre-Budget Report; and what proportion of Government support already announced for 2004-05 this represents in each case.

(145622)

279
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(145996)

280
N Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what reasons he has for allowing mobile phone masts to be erected on top of existing buildings without the need for planning permission; and if he will make a statement.

(146056)

281
Jane Griffiths (Reading East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether his Department designates former mineral workings as brownfield sites; and if he will make a statement.

(145388)

282
Jane Griffiths (Reading East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what instances there have been of oil and fuel-related pollution of water from (a) industrial and commercial premises and (b) domestic premises in each of the past five years.

(145784)

283
Jane Griffiths (Reading East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) category 1 and (b) category 2 instances of oil and fuel-related pollution of water there were from (i) industrial and commercial premises and (ii) domestic premises in each of the past five years.

(145785)

284
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145805)

285
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much public money has been spent on the Millennium Dome in each week in the last three months; and if he will make a statement on the total amount of public money spent on the Dome since 1st January 2001.

(145811)

286
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the minimum building distance from a nuclear power station is, for industrial structures which are not part of the plant.

(145742)

287
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what planning guidelines apply to wind farms in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

(145746)

288
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much funding was provided to Somerset County Council in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03 and (c) 2003-04.

(145764)

289
Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the impact will be on the resources available to Amber Valley Housing Ltd to spend on housing stock, if the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October is upheld.

(145466)

290
Diana Organ (Forest of Dean):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October upon the welfare of tenants occupying housing stock owned by Forest of Dean Housing.

(145610)

291
Diana Organ (Forest of Dean):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October on Forest of Dean Housing's ability to achieve the 2010 Decent Homes Standard.

(145611)

292
Diana Organ (Forest of Dean):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what support the Government will give Forest of Dean Housing in its attempt to achieve 2010 Decent Homes Standard, following the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October.

(145612)

293
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department and its predecessors with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146190)

294
Mr Marsha Singh (Bradford West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what effect the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October will have on Bradford's ability to achieve the 2010 Decent Homes Standard.

(145338)

295
Mr Marsha Singh (Bradford West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how he estimates the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October, if upheld, will affect the welfare of tenants occupying premises of the Bradford and Northern Housing Association.

(145339)

296
Mr Marsha Singh (Bradford West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how he estimates the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October will affect the state of housing in Bradford.

(145340)

297
Mr Marsha Singh (Bradford West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how the Government will support Bradford in its attempt to achieve the 2010 Decent Homes Standard following the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24th October.

(145342)

298
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many area partnerships have been established in England; what their terms of reference are; and what funding has been awarded to each partnership, broken down by (a) county council, (b) district council, (c) town or parish council, (d) regional development agency, (e) market and coastal towns initiative and (f) other sources of funding.

(145817)

299
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to amend regulations to allow the regular outgoings of a family with a disabled child to be taken into consideration by local authorities when they are determining the level of the family's contribution towards a disabled facilities grant to adapt the family home.

(145523)

300
Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford & Southend East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the procedures adopted to circulate the additional money to local councils announced in the Pre-Budget Statement, with particular reference to the allocation to the Southend-on-Sea Unitary Authority.

(145354)

301
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what Wakefield Metropolitan District Council's capital receipts from the sale of council housing stock were in each year since 1997; and how much of these receipts was spent on council housing stock in each year.

(146023)

302
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much land has been acquired by (a) English Partnerships and (b) regional development agencies since January 2002 to enable the provision of (i) public transport, (ii) public open spaces, (iii) schools, (iv) hospitals and (v) other community facilities in each of the (A) four growth areas in the South East and (B) nine pathfinder areas announced in the Communities Plan.

(145751)

303
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many new or additional homes he expects to be provided in (a) the South East and (b) the South West by the end of 2006; and how many of these homes he expects to be available at affordable prices for households on average income.

(145752)

304
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what criteria his Department applies in respect of sustainability in the rules governing the sale or disposal of public land.

(145753)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

305
N Mr Keith Bradley (Manchester, Withington):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what arrangements his Department has made to ensure co-ordination of the teenage sexual health strategy with the Department of Health's sexual health strategy.

(145188)

306
N Mr Keith Bradley (Manchester, Withington):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure sexual education teaching in schools takes full account of the Department of Health's teenage sexual health strategy.

(145190)

307
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145934)

308
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the impact of his Department's policies on the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington North since 1997.

(145418)

309
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what research has been conducted on the effectiveness of the child protection system in addressing abuse of disabled children; what the findings were; and what further research is planned.

(146293)

310
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the role of support services is in preventing abuse of disabled children.

(146294)

311
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representations have been received from disabled children and adults in preventing abuse; and what action has been taken as a result.

(146295)

312
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what measures are in place to protect disabled children from abuse; and if he will make a statement.

(146296)

313
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what research has been conducted on the reasons for the higher incidence of abuse and neglect of disabled children compared to non-disabled children.

(146297)

314
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will assess the child protection system in respect of disabled children.

(146298)

315
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what (a) the national and (b) local mechanisms are in place for monitoring and reviewing child protection policies, procedures and practices relating to disabled children; and if he will make a statement.

(146299)

316
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what resources are available to promote the safeguarding of disabled children.

(146300)

317
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what his response is to the recommendations in the latest report from the National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability.

(146301)

318
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in what ways the forthcoming National Service Framework will contribute to the safeguarding of disabled children's needs.

(146302)

319
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representations he has received from Scottish universities in respect of the proposed higher education bill.

(145681)

320
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many students at higher education institutions in England and Wales are ordinarily resident in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

(145687)

321
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many students from England and Wales are studying at higher education institutions in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

(145688)

322
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley East & Mexborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many Surestart schemes are operating in England; and how many of these are community-led schemes.

(145467)

323
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will assess the (a) educational and (b) social benefits for pupils from low income backgrounds of taking part in school trips; and if he will take steps to provide specific funding for such trips.

(145526)

324
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what discussions he has had with financial companies about the assistance they can provide to schools to improve financial literacy, with particular reference to the child trust fund.

(145712)

325
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will increase the amount of financial education given to children in the national curriculum, with particular regard to work related to the child trust fund.

(145714)

326
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with teachers' unions about the introduction of child trust funds and the need for increased provision of financial education in schools.

(145718)

327
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which of the 50 most deprived council wards have schools taking part in the National School Fruit Scheme.

(146014)

328
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 15th December, Official Report, column 669W, on streaming, if he will assess the extent to which the practices of (a) personalised learning and (b) teaching tailored to the needs of pupils are endorsed by the conclusions of the research review conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research.

(145472)

329
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 11th December, Official Report, column 613W, on teaching methods, what the specific provisions are in the (a) primary and (b) key stage three strategies in relation to the way pupils are grouped.

(145475)

330
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 15th December, Official Report, column 669W, if he will make a statement on the relationship between ability grouping and (a) personalised learning and (b) teaching tailored to the needs of pupils; and what the role of central government is in implementing these teaching practices.

(145527)

331
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of introducing an earned autonomy scheme, as provided for in the Education Act 2002; and if he will make a statement.

(146185)

332
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 17th December, Official Report, column 958W, on language study, what measures he is taking to reverse the decline in the number of schools offering Latin at (a) GCSE and (b) A level.

(146186)

333
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 17th December, Official Report, column 967W, on specialist colleges, what the (a) Key Stage Three and (b) GCSE/GNVQ value-added scores were in 2002-03 for those non-grammar specialist schools that select more than 10 per cent. of their pupils on the basis of aptitude; and if he will make a statement.

(146187)

334
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(145999)

335
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools have fallen below the 20 per cent. threshold of pupils taking free school meals in the past five years.

(145424)

336
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make it his policy to ensure that free school transport is available to the children of families who wish to exercise a choice not to attend a faith school and who have to travel outside their catchment area.

(145519)

337
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15th December, Official Report, columns 659-60W, on city academies, how the funding is broken down between the three categories set out in his Answer.

(145243)

338
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will list for each programme funded by the Department for (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools introduced in each year since 1997 the funding available in the year the programme started and in each subsequent year; and whether at the end of the life of each programme it was expected that the school would continue to fund that programme.

(145613)

339
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will list the services to be provided to schools by KPMG which he announced on 29th October, including the number of schools to be visited and the expected average duration of that visit; and if he will make a statement on changes in the extent and scope of the work in the period since he first announced the programme.

(145614)

340
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the average student loan taken out by students in (a) each region and (b) England was in each year since 1997-98

(146092)

341
Ann Keen (Brentford & Isleworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of people in the Brentford and Isleworth constituency who will benefit from the pilot of the Adult Learning Grant.

(146321)

342
Ms Oona King (Bethnal Green & Bow):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what funding will be available to fund organisations helping parents in Tower Hamlets in the next 12 months; and what proportion of funding will be allocated to (a) national organisations and (b) local organisations.

(146232)

343
N Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the average school budget is for musical instruments in each local education authority in England.

(145463)

344
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools do not have access to music lessons in school outside the National Curriculum.

(145473)

345
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what progress the Government has made in extending music opportunities in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools since 1997.

(145474)

346
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools do not have access to a musical instrument.

(145476)

347
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what arrangements are in place to register children on a national register.

(145656)

348
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, at what stage under the proposals in the Children Green Paper children will be given a unique identification number with corresponding data file.

(145657)

349
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children were affected by divorce in (a) 2001-02 and (b) 2002-03.

(145658)

350
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children in (a) England and (b) Wales lived in poverty in (i) 2001-02 and (ii) 2002-03.

(145659)

351
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what definition he uses of child poverty.

(145660)

352
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the average cost was in 2002-03 of raising a child to the age of 18.

