Order Book Part 1

House of Commons

Session 2003 - 04
Publications on the internet
The Questions Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 7 June 2004

Notes:
* Indicates a Question for Oral Answer.
+ Indicates a Question not included in the random selection process but accepted because the quota for that day had not been filled.
[N] Indicates a Question for Written Answer on a named day, i.e. the Member has indicated under S.O. No. 22(4) the day on which he wishes the Question to be answered.
[R] Indicates that a relevant interest has been declared.

Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Monday 7 June 2004
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 7 June 2004

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Monday 7 June 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 7 June of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Monday 7 June see Part 2 of this paper.

Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office

1
Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Government will be improving its e-government metadata standard to ensure that the websites of (a) Government departments and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies are exemplars of accessibility.

(177021)

2
Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Government guidelines cover the provision of information in (a) British Sign Language and (b) Easy Read for people with learning disabilities on Government departments' and agencies' websites.

(177022)

3
Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to raise awareness in the public and private sectors and in the relevant professional groups of (a) the web accessibility needs of disabled people and (b) the cost of meeting those needs.

(177023)

4
Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has been made of the percentage of disabled people who will be able to access all Government services electronically by 2005.

(177024)

5
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he will next publish a report on the achievements and progress towards targets on accessibility of government services to disabled people.

(177220)

6
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Better Regulation Task Force has made of the costs to (a) Waverley Borough Council and (b) Surrey County Council of their obligations to monitoring, inspection, reviews and assessment required by central Government, its agencies and commissions.

(177221)

7
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department's Better Regulation Taskforce has made of the cost to (a) each of the local authorities in Cornwall and (b) the Council of the Isles of Scilly of meeting its obligation of monitoring, inspection, reviews and assessment by, for (i) the Audit Plan, (ii) the Audit Commission, (iii) the Social Services Inspectorate, (iv) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools, (v) Ofsted, (vi) the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, (vii) Best Value, (viii) comprehensive programme assessments, (ix) the preparation of statutory plans/strategies and (x) other inspections and reviews.

(176731)

8
N Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants were recruited in each of the last six months.

(177194)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

9
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason statistics relating to increases in greenhouse gases from the transport sector were removed from the recent Office of National Statistics Report on the environment.

(177225)

10
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he takes to ensure that his policy that reports produced by the Office for National Statistics are not subject to political interference is upheld in respect of representations from the Department for Transport.

(177226)

11
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many responses he has received to the consultation he announced in the 2004 Budget on ending the entitlement of charities to claim gift aid on day memberships; and what percentage this represents of the number of organisations written to about this consultation.

(177417)

12
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much is owed to the UK in bilateral debt by countries in Africa, broken down by country.

(177418)

13
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to assist those countries which are predicted to exit the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries process with unsustainable debt.

(177419)

14
Mr John Battle (Leeds West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many senior citizens in (a) Leeds Metropolitan District Council and (b) Leeds West constituency have qualified for the 10 pence rate of income tax in each year since its introduction.

(176982)

15
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how many and what proportion of pensioners in (a) South West Surrey constituency and (b) Surrey paid income tax at (i) higher rate and (ii) basic rate in each year since 1996-97.

(177266)

16
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what rules and guidelines cover the recent modifications to the Office of National Statistics report on emissions and the information added on the website relating to aviation and road freight emissions.

(177267)

17
Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) migrants in the UK and (b) dependant children of migrants aged under 16 years who were born (i) in and (ii) outside the UK.

(177445)

18
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount of funding his Department has budgeted to cover the childcare element of working tax credit in 2003-04 and 2004-05; and if he will make a statement.

(177516)

19
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families or women with a child under the age of (a) one year and (b) six months are in receipt of the childcare element of the working tax credit; and if he will make a statement.

(177519)

20
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the take up rate of the childcare element of working tax credit as a percentage of those families and single parents who are eligible to receive it since the benefit was introduced; and if he will make a statement.

(177520)

21
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the value to the UK economy of the Ministry of Defence contract for the manufacture and supply of military support vehicles.

(177459)

22
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions since 1st July 2003 he has been informed of a Minister issuing a direction to an accounting officer as set out in paragraphs 14 to 17 of the Treasury document, The responsibilities of an accounting officer; on which grounds the note of dissent was issued; and if he will make a statement.

(177235)

23
Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much compensation has been paid out by the Inland Revenue to accountants and other professional advisers following the admission of blame for errors in each of the last three years.

(177192)

24
N Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the late filings penalty notices for financial year 2002-03 were incorrectly issued because of a logging error by the Inland Revenue.

(177196)

25
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how many pensioners in Greater London paid income tax at the (a) higher rate and (b) basic rate in each year since 1996-97; and what percentage of all (i) pensioner taxpayers and (ii) pensioners the figures represent in each case.

(177046)

26
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the unemployment rates for the 55-plus age group in (a) Greater London and (b) each Greater London borough in each of the last five years.

(177058)

27
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people within Tamworth constituency receive child benefit (a) through an order book, (b) through a Post Office card account and (c) paid directly into a bank or building society account.

(176905)

28
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was claimed in business premise renovation allowance in each qualifying ward in Wales, listed in descending order.

(177350)

29
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money was raised through taxes in Wales in each of the last 10 years.

(177351)

30
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total government expenditure on Wales was through (a) the Welsh Block and (b) other funding streams in each of the last 10 years.

(177352)

31
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) employers and (b) employees have taken part in the Home Computer Initiative in each year since its inception.

(176985)

32
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to promote the Home Computer Initiative (HCI) within the public sector; and whether he plans to offer the HCI to civil servants.

(176986)

33
N Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10th May, Official Report, column 146W, on Customs and Excise, whether the receipt of the copy of the general briefing about the review of the London City Bond-related cases was the first occasion on which the Economic Secretary was informed of the existence of the Alf Allington informant record.

(176697)

34
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what surveys of public perceptions of (a) his Department and of its areas of responsibility, (b) Customs and Excise and (c) the Inland Revenue have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176944)

35
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the conclusion of Professors Oswald and Blanchflower, on page 4 of the second report on Calculating an Appropriate Regional Funding Adjustment for Worcestershire on the stance of the Office of National Statistics on access for researchers to check the Government's calculations relating to the Area Cost Adjustment.

(177066)

36
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people over 75 years with a personal pension who will take up the option in the proposed reform of pension taxation of an alternatively secured pension.

(176823)

37
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many pension schemes approved by the Inland Revenue have fewer than 50 members.

(176825)

38
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to pension schemes with fewer than 50 members of his proposed requirement on those schemes to secure all pensions with annuities.

(176826)

39
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the future role of HM Customs and Excise at UK sea and airports after its investigation and intelligence work is brought under the control of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

(177155)

40
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff from Customs and Excise were employed at UK seaports and airports in each of the last five years.

(177175)

41
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what back-up systems are in place for the records held on computers by registrars of births, marriages and deaths; and if he will make a statement.

(177002)

42
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures are taken against possible abuse of records held by registrars of births, marriages and deaths; and if he will make a statement.

(177003)

43
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what percentage of deaths were due to (a) respiratory disease, (b) heart disease and (c) cancer in each of the last three years.

(176882)

44
Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24th May, Official Report, columns 1461-2W, on travellers, what assessment of the risk of non-compliance in relation to the payment of income tax and VAT has been made in respect of unauthorised traveller developments in (a) England and Wales and (b) South Bedfordshire.

(176835)

45
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what he estimates to be the costs of administering the (a) children's tax credit, (b) child tax credit, (c) working families tax credit, (d) working tax credit and (e) family credit in each year since 1997-98; and what his projected expenditure on administration costs for each credit is in each future year for which figures are available.

(177489)

46
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his latest estimate is of (a) the assets and (b) the liabilities of occupational pension schemes.

(177547)

47
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many 16 to 18 year olds there were in the UK in each three month period ending in November in each year since 1997; and how many of those were not in full-time education, training or work in each of those periods.

(177554)

48
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of corporation tax revenue foregone on employer contributions into pension schemes in each year since 1997-98; and what projections he has made for the future.

(177561)

Questions to the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs

49
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many people registered for a permanent postal vote in each year since 1997.

(176738)

50
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will instruct electoral returning officers in postal pilot regions to log (a) the total number of ballot paper envelopes received after the close of polls and (b) the postmarks on such envelopes.

(176834)

51
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many people have registered for a permanent postal vote in (a) Surrey and (b) South West Surrey constituency in each year from 1996.

(177371)

52
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will invite electoral returning officers in Surrey (a) to log and (b) to report on (i) the total number of ballot paper envelopes received late and (ii) the distribution of dates on post marks.

(177372)

53
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the average age is of (a) male and (b) female magistrates in (i) Surrey, (ii) the South East and (iii) England.

(177373)

54
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many solicitors' firms had legal aid departments in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(177571)

55
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, for what reasons the provisions of the Gender Recognition Bill were extended to Northern Ireland by primary legislation rather than by way of Order in Council; and if he will make a statement.

(176960)

56
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the average age of (a) male and (b) female magistrates in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) each Lancashire district is; and what the highest age of a magistrate is in each area.

(177165)

57
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many magistrates are members of political parties, broken down by party, in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) each Lancashire district.

(177166)

58
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many magistrates are Freemasons in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) each Lancashire district.

