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Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Monday 8 March 2004
(the 'Questions Book')
Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 8 March 2004
This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Monday 8 March 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 8 March of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper. For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Monday 8 March see Part 2 of this paper.
Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office 1
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer from the Paymaster General of 27th February, Official Report, column 579W, on the Valuation Office Agency; whether the vacancy for a non-executive director of the Valuation Office Agency was advertised on the Public Appointments Unit website; when the names of the four candidates who were short-listed by the Valuation Office Agency for the position first entered the Cabinet Office's Public Appointments list; and whether they were self nominations. | | (159991) | 2
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the women's organisations which have been consulted by his Department on proposed legislation during this session; and whether their responses have been published. | | (160003) | 3
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets he has set in his Department for the re-cycling of waste (a) paper, (b) cardboard, (c) glass, (d) metal and (e) plastic in each of the last three years; and what results have been achieved. | | (160004) | 4
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd March, Official Report, column 764W, on Government services, what estimate each Government department has provided on the amount of money expected to be saved by providing services through electronic means by 2005. | | (160018) | 5
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent representations he has received regarding Civil Service training; and if he will make a statement. | | (160020) | 6
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to review the nationality restrictions on Crown employment; and if he will make a statement. | | (160021) | 7
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Office of the e-Envoy; and if he will make a statement. | | (160022) | 8
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what total expenditure has been on the Office of the E-Envoy in (a) the last 12 months and (b) since it was established. | | (160023) | 9
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Office of the E-Envoy on the delivery of Government services online; and if he will make a statement. | | (160024) | 10
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) special advisers and (b) staff in total are employed in the Office of the E-Envoy. | | (160025) | 11
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many private sector workers are seconded to (a) the Strategy Unit and (b) the Office of the E-Envoy; and if he will make a statement. | | (160026) | 12
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total expenditure of the Strategy Unit was (a) in the past 12 months and (b) since it was established. | | (160027) | 13
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) special advisers and (b) staff in total are employed in the Strategy Unit. | | (160028) | 14
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Strategy Unit; and if he will make a statement. | | (160029) | 15
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the expenditure has been on each review that has been conducted by the Strategy Unit since its inception; and if he will make a statement. | | (160030) | 16
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been employed on each project undertaken by the Strategy Unit since its inception. | | (160031) | 17
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many projects have been undertaken by the Strategy Unit (a) in the last 12 months and (b) since it was established; if he will make an assessment of their impact; and if he will make a statement. | | (160032) | 18
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of Policy Hub; and if he will make a statement. | | (160033) | 19
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total expenditure has been (a) in the past 12 months and (b) since the inception on Policy Hub; and if he will make a statement. | | (160034) | 20
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed in the Regulatory Impact Unit. | | (160035) | 21
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent representations he has received regarding Civil Service recruitment; and if he will make a statement. | | (160036) | 22
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total expenditure (a) in the past 12 months and (b) since its inception was on the Regulatory Impact Unit; and if he will make a statement. | | (160037) | 23
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Regulatory Impact Unit; and if he will make a statement. | | (160038) | 24
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) recurring and (b) non-recurring costs for (i) a typical business and (ii) all business of the regulations passed so far this Session. | | (160045) | 25
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance is issued to Government purchasing staff on requesting from potential supplier companies information about the number of people they employ. | | (160046) | 26
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money has been spent advertising Civil Service recruitment in (a) 1996-97 and (b) the most recent period for which figures are available. | | (160049) | 27
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of statutory instruments introduced by his Department in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2002-03 had the European Union as their legislative source. | | (160050) | 28
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on external consultants in each financial year since 1997-98; and if he will make a statement. | | (160051) | 29
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) denial of service and (b) distributed denial of service attacks have been recorded on Government department and agency computer networks and websites in each of the last five years. | | (160058) | 30
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of regulatory impact assessments recommended that the regulatory instruments under examination should not proceed in the last year for which figures are available. | | (160123) | 31
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of (a) an estimate of the cost of enforcement of regulation and (b) a description of how the regulation is to be monitored in regulatory impact assessments. | | (160130) | 32
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many regulatory impact statements were issued by the Small Business Service in each year since 1998; and if he will make a statement. | | (160131) | 33
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what resources have been allocated for the Regulatory Impact Assessment process for each year between 1998 and 2006. | | (160134) | 34
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make a statement on the monitoring of the (a) quality and (b) thoroughness of regulatory impact assessments. | | (160135) | 35
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many regulatory impact assessments conducted in 2003 contained a do nothing option. | | (160136) | 36
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the possible effect on the net benefits of regulation of including a do nothing option in regulatory impact assessments. | | (160137) | 37
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of regulatory impact assessments conducted in 2003 which included a statement of what the respective department expected to happen in the absence of regulation; and what guidance his Department has issued on this subject. | | (160138) | 38
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the finding in the Evaluation of Regulatory Impact Assessments Compendium Report 2003-04, published by the National Audit Office, that none of the sample
regulatory impact assessments concluded that the costs to small business would be disproportionate. | | (160139) | 39
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many regulatory instruments have failed to proceed following the negative conclusion of the regulatory impact assessments in each year since 2000. | | (160143) | Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 40
N | Mr Stephen Byers (North Tyneside):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the revenue which would be raised if VAT were to be applied to private school fees. | | (159785) | 41
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the case for amending the stamp duty brackets in this year's Budget. | | (158656) | 42
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department issues to individuals who make a mistake when completing an on-line self assessment tax return because of misunderstanding whether the form P60 refers to gross or net income. | | (160102) | 43
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints he has received over problems with the operation of the on-line self assessment tax return form. | | (160103) | 44
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many deaths were caused by asthma in each year since 1st January 1996; and how many were caused by sudden onset attacks, broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) health authority. | | (159784) | 45
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 27th February, Official Report, column 575-6W, when (a) Sir Nicholas Montagu KCB, Chairman of Inland Revenue, (b) Mr Timothy Flesher CB, former Commissioner of Inland Revenue, (c) Mr Gabriel Maklouf, former Director of Inland Revenue Internationl Division and (d) Mr Graham Dean, former Inland Revenue employee, was informed that Lord Butler of Brockwell had joined the advisory board of IBM UK; and who the Commissioner responsible for that department was in each year from 1996-97 to date. | | (159984) | 46
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16th December 2003, Official Report, column 811W, on tax compliance, what the very exceptional circumstances are in which Inland Revenue will inform other Government departments that a potential supplier has poor compliance in its tax affairs; on how many occasions in each year since 1996-97 the Inland Revenue has informed other Government departments of a potential supplier's poor compliance standing; and which office of the Inland Revenue is responsible for making such reports to other Government departments. | | (160013) | 47