(145661)

353
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many childcare places there are in England.

(145662)

354
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children left school in 2002-03 without a GCSE pass.

(145663)

355
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, for how many quangos dealing with child protection issues his Department is responsible.

(145664)

356
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children were considered at risk from abuse in (a) England and (b) Wales in 2002-03.

(145691)

357
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what his policy is, under the proposals outlined in the Children's Green Paper, on retention of data files kept on children when they become adults; and under what circumstances (a) children and (b) those with parental responsiblity will have access to them.

(145707)

358
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 17th December, ref. 143373, for what reason he has not provided the information on the Excellence in Cities programme in the form requested.

(145429)

359
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools in each local education authority area have specialist school status in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme is in each local education authority area.

(145430)

360
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools in each local education authority area received early years funding in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme is in each local education authority area.

(145431)

361
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools in each local education authority area received Excellence Challenge funding in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme was in each local education authority area.

(145432)

362
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools in each local education authority area received behaviour and attendance funding in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme was in each local education authority area.

(145433)

363
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools in each local education authority area received Standards Fund allocations in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme is in each local education authority area.

(145434)

364
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 8th December, Official Report, columns 287-8W, on Pathfinder projects, if he will publish the table to which the Answer refers.

(145470)

365
Mr Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham, Perry Barr):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what research his Department has carried out on the ability of (a) individual learners and (b) employers to pay increased fees for further education courses.

(146233)

366
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department and its predecessors with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146191)

367
N Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many parents make use of approved childcare.

(145446)

368
Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications of the decision to prioritise some groups of adult learners in recreational adult education.

(146316)

369
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what measures the Government will put in place to tackle arson attacks on school premises in the next three years.

(146111)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

370
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where the UK ranks in the Environmental Sustainability Index; and if she will list the rankings of other EU countries.

(145146)

371
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of staff employed within her Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145933)

372
Mr Michael Connarty (Falkirk East):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the outcome was of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 17th to 18th December; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

(145518)

373
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been spent by her Department in investigating the validity of payment claims submitted by businesses to her Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth crisis.

(145319)

374
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many invoices have been settled after the due date by her Department in relation to work undertaken by businesses in connection with the foot and mouth crisis; what the combined value was of the original invoices submitted; and how much interest has been paid on these settlements in accordance with the Late Payment of Debt Act 1998.

(145320)

375
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many invoices submitted by businesses to her Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth crisis have not yet been paid; what the total value is of these unpaid invoices; and how many invoices have been outstanding for a period of more than (a) 30 days, (b) six months, (c) one year and (d) two years.

(145321)

376
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the average amount of time taken by her Department to investigate the validity of each payment request submitted by a business to her Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth crisis.

(145322)

377
Sue Doughty (Guildford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has made to the Treasury regarding the adequacy of funding proposals for the Warm Front programme.

(145759)

378
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) sources and (b) methodology was used to calculate (i) buffer zone sizes, (ii) grassland area affected and (iii) arable area affected in the Pesticides Safety Directorate discussion paper proposals for the Introduction of No-Spray Buffer Zones Around Residential Properties in England and Wales.

(145984)

379
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average fruit and vegetable consumption was in the (a) 50 most deprived and (b) 50 most affuent wards in England in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average for England was.

(145986)

380
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, from how many of the organisations and individuals invited by the Pesticide Safety Directorate to the stakeholder meeting on 13th October about the consultation on plans for greater access to information about crop spraying written responses were received (a) by the official deadline and (b) after the deadline.

(146018)

381
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) minutes or other records were taken and (b) decisions were made at the Pesticide Safety Directorate stakeholder meetings on (i) 13th October and (ii) 24th October.

(146089)

382
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of how much was spent by (a) agricultural and (b) horticultural producers on agrochemicals in each of the past six years for which figures are available.

(146090)

383
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) large animal and (b) small animal veterinary surgeons practise in the UK.

(146094)

384
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in her Department.

(145993)

385
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her assessment is of the effectiveness of Government attempts (a) to improve the welfare standards of horses being transported for slaughter in Europe within the draft EU regulation and (b) to include within it the dispensation for the UK to maintain protection for its horses; and if she will make a statement.

(145491)

386
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to use the proposed Animal Welfare Bill to update the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963; and if she will make a statement.

(146173)

387
Mr Michael Jack (Fylde):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation which would have to be amended fully to implement the proposals contained in Lord Haskin's report on the Delivery of Rural Services.

(145788)

388
Ann Keen (Brentford & Isleworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the progress of the consultation on Statutory Control of Odour and Other Nuisances from Sewage Treatment Works; and when the White paper will be published.

(146322)

389
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the implications for bio yoghurt of the EU directive on yoghurt classification; and what representations she has received on the new arrangements.

(145731)

390
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidelines apply on the use of (a) road signs and (b) road markings in national parks.

(145761)

391
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total budget for the Wessex Flood Defence Committee is for financial year 2003-04.

(145763)

392
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Chairman of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee received in (a) pay and (b) reimbursement of expenses in 2003-04; and what overseas trips he undertook on official business in 2003-04.

(145766)

393
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the water supply and urban and rural drainage bodies in England which are companies where a holding company or majority of shareholdings are not from the United Kingdom, stating in each case the country and name of the ultimate owner, together with date of acquisition.

(145468)

394
Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which agency is responsible for ground water flooding.

(146225)

395
Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what account planning authorities are required to take of the risk of ground water flooding; and whether planning permission can be refused in areas where ground water flooding is known to have occurred.

(146226)

396
Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures can be taken to alleviate the contamination from sewers and septic tanks which take place after ground water flooding.

(146227)

397
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list information technology contracts in her Department and its predecessors with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146192)

398
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will extend the entitlement to central heating installation under the Warm Front scheme when a heating system still operates but is inadequate.

(145683)

399
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to publish the results of her Department's investigation of the feasibility of variable charging for domestic waste collection.

(145757)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

400
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the sites on UK territory outside the UK occupied by the US, giving in each case the (a) location, (b) acreage and (c) purpose of occupation.

(145148)

401
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what actions his Department has taken to advance the cause of human rights in Chechnya.

(145799)

402
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 16th December, Official Report, column 798W, what the nature was of his conversation with the Russian Ambassador regarding the Yukos Affair.

(146008)

403
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145932)

404
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent meetings he has had with EU counterparts to discuss Article II of the EU-Israel Association Agreement relating to adherence to human rights.

(145389)

405
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the status is of the city of Jerusalem in the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

(145390)

406
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what controls exist on the import of products from illegal Israeli settlements to prevent their entry to the UK under preferential treatment within the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

(145391)

407
Mrs Anne Campbell (Cambridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made since the EU's statement at the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in March to encourage the Indonesian Government to comply with its obligations under Security Council Resolution 1410 and allow questioning of those people indicted by the UN's Serious Crimes Unit for the atrocities in 1999; and if he will make a statement.

(145353)

408
N Mr William Cash (Stone):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement as to whether the 82 points referred to by Mr Berlusconi as having been agreed to at the Brussels Summit were agreed; and whether they will be reopened.

(145497)

409
Mr William Cash (Stone):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library a copy of the text referred to in the Declaration of the President of the EU as a negotiating acquis; and whether it is regarded by the Government as a negotiating acquis not open to further discussion.

(145498)

410
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(146010)

411
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the serving of beer at official receptions.

(145777)

412
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 9th December, Official Report, column 422W, on Iraq, what information he has collated about the reasons why families of the Iraqi Governing Council have left Iraq since the Coalition invasion.

(145674)

413
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the UK voted on UN General Assembly Resolution 144-4 which demanded that Israel stop and reverse construction of the separation wall.

(146207)

414
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 10th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to M. Sam.

(145960)

415
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145801)

416
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the average time taken in the last 12 months was between the lodging of an appeal in Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement and the completion of processing by UK Visas.

(145393)

417
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how long he estimates that it will take for UK Visas to process the backlog of appeals in Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement.

(145394)

418
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on (a) the level of service for immigration cases provided by HM High Commission, Islamabad and (b) his future plans for that service.

(145395)

419
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the earliest date of an appeal in Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement which has yet to be processed is.

(145397)

420
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many appeals from Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement by (a) spouses, (b) fiancés, (c) dependent children and (d) dependent elderly relatives are waiting to be processed by UK Visas.

(145400)

421
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterparts on US policy on production of anthrax.

(145739)

422
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of other governments about restricting international arms trading; what restrictions he plans to introduce; and if he will make a statement.

(145373)

423
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the export of arms.

(145374)

424
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities about the case of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche (Aa'n Zhaxi); and if he will make a statement.

(145375)

425
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146193)

426
N Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department (a) tabled an amendment to the draft European constitution to delete sub-clauses 2(a) to (g) from Article III-167 and (b) ceased to have an objection to these sub-clauses.

(145210)

427
N Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the senior members of the former Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein detained by the Coalition Provisional Authority; how many are being held in Iraq; how many are being held outside Iraq; and at what locations.

(145181)

428
Mr Richard Spring (West Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what parts of the Schengen acquis the United Kingdom has applied to participate in since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(145585)

429
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government's plans for British involvement in Iraq have changed following the capture of Saddam Hussein.

(146221)

430
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on where Suddam Hussein should be tried.

(146222)

431
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to visit Iraq.

(146223)

432
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications of the breakdown of negotiations for the European Constitution; when the next EU summit is scheduled to take place; and what items will be on the agenda.

(146224)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

433
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to promote a long-term public health education programme on how to reduce the risk of skin cancer.

(145142)

434
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of the SunSmart Campaign; and whether further funding will be provided to continue the campaign.

(145143)

435
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of how the two week wait rule for skin cancer has affected the waiting times for the treatment of urgent non-cancerous skin conditions.