(177167)

59
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176947)

60
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact on the all-postal European and local election ballot in the North West of England of the delay in printing ballot packs; what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission about the delay; what information he has sent to returning officers; and what contingency plans are in place should the ballot packs not be available in time.

(176818)

61
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will end the practice of awarding honorary QCs.

(177144)

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

62
Mr Joe Benton (Bootle):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Bootle in each year since 1997.

(176999)

63
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list the items of contemporary art (a) destroyed and (b) damaged by the fire at the arts storage warehouse in East London on 25th May; and if she will make a statement.

(176713)

64
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will obtain a reply to the letters dated 18th March and 22nd April from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton to the Community Fund with regard to Highfield Country Park.

(177431)

65
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent by the Arts Council in each of the last five financial years, broken down by local authority.

(176984)

66
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what surveys of public perceptions of her Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if she will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176946)

67
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether new licence fee revenues under the Licensing Act 2003 are intended to cover the cost of local authority implementation and enforcement.

(177386)

68
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department will advise local authorities of the commencement of the transitional period for implementing the Licensing Act 2003.

(177387)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

69
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the US Administration concerning the deployment of missile defence interceptor missiles in the UK.

(176837)

70
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 15th March, Official Report, column 44W, on asbestos, what his Department estimated the cost would be of compiling a central register of surveyed buildings occupied by Departmental staff including agencies which require remedial work on asbestos or the removal of asbestos.

(176798)

71
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how he takes account of the sustainability of the UK defence industrial base when making decisions on defence acquisitions for UK forces.

(177389)

72
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects to announce his decision on the preferred bidder for the military support vehicle contract.

(177440)

73
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential for compatibility of equipment and co-operation between UK forces and US allies in the field when considering the supply of future strategic and tactical military support vehicles.

(177460)

74
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what investigations he has undertaken in considering his decision on preferred bidder status for the UK military support vehicle contract into the performance of medium tactical vehicles already in use with the US Army; and which company's products achieved the highest level of in-service operational readiness during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(177461)

75
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the importance of supplier experience and track record in his consideration of preferred bidder status for the military support vehicle contract.

(177464)

76
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports have been prepared on British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq; how many have been sent to him; how many he has read and commented on; and if he will make a staement.

(177240)

77
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women who have been held in British-run military and civilian prisons have been released during the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

(177241)

78
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on his Department's rules for the interrogation of prisoners held in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq; who is responsible for ensuring that such rules on interrogation are followed; and if he will make a statement.

(177242)

79
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the line of command is that reports directly to him from persons who have direct responsibility for the running of British military and civilian prisons in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(177243)

80
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) male and (b) female prison officers are employed in the running of British military and civilian prisons in Iraq; how many have been prison officers employed in prisons in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

(177244)

81
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training is given to police officers employed in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq; and how long it lasts.

(177245)

82
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women working in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq are employed by private contractors; to whom they are responsible; what their terms of employment are; what training they are given before becoming a police officer; and if he will make a statement.

(177246)

83
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which independent observer groups are given permission to visit British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq; to whom their reports have been made on prison conditions; to what level within his Department such reports are sent; and if he will make a statement.

(177247)

84
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Ministers from his Department have visited prisons run by the British coalition forces in Iraq; what the dates of the visits were; what report was made of the visit; and whether he read that report and discussed with the Minister his impressions of prison conditions in British-run prisons in Iraq.

(177248)

85
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women held in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq have been charged with (i) criminal and (ii) military offences; and if he will make a statement.

(177249)

86
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints have been made by (a) men and (b) women held in British-run military and civilian prisons in Iraq as to their treatment while in prison during the last 12 months; how many of these complaints have been heard; how many remain to be heard; how many of these complaints he has seen; and if he will make a statement.

(177250)

87
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost has been during the last 12 months to the Government of the running of British military and civilian prisons in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(177251)

88
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons he is holding an international competition for a mine disposal system.

(176775)

89
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) research and (b) evaluation his Department has carried out on the Archerfish to decide whether it meets the requirements of the Royal Navy for its mine disposal system.

(176776)

90
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the letter of 24th May, on possible contaminated land in Portsmouth, what requests he has received for details of such land from Portsmouth City Council in the last five years.

(177139)

91
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to establish a defence export and market access forum.

(177401)

92
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Lockheed-Martin about inward investment into the UK.

(177125)

93
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new recruits have applied to join the Army in the past year; and how many of those have been (a) judged suitable, (b) accepted for training and (c) deferred.

(177145)

94
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what undertakings were given to his Department by Thales when they acquired Racal.

(177146)

95
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 12th February, Official Report, column 1632W, on Apache helicopters, how many AH-64 Apache helicopters have been accepted into service; how many are in storage at RAF Shawbury; when he expects the full complement to be fully operational; and if he will make a statement.

(177168)

96
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the consequences for his defence industrial policy of the proposed acquisition by Finmeccanica of the GKN holding in Agusta Westland.

(177258)

97
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what effect he expects the sale of GKN's shares in Augusta Westland to Finmeccancia of Italy will have on the completion date of the assessment phase for the Lynx replacement; and when he expects to make a decision on the awarding of the contract for that programme.

(177594)

98
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the assessment phase for the Lynx replacement to be completed; and when he expects to make a decision on the future of this programme.

(177595)

99
Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Highgate):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 27th May, on Iraq, whether the Royal Military Police personnel assisting in training the Iraqi Police Service will assist in the training of the Iraqi Prison Service.

(177503)

100
Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Highgate):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 27th May, on Iraq, whether the sovereign interim government of Iraq will be party to the consideration of disposition of forces required in Iraq until elections in 2005.

(177504)

101
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many pensioners within Tamworth constituency receive war pensions (a) through an order book, (b) through a Post Office card account and (c) paid directly into a bank or building society account.

(176906)

102
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the use of explosion mitigation technology in the fuel tanks of armoured fighting vehicles used by British forces.

(177214)

103
Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Status of Forces Agreement being negotiated for troops in Iraq will parallel the Visiting Forces Act 1952 in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

(176744)

104
Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the number of (a) officers and (b) other ranks who (i) applied for premature voluntary retirement and (ii) had their applications accepted in each of the last three years, broken down by regiment; and if he will make a statement.

(176745)

105
Mr Paul Keetch (Hereford):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total (a) capital and (b) running costs to the department of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are in 2004-05; and if he will make a statement.

(176746)

106
Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is possible for a person to have served as a national serviceman for two years without completing basic training.

(176742)

107
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK forces in Afghanistan have been given the authority to kill Osama bin Laden.

(176827)

108
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the reasons are for the delay in going ahead with the second tranche of Eurofighter Typhoons; and if he will make a statement.

(177140)

109
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will reply to the Questions tabled by the honourable Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr on 1st March, refs (a) 158877, (b) 158884, (c) 158885, (d) 158854 and (e) 158862.

(177577)

110
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the investigation into the death of Batia Monza.

(177578)

111
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the date of each compensation claim arising out of the death of an Iraqi individual allegedly caused by UK forces and whether, in each case, the claim (a) has been rejected, (b) has been accepted and (c) remains to be decided.

(177579)

112
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the families of Iraqi individuals whose deaths are or have been the subject of Special Investigation Branch inquiries have been given copies of official autopsy reports or equivalent documents.

(177580)

113
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information he has examined in relation to the deaths of (a) Ammar Shakir Mahmoods, (b) Hussam Salih Owaid, (c) Jawad Gadhim Bahidh, (d) Ameen Ajman Ismail, (e) Ali Gadhim Slamkh, (f) Asrad Gadhim Jassim and (g) Ahmed Kareen Ali.

(177581)

114
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will reply to the question from the honourable Member for Camarthen East and Dinefwr of 1st March, ref 158865, on the exhumation of bodies.

(177582)

115
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 22nd March, Official Report, column 547W, on Iraq, when he will write to the honourable Member in response to Questions (a) 154477, (b) 154488 and (c) 158861.

(177583)

116
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which provisions of the Geneva Conventions will cease to apply in Iraq following the handover of sovereignty on 30th June.

(177584)

117
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information he has examined in relation to civilian deaths cause by UK forces in the city of Amara between 3rd and 6th April.

(177585)

118
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information he has examined in relation to civilian casualties allegedly caused by UK forces on 24th June 2003 in Majar-al-Kabi.

(177586)

119
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral statement of the Minister of State of 4th May, Official Report, column 1211, if he will make a further statement to the House on the Special Investigation Branch inquiries into alleged abuse of Iraqi civilians.

(177587)

120
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 6th January, Official Report, column 235W, on Iraq, if he will name the Iraqi gunman killed in self-defence.

(177588)

121
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is mandatory for submariners and radiation workers to use the IPM7 radiation monitor when they leave the nuclear submarines at HM Naval Base, Clyde Faslane; and if he will make a statement.

(176800)

122
Mr John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all or part of the investment appraisal upon which he decided to roll forward the Harriers GR9 to RAF Cottesmore.

(177014)

123
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his current estimate is of the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan by the activities of (a) UK, (b) United States and (c) other military forces not indigenous to Afghanistan since October 2002; and what methods are used to assess the cause of deaths and injuries to civilians in Afghanistan by foreign military activities.

(176904)

124
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made arrangements under the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement on atomic energy matters, as amended, to obtain the test results from the Armando subcritical nuclear test at the Nevada test conducted on 25th May by the US National Nuclear Security Administration.