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27th February, Official Report, column 575W, on the Inland Revenue, which commissioners of the Inland Revenue had prior knowledge of the suppliers with whom the Inland Revnue team intended to meet as part of the market making exercise for Project ASPIRE. | | (160014) | 48
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30th January, Official Report, columns 569-570W, which commissioners were present at the meeting on 7th March 2002 on Project ASPIRE; whether the commissioners addressed the assembled suppliers; and whether the commissioners were informed in advance of those suppliers who had indicated that they would attend the meeting. | | (160015) | 49
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the board member referred to in paragraph 54 of the Minutes of Evidence of the Public Accounts Committee, HC 431-i, Session 1999-2000, as responsible for John Yard's division on 12th April 2000 was; on what date that board member started the planning for re-tendering the Inland Revenue's information technology service referred to in the Minutes of Evidence; and on what date it was decided to conduct the market making exercise referred to in the Minutes of Evidence. | | (160016) | 50
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 12th February, Official Report, column 1556W, on the Large Business Office, when the Director of Inland Revenue's Large Business Office first asked Inland Revenue's internal auditors to review the accuracy of the Large Business Office's compliance data for 2002-03; when the internal auditors reported their findings; when the relevant commissioner first made known to fellow board members of the existence of potentially unreliable reports of the Large Business Office's compliance performance; when the Board received the report on the issues of the 2003 review; when Inland Revenue first alerted the National Audit Office to the existence of previously overstated compliance performance for the Large Business Office in Inland Revenue's annual reports; how many of the Large Business Office's geographic offices were revealed by the 2003 follow-up review to have had at least one Large Business Office caseworker who was not reporting yield in line with departmental guidance; and what proportion of Large Business Office caseworkers were revealed not to be reporting yield in line with departmental guidance. | | (160095) | 51
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 26th January, Official Report, column 110W, and 1st March, Official Report, column 658W, on compliance performance targets, what the compliance performance estimate the for Inland Revenue was for 2003-04 as agreed as part of the planning process for the current year; and what the estimates for the compliance performance were in 2003-04 of (a) the Large Business Office and (b) International Division. | | (160099) | 52
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27th February, Official Report, column 579W, on the Valuation Office Agency, when the Valuation Office Agency made an enquiry of the Public Appointments Unit to seek suitable candidates for the position of non-executive director; how many of the four short-listed candidates were interviewed by the selection panel; and whether the position filled by Miss Grinstead was a new position. | | (160100) | 53
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answers of 8th September, 2003, Official Report, column 95-96W, on the ASPIRE Programme and 11th December 2003, Official Report, column 604W, on the Inland Revenue, on what date it became Inland Revenue policy to include in its invitations to tender provision allowing it to undertake a review of the tax affairs of those companies responding; and on what date it was decided to include a provision in the ASPIRE invitation to tender allowing the Inland Revenue to undertake a review of the tax affairs of those companies responding. | | (160189) | 54
N | Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he will publish the Penrose Report. | | (159633) | 55
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to (a) raise awareness of money laundering and (b) ensure businesses are compliant with the 2003 Money Laundering Regulations. | | (160199) | 56
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) suspicious transaction reports and (b) suspicious activity reports relating to financial matters have been made in each of the last five years; and what proportion of each resulted in (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction in each year. | | (160200) | 57
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions and representations he has had on the (a) effectiveness and (b) benefit of (i) suspicious transaction and (ii) suspicious activity reports; and what plans he has to change the reporting system. | | (160201) | 58
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the 2003 Money Laundering Regulations on small and medium-sized businesses. | | (160215) | 59
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the businesses subject to the requirements of the 2003 Money Laundering Regulations. | | (160216) | 60
N | Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the EU Savings Directive on UK dependent territories. | | (159421) | 61
N | Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the status is of the EU Savings Directive; and whether he intends to implement it in the (a) UK and (b) dependent territories before ensuring that it applies equally in other states with a similar financial services industry. | | (159422) | 62
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to the honourable Member for the Isle of Wight of 2nd March, Official Report, columns 852-3W, on Emergency Protection Orders, what the population was of each area listed as a county at the most recent date for which information is available. | | (159695) | 63
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to the honourable Member for the Isle of Wight of 2nd March, Official Report, columns 852-3W, on Emergency Protection Orders, what the population was of the areas served by each family proceedings court at the most recent date for which information is available. | | (159696) | Questions to the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 64
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will make it his policy to bring forward amendments to the Data Protection Act 1998 (a) to prevent the Information Commissioner from profiting from the actions of bogus collectors and (b) to enable the Information Commissioner to take legal action against unauthorised collections. | | (159790) | 65
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to his Answers of 3rd March, refs. 157599 and 157589, how many of the successful legal actions were (a) civil and (b) criminal; how many were initiated by (i) the Office of Fair Trading, (ii) trading standard officers and (iii) the police; and in respect of each, what the penalties were. | | (159800) | 66
| Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to his Answers of 3rd March, refs 157600, 157591 and 157588, for what reasons it is not possible for the Commissioner to assess from documentation submitted through bogus agencies whether a notification is mandatory or voluntary; and if he will make it his policy that such ambiguous documentation is returned for clarification prior to registration. | | (159818) | 67
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for the Isle of Wight of 2nd March, Official Report, columns 852-3W, on emergency protection orders, how many ex-parte applications were made and what proportion was granted in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) Kent. | | (159697) | 68
| Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many registered elections for parliamentary elections there were in each year since 1994 in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland. | | (160087) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 69
N | Mrs Helen Clark (Peterborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects to complete the review of the funding for S4C. | | (158932) | 70
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what procedures are applicable to a company bound by the Independent Television guidelines on the amount of (a) political and (b) current affairs coverage that fails to meet its requirements. | | (160128) | 71
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many complaints she has received concerning failures of companies bound by the Independent Television guidelines to meet the appropriate level of (a) political and (b) current affairs coverage. | | (160129) | 72
| Mr Nigel Jones (Cheltenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the transfer of licensing powers from magistrates to local authorities; when she intends to publish national guidance relating to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement. | | (159989) | 73
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what action her Department is taking to encourage employers to give their workers the opportunity to take exercise (a) at or close to the workplace and (b) in or around the work-day. | | (159948) | 74
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how her Department's £150 million of PFI credits for the spending review period 2003-04 to 2005-06 are being allocated. | | (159951) | 75
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to issue joint guidance with the Department for Education and Skills on the ideal specification for sports facilities for a secondary school. | | (159952) | 76
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on encouraging employers to allow employees longer lunch breaks to spend time engaged in active recreational activities. | | (159953) | 77
| Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list for each licensing authority in England (a) the cost of and (b) the expenditure on liquor and entertainment licensing in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and for each prospective licensing authority and for England what estimate she has made of the annual (i) cost of and (ii) income from liquor and entertainment licensing after implementation of the Licensing Act 2003. | | (159876) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence 78
N | Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the plans (a) agreed to by his Department and (b) being discussed by his Department with regard to the use of British armed forces and personnel during expansion of NATO operations in Afghanistan. | | (158834) | 79
N | Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of the expansion of NATO operations in Afghanistan on the number of (a) international forces and (b) British armed forces based in Kabul. | | (158835) | 80
| Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on local purchase of vegetables and meat by the garrison at Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands. | | (159872) | 81
N | Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the transfer of the Defence Fire Service to a public private partnership would require parliamentary approval. | | (159637) | 82
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what questions concerning overstretch were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers. | | (160112) | 83
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what questions concerning equipment were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers. | | (160113) | 84
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many responses the Royal Navy Continuous Attitudes Survey received for the consultation round launched in September 2003; and if he will make a statement. | | (160114) | 85
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many responses the Army Continuous Attitudes Survey received for the consultation round launched in December 2003; and if he will make a statement. | | (160115) | 86
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many responses the RAF Continuous Attitudes Survey received for the consultation round launched in September 2003; and if he will make a statement. | | (160116) | 87
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what questions concerning contractualisation were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers. | | (160117) | 88
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what questions concerning nationality were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers. | | (160118) | 89
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times per annum the Continuous Attitudes Survey is distributed among (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF personnel; how long assessment of the answers took on average for each round in each of the last four years; what the participation rate was in each of the last four years (i) in total numbers and (ii) as a percentage of distributed surveys each year for each of the three branches; and if he will make a statement. | | (160120) | 90
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times per annum the questions and response options included in the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF are reviewed; how often they have been changed in the last three years; and if he will list the changes made per annum. | | (160121) | 91
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the questions and reponse options included in the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF were last changed; what these changes were; and if he will make a statement. | | (160122) | 92
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department maintains lists of arms dealers resident in the (a) UK, (b) Channel Islands and (c) Isle of Man; and if he will make a statement. | | (160191) | 93
| Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether arms dealers whose commodities do not (a) originate in and (b) enter the UK are subject to end user certificate legislation; and if he will make a statement. | | (160192) | 94
N | Mr Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has examined evidence of birth defects amongst babies born to service families whose members were deployed in Iraq in 2003 and who were inoculated for anthrax, with particular reference to those serving in the 33 Field Hospital; and if he will make a statement. | | (159420) | Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister 95
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to extend further community plan areas. | | (159960) | 96
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will set out the current progress of the regional spatial strategies in each region. | | (159961) | 97
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which planning guidance notes are to be replaced with planning policy statements; and what the timetable is. | | (159962) | 98
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which urban development corporations, either existing or proposed, cover the four community plan areas; what the dates are for their inception; what discussions have taken place with their constituent local authorities; and for what reason the Stansted - Cambridge community plan was extended to the whole of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. | | (159963) | 99
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he will reply to the Questions tabled by the honourable Member for Cotswold on 12th February, refs 155230-2, on Coverage Care (Gloucestershire) Ltd. | | (160048) | 100
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, under what circumstances (a) a planning condition may be imposed and (b) a section 106 agreement may be made to limit the frequency of burials on private land to one a week, averaged over (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months. | | (159964) | 101
| Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission concerning the method of voting to be used in the referendums for elected regional assemblies; and what advice he has received from the Commission on this issue. | | (159823) | 102
| Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, on what basis he decided that the referendums for elected regional assemblies should be conducted by all-postal ballot. | | (159824) | 103
| Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations he has received from the Electoral Commission concerning the publication of information by the Government during the period prior to the referendums on the proposed elected regional assemblies. | | (159825) | 104
| Mr Nigel Jones (Cheltenham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many cases have been referred to the Adjudication Panel by the Standards Board for England in each month since its establishment; how many have been determined; how many have yet to be determined; how many of the cases relate wholly to a failure of a member of a parish council to complete the council's Register of Member Interests; if he will list the complaints made in the remaining cases; and what the decison of the Adjudication Panel was in the determined cases. | | (160044) | 105
| Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will reverse the proposed cuts in the Supporting People allocations for 2004-05 in respect of individual local authorities, with particular reference to Staffordshire. | | (159875) | 106
| Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will review the proposed cuts in the Supporting People allocations for 2004-05 with a view to protecting from those cuts local authorities with low per head of population allocations. | | (159932) | 107
| Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what contingency funding he has retained centrally for Supporting People in 2004-05; and what criteria he will apply in deciding how to allocate such funding. | | (159933) | 108
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many accidents involving fire engines took place in each London borough in 2003. | | (160214) | 109
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when a reply will be sent to the letter of 8th January from the Head of Planning at the Isle of Wight Council to the Government Office for the South East. | | (159535) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 110
| Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if the Higher Education Funding Council for England will collect and publish statistics for the number of students with dependent children attending higher educational institutions, broken down by (a) institution and (b) region. | | (159858) | 111
| Mr David Chaytor (Bury North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate he has made of how much (a) schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities spent on recruitment advertising in each year since 1997. | | (159846) | 112
N | Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, under what circumstances a local education authority may close a grammar school under section 29 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 without (a) the consent of the governors and (b) a ballot of parents. | | (159791) | 113
N | Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what impact his announcement in respect of financial settlements to local education authorities will have on per capita funding for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools for (i) 2004-05 and for (ii) each local education authority. | | (159799) | 114
| Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many graduates have begun to repay income contingent loans in each of the past three financial years. | | (159850) | 115
| Mr Doug Henderson (Newcastle upon Tyne North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance Partnership for Schools has been given on delivering sports and physical activity resources as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme. | | (159863) | 116
| Mr Doug Henderson (Newcastle upon Tyne North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what brief the architects commissioned to produce designs for 21st century schools, as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, were given with regard to sports and physical activity. | | (159864) | 117
| Mr Doug Henderson (Newcastle upon Tyne North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what consultations have been made with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the Building Schools for the Future programme to ensure that schools have the capacity to increase sporting activity. | | (159865) | 118
| Mr Doug Henderson (Newcastle upon Tyne North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what his Department sets as (a) the ideal and (b) the minimum sports facilities for a secondary school. | | (159866) | 119