(145144)

436
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness and benefits of rapid referral clinics for skin cancer.

(145145)

437
N Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the waiting time for a routine MRI scan in each NHS trust in England.

(145184)

438
N Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the incidence of autism in children who were vaccinated with the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (a) before attaining the age of three and (b) after attaining the age of three.

(145185)

439
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made in its consideration of the indemnification of water supply companies against claims arising from fluoridation.

(146011)

440
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department will provide equal funding for the presentation of both sides in the event of a local referendum on water fluoridation.

(146012)

441
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has given to strategic health authorities on evaluating public opinion on fluoridation of the water supply.

(146013)

442
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145931)

443
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the impact of his Department's policies on the Regent's Park and Kensington North constituency since 1997.

(145417)

444
N Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients in (a) England and (b) Mid-Essex are waiting for orthodontic treatment; and how many have been waiting for treatment for (i) up to six months, (ii) up to 12 months, (iii) up to 24 months, (iv) up to 36 months and (v) over 36 months.

(144860)

445
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he will reply to the questions from the honourable Member for Sutton and Cheam, tabled on 1st December, references 140640 and 140642.

(145738)

446
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list salaries and wages costs for (a) general and senior managers, (b) nurses and midwives and (c) administrative and clerical staff for (i) 2002-03 and (ii) 2003-04, broken down by NHS trust.

(146053)

447
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made towards achieving the national priorities guidance performance target to reduce the per capita rate of growth in emergency readmissions of people aged 75 years or over; and for what reasons the data collection for emergency admissions was changed to an all age base from 2003-04.

(146208)

448
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the availability and use of systematic spirometers in (a) primary and (b) secondary care settings.

(146209)

449
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many finished consultant episodes there have been for respiratory syncytial virus in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996, broken down by age.

(146211)

450
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the extent to which children under five years with respiratory problems are misdiagnosed with asthma.

(146212)

451
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating and managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in each of the last five years.

(146213)

452
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of tuberculosis were reported in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996.

(146214)

453
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many finished consultant episodes there have been for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996, broken down by age.

(146215)

454
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many finished consultant episodes there were where obesity was the primary diagnosis in (a) each NHS region and (b) England in 2002-03.

(146216)

455
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the waiting-time was (a) from written referral from general practitioner to first out-patient appointment with a pain management consultant and (b) for patients waiting for elective admission where the main specialty is pain management in (i) England, (ii) each NHS region and (iii) each stratetic health authority in each of the last five years.

(146217)

456
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) principal and (b) assistant dentists there were in (i) England, (ii) each NHS region and (iii) each strategic health authority who (A) offered NHS treatment and (B) had vacancies for NHS patients, in each of the last five years.

(146218)

457
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people aged (a) 17 years or under and (b) 18 years or over were registered with an NHS dentist in (i) England, (ii) each NHS region and (iii) each strategic health authority in each of the last five years; and what proportion each represents of the relevant age group.

(146219)

458
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what statistics his Department collates on the incidence of blood-borne diseases in recipients of blood products; and if he will make a statement.

(145448)

459
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many recipients of blood products have died of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease since 1993.

(145449)

460
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the risk of possible infection with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease from large pools of plasma; and what the likely effects are of dilution of infected blood products in large pools.

(145450)

461
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the (a) methodology and (b) effectiveness of screening for infections of (i) blood products and (ii) whole blood to be used by the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

(145451)

462
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many recipients of (a) blood and (b) blood products derived from donors who subsequently were confirmed to have variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease have been identified.

(145452)

463
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to trace recipients of blood donated by donors identified as having (a) variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and (b) other blood-borne diseases.

(145453)

464
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 17th December, Official Report, column 1751, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of the donor and the recipient of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease infected blood having independently contracted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

(145454)

465
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of blood products from high infection risk groups being used in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

(145458)

466
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 17th December, Official Report, column 1571, what assessment he has made of the state of health of the second recipient of blood from the donor who later died of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

(145459)

467
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people (a) under 11 and (b) over 11 have been prescribed Ritalin by a health authority in each of the last five years.

(145815)

468
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the long-term effects of Ritalin.

(145816)

469
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list in respect of all vegetables their carbohydrate content; and which are regarded by his Department as having too much carbohydrate to qualify for inclusion as vegetables in a healthy diet.

(145535)

470
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes have been made to transplant services since 2001.

(145425)

471
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure there is a transplant co-ordinator in every hospital.

(145426)

472
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce an opt-out scheme for organ donation.

(145427)

473
N Mr Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many former Community Health Council staff members have found continuing employment in the health service; how many have officially been declared redundant; and what the cost is to the Exchequer of the redundancy payments to be made to them.

(145247)

474
N Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to complete the sale of the Old Runwell Hospital site for partial redevelopment; and if he will make a statement.

(145064)

475
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assistance his Department will offer foundation hospitals in developing (a) ethical and (b) environmental, (i) investment, (ii) banking and (iii) procurement policies.

(145716)

476
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff at the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency are employed to investigate breaches of the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994.

(145356)

477
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions have been made by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency to take on additional staff to pre-vet advertising material when medicinal products are switched from prescription-only to over-the-counter status.

(145357)

478
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints were investigated in 2002-03 by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency in response to complaints from (a) health professionals, (b) pharmaceutical companies and (c) the public.

(145358)

479
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what self-regulatory controls are in place for medicine advertising and promotion; and when the Government last carried out a spot check to determine the effectiveness of the self-regulatory system.

(145359)

480
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the outcomes were of the review of advertising activities carried out by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency earlier this year; which organisations and individuals were invited to contribute to this review; and how the report has been made publicly available.

(145360)

481
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many of the complaints investigated by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency were found to be in breach of the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; for each of these years, how many of the complaints that were upheld related to advertisements targeted at (i) health professionals and (ii) the public; over how long on average the advertisements had been running before being withdrawn; and what sanctions were employed.

(145361)

482
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are employed by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency in investigating complaints; and under what conditions pre-vetting of advertising material is carried out.

(145362)

483
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms exist for independent scrutiny of the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency activities in relation to its role to monitor and enforce regulations on pharmaceutical company advertising and promotion.

(145363)

484
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the objectives of the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency are in relation to (a) the development of the pharmaceutical industry and (b) the protection of public health; how performance against these objectives is evaluated; and how any conflict between the objectives is overcome.

(145364)

485
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has estimated the cost to the NHS of the increased use of drug eluting stents following guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

(145782)

486
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans to incorporate guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on drug eluting stents into the National Standards Framework on coronary heart disease.

(145783)

487
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will explain the methods used to arrive at his conclusions that (a) 80 per cent. of people would like to live at home rather than in a care home and (b) 10,000 care home vacancies exist; where these vacancies exist; in what geographical areas there is a shortage; and if he will publish the research documents.

(145623)

488
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list for each health authority (a) the number of people eligible for the influenza vaccine and (b) the number of shots of vaccine available during winter 2003-04 and (c) whether the health authority has reported a shortage in supply.

(145624)

489
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) consultant geriatricians and (b) geriatricians below the level of consultant were employed in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

(145627)

490
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the services he makes available to prisoners aged over 65 years.

(145631)

491
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimates the Department has made of the potential savings to be made by preventing osteoporosic fractures.

(145633)

492
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the link between osteoporosis and bed blocking.

(145634)

493
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of whether the identification of osteoporosis has become a priority in primary care as suggested in the National Service Framework for Older People.

(145635)

494
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(146004)

495
Ann Keen (Brentford & Isleworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) nursing and (b) auxiliary staff are adequately trained to identify and deal with elder abuse in (i) the home and (ii) nursing and residential care.

(146318)

496
Ann Keen (Brentford & Isleworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action is being taken to ensure that there are sufficient (a) palliative care and (b) hospice beds available for children with life-shortening illnesses.

(146319)

497
Andy King (Rugby & Kenilworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that patients are not taken off treatments which have not been approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for non-medical reasons and transferred to those which have been so approved.

(145387)

498
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145802)

499
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff were employed by strategic health authorities in (a) April 2002 and (b) April 2003; and what the projected figures are for (i) April and (ii) October 2004.

(145370)

500
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for his Department in each year since 1997.

(145371)

501
N Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many whole time equivalent (a) managers, (b) senior managers and (c) clerical and administrative staff were working in the NHS in England on 1st December, using the definitions in Table 6A of the Department's report, NHS hospital and community health services non-medical staff in England: 1991-2001.

(145728)

502
Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what investigations (a) have taken place and (b) are underway into waiting lists at St Georges' Hospital, London.

(145768)

503
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many community and outreach children's nurses were registered in 2002-03 in England.

(145665)

504
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered nurses work in general accident and emergency units in England.

(145666)

505
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which health trusts have declined to use NHS Professionals.

(145667)

506
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff have been recruited through NHS Professionals since its inception.

(145668)

507
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS Professionals charges hospital trusts for their services.

(145669)

508
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what charges NHS Professionals make to trusts when they act as an intermediary between commercial agencies and trusts.

(145670)

509
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been charged by NHS Professionals in administrative fees since it was set up.

(145671)

510
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in what circumstances NHS Professionals may charge an administrative fee to hospital trusts.

(145672)

511
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the prevalence of mental health problems is in children aged (a) five to 10, (b) 11 to 15 and (c) 16 to 19 in England, broken down by gender.

(145689)

512
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in (a) England and (b) Wales have been diagnosed with autism on the latest date for which figures are available.

(145690)

513
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many different types of children's specialist nurse there are.