(177067)

125
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what papers he has submitted to Lord Butler's inquiry into intelligence on Iraq; and whether (a) officials and (b) ministers have given oral evidence to the inquiry.

(177068)

126
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what attempts have been made in interviews conducted with Saddam Hussein to get him to reveal the locations of weapons of mass destruction, and their production facilities, in Iraq.

(177070)

127
Mr Simon Thomas (Ceredigion):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is giving to the organisers of the Farnborough Airshow taking place from 19th to 25th July; and whether this includes assistance to enable overseas visitors to attend.

(177499)

128
N Mr Neil Turner (Wigan):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will ensure that the current naval shipbuilding programme is phased to allow stable levels of employment particularly in the key design engineering sector.

(175574)

129
N Mr Neil Turner (Wigan):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) the Department of Trade and Industry, (b) shipbuilders and (c) trade unions to identify the minimum numbers of (i) workers and (ii) designers necessary to maintain a strategic capacity of naval shipbuilding in the United Kingdom.

(175575)

130
N Mr Neil Turner (Wigan):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the anticipated order is for the Astute class submarine programme; and what the anticipated phasing of the orders is.

(175576)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

131
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what studies he has commissioned of the policies being adopted by other EU member states concerning obligations on owners of larger privately-owned buildings to implement Article 7.3 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, with specific reference to the labelling of buildings open to the public.

(176927)

132
N Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he expects the framework document for the Ordnance Survey to be published.

(176729)

133
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he is planning amendments to the structure under which private finance initiative contracts are awarded; and if he will make a statement.

(177017)

134
Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how the Government is tackling access barriers to disabled people on local government websites.

(177020)

135
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 2nd March, Official Report, column 821W, on greenbelt, when he will write to the honourable Member for Altrincham and Sale West giving figures for the reduction of greenbelt area in metropolitan areas.

(177596)

136
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate his Department has made of the number of rough sleepers in (a) London and (b) England for each year since 1997.

(177053)

137
Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which former officials of the former Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions asked for permission to join (a) Pricewaterhouse Coopers, (b) Deloitte and Touche, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KMPG.

(177505)

138
Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the (a) nature and (b) value was of contracts, consultancies and other services placed with (i) Deloitte and Touche, (ii) Ernst and Young, (iii) KMPG and (iv) Pricewaterhouse Coopers since 2000-01 by the former Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and its agencies.

(177506)

139
N Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the local authorities for which elections are being held in 2005, indicating in each case whether elections are being held in (a) all seats and (b) a third of seats.

(177405)

140
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the current valuation is of the Ordnance Survey.

(177475)

141
N Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations he has made about the higher levels of business rates charged to the providers of respite care.

(176554)

142
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total expenditure on consultants and contractors for the Government Office of the West Midlands was in each year since 1997.

(176900)

143
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to (a) each of the local authorities in Cornwall and (b) the Council of the Isles of Scilly of meeting its obligation of monitoring, inspection, review and assessment by, for (i) the Audit Plan, (ii) the Audit Commission, (iii) the Social Services Inspectorate, (iv) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools, (v) Ofsted, (vi) the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, (vii) Best Value, (viii) comprehensive performance assessments, (ix) the preparation of statutory plans/strategies and (x) other inspections and reviews.

(176730)

144
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the Supporting People programme with respect to tackling domestic violence.

(177564)

145
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when the new legal provisions on high hedges will come into force.

(176957)

146
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will indemnify members of fire brigades within defined limits against failure by life or disability insurers to pay out on policies held by firefighters following death or injury on duty on the grounds of policy exclusions in respect of terrorist incidents.

(176941)

147
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he expects to announce a decision on the selection of a contractor for the Firelink radio system.

(176971)

148
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what consultations he has held since January with Fire Service regional management boards.

(176972)

149
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the legal status is of the Fire Service regional management boards.

(176973)

150
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on progress towards establishment of new negotiating machinery within the Fire and Rescue Service.

(176974)

151
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the merits of (a) giving statutory effect to section IX, paragraph 13 of the Fire and Rescue Service's Grey Book and (b) indemnifying firefighters for loss due to insurance policy exclusions in respect of terrorist incidents following death or injury on duty as methods of resolving the problem faced by firefighters whose insurance contains exclusions relating to activities which they may be required to perform in the course of their duties.

(176994)

152
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his latest estimate is of the total cost of implementing the strategy of regional fire control rooms, including procurements, relocation and redundancy costs.

(177001)

153
N Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the level of housing revenue account debt for each local authority in England.

(176819)

154
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how he has told people in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Chorley about the referendum on regional government; and how much has been spent on informing people of the referendum on regional government in (i) the North West, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) Chorley.

(177149)

155
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his Department's projections are for the demand for affordable housing in Greater London for each of the next five years; and what estimate he has made of the public subsidy which will be required to meet that demand in each year.

(177049)

156
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176943)

157
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the further report by Professors Blanchflower and Oswald on Calculating an Appropriate Regional Funding Adjustment for Worcestershire, a copy of which has been sent by the county council; and what assessment he has made of the relative pay levels of Worcestershire compared to neighbouring areas.

(177065)

158
N Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the Standards Board for England about the appropriateness of its making public the result of its investigation of councillors during an election for which councillors are standing for re-election.

(177444)

159
Alice Mahon (Halifax):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what instructions have been given to local authorities to ensure that (a) children, (b) elderly people, (c) people with mental illness and (d) people with learning difficulties for whom the local authority has responsibility are not exposed to (i) racist opinion expressed by and (ii) policy decisions taken by elected representatives.

(176828)

160
N John Mann (Bassetlaw):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the implications of Bridlington Council charging 90 per cent. second home rateable value for wooden chalets.

(176109)

161
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much was paid per home to each local authority by the organisation taking over responsibility for housing where a large scale voluntary transfer has taken place since 2001; and how many homes were involved in each case.

(176707)

162
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much investment to fund stock improvements has been secured via transfer, private finance initiative and arm's length management organisations since the Housing Green Paper was published in 2000, broken down by local authority; and how much of the backlog of repairs and improvement remains to be funded.

(176756)

163
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total costs of grants to arm's length management organisations, and the amount paid to each, has been since 1999.

(176757)

164
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much has been paid in dowry and gap funding to local authorities to undertake large scale voluntary stock transfers since 1999.

(176758)

165
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his estimate is of the asset value of council housing stock transferred to registered social landlords in each of the last three years.

(177005)

166
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what (a) the total amount paid to the local authority and (b) the average payment per house by the registered social landlords taking over the stock in each large-scale transfer in the last four years is.

(177006)

167
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will place in the Library the evidence he has collated on the benefits that arise from (a) separating housing management from housing strategy and (b) the financial effect of the separation.

(177007)

168
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what guidelines he gives to registered social landlords taking over council property in large-scale voluntary transfers; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of tenant representation in existing registered social landlords.

(177008)

169
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of the costs of (a) consultation, (b) publicity material and (c) surveys connected with (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful tenant ballots on large-scale voluntary transfer or establishment of an arm's length management organisation was met by (A) local government, (B) housing associations, (C) arm's length management organisations and (D) central government.

(177015)

170
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will estimate the total cost to central Government of transferring council housing to registered social landlords and arm's length management organisations in the financial years (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04, separately identifying (i) the total debt written off, (ii) the cost of dowry and gap funding, (iii) the cost of paying tenant housing benefit by social security, (iv) the cost of consultancies, literature, videos and surveys and (v) the cost of staff time at (A) national and (B) regional levels; and how many houses have been transferred.

(177153)

171
N Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the increase in housing waiting lists in the South East; and if he will re-evaluate the Government's pledge to provide a decent home for all in the South East to take account of this increase.

(177474)

172
N Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he intends to extend the key worker definition to private sector employees.

(177486)

173
N Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to provide additional resources for affordable housing in those parts of the South East where housing is least affordable.

(177487)

174
N Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, who sits on the Objective 2 advisory group at the Government Office for the North West; and how appointments to this group are made.

(177084)

175
N Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what criteria are used for deciding which bids go forward for further consideration by the North West Objective 2 advisory group.

(177085)

176
N Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list projects which (a) were and (b) were not put forward for further consideration for Objective 2 Priority 2 sub-regional funding on 20th April by the Objective 2 advisory group.

(177086)

177
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what bid for Objective 2 Priority 2 sub-regional projects scored highest out of bids put forward to the Government Office for the North West.

(177136)

178
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list (a) the criteria, and (b) the scoring against that criteria, for the bids submitted to the Government Office for the North West for Objective 2 Priority 2 sub-regional projects.

(177137)

179
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many lone parents aged 16 and 17 years are resident in local authority accommodation with (a) on-site support, (b) floating support and (c) no specialist support.

(177542)

180
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many new places in semi-independent housing have been provided for lone parents under the age of 18 years in each year since May 1997.

(177543)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

181
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Surrey have been classified as failing in each year since 1996-97.

(177268)

182
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make it his policy to oppose change to the presumption that education is charitable in purpose.

(177269)

183
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will estimate the number of students in higher education from (a) South West Surrey, (b) Surrey and (c) England; and what the estimated (i) average and (ii) overall student debt (A) was in (1) 1997 and (2) the most recent period for which figures are available and (B) will be in 2011.

(177369)

184
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) average pay of (i) teachers and (ii) all other education staff in (A) 1997, (B) now and (C) 2011.