| Mr Doug Henderson (Newcastle upon Tyne North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what share of the £5.1 billion capital investment for Building Schools for the Future is allocated for sports and physical activity resources. | | (159868) | 120
N | Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many school federations have been established. | | (159786) | 121
N | Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools from the independent sector have expressed interest in sponsoring city academies; and what proportion of city academies have already been sponsored by independent schools. | | (159787) | 122
N | Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much funding has been allocated to the Expanding Successful and Popular Schools programme; how many applications have been made for funding under this programme; and how many applications have been successful. | | (159788) | 123
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much has been spent on schools capital spending programmes in each year since 1979 in (a) England and Wales and (b) Staffordshire. | | (160059) | 124
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when the www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport website will carry information on how the Higher Education Bill will change student finance arrangements. | | (160068) | 125
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how his Department has improved the way in which it assists school governors in (a) making decisions and (b) assessing budgets. | | (160069) | 126
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much was spent in legal costs by (a) schools and (b) local education authorities in relation to (i) school trip accidents and (ii) accidents within schools in 2003. | | (160070) | 127
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of pupils at special schools was successfully reintegrated within the mainstream school system in 2003. | | (160071) | 128
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many school governor places in England are vacant; and what percentage this represents of capacity. | | (160078) | 129
| Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment he has made of the changes in pupils' attainment in the early years of secondary schools over the past two years. | | (159819) | 130
| Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many staff teaching English in secondary schools (a) for part of their time and (b) full-time do not have a first degree in English. | | (159820) | 131
| Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many staff teaching modern foreign languages in secondary schools (a) full-time and (b) for part of their time do not have a first degree in a foreign language. | | (159821) | 132
| Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the vacancy level for teachers of modern foreign languages is. | | (159822) | 133
| James Purnell (Stalybridge & Hyde):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which schools which have benefited from the Building Schools for the Future programme open up their sports facilities to the wider community out-of-hours. | | (159871) | 134
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action his Department is taking to encourage local education authorities to work with primary care trusts to improve delivery of sports and physical activity. | | (159949) | 135
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representation his Department plans to have at the Sixth British Dyslexia Association Conference; and if he will make a statement on programmes available to assist dyslexia sufferers. | | (159944) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 136
N | Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what position the UK took at the recent meeting of parties to the Biosafety Protocol in Kuala Lumpur in relation to the creation of an international liability regime. | | (159796) | 137
N | Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what position she will be taking at this month's EU Environment Council in respect of (a) medium and long-term greenhouse gas reductions and (b) the EU Chemicals Directive. | | (159798) | 138
| Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether a significant proportion of the single farm payment will become capitalised in agricultural land values; and if she will make a statement. | | (160166) | 139
| Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the single farm payment on rent levels for agricultural land; and if she will make a statement. | | (160167) | 140
| Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in what circumstances the Government is unable to disclose the names and addresses of (a) individuals and (b) companies in receipt of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy; and if she will make a statement. | | (160168) | 141
| Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the names and addresses of (a) individuals and (b) limited companies who receive more than £10,000 in direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy; and if she will make a statement. | | (160169) | 142
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the police with regard to Operation Artemis; when she last met the Chief Constable of North Wales to discuss Operation Artemis; and if she will make a statement on her policy on Operation Artemis. | | (160085) | 143
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many carcasses of red deer have been examined by the State Veterinary Service in the last 10 years at the Baronsdown deer sanctuary; and how many were found to be infected with bovine tuberculosis. | | (160170) | 144
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of (a) whether deer populations on the Baronsdown deer sanctuary are sustainable and (b) whether the deer are infected with bovine tuberculosis. | | (160171) | 145
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will undertake a welfare study on deer at the Baronsdown deer sanctuary. | | (160172) | 146
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any deer carcasses from the Baronsdown deer sanctuary, suspected of being infected with bovine tuberculosis, will be disposed of at an appropriate plant under the EU Animal By-Products Regulation. | | (160173) | 147
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce an active management plan on deer sanctuaries in co-operation with neighbouring land managers. | | (160174) | 148
N | Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she issued the Departmental Circular on Traffic Regulation Orders described in Proposal 1 of her consultation on the use of mechanically propelled vehicles on rights of way. | | (159273) | 149
N | Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has for section 34(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. | | (159694) | 150
N | Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has made (a) in the Council of Ministers and (b) to the European Commission to include the minimum values legislation in the proposed EU regulation on the protection of animals during transport; and if she will make a statement. | | (159500) | 151
| Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact on long-term radioactive waste management of (a) the continued ownership of Nirex by the nuclear industry, (b) the ownership of Nirex by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and (c) making Nirex independent of the nuclear industry. | | (160008) | 152
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to use combined heat and power to cut fuel poverty. | | (160090) | 153
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government's combined heat and power strategy will be published. | | (160091) | 154
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the Government's progress in meeting its target to achieve 10GW of combined heat and power by 2010. | | (160092) | 155
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what policies her Department has introduced since the publication of the Energy White Paper to encourage investor confidence in the combined heat and power sector; and if she will make a statement. | | (160093) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 156
N | Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the (a) Afghans and (b) foreign nationals being held by the Coalition at Bagram airbase; and how long he expects they will be held. | | (158836) | 157
N | Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the International Security Assistance Force, (b) NATO, (c) the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Afghanistan, (d) the EU's Special Representative to Afghanistan and (e) other organisations and governmental representatives based in Afghanistan regarding the need to increase the number of international troops on the ground in Afghanistan in the build up to and carrying out of elections in Afghanistan. | | (158837) | 158
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurance he has received from the Palestinian Authority that it unequivocally condemns suicide bombing. | | (160144) | 159
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority about the need for municipal government elections. | | (160147) | 160
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made about the need for reform of the Palestinian Authority. | | (160156) | 161
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the scale of the benefits to Israel of its preferential terms of trade with the European Union. | | (160164) | 162
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the United States Administration about the case of Kenny Richey. | | (160165) | 163
| Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the sustainability of the economy of the Falkland Islands. | | (159873) | 164
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of fishing in the Western Sahara; and what discussions he has had with the Moroccan authorities on the threat of over-fishing. | | (160124) | 165
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the level of discrimination faced by Christians in the states of (a) Madhya Pradesh and (b) Gujarat; and what representations he has made to the Indian Government. | | (160125) | 166
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of inter-religious violence in Orissa India with reference to the treatment of evangelical Christians. | | (160126) | 167