(145692)

514
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paediatric (a) oncology and (b) intensive care nurses were registered in 2002-03 in (i) England and (ii) Wales.

(145693)

515
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many special baby care and neonatal intensive care nurses were registered in 2002-03 in (a) England and (b) Wales.

(145694)

516
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list regulatory and advisory bodies responsible to his Department dealing with blood safety.

(145695)

517
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what categories of charges are included in NHS Professionals administration charges.

(145936)

518
N Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-clinical staff are employed in each primary care trust in England, broken down by grade.

(145937)

519
N Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many pints of (a) blood and (b) plasma were used by the NHS in each of the last five years.

(145938)

520
N Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the main uses are to which donated blood is put; and what proportion of donated blood was discarded in each of the last five years.

(145939)

521
N Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much donated blood was used in (a) cancer operations and (b) transfusions in each of the last five years.

(145940)

522
N Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many pints of blood have been donated in each of the last five years.

(145941)

523
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on delayed discharges in (a) the Craven, Harrogate and Rural District Primary Care Trust and (b) the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust area.

(145621)

524
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the equipment procured under the Private Finance Initiative in each year since 1998, broken down by (a) type, (b) hospital, (c) initial capital cost, (d) term of payment and (e) overall cost.

(145586)

525
Ms Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action he is taking to improve cancer prevention in England.

(145455)

526
Ms Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much money his Department allocates to primary prevention of breast cancer.

(145456)

527
Ms Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on primary prevention of breast cancer in 2002-03.

(145457)

528
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) hospital trusts, (b) primary care trusts, (c) mental health trusts and (d) ambulance trusts have merged in each of the last six years.

(145355)

529
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of patients started radiotherapy within four weeks of diagnosis of (a) lung, (b) gynaecological, (c) breast, (d) colorectal and (e) urological cancers in each of the last three years.

(145760)

530
Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how assistive technology research and development are being monitored and evaluated.

(146228)

531
N Mr Michael Portillo (Kensington & Chelsea):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the exent to which primary care trust resources are adequate to cover the cost of capital programmes at the (a) Ealing, (b) Charing Cross, (c) Hillingdon, (d) Northwick Park and (e) Paddington hospital sites, while meeting growth in demand for services.

(145096)

532
N Mr Michael Portillo (Kensington & Chelsea):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the estimated cost of the Paddington site development was on 1st January 2002; what his latest estimate of the cost of the development is; and if he will investigate alternative options for meeting tertiary health demand in West London.

(145097)

533
N Mr Michael Portillo (Kensington & Chelsea):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of whether redevelopment at the (a) Charing Cross and (b) Chelsea and Westminster hospitals would represent a viable alternative to redevelopment at Paddington.

(145098)

534
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of procedures contracted out by the NHS to the public sector in the last 12 months.

(146304)

535
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146194)

536
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that training programmes for health professionals include components which encourage the development of skills specific to working with men.

(145524)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

537
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what power the Charity Commission has to remove charitable status from Church of England bodies; and in what circumstances this would apply.

(146235)

538
Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are in place to ensure that, when an individual changes his or her name by deed poll, the individual's original name is retained in criminal records data; and if he will make a statement.

(146231)

539
Mr Harold Best (Leeds North West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where, and for how long, DNA samples are held by the Forensic Science Service.

(146203)

540
N Mr Keith Bradley (Manchester, Withington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received from local authorities on the implications for them of children being taken into care under the provisions in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill.

(145189)

541
Mr Keith Bradley (Manchester, Withington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what specific actions he expects local authorities to take to protect children who are not taken into care but whose parents have had their benefits stopped as a consequence of the implementation of clause 7 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill.

(145584)

542
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many community support officers will be in post in the London Borough of Sutton by the end of March 2004.

(146000)

543
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145930)

544
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the impact of his Department's policies on the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington North since 1997.

(145422)

545
N Mr John Burnett (Torridge & West Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the judiciary about the power of Parliament to oust the jurisdiction of the courts in exercising a supervisory or other jurisdiction in relation to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

(145640)

546
N Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if, before laying the statutory instrument relating to Cheadle Royal Hospital which is being prepared in his Department, he will take steps to satisfy himself that all the income received by the charity has been applied to the properly authorised charitable purposes.

(145328)

547
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if, before laying the statutory instrument relating to Cheadle Royal Hospital which is being prepared in his Department, he will take steps to satisfy himself that all the assets of this charity have been sold or reassigned in accordance with charity law, and in particular with section 36(8) of the Charities Act 1993.

(145773)

548
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the number of anti-social behaviour offences occurring over Hallowe'en relative to other periods of the year.

(145343)

549
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received regarding anti-social behaviour over Hallowe'en.

(145344)

550
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of links between trick or treat activities during Hallowe'en with criminal behaviour.

(145345)

551
Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants for asylum there were from the Democratic Republic of Congo in each of the last six years; and how many and what percentage of applications were accepted.

(145401)

552
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, at what time the (a) M20 and (b) M26 were closed to traffic on 15th December; at what time each was reopened to traffic on 16th December; and for what reason the roads were not reopened sooner.

(145532)

553
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) thefts of motor vehicles and (b) thefts from motor vehicles occurred in each of the last five years; and what proportion of each were committed after a window was broken.

(145533)

554
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will include in the next edition of the booklet Steer Clear of Car Crime a reference to the retrofitting of security film to motor vehicle windows.

(145534)

555
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 3rd December, Official Report, column 71W, on vehicle crime, whether the retro-fitting of security film to motor vehicle windows is recognised by his Department as a means of improving vehicle permitted security.

(145616)

556
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested for terrorist offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 since 11th September 2001; and how many of them (a) have been charged, (b) have been released without charge, (c) have been bailed, (d) are still in custody, (e) were prosecuted in court under the Act, (f) were convicted under the Act and (g) were handed over to immigration officials.

(145921)

557
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the results of the DORE Achievement Centres and dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit treatment programme with the Prison Service in Stafford; and what plans he has to extend the programme to other prisons.

(146170)

558
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the results of the DORE Achievement Centres and dyslexia, dyspraxia and attention deficit treatment programme at Balsall Common School; and what plans he has to extend the programme to other schools.

(146171)

559
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many swift justice cases there have been due to the Street Crime Initiative Unit in Merseyside.

(146238)

560
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the role and work of the Merseyside Street Crime Initiative Unit.

(146239)

561
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what percentage of witnesses on Merseyside applied for special measures in giving evidence in the last year for which figures are available; and how many and what percentage had their request granted.

(146240)

562
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of witnesses' reactions to the special measures available in Merseyside to allow them to give their best evidence in court.

(146241)

563
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research has been undertaken on witnesses' views of their treatment by Merseyside Crown Prosecution Service.

(146242)

564
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the work of Merseyside Police's domestic violence units.

(146243)

565
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the Merseyside Police's Hate Crime Policy.

(146244)

566
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the findings were of the Diversity Monitoring Project established in October 2001 to examine Merseyside Crown Prosecution Service files for racial bias in decision-making.

(146245)

567
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the Crown Prosecution Service's Racially Aggravated and Religiously Aggravated Crime Policy.

(146246)

568
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the Crown Prosecution Service Merseyside Community Engagement Programme.

(146247)

569
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what percentage of trials in Merseyside courts resulted in a conviction in the last year for which figures are available.

(146248)

570
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what percentage of (a) domestic violence and (b) homophobic crime trials in Merseyside courts resulted in a conviction in the last year for which figures are available.

(146249)

571
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the work of the National Centre for Policing Excellence.

(146262)

572
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what means police (a) forces and (b) authorities seek to develop a clear understanding of the communities they serve.

(146263)

573
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the Anti-Social Behaviour Plan.

(146264)

574
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place to reduce (a) begging and (b) street drinking.

(146265)

575
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what issues have been specified by Merseyside police as affecting the incidence of (a) domestic burglary, (b) vehicle crime and (c) robbery in their local plan.

(146266)

576
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the change in the number of firearm offences since March 2001.

(146267)

577
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place to reduce the number of firearm offences.

(146268)

578
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the policies in place to tackle domestic violence.

(146269)

579
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what percentage recorded crime levels have changed in the past five years.

(146270)

580
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the police reform programme launched in 2001.

(146271)

581
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the level of public fear of crime.

(146272)

582
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research has been conducted on the attitude of the public towards the police, with particular reference to racism.

(146273)

583
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to close the gap between the best and worst performing police forces.

(146274)

584
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proportion of time spent on frontline duty by the police has changed in the last five years.

(146275)

585
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the response of the police to the Getting the Best Leaders to Take on the Most Demanding Challenges project.

(146276)

586
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the pay and conditions package for the police implemented from 1st April 2003.

(146277)

587
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the effect of the work of the steering group reducing bureaucracy in the police force.

(146278)

588
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to make the police force an attractive career for ethnic minorities.

(146279)

589
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the targets are for increasing the number of female officers in the most senior ranks of the police force.

(146280)

590
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to formulate a definition of a crime of violence in relation to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

(146281)

591
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme does not deem physical violence to be an essential component of a sexual offence.

(146282)

592
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme deals with the role of grooming as a tactic of abusers.

(146283)

593
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will extend compensation to victims who were abused or injured by someone living in their household before October 1979.

(146284)

594
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research has been conducted on the suitability of trusts as a means for victims to retain their eligibility for benefits after a compensation pay-out; and if he will make a statement.

(146285)

595
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he will accept the recommendations of Victim Support in their report Insult to Injury.

(146286)

596
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) age of victim, (b) type of offence, (c) age of complainant and (d) relationship of accused to complainant was for each of the deniers who applied for parole, referred to on page 17 of the latest Parole Board report.

(146287)

597
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the offence categories were for the prisoners who were denied parole on the basis of their continuing denial of guilt in April 2003.