(177370)

185
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many hours of training qualified teachers receive in relation to identifying, managing and teaching special educational needs in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools per year; what requirements exist for such training to be provided; and if he will make a statement.

(177513)

186
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action his Department has taken in response to the recommendations made by the National Audit Office in its report, Progress in Developing High Quality Childcare and Early Education Accessible to All, published on 27th February, on the (a) expansion of, (b) sustainability and (c) the quality of childcare provision; and if he will make a statement.

(177518)

187
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what data is available on (a) the number of people working in the childcare sector, (b) the level of academic qualifications they hold and (c) whether they have a qualification in childcare and if so at what level; and if he will make a statement.

(177521)

188
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what qualifications in childcare are necessary (a) to be a registered childminder, (b) to work in a day nursery, (c) to work in a nursery school or class and (d) to work in a pre-school play group; and if he will make a statement.

(177522)

189
Mr Tim Collins (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action he proposes to take in response to the letter to him by Mr John Wright, of the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice, of 6th February.

(177437)

190
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many extra people in Weston-super-Mare he expects to stay in education as a result of the introduction of education maintenance allowances; and what plans he has to provide extra funding to further education colleges in the town in order to support these extra students.

(176977)

191
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to maintain adult skills provision at (a) Basic level, (b) Level 2 and (c) Level 3 in Weston-super-Mare.

(176978)

192
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to equalise funding between schools and colleges for 16-19 years olds in Weston-Super-Mare.

(176979)

193
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to provide funding to help further education colleges in Weston-Super-Mare to refurbish and rebuild their estates.

(176980)

194
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed by further education colleges in each year since 1995.

(177260)

195
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much capital expenditure has been allocated to each further education college on Merseyside since 1995.

(177261)

196
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what funding the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has received in each of the last three years on Merseyside; how much funding the LSC will receive in the next three years; and if he will express the figures in (i) whole numbers and (ii) the percentage annual increase or decrease in funding over those periods.

(177262)

197
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what funding each further education college on Merseyside received in each year since 1997; what budget they have been allocated from the Learning and Skills Council for 2004-05; and what percentage change these allocations represent in comparison with the previous year.

(177263)

198
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, why the Learning and Skills Council on Merseyside has not informed the further education colleges of their 2004-05 budget.

(177264)

199
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many full-time equivalent students have been educated at each of the further education colleges on Merseyside in each year.

(177265)

200
N Mr Hilton Dawson (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what arrangements he has made to fund teachers' planning, preparation and assessment time.

(176555)

201
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what cross-departmental coordination there has been between the Learning Skills Council and the regional development agencies in the creation and administration of the centres of vocational excellence.

(176902)

202
Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much ring-fenced money for classroom building projects has been given by his Department to each local education authority in the South West in each of the last three years.

(177195)

203
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of primary schools has achieved 100 per cent. of its pupils reaching Level 4 in reading in the Key Stage 2 SAT tests.

(177272)

204
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of primary schools he estimates teaches the multiplication tables.

(177273)

205
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the teaching of multiplication tables in primary schools.

(177274)

206
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what funding was made available to support non-vocational adult learning courses (a) in this financial year and (b) in each of the past four years; and if he will make a statement.

(177569)

207
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Learning and Skills Council on its recent decision to withdraw funding from adult learning courses which are not vocational.

(177570)

208
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will estimate the annual cost of educating all pupils currently within the private education sector in the state sector.

(176939)

209
Paul Holmes (Chesterfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether further education lecturers will be included in Teachers TV at its launch; and if he will make a statement.

(177004)

210
Paul Holmes (Chesterfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what additional funding will be earmarked for apprenticeships for people aged over 25 years in financial year 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

(177013)

211
N Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will take steps to allow (a) sixth-form colleges and (b) further education colleges to apply for funding under the Building Schools for the Future Programme; and if he will make a statement.

(176821)

212
N Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what he expects the funding gap between school sixth forms and further education colleges to be in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07.

(176822)

213
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has for (a) issuing guidance and (b) making it a statutory obligation that existing system built schools should have the level of compartmentation fire protection increased to meet the levels required by the current building regulations.

(177591)

214
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment has been made of the fire risk associated witrh CLASP and SCOLA buildings; and how many schools are constructed in this way.

(177592)

215
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many education support staff there were in Greater London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by borough.

(176830)

216
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the cost per pupil of education in (a) primary school, (b) secondary school and (c) sixth form in Greater London was in each of the last seven years, broken down by borough.

(176831)

217
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many places for children in privately-run children's homes there were in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years.

(177040)

218
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were classified as failing in each year since 1996-97 in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough.

(177041)

219
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 years were studying at further education colleges, excluding A-level and GCSE students, in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years.

(177042)

220
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many and what percentage of pupils in Greater London, broken down by local education authority, reached the (a) mathematics and (b) English standard in each of the last seven years.

(177043)

221
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many and what percentage of 11 year old pupils in Greater London, broken down by local education authority, reached level four in (a) mathematics and (b) English in each of the last seven years.

(177044)

222
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of 15 and 16-year-olds in Greater London, broken down by local education authority, achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C or GNVQ equivalent in each of the last seven years.

(177045)

223
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which local education authority in Greater London had the highest number of school leavers attending university in each year since 1996; and what percentage this represented of the (a) total number of school leavers and (b) total number of school leavers in that local education authority.

(177182)

224
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which local education authority in Greater London had the highest number of people attending university in each year since 1996.

(177183)

225
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many people attended university from (a) Greater London and (b) each local education authority in Greater London in each year since 1997; and what percentage this represents of the number of school leavers.

(177184)

226
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, for what reasons some learning and skills councils decline to fund veterinary nursing NVQ training.

(177211)

227
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which local learning and skills councils fund veterinary nurse training through work-based learning funding.

(177212)

228
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the policy of the Learning and Skills Councils is on the funding of Veterinary Nursing NVQ training levels 2 and 3.

(177399)

229
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how further education training courses for veterinary nursing are funded in England.

(177447)

230
Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what responsibility the Adult Learning Inspectorate has to report on the exercise of the duty of care; what care standards inspectors will use when examining training regimes in army barracks; and in what form these standards are available in the public domain.

(177476)

231
Alice Mahon (Halifax):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what instructions have been given to (a) local education authorities and (b) head teachers to ensure that children are not exposed to (i) racist opinion expressed by and (ii) policy decisions taken by elected representatives.

(176829)

232
N Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to equalise funding between schools and colleges for 16 to 19 year olds in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

(177011)

233
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action has been taken in response to each recommendation in the report Trust in the Future - Bureaucracy Busting Task Force Report published in November 2002.

(177374)

234
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of sector skills councils in addressing the skills gap.

(177375)

235
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many sector skills councils are (a) operational and (b) planned for the next three years.

(177376)

236
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the Skills for Life Strategy.

(177377)

237
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much funding the Department provided to the Basic Skills agency in each of the last five years.

(177378)

238
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the (a) set up and (b) estimated running costs in the first year of operation are of each sector skills council.

(177379)

239
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether the Skills for Life strategy has met its target of 750,000 adults to achieve a national certificate by 2004.

(177380)

240
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will make a statement on the progress of the Learning and Skills Council's Widening Adult Participation strategy.

(177381)

241
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many people achieved (a) a Certificate in Adult Literacy (Entry Level), (b) a Certificate in Adult Literacy (Level 1) and (c) a Certificate in Adult Literacy (Level 2) in each year since 2000.

(177383)

242
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether there is a skills shortage in the North West Region for (a) clowns, (b) tightrope walkers, (c) jugglers, (d) stilts performers, (e) unicyclists and (f) other circus performers.

(177132)

243
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what his assessment is of the need to train people in circus skills in the North West Region.

(177133)

244
The Reverend Martin Smyth (Belfast South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether pharmacy is taught in the Irish language at tertiary level at institutions in the UK.

(177199)

245
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many secondary schools conduct drug testing on pupils.

(176785)

246
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many times headteachers and education welfare officers have enforced their right to issue on-the-spot fines to parents of pupils who truant; and what the total revenue gained from payment of such fines is.

(176799)

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

247
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which protected species of bird may be taken under licence in England; how many licences were issued by her Department in the last two years to take protected bird species, broken down by (a) species and (b) the number of birds taken under each licence; and what (i) the location where the action can take place and (ii) the reason why each licence was issued in each case.

(176836)

248
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether all sites of special scientific interest within the Ribble area will be included in the Environment Agency's characterisation and risk assessment process under the EC Water Framework Directive.

(176914)

249
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to integrate the delivery of biodiversity action plans into river basin management plans under the EC Water Framework Directive.

(176916)

250
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to draw up a register of existing and potential wetlands to help meet the requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive.

(176917)

251
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of surface waters will be covered by the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation report under the EC Water Framework Directive (a) within the Ribble catchment and (b) in England and Wales.

(176918)

252
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to refine the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation report under the EC Water Framework Directive to ensure that it includes representative samples of small water bodies in each catchment.

(176919)

253
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether mechanisms to ensure full integration between land use planning and river basin management planning under the EC Water Framework Directive will be piloted in the Ribble.

(176920)

254
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she will ensure that land use planning is sufficiently integrated with river basin management planning under the EC Water Framework Directive; and how conflicts will be resolved if the two statutory plans are at odds with each other.

(176921)

255
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanisms the Environment Agency has established to make use of data on the water environment held by non-governmental organisations as part of its characterisation and risk assessment process under the EC Water Framework Directive.