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he discussed inter-religious conflict on his recent trip to India; and whether he made representations to the Indian Government for an independent investigation to be carried out into the level of conflict. | | (160127) | 168
| Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he made to the Indian Government during his recent visit to India concerning the level of attacks on Christians by Hindu militants. | | (160190) | 169
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the (a) Pakistani and (b) Indian government concerning the roadmap to peace between the two countries. | | (160079) | 170
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Iranian Government regarding the closure of the Yas-e-no and Shargh newspapers. | | (160080) | 171
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action his Department is taking to support the Arusha Accord, with particular reference to the stipulation within the Accord for elections to take place before the end of October. | | (160081) | 172
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the forthcoming Peace Referendum in Taiwan. | | (160083) | 173
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action the Department is taking to support the UN plan to hold elections in Afghanistan this summer. | | (160221) | 174
| Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 10th November 2003 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to M. Sam. | | (159983) | 175
| Mr Bob Laxton (Derby North):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the arrests of members of the Maldivian Democratic Party on 13th February by the Maldivian authorities; and on the extent to which human rights are protected in the Maldives. | | (159859) | 176
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the operation to date of the International Criminal Court. | | (159936) | 177
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what matters in respect of Israel's nuclear weapons of mass destruction were discussed in his meeting with Israel's Foreign Minister Shalom on 2nd March. | | (159940) | 178
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what matters in respect of Abdul Qadeer Khan's involvement in proliferating nuclear weapons were discussed during his recent visit to Pakistan. | | (159941) | 179
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many individuals have expressed an interest in submitting evidence to the Butler Committee on intelligence; and how many independent submissions have been received to date. | | (159942) | 180
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he has received in respect of the theft of highly enriched uranium and caesium-137 radioactive isotopes from a research institute in Sukhumi, in Abkhazia in 2002. | | (159946) | 181
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding the United Kingdom has provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency's nuclear materials tracking programme in each year since 2001. | | (159947) | 182
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the United Kingdom regards Israel as being in the possession of a deployable nuclear arsenal. | | (159975) | 183
N | Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the circumstances surrounding the recent replacement of the Coalition Provisional Authority Governate Co-ordinator for Dhi Qar province in Iraq. | | (159191) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Health 184
| John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the research into possible treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. | | (159976) | 185
| John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been set aside for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystophy. | | (159977) | 186
| Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5th February, Official Report, column 1071W on smoking, what work is being undertaken by other departments to implement smoke-free policies; and which minister co-ordinates these works. | | (159973) | 187
| Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Answer of 1st March, Official Report, column 708W on sexual health, if he will provide total figures for England for each year. | | (159974) | 188
N | Mr Stephen Byers (North Tyneside):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the NHS in respect of (a) medical negligence cases and (b) other legal claims was in each year since 1992; and what estimate he has made of the potential costs arising from outstanding cases. | | (159817) | 189
| Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to continue the use of lay assessors in the monitoring of quality of nursing and care homes. | | (160219) | 190
| Sue Doughty (Guildford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to extend arrangements for charging social services departments for delayed discharges from psychiatric wards. | | (160047) | 191
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS hospital staff are obliged to see green forms issued by a registrar of births, marriages and deaths prior to the release of a body. | | (159965) | 192
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to encourage a co-ordinated approach to bereavement services within his Department. | | (159966) | 193
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS hospitals have staff specially allocated to provide the newly bereaved with sound information on existing laws and procedures so that they can be supported in making quick decisions about funerals. | | (159967) | 194
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action his Department is taking to highlight the risk to asthmatics from taking aspirin. | | (160072) | 195
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects his Department's cancer genetic risk assessment trials to be completed. | | (160073) | 196
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action he is taking to reduce the level of smoking in children under the age of 16. | | (160074) | 197
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action he is taking to improve the effectiveness of the Health Development Agency. | | (160075) | 198
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with learning disabilities have access to health services. | | (160076) | 199
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to extend the new treatment centres programme throughout England. | | (160077) | 200
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action his Department is taking to support Mental Health Action Week. | | (160119) | 201
| Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing free domestic and residential nursing and personal care for people suffering from (a) Alzheimer's Disease and (b) other forms of dementia. | | (160111) | 202
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many accidents involving ambulances took place in each London borough in 2003. | | (160206) | 203
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action his Department is taking to ensure employees have access to gym equipment in or close to the workplace. | | (159950) | 204
| Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department is giving to primary care trusts on how to raise levels of sport and physical activity to the Government target. | | (159954) | 205
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent medical breakthroughs he has assessed in the (a) identification and (b) treatment of allergies. | | (159935) | 206
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research has been (a) conducted and (b) commissioned by his Department into the possible links between environmental pollution and allergies. | | (159938) | 207
| Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the facilities available in schools to manage children who have (a) bladder and (b) bowel conditions. | | (159837) | 208
| Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of dedicated specialist paediatric continence services. | | (159838) | 209
| Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the services available to children with continence problems since February 2000. | | (159839) | 210
| Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve liaison between health and social services, with special reference to measures arising from the death of Victoria Climbié. | | (159840) | 211
| Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paediatric specialist continence nurses are practising; and what plans he has to increase their number. | | (159841) | 212
N | David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he will reply to the honourable Member for Walsall North's letter of 3rd February regarding a constituent, departmental ref. PO1043437. | | (159635) | Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department 213
N | Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what severity limits were allocated to (a) Study DKN 112/033062 and (b) Study DKN 137/033686 conducted at Huntingdon Life Sciences; what his Department's assessment was of the potential benefits of these studies; and how his Department arrived at this assessment. | | (159794) | 214
N | Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration was given, and by whom, to the ethical aspect of allowing dogs to be used for the testing of the effects of HCFCs at the Huntingdon Life Sciences Laboratory before a licence was granted for this procedure. | | (159795) | 215
N | Mr Keith Bradley (Manchester, Withington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the estimated annual cost to Manchester City Council is of the implementation of the provisions within the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill as they affect local authorities. | | (159423) | 216
| Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what formal notifications are required when the ownership of a custody or detention centre operated by private companies on behalf of the Government is transferred to another company (a) before and (b) after transfer. | | (159861) | 217
| Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has been consulted over plans to change the ownership of Yarlswood Detention Centre from Group 4 (Falck); and if he will make a statement. | | (159862) | 218
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) endorsements and (b) disqualifications were registered by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency against holders of GB driving licences in each of the last five years. | | (159789) | 219
N | Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on Government policy on the support available to unaccompanied asylum seeker children in respect of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000; and what the implications of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 are for unaccompanied asylum seeker children. | | (159192) | 220
| Julia Drown (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Group 4 received a copy of the report completed by Steven Shaw on Yarlswood. | | (159900) | 221
| Julia Drown (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees and ex-detainees were intereviewed by Steven Shaw for each of his reports; and how many detainees in total were present on the day of the fire. | | (159901) | 222
| Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the police of Operation Artemis. | | (160086) | 223
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance coroners are given on being sensitive to the families of the deceased in cases where an inquest many be necessary and on doing all that is reasonably practicable to meet the acute needs of the bereaved. | | (159968) | 224
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether coroners have powers to prevent burials taking place in private land. | | (159969) | 225
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether coroners have the power to delay the release of bodies because no funeral arrangements have been made. | | (159970) | 226
| Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he requires that bodies be released by hospitals immediately without precondition or delay once they are no longer required by a coroner for evidential purposes. | | (159971) | 227
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) officers and (b) civilians served in the Staffordshire Police Force in each year since 1996. | | (160060) | 228
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalty notices for disorder have been issued by police forces during the pilot period. | | (160061) | 229
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the penalty notice for disorder pilot. | | (160062) | 230
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects to extend the penalty notice for disorder pilot to all forces. | | (160063) | 231
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hits have been recorded on the www.talktofrank.com website. | | (160064) | 232
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) calls and (b) e-mails have been received by the Talk to Frank team; and how many (i) calls and (ii) e-mails have been sent by the Talk to Frank team to members of the public. | | (160065) | 233
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to date is of (a) setting up , (b) publicising and (c) running the Talk to Frank service. | | (160066) | 234
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total value of assets recovered by the Assets Recovery Agency is since its establishment. | | (160067) | 235
| Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26th January from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Abdo. | | (159985) | 236
| Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26th January from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr A. Mboob. | | (159986) | 237
| Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 15th January from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr A. Nicholls. | | (159987) | 238
| Mr Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool, Walton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 23rd February, Official Report, column 250W, on royal pardons, whether the figure of one free pardon in 1996 refers to (a) both people in the case of John Haase and Paul Bennett and (b) one of them. | | (159972) | 239
| Ian Lucas (Wrexham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter of the honourable Member for Wrexham dated 1st December 2003 on the subject of Mr Ertan Souyaz, Home Office Reference S900223; Port Reference WIT18155. | | (159867) | 240
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost per prisoner per night of detention in a police cell under Operation Safeguard is, broken down by police force area. | | (160193) | 241
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 25th February, Official Report, column 435W, on Leyhill prison, if he will make a statement on the conclusions and recommendations of the investigation report; and if he will place a copy in the Library. | | (160194) | 242
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd March, Official Report, column 899W, on criminal assets, in how many of the 1,219 cases cited an order made was under section 295(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2003 to extend the period for which the seized cash was detained. | | (160195) | 243
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd March, Official Report, column 899W, on criminal assets, what quantity of cash seized during this period was paid into a bank account under the terms of section 296 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2003, broken down by relevant bank and building society. | | (160196) | 244
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd March, Official Report, column 899W, on criminal assets, what proportion of cash seized has subsequently been released. | | (160197) | 245
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd March, Official Report, column 899W, on criminal assets, in how many of the 1,219 cases cited compensation has been paid (a) for loss of interest which would have been earned and (b) for additional loss under section 302(4) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2003. | | (160198) | 246
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the progress made towards local crime reduction targets in each area participating in the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme. | | (160202) | 247
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the contribution of situational crime prevention techniques to recent reductions in crime. | | (160203) | 248
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the DNA testing of (a) prisoners and (b) mentally disordered offenders conducted between February and September 2003 was on a (i) voluntary and (ii) compulsory basis; and if he will make a statement. | | (160204) | 249
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many cases the detention of children under immigration law for more than 28 days has been subject to ministerial authorisation since 1st January; and if he will make a statement. | | (160205) | 250
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the proportion of asylum seekers claiming to be Somali who are (a) Tanzanian and (b) from other nearby countries. | | (160207) | 251
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many failed suicide attempts took place in prisons in England and Wales in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. | | (160208) | 252
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many accidents involving police vehicles took place in each London borough in 2003. | | (160209) | 253
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 23rd February, Official Report, column 243W, on police, how many accidents in the last two years in (a) London and (b) England and Wales resulted in the vehicle being written off; and at what cost. | | (160210) | 254
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures he plans to take to prevent an increase in illegal working following the expansion of the European Union on 1st May. | | (160211) | 255
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral statement to the House of 23rd February, Official Report, column 24, in what circumstances EU citizens will be considered unable to support themselves; who will make this assessment; and what right of appeal there will be. | | (160212) | 256
| Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral statement to the House of 23rd February, Official Report, column 24, what steps he intends to take to prevent EU citizens removed from the UK from returning; and at what point they will be allowed to re-enter the country. | | (160213) | 257
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received from serving members of the Probation Service in respect of proposals made in the Reducing Crime - Changing Lives publication, issued in January; and what cost-benefit analysis has been made of the proposals to introduce a purchaser/provider model for the Probation Service. | | (159939) | 258
N | David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the honourable Member for Walsall North's letter of 3rd February regarding a constituent, Home Office ref. PO1274/4. | | (159634) | Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development 259
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans he has for to the provision of technical assistance to the Palestinian civil police in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160145) | 260
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he has taken to ensure complete transparency in the use by the Palestinian Authority of development aid provided by his Department. | | (160146) | 261
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will visit the West Bank and Gaza to assess the requirements for (a) humanitarian and (b) development assistance. | | (160148) | 262
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people in the West Bank and Gaza are dependent upon non-governmental organisations or international relief organisations for employment. | | (160149) | 263
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what quantitative assessment he has made of the effect of access controls imposed by the Israeli Government on the level of economic activity in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160150) | 264
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effect of development assistance provided by his Department on levels of poverty in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160151) | 265
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) movement restrictions and (b) land confiscation on agriculture in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160152) | 266
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the (a) level of food aid provided by his Department for residents of the West Bank and Gaza and (b) the effectiveness of its distribution. | | (160153) | 267