(146288)

598
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to ensure that all relevant Inspectorates implement Recommendation 2.15 of the Joint Chief Inspectors' report on Arrangements to Safeguard Children.

(146289)

599
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will assess the effectiveness of the guidance on vulnerable and intimidated witnesses under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

(146290)

600
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research is planned on disabled children and young people's (a) access to and (b) experience of the criminal justice system.

(146291)

601
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what response his Department will make to the recommendations in the latest report from the National Working Group on Child Protection and Disability.

(146292)

602
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where in Liverpool the pilot community justice centre will be located.

(146311)

603
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the powers contained in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 will be available to the police.

(146312)

604
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which areas the alcohol harm reduction strategy will be implemented.

(146313)

605
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for his Department for each year since 2001-02.

(145696)

606
Jim Dowd (Lewisham West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11th December, Official Report, column 621W, whether the net proceeds were £6,635,335; and to whom this money was distributed.

(145956)

607
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to change the system to record the number of asylum seekers (a) entering the UK illegally, (b) applying for asylum and (c) being detained awaiting deportation; and if he will make a statement.

(145676)

608
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his policy is on detaining asylum seekers with children whose application for asylum has been denied.

(145677)

609
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to develop a national strategy to deal with elderly prisoners.

(145625)

610
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people aged over 65 years are serving sentences in England and Wales; and what provisions are being made to meet their health, social and rehabilitation needs.

(145626)

611
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will contribute funding to the telephone helpline run by Action on Elder Abuse.

(145628)

612
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people over the age of 60 were victims of (a) attacks and (b) abuse in England and Wales in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(145629)

613
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government uses a formal definition of elder abuse.

(145630)

614
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on prison resources directed at the rehabilitation of prisoners aged 65 years and above.

(145632)

615
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(146005)

616
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were disqualified from driving in the last five years.

(145332)

617
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were disqualified from driving since 2000 as a result of (a) drink-driving, (b) speeding and (c) dangerous or reckless driving.

(145333)

618
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the serving of beer at official receptions.

(145778)

619
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the stakeholder forum on the care and use of primates in experiments will be set up; what the terms of reference will be; who will be included on the forum; and when it will report.

(146169)

620
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring into force section 25 of the Police Reform Act 2002 handling of complaints.

(146172)

621
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money has been made available to the Animal Procedures Committee in each year since 1997 specifically aimed at (a) developing and (b) promoting alternatives to animal experimentation; and if he will make a statement.

(145442)

622
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the reasons for the change in the female prison population between 1998 and October 2003; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the change on community safety.

(146020)

623
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 4th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Winston Frank Tracey.

(145959)

624
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 16th October from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Miriam Adebeshin.

(145961)

625
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 6th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Kwok Hung Lam.

(145962)

626
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 10th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs S. Khan.

(145963)

627
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 4th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr John Alusine Bangra.

(145964)

628
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter to him dated 4th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M. Atem.

(145965)

629
Ann Keen (Brentford & Isleworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of graffiti.

(146320)

630
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145803)

631
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum-seekers have been detained pending removal at the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre during 2003.

(145365)

632
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals have been housed at Oakington Immigration Reception Centre during 2003 as a result of the detention overspill facility.

(145366)

633
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many abscondees from the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre there were in each of the last 12 months.

(145367)

634
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees have been resident at the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre for longer than (a) seven and (b) 10 days during the course of 2003.

(145368)

635
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what purposes, in addition to making initial decisions on asylum applications, detainees are housed at the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre.

(145369)

636
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what expenditure has been allocated for the (a) assessment and (b) introduction of identity cards in each year from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(146009)

637
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appeals against refusal of entry clearance from Pakistan by (a) spouses, (b) fiancées, (c) dependent children and (d) dependent elderly relatives are being processed by his Department; what the average time taken in the last 12 months was between receipt of papers from UK Visas and papers being sent to the Independent Appellate Authority; and if he will make a statement.

(145402)

638
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his normal practice is for the length of time taken to reply to correspondence.

(145620)

639
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the early release scheme for detention and training orders issued since 2001.

(145648)

640
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost per prisoner place at Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institution Wetherby was in (a) 1998-99 and (b) 2002-03.

(145649)

641
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the actual cost per prisoner at Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institution Wetherby was in (a) 1998-99 and (b) 2002-03.

(145650)

642
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) assaults on officers and (b) other assaults took place at Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institution Wetherby was in (i) 1999-2000 and (ii) 2000-01.

(145651)

643
N Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the independent inquiry he has announced into the effectiveness of police intelligence in the Soham case will (a) include an assessment of the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 which request the deletion of records on cases which do not lead to a prosecution and (b) examine the compatibility of these provisions with the need to carry out checks for employment purposes.

(145386)

644
Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce reoffending by (a) involving families in resettlement work throughout the prison sentence and (b) maintaining prisoners' family ties.

(146229)

645
Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to allow prisoner parents to retain responsibility for their children during imprisonment.

(146230)

646
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to assist (a) tobacconists, (b) alcohol retailers and (c) publicans in determining the age of customers where restrictions on sales exist; and if he will make a statement.

(145327)

647
Phil Sawford (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many animals have been used in scientific procedures in each of the last 10 years; and what action he is taking to reduce these numbers.

(145438)

648
Phil Sawford (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action he is taking (a) to reduce the numbers of animals used in scientific procedures and (b) to encourage the use of alternatives.

(145439)

649
Phil Sawford (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action he is taking to ensure that the use of animals in scientific experiments is restricted to those experiments where no alternative methods are available.

(145440)

650
Phil Sawford (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action he is taking to ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare are implemented in establishments using animals to carry out scientific procedures.

(145441)

651
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146195)

652
Alan Simpson (Nottingham South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the agreement with the US on bases on UK territory says about the holding of prisoners other than US Service personnel.

(145787)

653
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work permits were issued in 2002.

(145413)

654
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with EU partners concerning asylum.

(145414)

655
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings he has had with honourable Members about immigration cases in the last 12 months.

(145415)

656
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) widows and (b) widowers have been widowed in such a way that an inquest has been required in each of the years 1997 to 2002.

(145978)

657
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding was provided to (a) St Helens and (b) Merseyside for the training of public service providers, with particular reference to police, teachers, doctors and nurses, to enable them to understand and identify women who have undergone female genital mutilation in (i) 2001, (ii) 2002 and (iii) 2003.

(146044)

658
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding was provided to local authorities for the training of public service providers, with particular reference to police, teachers, doctors and nurses, to enable them to understand and identify women who have undergone female genital mutilation in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

(146054)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

659
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to his statement of 15th December, Official Report, column 1319, if he will place in the Library details of the reconstruction projects that have been launched in Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the (a) purpose and (b) costs of each project funded by the UK.

(145641)

660
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the criteria are for identifying recipients of food aid in Zimbabwe.

(146154)

661
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contingency plans are in place in the event that food needs remain unmet in (a) Zimbabwe and (b) other parts of southern Africa before the next harvest.

(146155)

662
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action is being taken to respond to emergency food needs in (a) southern Mozambique and (b) Lesotho.

(146156)

663
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Southern Africa Hunger and Vulnerability Strategy will have sufficient resources to ensure that the lessons learned from the International Development Committee enquiry on the humanitarian crisis in southern Africa are acted upon.

(146157)

664
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps are being taken to ensure food aid in southern Africa is (a) only distributed where it can be demonstrated to be the best response and (b) allocated on the basis of national Vulnerable Assessment Committee data.

(146158)

665
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the Government has to (a) prevent the deterioration of health and education services in southern Africa as a consequence of the HIV/AIDS crisis and (b) support the strengthening of these services.

(146159)

666
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps are being taken to ensure that HIV/AIDS policies take into account the particular needs of orphans and vulnerable children.

(146160)

667
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with specific reference to Angola, what the indicators are that define a good poverty reduction strategy paper; and what the criteria are by which the Government will measure governance and transparency credentials.

(146161)

668
Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of reducing aid to South Africa.

(146162)

669
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms his Department has available to it to encourage Rwanda to adhere to the Memorandum of Understanding.

(145797)

670
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the notification process is for informing the Rwandan Government of any failure to adhere to the Memorandum of Understanding.

(145798)

671
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when (a) he and (b) departmental officials last met Paul Bremer (i) in Iraq, (ii) in the UK and (iii) elsewhere.

(145914)

672
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145929)

673
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations he has received on the risk of dependency resulting from recent increases in funding to developing countries to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

(145436)

674
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if his Department will work with the Coalition Provisional Authority to ensure that efforts are made in the forthcoming school year to ensure gender equality for (a) the number of children attending school and (b) the number of children taking exams in Iraq.

(145604)

675
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(146006)

676
Jane Griffiths (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance his Department has provided to (a) Bermuda, (b) British Virgin Islands and (c) Cayman Islands in the past year; and if he will make a statement.

(145786)

677
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to his Answer of 15th December, Official Report, column 719W, when he expects to make a decision on whether the Indigenous People's Demonstration Project will be affected by the reallocation of money for middle income countries.

(145615)

678
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145804)

679
Alice Mahon (Halifax):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid the UK has provided to Uzbekistan since 2001; and for what purposes.

(145755)

680
Mr Mohammad Sarwar (Glasgow Govan):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on assistance being provided in Eritrea.

(145435)

681
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146199)

682
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding the Government provided for HIV/AIDs programmes in (a) Burundi, (b) Democratic Republic of Congo, (c) Rwanda and (d) Uganda in (i) 2001, (ii) 2002 and (iii) 2003; what funding will be provided in (A) 2004, (B) 2005 and (C) 2006; and what research has been commissioned on the number of people infected in each country.