(176922)

256
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to consult on the Environment Agency's river basin characterisation report under the EC Water Framework Directive; and what discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive about its consultation process on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's characterisation report.

(176923)

257
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what action she has taken to improve the detection of the pollutant particles found in the PM 2.5 range.

(176924)

258
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the estimated levels of (a) emissions and (b) removals were for (i) hydrofluorocarbons, (ii) perfluorocarbons and (iii) sulphurhexafluoride in each year from 1990 to 2002, expressed in (A) unit tonnes and (B) thousand tonne carbon dioxide equivalents.

(176931)

259
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to measure the leakage of (a) hydrofluorocarbons, (b) perfluorocarbons and (c) sulphurhexafluoride from appliances in the UK.

(176932)

260
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many abandoned vehicles there were in England and Wales in each financial year since 2001-02 (a) in total and (b) broken down by region.

(176937)

261
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many abandoned cars each local authority in England and Wales stated they had removed in their submissions to the most recent municipal waste management survey.

(176938)

262
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Department will take steps to improve the (a) quality and (b) quantity of independent monitoring of the leakage of hydrofluorocarbons.

(176990)

263
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps have been taken to improve the containment of fluorinated gases; what funding has been made available for such containment in each year since 1997; what reduction there has been in the leakage of these gases as a result of these steps; and how the effects of these steps have been (a) assessed and (b) recorded.

(176991)

264
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the progress made by her Department in reducing the leakage of hydrofluorocarbons from refrigerators.

(176992)

265
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the percentage change in the number of abandoned vehicles in England and Wales was in each year since 1997-98.

(177057)

266
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is Government policy that the disposal of all (a) intermediate-level waste and (b) high-level waste should be the responsibility of NIREX.

(177227)

267
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will set out the reasons for the delay in announcing the future responsibilities of NIREX.

(177228)

268
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what percentage of approved pesticides in the United Kingdom are known to use possible (a) carcinogens, (b) mutagens and (c) allergens.

(177434)

269
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans she has put in place to deal with hazardous waste following the forthcoming ban on co-disposal, with particular reference to warehousing and other storage facilities.

(177496)

270
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the UK ceramics industry about (a) European regulation and (b) the Government's implementation thereof; and what action she has taken as a result.

(177449)

271
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she is expecting to make appropriate information available to enable the UK ceramics industry to decide whether to opt in or out of Phase I of the European Emissions Trading Scheme.

(177451)

272
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will urgently provide to the ceramic industry the data on individual installation carbon dioxide allocations needed to assist them in their decisions on Phase I of the European Emissions Trading Scheme.

(177453)

273
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what total grants (a) are available for and (b) have been claimed by businesses in rural areas in each year since 2001, what the grants were for; and whether they were from (i) UK and (ii) EU sources.

(177143)

274
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) budget, (b) expenditure and (c) amount spent on administration was for each area-based initiative for which her Department and its predecessors have been responsible in each year since 1997.

(177108)

275
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many UK farm holdings received total annual Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments in excess of (a) £500,000, (b) £750,000 and (c) £1,000,000 in each CAP accounting year in the last five years for which figures are available.

(177122)

276
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who provides a fallen stock service free of charge to the farming industry.

(176781)

277
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Master of Fox Hounds Association about whether hunt kennels will continue to collect fallen stock in the event of a ban on hunting.

(176782)

278
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent research she has commissioned into the adequacy of water supplies in the Aldershot area to serve releases of Ministry of Defence land for residential purposes.

(176777)

279
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent evidence she has received on the effects of electric shock collars; and what action she intends to take.

(177138)

280
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many abandoned vehicles were removed by local authorities in Greater London in each year since 1997, broken down by borough.

(176708)

281
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will obtain a reply to the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton from the Food Standards Agency regarding Mr and Mrs P Acton, as promised in her letter dated 28th April.

(177433)

282
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what surveys of public perceptions of her Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if she will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176951)

283
Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much taxpayers' money was spent by the British Cattle Movement Service replacing sets of labels for cattle passports.

(177197)

284
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Environment Agency has to encourage the cement and lime industry to become major operators of hazardous waste incinerators; and whether the Agency has considered plans to locate an incinerator at Lostock Gralam in Cheshire.

(176824)

285
N Richard Ottaway (Croydon South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will reply to the Question tabled by the honourable Member for Croydon South on 5th May, reference 171778, on energy efficiency.

(176547)

286
N Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25th May, Official Report, column 1486W, on cattle, how much of the total cost of running the cattle tracing scheme will be paid by farmers; and if she will make a statement.

(176706)

287
N Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will assess the merits of introducing a life ban on dog ownership for people convicted of serious cruelty to dogs; and if she will make a statement.

(176769)

288
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what action her Department is taking to encourage the development of (a) ground source and (b) air source heat pumps.

(176760)

289
Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures she is taking to develop a strategy for establishing connected-up networks of public rights of way in the North West.

(177088)

290
N Paddy Tipping (Sherwood):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to report on the consultation process on the W.S. Atkins report about private sewers.

(175544)

291
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the cost to retailers of the Animal By-products Regulation 2003.

(177396)

292
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will seek to amend the Animal By-products Regulation to exclude eggs, honey and dairy products.

(177397)

293
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the requirements upon retailers are for the intermediate handling and disposal of category 1 and category 3 animal by-products.

(177398)

294
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much grain was held on world stockpiles in each of the last 30 years.

(177411)

295
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many days' worth of global consumption of grain was held on world stockpiles in each of the last 30 years.

(177412)

296
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the future growth of global consumption of food.

(177413)

297
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect on global food production of global warming.

(177414)

298
Mr Anthony D. Wright (Great Yarmouth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) recycling and (b) incineration of (i) oxo-biodegradable plastic and (ii) conventional plastic.

(176907)

299
Mr Anthony D. Wright (Great Yarmouth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of oxo-biodegradable plastic in combating litter.

(176908)

300
Mr Anthony D. Wright (Great Yarmouth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on oxo-biodegradable plastics, with particular reference to the contribution they may make to a better environment.

(176910)

301
Mr Anthony D. Wright (Great Yarmouth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect on the environment of making short-life plastic products degradable.

(176911)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

302
Mr David Atkinson (Bournemouth East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Uzbekistan concerning discrimination faced by Protestant Christians in that country, with particular reference to (a) threats made against members of the Church of Christ by the public prosecutor's office in Nukus in April, (b) the closure by the authorities of the Urgench Baptist Church in Khorezm region in February, (c) attempts to force Murat Abatov to renounce his faith at a state-run farm in the Karakalpakstan region in April and (d) pressure being exerted upon Protestant Christians in Nukus, by the secret police and the regular police, to sign statements admitting they are members of a religious sect.

(177455)

303
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance is provided by his Department for the training of (a) members of the judiciary and (b) the police force in Afghanistan.

(177111)

304
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Afghanistan about the reform of the country's criminal justice system.

(177112)

305
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the case for expanding protection by the International Security Assistance Force throughout Afghanistan.

(177114)

306
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what resources are provided by (a) his Department and (b) the European Union to reconstruct and rehabilitate detention and prison facilities in Afghanistan.

(177115)

307
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Afghanistan about the need to criminalise (a) rape, (b) the giving of girls in marriage as a means of dispute resolution and (c) the forcing of women and girls to marry against their consent in Afghanistan.

(177116)

308
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support is provided by his Department to train (a) law enforcement officials, (b) members of the judiciary and (c) government officials in Afghanistan on the protection of the rights of women.

(177117)

309
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what efforts he has made to achieve a change in the mandate of the provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan to focus exclusively on security.

(177120)

310
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of East Timor about the rights of opposition parties.

(177421)

311
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Australia about its withdrawal in March 2002 from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

(177424)

312
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Australia about the economic implications of the International Unitisation Agreement for East Timor.

(177425)

313
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's financial contribution to the Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor is.

(177428)

314
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will urge the United Nations to continue to monitor security in East Timor, with particular reference to the activities of Islamic militant groups operating in the region.

(177430)

315
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the practice in Monaco of holding prisoners on remand for extensive periods without charge in the context of the Monegasque Government's desire to join the Council of Europe.

(177081)

316
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the fairness of the judicial process in Monaco in the context of the Monegasque Government's desire to join the Council of Europe.

(177082)

317
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the French Government regarding discrimination against Stephen Troth on the grounds of nationality.

(177083)

318
N Mr David Chidgey (Eastleigh):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Iranians of the Bahá'í faith have (a) applied for visas to visit the UK, (b) been granted visas to visit the UK and (c) applied for asylum on arrival in the UK following the granting of a visitors' visa in each year from 1998.

(176621)

319
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many private security contractors are employed by the UK to protect its interests, individuals and agencies in (a) Iraq and (b) other countries abroad; in what roles they are employed; under which budget heads, including those of other Departments, the costs fall; what the current annual cost is on those budget heads where the main costs fall; and if he will make a statement.

(177077)

320
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response the Kuwait authorities have made to representations to curtail Iraqi reparation payments to their country; what his response to the Kuwaiti position is; and if he will make a statement.

(177439)

321
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the treatment of Christians in Pakistan; and what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Pakistan on the protection of Christians from attack by the Muslim extremists, with particular reference to the case of Javaid Anjum.