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will assess the effectiveness of the work of his Department in enhancing Palestinian access to water in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160154) | 268
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the need for a revision of water access arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160155) | 269
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information he has of rates of malnutrition in (a) the West Bank and (b) Gaza in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002 and (iv) 2003. | | (160157) | 270
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance his Department is providing to the Palestinian Authority in developing poverty alleviation policies. | | (160159) | 271
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the results achieved by the Task Force on Project Implementation in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160160) | 272
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to achieve donor harmonisation in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160161) | 273
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to encourage a process of development planning in the West Bank and Gaza led by the Palestinian Authority. | | (160162) | 274
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government about freedom of movement for humanitarian goods and personnel in the West Bank and Gaza. | | (160163) | 275
| Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the November 2003 agreement betwen Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to repatriate Rwandan Hutus from the east of Congo. | | (159842) | 276
| Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what his Department's policy is on helping Ugandan crop growers share the benefits of that country's economic growth. | | (159843) | 277
| Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what projects his Department is funding in Uzbekistan. | | (159844) | 278
| Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress Uzbekistan has made towards meeting the human rights goals set out by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. | | (159845) | 279
| Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what his Department's position is on the Rwandan Government's use of retraining camps known as solidarity camps for former members of the Forces Armées Rwandaises ahead of their reintegration into Rwandan society. | | (159848) | 280
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much bilateral aid the UK gave to (a) Armenia, (b) Azerbaijan and (c) Georgia in 2003. | | (160082) | Questions to the Leader of the House 281
| Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Leader of the House, if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall. | | (160094) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 282
| Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the (a) total number of cigarettes and (b) total amount of tobacco seized by Customs and Excise in Northern Ireland was in the last 12 months for which records are available. | | (159955) | 283
| Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many container loads of cigarettes have been reported stolen in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months for which records are available. | | (159956) | 284
| Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reports he has received from (a) consultants and (b) the Northern Ireland Audit Office on the outcome performance of the Equality Commission; and if he will place the reports in the Library. | | (160011) | 285
| Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the Equality Commission's outcome performance in relation to equality of opportunity. | | (160012) | 286
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many properties, broken down by categories of use, will be affected by the proposal to derate businesses in the province; and how much money will be raised by each of the proposed steps until full derating is reached in 2011. | | (159957) | 287
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list for each of the detention centres and prisons (a) how many places there were, (b) how many prisoners are occupying them and (c) how many prisoners share cells. | | (159958) | 288
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his policy is on separating different terrorist groups of the same religion at Her Majesty's Prison Maghaberry. | | (159959) | 289
| Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what payments have been made to British Airways for the setting up of a call centre in Belfast; and whether such payments are still being made. | | (160220) | 290
N | Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he will report the outcome of the review into the current planning agreement affecting Belfast City Airport; and if he will make a statement. | | (159274) | 291
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has to introduce a Charity Commission in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. | | (159854) | 292
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will extend the term of one or more of the Commissioners due to leave the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on 29th February; and if he will make a statement. | | (159855) | 293
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons his Department has decided to continue to pay those members of the Northern Ireland Rights Commission who withdrew from the business of the Commission in September 2003; and if he will make a statement. | | (159856) | 294
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he expects to make a definitive response to the Review of Powers which was submitted to him by the Northern Ireland Rights Commission on 28th February 2001; for what reasons he has not yet made such a response; and if he will make a statement. | | (159857) | Questions to the Prime Minister 295
| Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to introduce a post of Minister for Men. | | (159992) | 296
N | Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Prime Minister, what account he took of Anglo-Chinese relations before deciding not to meet the Dalai Lama on his planned visit to the UK. | | (159797) | 297
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Prime Minister, what the total cost of special advisers was in 1996-97. | | (160052) | 298
| Mr Andrew Mackay (Bracknell):To ask the Prime Minister, what the estimated costs of the Butler Inquiry are. | | (159990) | 299
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the reply to the honourable Member for Hampstead and Highgate of 10th February, Official Report, column 1346W, what provisions of international law cover the use of nuclear weapons. | | (159934) | 300
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, which members of the Cabinet were provided with a copy of the Attorney General's full opinion on the legality of military action against Iraq in March 2003. | | (159937) | 301
| Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, what representations were made by UK Government (a) ministers, (b) agencies and (c) Departments to (i) Dr David Kay and (ii) the Iraq Survey Group (A) before and (B) during the preparation of its first draft report. | | (159943) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 302
| Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list the value in each of the last five years of (a) EU exports to Israel and (b) Israeli exports to the EU. | | (160158) | 303
| Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what projects her Department is funding in Uzbekistan. | | (159847) | 304
| Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many deaths were caused by products classified by her Department as unsafe in each of the last ten years. | | (159978) | 305
| Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many products were banned from sale on safety grounds in each of the last 10 years. | | (159979) | 306
| Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many of the products banned from sale on safety grounds were recalled by the manufacturer in each of the last 10 years. | | (159980) | 307
| Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations she has received from (a) consumers organisations and (b) industry on the EU Directive on General Product Safety. | | (159981) | 308
| Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, for what reason the Government has not yet implemented the EU Directive on General Product Safety; and if she will make a statement. | | (159982) | 309
| Jon Cruddas (Dagenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with (a) the utility companies, (b) ministerial colleagues and (c) local regeneration agencies on undergrounding power lines in the Thames Gateway. | | (160005) | 310
| Jon Cruddas (Dagenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the cost of undergrounding power lines in the Thames Gateway; and what resources she has made available to help with the cost of undergrounding power lines in the major development sites in the Thames Gateway. | | (160006) | 311
| Jon Cruddas (Dagenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her strategy is for undergrounding power cables on the major development sites in the Thames Gateway. | | (160007) | 312
| Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she or one of her ministers will meet ex-miners from the Lichfield constituency in London to discuss current arrangements for miners' pension funds in the next four months. | | (160043) | 313
N | Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of whether Elexon Ltd's remit should be extended to electricity trading arrangements in Scotland. | | (159089) | 314
N | Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her role is in (a) the appointment of the (i) chairman and (ii) board of Elexon Ltd and (b) determining the terms and conditions of appointment of the (i) chairman and (ii) board. | | (159090) | 315
N | Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list the shareholders of Elexon Ltd; and what assessment she has made of the board's corporate governance arrangements. | | (159091) | 316
N | Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the role of Elexon Ltd is in the operation of the electricity market in England and Wales; if she will undertake a review of this role; and if she will make a statement. | | (159092) | 317
N | Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the application of the statutory Environmental and Social guidelines of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority to Elexon Ltd. | | (159093) | 318
N | Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the budget of Consumer Direct is for the next three financial years. | | (157461) | 319
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations she has received from business on the (a) registration costs and (b) authorisation process for companies offering customer insurance under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2002. | | (160132) | 320
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her estimate is of the (a) number and (b) economic input of small businesses employing fewer than 10 people in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available. | | (160133) | 321
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of closed e-auction policies by supermarket stores on the health and safety compliance rates of contracting companies. | | (160140) | 322
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many regional development agencies have established links with the Small Business Research Initiative; and what the nature of the co-operation is in each case. | | (160141) | 323
| Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many regulations were (a) removed and (b) reformed pursuant to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 in each year since 1994; and if she will make a statement. | | (160142) | 324
| Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many claims for compensation have been lodged by former mineworkers for injuries sustained whilst handling explosives during the course of their work; how many claims have been successful; and how much compensation has been awarded for such claims in each of the last 10 years. | | (159869) | 325
| Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on compensation available for former NCB workers who have sustained injuries whilst handling explosives during the course of their work. | | (159870) | 326
| Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many companies went bankrupt in (a) Huddersfield and (b) the UK in each year since 1997. | | (160042) | 327
| Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether any income accrued by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority from (a) the commercial reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and (b) Magnox power generation will be returned to the (i) decommissioning and (ii) clean-up of nuclear sites. | | (160009) | 328
| Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what meetings her Department has held with (a) BNFL and (b) British Energy to discuss the budget for Nirex. | | (160010) | 329
| Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with BNFL about their overseas contracts. | | (160017) | 330
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average proportion of household expenditure spent on household fuel was in (a) 1975, (b) 1980, (c) 1985, (d) 1990, (e) 2000 and (f) 2003. | | (160096) | 331
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which members of the energy efficiency industry she has appointed to her Energy Services Working Group. | | (160097) | 332
| Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average cost of installing (a) photovoltaic cells and (b) external wall insulation on a house was in the last year for which figures are available; and what public subsidies are available for this work. | | (160098) | 333
N | Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne & Sheppey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures she can take to stop supermarkets closing post offices as a result of the takeover of one-stop convenience stores, with particular reference to the one-stop convenience store in Chalkwell Road, Sittingbourne. | | (159793) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport 334
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the progress of the Government's message of safer driving with particular reference to using mobile telephones whilst driving. | | (156865) | 335
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the Government is planning to focus resources on the provision of a bicycle-friendly road network within its 10 year Transport Plan. | | (156866) | 336
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department is working with the Treasury to provide greater purchase incentives for smaller, cleaner vehicles. | | (156867) | 337
N | Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the viability of a new railway station in Gloucester. | | (159792) | 338
| Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 4th February from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr D. McDowell. | | (159988) | 339
N | Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has received from the promoters of the Dibden Bay container port proposal a legally binding undertaking for an environmental mitigation compensation scheme in the vicinity of Dibden Bay. | | (159499) | 340
| Ian Lucas (Wrexham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will carry out an assessment of the safety implications of allowing three children to travel on seats designed for two on school buses. | | (159860) | 341
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for the Isle of Wight of 24th February, Official Report, column 343W, if he will list the partners in each partnership. | | (159636) | 342
| Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the danger and nuisance of (a) helicopters and (b) other recreational aircraft from flying over urban areas. | | (159877) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 343
| Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the percentage increase is in the number of pension credit households from the introduction of pension credit to the most recent available date in each parliamentary constituency. | | (160217) | 344
| Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) new and (b) existing benefit payments have been transferred to (i) bank accounts and (ii) Post Office card accounts in 2003, broken down by region; and what percentage of (A) new and (B) transferred benefit payments this represents in each case. | | (160218) | 345
| Mr David Crausby (Bolton North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have received winter fuel payments in Bolton North East in each year since the introduction of the payment. | | (159849) | 346
| Mr David Crausby (Bolton North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have requested application forms for winter fuel payments via e-mail in each year since the facility became available. | | (159851) | 347
| Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost of the websites of (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies of his Department was in the most recent year for which figures are available. | | (160019) | 348
| Mr Jimmy Hood (Clydesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the outcome of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council held on 4th March was; what the Government's stance on the issues discussed was, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement. | | (160101) | 349
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) state pensioners and (b) non-pensioner benefit recipients within the Tamworth constituency receive (i) pensions and (ii) other benefits (A) through an order book, (B) through a Post Office Card Account and (C) paid directly into a bank or building society account. | | (160057) | 350
| Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what percentage of pensioners in the Tamworth constituency are in receipt of (a) winter fuel payments and (b) pension credit. | | (160084) | 351
| Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what safeguards are in place for those who have company pensions against loss of their pension through insolvency. | | (160039) | 352
| Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available to those who have lost their pensions when the company which employed them went bankrupt. | | (160040) | 353
| Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Huddersfield and (b) the UK lost their pensions as a result of insolvency in each year since 1997. | | (160041) | 354
| John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many eligible Scottish pensioners had applied for and had not received winter fuel payments by (a) 1st December 2003, (b) 1st January and (c) 1st February. | | (159852) | 355
| John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claim forms for winter fuel payment have been submitted to date, broken down by region. | | (159853) | Questions to the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners 356
N | Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how much was spent maintaining church graveyards in each of the last three years. | | [Question Unstarred] (158940) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 357
| Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether he was consulted prior to the Government's announcement of support for proposals to change the school year; what assessment he has made of the overall impact on the economy of these proposals; and what assessment he has made of the impact on specific sectors of the economy, with particular reference to (a) tourism and (b) transport. | | [Transferred] (159874) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 358
| Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the criteria are against which bids for the Community Transport Fund are assessed. | | [Transferred] (160104) | 359
| Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many passenger journeys were delivered in a typical month for each of the Community Transport Fund's projects in Essex. | | [Transferred] (160105) | 360
| Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what options are open to (a) Essex County Council and (b) Castle Point Borough Council for the provision of community and welfare transport for (i) disabled and (ii) elderly people in Castle Point when the current funding scheme expires in April 2005. | | [Transferred] (160106) | 361
| Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many bids under the Community Transport Fund in Essex have been (a) granted and (b) rejected; and if she will make a statement. | | [Transferred] (160107) |
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