(146022)

683
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the number of children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS in (a) Burundi, (b) Democratic Republic of Congo, (c) Rwanda and (d) Uganda in (i) 2001, (ii) 2002 and (iii) 2003.

(146050)

684
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the HIV/AIDS situation in the countries of the Great Lakes Region in Africa.

(146051)

Questions to the Leader of the House

685
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Leader of the House, if he will list for each session since 2000-01 the (a) Acts of Parliament and parts thereof and (b) Statutory Instruments enacted by requirements of legislation of the European Community and Union; and how many Regulations passed by EU institutions have applied without further enactment in each year since 2000.

(145460)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

686
Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what action he will take to increase funding for sexual health services in Northern Ireland.

(145428)

687
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145928)

688
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(145998)

689
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145806)

690
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising for his Department was for 2002-03.

(145725)

691
Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the circumstances were of the fatal shooting involving members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 29th April.

(145735)

692
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many hospital trolley waits there were in Northern Ireland in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003; and how many there were in December of each year.

(146305)

693
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on paramilitary racketeering.

(146306)

694
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many paramilitary beatings were reported in each of the last six years.

(146307)

695
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on smuggling by paramilitary organisations.

(146308)

696
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what research the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment based its assessment that industrial de-rating will not result in widespread job losses.

(146310)

697
Mr Peter Robinson (Belfast East):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the (a) Director General and (b) Director of Operations of the Northern Ireland Prison Service have been provided with accommodation on the Stormont estate.

(146174)

698
Mr Peter Robinson (Belfast East):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much it has cost the Prison Service to fly the (a) Director General and (b) Director of Operations of the Northern Ireland Prison Service in and out of the Province since their appointments; and how many flights have been taken.

(146175)

699
Mr Peter Robinson (Belfast East):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much it has cost to date to transport the (a) Director General and (b) Director of Operations of the Northern Ireland Prison Service in armoured vehicles when they are in the Province on business.

(146176)

700
Mr Peter Robinson (Belfast East):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many cases have been submitted to the Labour Relations Agency for consideration by an industrial tribunal from workers at Shorts/Bombardier.

(146309)

701
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146197)

Questions to the Prime Minister

702
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Prime Minister, when he last raised the issue of human rights in Chechnya with President Putin.

(145800)

703
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Prime Minister, what steps have been taken to resolve the pay dispute involving Civil Service employees.

(146303)

704
N Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire):To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Wokingham of 15th December, Official Report, column 1334, what the basis was for his statement that the United Kingdom is not giving up the power to set asylum law.

(145323)

705
N Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, whether former President Saddam Hussein is being held in custody as a prisoner of war under the provisions of the Geneva Convention.

(145183)

706
Mr Richard Spring (West Suffolk):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the role that Roger Liddle has with respect to EU policy.

(145953)

707
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer to the Right honourable and Learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe of 17th December, Official Report, column 1564, what his definition is of public sector investment; and where else in official publications his definition has been employed.

(146107)

708
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to visit Romania.

(145409)

709
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, what progress has been made in respect of the joint letter he sent with Chancellor Schröder on the reform of the EU.

(145410)

710
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, when he last met the Prime Minister of Romania; and if he will make a statement.

(145411)

711
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, when he next plans to meet the President of Yemen.

(145412)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland

712
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for his Department for each year since 1997.

(145655)

713
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what systems are in place to ensure economies of scale in advertising purchasing between the Scottish Executive and his Department.

(145679)

Questions to the Solicitor General

714
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Solicitor General, what recent assessment she has made of the work of the Serious Fraud Office; and if she will make a statement.

(146163)

715
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Solicitor General, how many (a) offences of fraud and (b) serious frauds, involving breaches of trust by professionals, were reported to the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last three years; how many prosecutions were initiated; what the outcome was in each case; and if she will make a statement.

(146164)

716
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Solicitor General, what plans she has to set up branches of the Serious Fraud Office in the regions.

(146165)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

717
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what percentage of staff employed within her Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145926)

718
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether a target has been set for the number of proceedings to be brought in the public interest for disqualification of company directors.

(145380)

719
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what remuneration will be provided to each of the members of the new Sustainable Energy Policy Advisory Board.

(145685)

720
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how often the new Sustainable Energy Policy Advisory Board will meet.

(145686)

721
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many grants and of what value have been made by the Industrial Development Unit in her Department; and how many new jobs have been created as a result of these in the last five years broken down by region.

(145758)

722
Mr Tony Colman (Putney):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will direct the management of the Post Office to extend the consultation period for those Post Office branch closures which it has put out for consultation over the Christmas period by at least two weeks.

(146317)

723
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding her Department provides for (a) enterprise grants that are delivered to businesses in the regions by the Small Business Service, (b) the STEP programme, (c) the Faraday Partnership scheme and (d) the Manufacturing Advisory scheme in each year since inception of the scheme; what timescale applies to the funding in each case; and if she will make a statement on the extent to which businesses have benefited from each initiative.

(145483)

724
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding her Department has provided to the Industry Forum Adaptation scheme since its inception; and what timescale applies to this funding.

(145487)

725
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding her Department has provided for (a) the Advanced Metals Technology Initiative, (b) the Technology Review grant scheme for small businesses, (c) the Innovation and Technology Programme for small businesses and (d) the Development Projects grant scheme in each year since inception of the scheme; what timescale applies to the funding in each case; and if she will make a statement on the timescale to which this funding applies and estimate the extent to which businesses have benefited from each initiative.

(145488)

726
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding is provided in financial year 2003-04 by her Department to finance the Enterprising Solutions Award.

(145489)

727
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much money has been allocated to fund the Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea pilot scheme.

(145492)

728
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding has been provided by her Department to finance (a) the Manufacturing Advisory Service, (b) the Community Development Venture Fund and (c) the Supply Chain Groups initiative since the inception of each scheme; what timescale applies to the funding in each case; and if she will make a statement on the extent to which businesses have benefited from each initiative.

(145511)

729
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much money has been spent by her Department in establishing the Benchmark Index for business.

(145512)

730
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding was allocated for small business support under the SMART scheme from the time of its inception to its closure; and how much of this money was distributed directly to grant recipients.

(145513)

731
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding has been allocated to finance the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships scheme; and to what timescale this funding applies.

(145514)

732
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding has been allocated for the new Grant for Research and Development scheme; and over what timescale this funding will be available.

(145515)

733
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much funding has been provided by her Department to fund the Connect website for small businesses.

(145516)

734
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much funding has been provided by her Department to finance the Business Volunteer Mentoring scheme that is managed by the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies since inception of the scheme.

(145517)

735
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what funding her Department is providing in (a) 2003-04 and (b) in future years to support the Promoting Women's Enterprise Support Initiative.

(145520)

736
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for her Department in 1997-98.

(145329)

737
Mr Barry Gardiner (Brent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what progress has been made since September on negotiations with the European Commission to reinstate the Generalised System of Preferences in Iraq.

(145606)

738
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether she has performed an impact assessment to determine what percentage of veterinary surgeons would be adversely affected by the recommendations contained within the Competition Commission report into prescription only veterinary medicines.

(146093)

739
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average profit per veterinary practice was in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

(146095)

740
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average profit per veterinary practice was on the sale of prescription-only medicines in (a) large animal practices and (b) small animal practices in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

(146096)

741
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when she expects to publish a Statutory Instrument to implement the recommendations of the Competition Commissions Report into prescription only veterinary medicines.

(146097)

742
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the impact on the average cost of a veterinary consultation of implementation of the recommendations made by the Competition Commission in its report on prescription only veterinary medicines.

(146098)

743
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions her Department has had with representatives from the European Commission on removing companion animals from the Veterinary Prescribing Cascade.

(146099)

744
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the implementation of the recommendations of the Competition Commission's report on prescription only veterinary medicines on levels of veterinary care for pets of low income owners.

(146100)

745
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with veterinary organisations regarding the recommendations of the Competition Commission's report on prescription only veterinary medicines; and what assessment she has made of their representations.

(146101)

746
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many complaints were received by the Office of Fair Trading about the price of prescription only veterinary medicines in each of the last five years for which records are available; and what proportion of those complaints were made about (a) large animals practices and (b) small animal practices.

(146102)

747
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what percentage of prescriptions for treating animals issued by veterinary surgeons were for generic drugs in each of the last five years for which records exist.

(146103)

748
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate on the proposed review of the prescribing categories of veterinary drugs, including prescription only medicines.

(146104)

749
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the recommendations of the Competition Commission on prescription only medicines with reference to the European review of the prescribing of veterinary medicines.

(146105)

750
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons regarding changes to its Guide to Professional Conduct, with reference to the Competition Commission's recommendations on prescription only medicines.

(146106)

751
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in her Department.

(145997)

752
Jane Griffiths (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if her Department will put in place regulations to oblige credit agencies to update their records on individuals; and if she will make a statement.

(145399)

753
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the effect that the Government stance on the Posted Workers Directive is having on (a) the job prospects for British workers in the United Kingdom and (b) the wage levels of migrant workers in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

(145486)

754
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make it her policy to ensure that the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry is made mandatory.

(145490)

755
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the effect of the eight week rule on (a) employers and (b) employees; and if she will make it her policy to abolish it.

(146177)

756
Mr Robert Jackson (Wantage):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many of the portfolio companies receiving Regional Venture Capital Funds have been Small Business Service SMART award winners.

(146314)

757
Mr Robert Jackson (Wantage):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what percentage of SMART Feasibility award winners have failed to launch product or service due to failure to attract investment.