(177442)

322
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the peace settlement in the Sudan signed at Naivasha; what help the Government intend to offer in relation to maintaining the peace, with particular reference to Abeyei, the Nuba Mountains and the Southern Blue Nile and Darfur; and what assessment he has made of the implications of the peace settlement for the possible implementation of Sharia law in the south of the country.

(177443)

323
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what evidence he has collated on US exports of biological materials between February 1985 and November 1990.

(177154)

324
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176942)

325
N Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25th May to Question 175843, whether Gmice is a predominantly (a) Albanian and (b) Serb village; and when it was last visited by a United Kingdom representative.

(176696)

326
Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what dates his officials have visited British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay; on what dates he received reports on the welfare of detainees; what representations he has made on behalf of the prisoners; and what action he took to make his concerns known to relatives or legal representatives of those detained.

(177590)

327
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the tonnage of the forthcoming opium harvest in Afghanistan.

(176903)

328
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which communications that the Government has received from the United States' Central Intelligence Agency since 1st May 1997 have been published; and whether the CIA has sought permission from the Government to make public communications received from the Government over that period.

(176790)

329
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information has been received (a) by his Department and (b) by the United Kingdom mission to the United Nations in respect of the nuclear programmes in North Korea, following the visit of the UN Special Envoy, Maurice Strong, to Pyongyang on 22nd May.

(177069)

330
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what papers his Department has submitted to Lord Butler's inquiry into intelligence on Iraq.

(177072)

331
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the report submitted by Iran to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 21st May on Iran's Nuclear Programmes and Activities.

(177073)

332
Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on incursions by the Janjaweed milita into countries neighbouring Sudan; and what assessment he has made of the Sudanese Government's responsibility for them.

(177038)

333
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what punitive measures against the Israeli Government are available to him for non-compliance with the human rights clauses of the EU-Israeli Association Agreement.

(177219)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

334
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital episodes there were where the primary diagnosis was asthma, using the International Classification of Disease 10 codes J45-J46, in each year since 1996 (a) in total and (b) broken down by (i) health authority and (ii) age.

(177477)

335
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent research has been conducted into the impact upon (a) indoor air quality and (b) human health of the use of air fresheners; what advice has been given to the public relating to their use; and if he will make a statement.

(177478)

336
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to ascertain whether there is leakage of (a) dioxins, (b) carcinogens and (c) xenoestrogens when microwaving food in plastic containers.

(177480)

337
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of cancer research is targeted at the possible carcinogenic effects of chemicals in the environment; and how much funding has been spent on such research in each of the last five years.

(177481)

338
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the carcinogenic effects of aldehydes on humans.

(177482)

339
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what method he proposes using to enable NHS dentists to know for which patients they have responsibility for NHS dental treatment.

(177016)

340
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to extend the private finance initiative programme.

(177018)

341
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he proposes publishing the new base contract for NHS dentists with his proposed contract values.

(177019)

342
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the availability of NHS dentistry in (a) South West Surrey constituency and (b) Surrey.

(177270)

343
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many specialist psychiatric centres specifically for children and adolescents with mental health problems there are in England and Wales; where they are located; how many consultant paediatric psychiatrists and psychologists work in them; what plans he has to develop further such centres; and if he will make a statement.

(177512)

344
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data is available to his Department relating to the numbers of (a) primary school age children and (b) secondary school age children assessed as needing support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health services in each year since 2001; and what proportion of these children are in mainstream education.

(177514)

345
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people aged between 18 and 25 years are currently being treated as in-patients in psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales; and what is the average length of stay in in-patient units of psychiatric hospitals for that age group.

(177515)

346
Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many representations he has received in relation to (i) waiting lists for appointments with child psychologists and (ii) shortages of educational psychologists in mainstream and special needs schools in England in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

(177517)

347
N Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which primary care trusts have taken steps to ensure that the services recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the guidelines on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care are provided to patients in their area; and if he will make a statement.

(176550)

348
N Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in the implementation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care since the guidelines were published; and if he will make a statement.

(176551)

349
N Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he will take to ensure primary care trusts implement National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommendations within a three-month period; and if he will make a statement.

(176552)

350
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) headcount and (b) wholetime equivalent (i) diagnostic and (ii) therapeutic radiographers have been employed by the NHS in each year since 1997, broken down by (A) region, (B) strategic health authority and (C) NHS trust.

(176751)

351
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) headcount and (b) wholetime equivalent medical staff were employed by the NHS in clinical radiology (i) in total and (ii) broken down by (A) consultant, (B) non-consultant grade, (C) doctors in training and (D) hospital practitioner/clinical assistant in each year since 1997.

(176752)

352
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) headcount and (b) wholetime equivalent NHS vacancies there were for (i) diagnostic and (ii) therapeutic radiographers in each year since 1997 (A) in total and (B) broken down by positions vacant for (1) 0-3 months, (2) 3-6 months, (3) 6-9 months, (4) 9-12 months, (5) 12-15 months, (6) 15-18 months and (7) over 18 months.

(176753)

353
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS training places for (a) diagnostic and (b) therapeutic radiographers there were in each year since 1997.

(176754)

354
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Answer of 19th April, Official Report, column 221W, on radiographers, what action his Department is taking towards developing an attractive career path for radiography staff.

(176755)

355
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance is given to local authorities on the suitability of NHS safe sex information material for (a) schools, (b) youth clubs and (c) other venues frequented by teenagers; and if he will make a statement on the process by which this material was judged suitable for educational purposes.

(176770)

356
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many councils have received NHS safe sex information materials; how many have indicated that they are unsuitable; and what estimate he has made of the number of boroughs in which they are being used in schools and youth clubs.

(176773)

357
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to evaluate (a) the take up and (b) the effectiveness of NHS safe sex information material.

(176774)

358
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the drug manufacturers which have submitted studies to the comprehensive review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors being undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulations Agency; and how many of the studies each manufacturer submitted are (a) published and (b) unpublished.

(176934)

359
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) published studies and (b) unpublished studies have been submitted by drug manufacturers to the comprehensive review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors being undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulations Agency.

(176935)

360
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) drugs and (b) drug manufacturers are the subject of the comprehensive review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors being undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulations Agency.

(176936)

361
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the comprehensive review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors being undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulations Agency will be published.

(176940)

362
N Mr Tony Colman (Putney):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research he has commissioned into spondylithesis.

(177106)

363
N Mr Tony Colman (Putney):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice has been given to primary care trusts on treatment of spondylithesis.

(177148)

364
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the NHS agencies whose future he is reviewing; and what (a) the date of the agency's establishment and (b) total number of staff is in each case.

(176954)

365
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Ministers from his Department have visited health services and medical care facilities in Taiwan in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

(177493)

366
Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements the NHS Litigation Authority has made concerning the Royal Liverpool children's litigation; and how the implementation of these arrangements is being monitored.

(177275)

367
N Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funds have been set aside by his Department in relation to (a) compensation payments to and (b) possible legal costs incurred by patients or patients' families and next of kin in response to claims arising out of treatment by Doctor Andrew Holton, a former consultant paediatrician at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

(177471)

368
N Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the findings of (a) his Department's regional office inquiry commissioned by Professor Lindsay Davies and chaired by Dr Margaret Bamford, (b) the General Medical Council's investigation and (c) the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust inquiry into the professional conduct of and treatment of his patients by Dr Andrew Holton with particular reference to (i) the independence of the inquiry teams and (ii) their prior knowledge of or professional connections with Dr Holton and his work; and if he will make a statement.

(177472)

369
N Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the evidence given to the Bamford Inquiry by Dr Mark Anthony Edgar; and if he will make a statement.

(177473)

370
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date information will be made available from the review of NHS continuing care in nine strategic health authorities; and if he will make a statement.

(177562)

371
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is the upper age limit for (a) heart bypass surgery and (b) kidney dialysis in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

(177576)

372
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide support to the legal challenge mounted by the Health Food Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Health Stores to the Food Supplements Directive.

(176953)

373
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the training issues for maternity services that would apply to a demerger of the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.

(176956)

374
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what strategy the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency adopted in terms of (a) numbers of officials and (b) method of approach for visits to stands at the Natural Products Show at Olympia on 5th April.

(176963)

375
Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information he has received on the number of dossiers being prepared by industry for submission to the European Food Safety Authority in relation to nutrients and nutrient sources currently permitted for use in the United Kingdom but omitted from the lists of permitted nutrients and nutrient sources appended to the Food Supplements Directive and the Food Supplements (England) Regulations; what estimate he has made of the cost of producing such dossiers; and if he will make financial assistance available to small and medium-sized enterprises to help with the production of such dossiers.

(176983)

376
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the status is of the housing development for which planning permission has been granted to a private sector developer on the Cold East Hospital Site, Fareham.

(176695)

377
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the future of the Blackwater Valley and Hart Primary Care Trust.

(177259)

378
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people suffer from Alzheimer's in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Chorley; and what help and support is given to Alzheimer's (i) patients and (ii) carers in (A) Lancashire Teaching Hospital and (B) Chorley South Ribble Primary Care Trust.

(177152)

379
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people his Department estimates had myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in Greater London in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) sex and (b) age group; how much (i) Government and (ii) non-government money has been spent on ME in Greater London since January 2002; if he will list the ME specialists there are in Greater London; and if he will make a statement.

(177039)

380
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of NHS patients were able to see a general practitioner within two days within London health authority areas in each year since 1997.