(146315)

758
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) her Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145807)

759
N Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make it her policy to ensure that, in relation to any takeover of a major national newspaper or media group, the procedures adopted by the regulatory authorities are transparent and impartial and that there is no ministerial involvement.

[R] (145244)

760
Alice Mahon (Halifax):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on trade relations with Uzbekistan since 2001.

(145756)

761
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with Ofgem concerning the decisions by the Financial Services Authority to join in its inquiry into wholesale gas prices; if she will publish the minutes of the meetings; and if she will make a statement.

(146078)

762
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with the Financial Services Authority concerning its decision to join Ofgem in its inquiry into wholesale gas prices; if she will publish the minutes of any such meetings; and if she will make a statement.

(146082)

763
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about her request for EU finance ministers to commit to a timetable to eliminate wasteful regulations.

(146083)

764
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether compensation payments to be made for eligible estate claims for former miners for (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger are being processed.

(146112)

765
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when she expects the last compensation payments to be made for eligible estate claims for former miners for (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger.

(146113)

766
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the number of claims for (a) vibration white finger and (b) respiratory disease for (i) former miners, (ii) widows of former miners and (iii) other eligible estate claims for former miners in (A) the UK, (B) England, (C) Scotland and (D) Wales.

(146114)

767
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compensation claims have been registered, broken down by coalfield area; how many live claimants there are; and how many (a) widows and (b) estates are claiming.

(146115)

768
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the fastest possible completion of compensation payments to former miners for (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger.

(146116)

769
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when she expects the last compensation payments to be made to (a) former miners and (b) widows of former miners for (i) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (ii) vibration white finger.

(146117)

770
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proportion of (a) under 15 year olds, (b) 15 to 24 year olds, (c) 25 to 34 year olds, (d) 35 to 44 year olds, (e) 45 to 54 year olds, (f) 55 to 64 year olds and (g) over 65 year olds are regular users of the internet.

(146118)

771
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many (a) individuals and (b) registered companies have applied for grants under the Clear Skies Initiative as a result of including solar power in their home design.

(146119)

772
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many homes in the United Kingdom have solar panels.

(146120)

773
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many regulations her Department has (a) removed and (b) reformed in each of the last five years.

(146121)

774
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much money has been spent under the Clear Skies Initiative on grants to homebuilders that include solar power in their home design.

(146122)

775
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the use of solar energy cells.

(146123)

776
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, by how much energy efficiency has improved in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in each year since 1997.

(146124)

777
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with Postcomm about the access charges to be charged by Royal Mail to private mail companies using parts of their network.

(146125)

778
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the (a) revenue and (b) profit that will be generated by the access charges to be charged by Royal Mail to private mail companies using parts of their network.

(146126)

779
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the number of jobs which may be lost in the United Kingdom over the next five years as the result of the decisions made by British companies to relocate parts of their businesses to other countries.

(146127)

780
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with representatives of FTSE-100 companies about decisions to relocate part of their businesses to other countries; and if she will publish the minutes of such discussions.

(146128)

781
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much money was paid into the buyout fund by electricity suppliers as a result of failing to present renewables obligation certificates to Ofgem, in each year since the scheme began.

(146130)

782
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the rate of productivity growth was in each region of the UK in each of the last five years.

(146131)

783
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the (a) actual and (b) percentage change in the take-up of connectivity technologies among the UK's micro and small businesses was in each year since 1997; and what steps are being taken to increase take-up.

(146133)

784
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps are being taken to increase international collaboration in dealing with spam.

(146134)

785
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the proportion of (a) e-mails and (b) unwanted junk e-mails received in the UK that are sent from within the UK.

(146135)

786
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the proportion of employees in the UK information and communication technology sector who are (a) nationals of countries outside the UK and (b) nationals of countries outside the EU.

(146136)

787
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people have been employed in the information and communication technology sector in each year since 1997.

(146137)

788
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proportion of employees in the information and communication technology sector are women; and what steps are being taken to increase the representation of women in the sector.

(146138)

789
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the impact that a lack of trust in security has on use of the internet in the UK.

(146139)

790
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the impact of the £500 annual exemption from the taxable benefit on loaned personal computers introduced in the Finance Act 1999; and what steps are being taken to promote awareness of the exemption.

(146140)

791
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the proportion of private sector employees who received computers as a result of employer-provided home computing initiatives in each year since 1997.

(146141)

792
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps are being taken to encourage use of the internet by those who have said that a lack of (a) knowledge, (b) confidence and (c) interest was a barrier to use.

(146142)

793
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the (a) actual and (b) percentage change in private sector employment was in each month since 1997.

(146143)

794
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether she intends to bring forward primary legislation to tackle loan sharks, as outlined in the White Paper, Fair, Clear and Competitive: A consumer Credit Market for the 21st Century.

(146144)

795
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much has been spent on business support schemes in the UK in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

(146145)

796
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much was been spent on (a) regional venture capital funds, (b) Faraday Centres, (c) University Challenge Seed Funds, (d) SMART schemes and (e) Enterprise areas in each year since each was established.

(146146)

797
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the impact that (a) regional venture capital funds have had on (i) the overall productivity of United Kingdom businesses and (ii) reducing disparities in regional productivity, (b) Faraday centres have had on enterprise areas, (c) University Challenge Seed Funds and (d) the SMART scheme.

(146147)

798
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the impact that the 10th Company Law Directive on cross-border mergers will have on management of United Kingdom companies.

(146148)

799
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many financial services companies in the FTSE All-Share list of companies have reported suspected cases of money laundering in each of the last five years; and what estimate has been made of the sums involved.

(146149)

800
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps the Government is taking to encourage shareholders to vote at the Annual General meetings of FTSE All-Share companies.

(146150)

801
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the Government's target is for average voting levels by shareholders in Annual General meetings for companies in the FTSE All-Share index; and what the average voting levels were in each of the last five years.

(146151)

802
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what mechanisms are in place for evaluating the performance of projects undertaken by regional development agencies.

(146152)

803
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many patents involving life forms have been granted in the last five years.

(145352)

804
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list information technology contracts in her Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146202)

805
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the cost was of producing the report, The regulation of licensed taxi and PHV services in the UK, OFT 676; and when she expects to respond to its recommendations.

(145821)

806
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what criteria are used by the Post Office to define a community for the purposes of the network reinvention scheme.

(145916)

807
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which communities within the Hemsworth constituency are classified as urban, under the Post Office criteria.

(145917)

808
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what data source she has recommended that the Post Office use to determine whether a community has more than 10,000 inhabitants.

(145920)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

809
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145925)

810
Mrs Patsy Calton (Cheadle):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to reduce the number and seriousness of incidents of motor vehicles striking railway bridges.

(146220)

811
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department will be taking to implement the EU voluntary agreement for improving average fuel efficiency for new cars.

(145733)

812
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions he estimates have been saved as a result of the liquid petroleum gas duty rebate; and at what cost to public funds.

(145734)

813
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of varying levels of aviation capacity on the competitiveness of the UK's international trade.

(145736)

814
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the effects of the growth in aviation-related employment on other employment sectors.

(145737)

815
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what incentives his Department is giving to the use of road transport fuels which produce the least greenhouse gas emissions.

(145745)

816
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his latest estimate is of how many people are driving (a) without a licence and (b) without insurance; and how many unlicensed vehicles he estimates are on the road.

(145528)

817
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list in respect of each motorway the number of occasions in each of the last five years when a carriageway has been closed for more than two hours as a result of (a) an accident and (b) an incident other than an accident.

(145529)

818
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his estimate is of the proportion of congestion on roads in England and Wales which is caused by poorly planned and lengthy street works carried out (a) by utilities and (b) by or on behalf of highway authorities.

(145530)

819
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the level of congestion on (a) inter-urban roads and (b) urban roads is against which he intends to achieve a reduction; and by how much he expects this to change when the measures in the Traffic Management Bill are implemented.

(145531)

820
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will set out the minimum qualifications which will be required by persons seeking appointment as traffic officers under the Traffic Management Bill.

(145536)

821
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the policy of the Government that traffic officers appointed under the Traffic Management Bill should be subject to positive vetting.

(145537)

822
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what powers of arrest will be available to traffic officers appointed under the Traffic Management Bill.

(145538)

823
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what salaries will be payable to traffic officers appointed under the Traffic Management Bill.

(145539)

824
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there will be a standard national uniform for traffic officers appointed under the Traffic Management Bill; and if it will include a requirement to wear headgear.

(145540)

825
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many convictions there have been in each of the last five years for contraventions of (a) section 51, (ii) section 56, (iii) section 58, (iv) section 60, (v) section 66, (vi) section 67 and (vii) section 71 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991; and what the (a) maximum and (b) average fines were imposed for each category of offence.

(145541)

826
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list by police authority the number of police officers that will be displaced as a result of the provisions of the Traffic Management Bill, and the proposed timescale for such displacement.

(145542)

827
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the new bridge management system will be operative; and what his latest estimate is of the cost of completing the bridge strengthening programme.

(145543)

828
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many responses were received to the consultation paper On the Move: by foot; and when the Government will arrive at it conclusions.

(145544)

829
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many convictions there have been in each of the last five years for offences under section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for failing to comply with the indication given by a traffic sign; and how many convictions there were in respect of traffic signs that would be subject to civil enforcement under the Traffic Management Bill.

(145545)

830
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will set out the basis used in the regulatory impact assessment of the Traffic Management Bill for calculating the extent of delay imposed by incidents on the trunk road network.

(145546)

831
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of police time in 2002-03 expended on traffic duty on motorways and trunk roads is represented by 550 full-time equivalent police officers.

(145547)

832
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what definition of congestion was used in the regulatory impact assessment for the Traffic Management Bill.

(145548)

833
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will give the data underlying the statement in the regulatory impact assessment for the Traffic Management Bill that the equivalent of 550 full-time police officers will be released as a result of creating traffic officers, and the number of police officers to be released by each police authority.

(145549)

834
Mr Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will use his statutory powers to control the (a) time and (b) volume of night flights in and out of East Midlands Airport.

(145957)

835
Sue Doughty (Guildford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer of 15th December, Official Report, column 704W, on crash barriers, how many lorries crossed the offside crash barriers of dual carriageways and motorways in each of the last five years.

(146055)

836
N Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bodies are responsible for the safe use of traffic cones on motorways.

(145781)

837
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(145994)

838
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received about the average waiting time for a driving test; and if he will make a statement.

(145331)

839
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the introduction of compulsory hazard perception tests for existing approved driving instructors; and if he will make a statement.

(145334)

840
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of introducing compulsory hazard perception tests for existing approved driving instructors.

(145335)

841
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the responses to the consultation paper Driving Test Fees and Other Matters.

(145336)

842
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since the Department's creation.

(145808)

843
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to start the consultation on a new night noise regime at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick and (c) Stansted.

(145636)

844
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) BAA and (b) major airlines on the proposals which will form the basis of the forthcoming consultation on a new night noise regime at (i) Heathrow, (ii) Gatwick and (iii) Stansted.

(145637)

845
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will define the phrase `longer term' in the context of paragraph 11.103 of, The Future of Air Transport.

(145638)

846
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to paragraph 11.103 of The Future of Air Transport what his conclusion is regarding future use of White Waltham airfield.

(145639)

847
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to consult OFCOM in connection with the impact on the telecommunications industry of the Traffic Management Bill.

(146329)

848
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the next meeting will be held of his Department's working group of representatives of highways authorities and utility companies; and whether OFCOM will be represented at the meeting.

(146330)

849
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority regarding possible refurbishment of Birmingham New Street Station; and if he will make a statement.

(145377)

850
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail regarding possible closures of Birmingham New Street Station during peak times; and if he will make a statement.

(145378)

851
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance he has recently issued to local authorities on the number of road crossings to help people who are (a) disabled and (b) partially sighted; and if he will make a statement.

(145379)

852
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146201)

853
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department made of the need to widen major roads into and out of Heathrow, in the event of a third runway at Heathrow being built.

(145447)

854
Mr Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether the Strategic Rail Authority will be liable for prosecution if railways do not have disabled access by the required date in 2004.

(145403)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

855
Mr Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the total expenditure on (a) information campaigns and (b) advertising was for his Department in each year since 1997.

(145383)

Questions to the Minister for Women

856
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on gender budgeting.

(146250)

857
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what plans she has to introduce a public sector duty to promote gender equality.

(146251)

858
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what assessment has been made of the need for a public sector duty to promote gender equality.

(146252)

859
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what recent assessment has been made of women's pension provision.

(146253)

860
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what assessment has been made of the contribution of occupational segregation to the skills gap.

(146254)

861
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what steps are being taken to tackle pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.

(146255)

862
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what assessment has been made of the take-up by women of the right to request flexible working.

(146256)

863
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what recent assessment has been made of the participation of black and minority ethnic women in public life.

(146257)

864
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what steps are being taken to close the pay gap between men and women.

(146258)

865
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what the Government is doing to extend the availability of affordable, good quality childcare.

(146259)

866
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what (a) measures are in place and (b) measures are proposed to encourage fathers to share caring responsibilities for their children.

(146260)

867
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Minister for Women, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the female prison population.

(146261)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

868
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent consultations he has had with the European Commission in relation to whether the Government is meeting its obligations to protect occupational pensions under Article 8 of the European Insolvency Directive 1980; and if he will make a statement.

(145726)

869
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

(145985)

870
Ms Karen Buck (Regent's Park & Kensington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the impact of his Department's policies in Regent's Park and Kensington North constituency since 1997.

(145416)

871
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to amend the 25 per cent. rule to enable those with less than 10 years' full contributions to receive a pension.

(145469)

872
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the dismissal of 350 temporary staff by Jobcentre Plus London Region in February and March, with particular reference to the number who were re-employed by Jobcentre Plus within 13 weeks of their dismissal on (a) temporary contracts and (b) permanent contracts; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for their dismissal.

(145351)

873
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of army personnel who are required to pay child support were in default with payments in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

(145675)

874
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what powers the Child Support Agency has to make deduction from earnings orders against army personnel.

(145678)

875
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on poverty levels in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK in the last five years.

(145682)

876
Mr Peter Duncan (Galloway & Upper Nithsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of pensioners from (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Dumfries have received pension credit since its introduction.

(145684)

877
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

(146001)

878
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total expenditure on information campaigns and advertising was for his Department for each year since 1997.

(146007)

879
Jane Griffiths (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to credit full-time students with National Insurance contributions in order to provide eligibility for incapacity benefit if they become ill.

(145392)

880
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have died from asbestos-related diseases in London in each year since 1990; and what estimates his Department has made of the number of likely deaths in future years.

(146087)

881
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) over and (b) under 65 were entitled to carers allowance but did not receive payment in each (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area in London in the last year for which figures are available.

(146088)

882
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons it is proposed to extend the definition of disability in the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill to include people infected by HIV.

(145729)

883
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the arrangements for ensuring the quality and relevance of mandatory work-focused courses for jobseeker's allowance claimants.

(145814)

884
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997.

(145810)

885
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual cost of sending out reminder letters to pensioners informing them that they are entitled to receive winter fuel payments was in each year since inception of the payments; and if he will make a statement.

(145376)

886
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list information technology contracts in his Department with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of over-runs has been.

(146196)

887
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in Hemsworth constituency receive benefits at the Post Office.

(145918)

888
Jon Trickett (Hemsworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in Hemsworth constituency are in receipt of pension credit.

(145919)

889
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the annual cost to the Exchequer, net of savings in means-tested benefits and additional income tax revenue, of paying state pensions in full at the rate of a Category A pension to every UK pensioner aged (a) 80 or over and (b) 75 or over, regardless of their contribution record.

(145437)

890
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what means couples are made aware of the rules relating to bereavement benefits; and if he will make a statement.

(146206)

891
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) widows and (b) widowers have been refused benefit on the grounds of being late claimants in each year from 1997 to 2002.

(145979)

892
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of expenditure on the (a) guarantee credit and (b) savings credit in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06.

(145981)

893
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to publish estimates of take-up of income-related benefits for 2001-02.

(145982)

894
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) individuals and (b) households who had not previously been in receipt of the minimum income guarantee were in receipt of (i) the guarantee credit and (ii) the savings credit on (A) 14th October, (B) 11th November and (C) 10th December.

(145983)

895
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total expenditure on (a) information campaigns and (b) advertising was for his Department in each year since 1997.

(146015)

896
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pension schemes have started the winding-up process in each quarter since 2001; and how many pension scheme members have been affected each quarter, broken down by (a) pensioners and (b) people who had not retired when the winding-up began.

(146021)

897
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls to the Pension Credit Helpline since April were completed with a successful claim of the pension credit.

(146040)

898
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls were made to the Pension Credit Helpline in each month since April, broken down by (a) calls classed as engaged, (b) calls answered within periods of 20 seconds and (c) length of calls in periods of 10 minutes.

(146041)

899
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have called the Pension Credit Helpline more than once since April, broken down by number of people making each number of calls.

(146043)

900
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals received savings credit in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by declared savings of (a) less than £6,000, (b) between £6,000 and £10,000, (c) between £10,001 and £15,000, (d) between £15,001 to £30,000 and (e) over £30,000.

(146052)

901
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households have received savings credit awards since 6th October, broken down by awards of (a) less than £5 a week, (b) between £5 and £10 a week, (c) between £10 and £15 a week and (d) over £15 a week.

(146084)

902
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) individuals and (b) households were being paid the pension credit on (i) 14th October, (ii) 31st October and (iii) 11th November; and how many of these had not been paid the minimum income guarantee.

(146091)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

903
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to improve competition in the market for bulk-buying of index linked annuities; and if he will make a statement.

[Transferred] (145727)

904
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by how much consumer spending has increased, in real terms, in each quarter since 1997.

[Transferred] (146129)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

905
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the range of (a) non-departmental public bodies and (b) other autonomous public bodies operating in the Government regions of the (a) North East, (b) North West and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber where functions could be brought under the control of the proposed regional assemblies.

[Transferred] (145915)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

906
Mr Shaun Woodward (St Helens South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate the Government has made of the number of women who have undergone genital mutilation in (a) St Helens and (b) Merseyside in each of the last five years; and what estimate has been made of the total number of women in the UK who have undergone genital mutilation.

[Transferred] (146045)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

907
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work permits have been granted since January to health workers by each Government office region; and from which countries they have come.

[Transferred] (146003)

908
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many widows or widowers waited for (a) an inquest and (b) for the registrar's form to be sent after the inquest in each year from 1997 to 2002, broken down by periods of three months.

[Transferred] (146042)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

909
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list the research that has been carried out following studies of genetic materials held in British museums.

[Transferred] (145593)

910
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures are in place to ensure that regional development agencies share best practice.

[Transferred] (146079)

911
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much has been spent by each of the regional development agencies, in each of the last four years, on corporate plans.

[Transferred] (146080)

912
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average length of time taken was for the Government to approve projects (a) projected to cost more than £1 million and (b) projected to cost less than £1 million, proposed by each of the regional development agencies following the issuing of a corporate plan, in the last year for which figures are available.

[Transferred] (146081)

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Revised 5 January 2004