(177047)

381
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients are awaiting (a) admission and (b) out-patient assessment in each national health service trust in Greater London.

(177048)

382
Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North & Fleetwood):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when primary care trusts will take control of the dental services budget to enable them to carry out their duty of care to deliver primary dental services under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.

(176705)

383
N Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason numbers of (a) emergency ambulances, (b) rapid response vehicles and (c) treat and refer vehicles in the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service were out of action for parts of the period from 26th to 28th March.

(176925)

384
N Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to reduce sickness absence in the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of these policies.

(176926)

385
N Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken following Mersey Regional Ambulance Service's failure to respond within 14 minutes to 80 calls between 26th and 28th March; and what discussions he has had with (a) Mersey Regional Ambulance Service and (b) Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority on this matter.

(176933)

386
N Helen Jones (Warrington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken following the shortfalls in ambulance provision which occurred in the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service area between 26th and 28th March; and what discussions he has had with (a) Mersey Regional Ambulance Service and (b) Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority on these shortfalls.

(176993)

387
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the available capacity in England to implement the National Insititue for Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems; and if he will publish the full results of this assessment.

(177215)

388
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account was taken of National Health Service capacity during the development of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems; and with whose advice.

(177216)

389
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate capacity available to the NHS to implement in full the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's clinical guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems.

(177217)

390
Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of National Health Service trusts meet (a) all, (b) at least six and (c) four or fewer of the eight criteria against which their major incident plans and preparedness have been assessed.

(177255)

391
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on NHS dentistry in the Vale of York.

(177454)

392
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Written Statement of 20th May, Official Report, columns 61-4WS, on bureaucracy, what the budget of each arm's length body is in this financial year; and how many staff in each body are (a) providing duplicated functions and (b) involved in unnecessary regulatory and policy activities.

(176714)

393
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the written statement of 20th May, Official Report, columns 61-4WS, on bureaucracy, how many of the planned 25 per cent. fewer staff posts will be lost through (a) natural wastage, (b) compulsory redundancy, (c) transfer to another arm's length body and (d) transfer to his Department.

(176715)

394
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the written statement of 20th May, Official Report, columns 61-4WS, on bureaucracy, if he will list the arm's length bodies he has identified to be merged or closed; and which of these was created in the last six years.

(176716)

395
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the written Statement of 20th May, Official Report, columns 61-4WS, on bureaucracy, if he will list the arm's length bodies he has identified which could be moved to a more independent status with greater stakeholder control.

(176717)

396
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the written statement of 20th May, Official Report, columns 61-4WS, on bureaucracy, if he will list the unnecessary regulatory and policy activities identified in the review of arm's length bodies.

(176718)

397
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to prevent contraindication prescription errors when electronic prescriptions are introduced.

(176747)

398
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether additional resources will be made available to general practitioners using the EMIS system to migrate to the new Care Records Service.

(176748)

399
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the likely effects on numbers of (a) managerial and (b) clerical and administrative staff resulting from the full implementation of the National Programme for Information Technology.

(177492)

400
Mr Bill O'Brien (Normanton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the future of medical acupuncturists who practise the traditional acupuncture service.

(177054)

401
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Port Health Authority officials were employed at UK (a) seaports and (b) airports in each of the last five years.

(177156)

402
N Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the health effects of feeding babies breastmilk substitutes; and if he will make a statement.

(176766)

403
N Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the implementation of EU Council Resolution 92/C172/01.

(176767)

404
N Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the provision of (a) nursing and (b) personal care for people with Alzheimer's disease, with particular reference to funding.

(176768)

405
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of patients were admitted to hospital within nine months of referral for admission in the last year for which figures are available.

(176856)

406
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of sleep apnoea patients being treated with continuous positive airway pressure machines.

(176858)

407
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many sleep apnoea clinics there are within the NHS.

(176860)

408
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of patients were assessed by a specialist within two weeks of emergency referral in the last year for which figures are available.

(176862)

409
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when (a) electronic transmission of prescriptions and (b) e-booking will commence within the health service.

(176864)

410
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the participation of surgeons in clinical trials.

(176866)

411
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of breast cancer patients diagnosed in the past 12 months received treatment with Trastuzumab.

(176867)

412
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of patients diagnosed with breast cancer were tested for HER2 in the last year for which figures are available.

(176868)

413
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS patients will be assigned unique identity numbers for IT purposes.

(176879)

414
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are used to determine which conditions and treatments are assessed for the introduction of (a) national service frameworks, (b) policy frameworks and (c) National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines.

(176881)

415
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of sexually transmitted infections were reported in people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) disease and (ii) sex.

(176928)

416
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the prevalence rate of reported cases of sexually transmitted infections in people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years was in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) disease and (ii) sex.

(176929)

417
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many attendances at family planning clinics by people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years there were in Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority in each year since 2000, broken down by sex.

(176930)

418
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what language tests are required for doctors employed by the NHS who were trained in other EU member states.

(177456)

419
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors from other EU member states were employed in the NHS in the last year for which data is available.

(177457)

420
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has given to hospital trusts on training of overseas doctors in English language skills.

(177463)

421
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Scottish Executive on the NHS in England and Wales requiring entitlement cards when the Scottish NHS does not; and how this situation would affect Scottish citizens who do not have an entitlement card using the NHS in England and Wales.

(176792)

422
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what audit he has made of the compliance of mental health services trusts with their obligations (a) to produce integrated care plans for service users with severe mental illness, (b) to ensure that service users have a written care plan and (c) to establish assertive outreach for those at risk of losing contact with services.

(177010)

423
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of sexually transmitted infections were reported in people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) disease and (ii) sex.

(176838)

424
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the prevalence rate of reported cases of sexually transmitted infections in people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years was in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) disease and (ii) sex.

(176839)

425
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many attendances at family clinics by people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years there were in Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in each year since 2000, broken down by sex.

(176840)

426
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of sexually transmitted infections in people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years were reported in Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) disease and (ii) sex.

(176841)

427
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years were fitted with a contraceptive implant in the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in each year since 2000.

(176842)

428
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the prevalence rate of reported cases of sexually transmitted infections in people aged (a) 11, (b) 12, (c) 13, (d) 14, (e) 15, (f) 16, (g) 17, (h) 18 and (i) 19 years was in Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in each year since 2000, broken down by (i) disease and (ii) sex.

(176843)

429
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10th May, Official Report, column 25, on GM micro-organisms, whether a date has been set for the proposed Working Group of the Standing Committee to discuss issues relating to the labelling of products produced with genetically modified micro-organisms prior to the next Standing Committee in June; by whom the United Kingdom will be represented in those discussions; what specific policy objectives will be pursued in those discussions; and if he will make a statement.

(177160)

430
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10th May, Official Report, column 25, on GM micro-organisms, whether he intends to make it his policy for the current discussions in Standing Committee that products produced with genetically modified micro-organisms, but which do not contain any GM material, should not need to be labelled under the provisions of the new traceability and labelling regulations.

(177161)

431
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10th May, Official Report, column 24, on GM micro-organisms, if he will list those organisations that responded to the recent consultation exercise undertaken by his Department and the Food Standards Agency in relation to the traceability and labelling regulations; what specific information has been (a) requested and (b) sought about the impact of the regulations on the fermentation industry and those of its products which are made with but do not contain genetically modified micro-organisms; and if he will make a statement.

(177162)

432
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commented on the Statement of the Council and the Commission of 28th February 2003 in relation to the labelling of products made with but not containing genetically modified micro-organisms.

(177163)

433
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he gives to industry about whether products made with but not containing genetically modified micro-organisms are within the scope of those elements of the new traceability and labelling regulations which require labelling of products as genetically modified; and if he will make a statement.

(177164)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

434
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what standard police operating procedures apply in relation to the use of informants.

(176909)

435
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 24th May, Official Report, column 1413W, on Guantanamo Bay, on how many occasions officers carrying out interviews informed the relevant authorities of complaints made by detainees alleging treatment by US forces contrary to the terms of the Geneva Convention.

(176845)

436
Virginia Bottomley (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) police officers and (b) police support staff there have been in Surrey in each year since 1996.

(177271)

437
N Mr Keith Bradley (Manchester, Withington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will publish the National Rehabilitation Action Plan.

(176464)

438
N David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Mr Ken Sutton is a member of the Asylum Intake Reduction Sub-committee; and if he will make a statement.

(176396)

439
N Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received from the Church and Nation Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland about the family unit at Dungavel.

(176553)

440
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of drink spiking were reported in England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(177507)

441
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many female inmates have committed suicide in England and Wales (a) broken down by prison and (b) in total in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(177508)

442
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisons there were housing women prisoners in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(177509)

443
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many female prisoners were in England and Wales (a) broken down by prison and (b) as a total in each year since 1997.

(177510)

444
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many female suicides in prisons were (a) remand prisoners, (b) had a substance abuse problem prior to entering jail and (c) had been moved from another prison within the previous three months in each of the past three years.

(177565)

445
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of transferring female prisoners between jails; and if he will make a statement.

(177566)

446
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact on the mental health of women prisoners of the distance of the prison from their families.

(177567)

447
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many suicides there were in each women's prison in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement.

(177568)

448
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Sturman Report on drug rape published in June 2000; and if he will make a statement.

(177572)

449
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research his Department is funding into drug assisted rape and sexual assault; and if he will make a statement.

(177573)

450
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what campaigns his Department is funding to warn people of the danger of drug rape; and if he will make a statement.

(177574)

451
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the women's unit at HMP Durham will close; where the female inmates at HMP Durham will be moved to; and if he will make a statement.

(177575)

452
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated to assess whether experiments on animals can be scientifically reproduced using other methods and subjects.

(176778)

453
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether, during the security firm authorisation pilot in Hampshire, security personnel employed by firms from outside Hampshire will be able to work without authorisation.

(177232)

454
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received about postponing the security firm authorisation pilot in Hampshire.

(177233)

455
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications from security companies in Hampshire wishing to participate in the Security Industries Agency have been (a) received and (b) authorised; and what the average period of time between receipt and authorisation has been.

(177234)

456
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civilians were employed by the Metropolitan Police in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by borough; and what percentage of the total of those employed by the Metropolitan Police force are civilians.

(176712)

457
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many drug-related offences were recorded in Greater London in each of the last 10 years; and how many successful prosecutions were brought in each year, broken down by type of drug involved.

(177074)

458
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many violent offences were recorded in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last 10 years; and how many successful convictions there were for violent offences in each of the last 10 years.

(177075)

459
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers there were in each police force in Greater London in each year since 1997.

(177076)

460
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Ministry of Defence police officers, (b) British Transport Police officers, (c) National Crime Squad officers and (d) police force officers there were in Greater London in each year since 1997.

(177099)

461
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) arrests have been made, (b) convictions have been obtained and (c) cautions have been issued in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough for offences relating to (A) possession and (B) dealing in (1) Class A, (2) Class B and (3) Class C drugs in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

(177180)

462
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the crime clear-up rates in the Metropolitan Police Force area were in each of the last six years, broken down by London borough.

(177181)

463
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which towns and communities in Wales have benefited from Action Against Business Crime Group grants; and how much grant has been allocated to each town or community, broken down by constituency.

(177205)

464
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the benefits for fire fighting of explosion mitigation technology in (a) fuel storage tanks and (b) liquified petroleum gas tanks.

(177213)

465
Mr Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects to reply to the letter to him from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 14th April with regard to Muhammad Rafique.

(177026)

466
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176952)

467
N Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many alleged sham marriages have been reported to his Department by marriage registrars, and from which registries, in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many of those cases were sham marriages in respect of which enforcement action was taken by his Department.

(177009)

468
Julie Morgan (Cardiff North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many female prisoners were electronically tagged in (a) England and (b) Wales during the period between January and December 2003; and what the most recent available figures are for 2004.

(177256)

469
Julie Morgan (Cardiff North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women's places were not used in bail hostels in (a) England and (b) Wales during the period between January and December 2003; and what the most recent figures are for 2004.

(177257)

470
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firearms incidents involving (a) shotguns and (b) rifles there were in each of the last 10 years; how many incidents involving each type of weapon caused (i) fatalities, (ii) serious injuries and (iii) minor injuries; and in how many incidents involving each type of weapon (A) the user of the weapon was privately licensed to possess the weapon, (B) the user was under the age of 17, (C) the user was under the age of 14, (D) the weapon had been modified, (E) the victim was related to the user of the weapon and (F) the incident was suicide or attempted suicide.

(177150)

471
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were employed at UK seaports and airports from (a) the Immigration Service and (b) Special Branch in each of the last five years.

(177169)

472
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures are in place to facilitate cooperation between Customs and Excise, the UK Immigration Service, Special Branch and ports police forces at UK seaports and airports.

(177170)

473
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which (a) seaports and (b) airports have a dedicated Special Branch presence.

(177171)

474
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the designated airports and seaports in the UK.

(177172)

475
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been provided by central Government for the Dedicated Security Posts Scheme in each year since its inception.

(177173)

476
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Special Branch officers were employed in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

(177174)

477
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will estimate how many asylum seekers who have been refused leave to remain and exhausted all appeal rights have not departed from the UK.

(177124)

478
Mr Paul Stinchcombe (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women over the age of 70 years have been remanded to HMP Holloway in the last year; for how long in each case; and for what offences.

(177407)

479
Mr Paul Stinchcombe (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many custodial sentences being served by female prisoners of one month or less were imposed on female convicts and served at HMP Holloway in the last year.

(177494)

480
Mr Paul Stinchcombe (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many suicide attempts have been made by inmates of Holloway Prison in the last year.

(177495)

481
Mr Paul Stinchcombe (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have died in custody since 1974; in which institution each person was being held, and for what mental health condition or criminal offence; how many of those being detained for a criminal offence had been convicted of that offence; for what offences; and what the length of sentence was in each case.

(177597)

482
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 17th May, Official Report, column 760W, on asylum detainees (children), if he will break down the figures by removal centre.

(176791)

483
Dr Rudi Vis (Finchley & Golders Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions the police have been called to secure training centres in each of the last five years; and for what reasons.

(176780)

484
Dr Rudi Vis (Finchley & Golders Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines issued to prisons wishing to apply for late release of juveniles.

(176783)

485
Dr Rudi Vis (Finchley & Golders Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times restraint has been used on children in each of the secure training centres in each of the last five years.

(176784)

486
Dr Rudi Vis (Finchley & Golders Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times each prison has applied for the late release of a juvenile prisoner in each of the last five years.

(176786)

Questions to the honourable Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission

487
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the honourable Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many full-scale evacuations of Portcullis House have been held since the building was opened; and on what dates and at what times.

(177201)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

488
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with representatives of the World Food Programme about the impact on local commerce of providing free externally produced wheat to the western regions of Afghanistan.

(177109)

489
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the funds allocated by his Department for reconstruction in Afghanistan in 2003-04 were disbursed.

(177110)

490
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, who represented his Department at the international conference on reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan in Berlin on 31st March and 1st April; and what conclusions for the Department's policy have been drawn.

(177113)

491
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes are supported by his Department to expand and strengthen civil society in Afghanistan.

(177118)

492
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with his colleagues in the European Union about the EU Development Assistance project in Faayab that was interrupted in April 2003.

(177119)

493
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress has been made by provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan in building (a) police stations, (b) roads and (c) bridges.

(177121)

494
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of water scarcity in (a) Yemen, (b) North West India, (c) Western China and (d) parts of Mexico.

(177404)

495
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the implications for the development of East Timor of the activities of pro-Indonesian militias along the border with West Timor.

(177415)

496
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support is provided by his Department to the United Nations Mission in Support of East Timor.

(177416)

497
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with the Government of East Timor about the measures needed for the country to deliver economic self-sufficiency.

(177420)

498
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what his Department's contribution to the National Development Plan in East Timor is in respect of (a) education, (b) health, (c) agriculture and (d) infrastructure.

(177426)

499
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Australia-Indonesia agreement of 1972 on maritime boundaries for the economic development of East Timor.

(177427)

500
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with (a) the Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Unit and (b) the Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit of the European Union about the links between environmental degradation, poverty, food security and conflict.

(177432)

501
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid his Department has provided to India in each year since 1997.

(176975)

502
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what percentage of (a) his Department's and (b) Commonwealth Development Corporation staff were (i) women and (ii) from ethnic minorities in each year since 1997, broken down by grade.

(177055)

503
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress is being made on the Rome Declaration on Humanitarian Aid.

(176793)

504
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the role of the UK Government with regard to the DAC-OECD Task Force.

(176794)

505
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what approach the UK Government is taking with regard to the regulation of aid-giving policies encouraged by the DAC-OECD Task Force, with specific reference to Africa.

(176795)

506
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the general principles he adopts with regard to (a) payments to private security forces and (b) payments that may involve the purchase of small arms for security purposes.

(176796)

507
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action has been taken on the recommendations made in the NAO report Maximising impact in the water sector, published in January 2003, that his Department (a) should ensure that good quality information is available to assess progress towards poverty targets in those countries where it uses budget support to assist the water sector and (b) should give due weight to sanitation in developing its country assistance programmes.

(177484)

508
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176950)

509
Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions he has had with UK industry on facilitating the use of alternative energy technologies in Africa.

(176833)

510
Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking towards offering micro-generation technologies to poor African countries.

(176844)

511
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the loss of farming land in China over the last 10 years.

(177410)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

512
Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reports he has received of physical and mental abuse of persons inside HMP Maghaberry, with particular reference to the (a) excessive use of strip-searching and (b) restricted movement of inmates; and if he will make a statement.

(177189)

513
Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what mechanisms are in place to implement security assessments relating to marches and parades and their public order implications; and what advice he has received on this matter.

(177190)

514
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the daily fish counts for (a) June and (b) July 2003 were at Sion Mills on the River Mourne in West Tyrone.

(176883)

515
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the daily river height for (a) June and (b) July 2003 was at Sion Mills on the River Mourne in West Tyrone.

(176884)

516
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reports he has received of plans for the buy-out of salmon net licences on the River Foyle; and if he will make a statement.

(176885)

517
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made with regard to the buy out of salmon net licences in the Foyle Estuary; and if he will make a statement.

(176886)

518
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the total cost of consultation exercises carried out by Northern Ireland Government departments was in Northern Ireland during the past year.

(176887)

519
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much compensation has been paid from public funds in respect of asbestosis victims in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

(176888)

520
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what (a) annual and (b) other reports have been published in respect of the Columba Initiative.

(176889)

521
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which cross-border bodies funded in whole or in part by a Northern Ireland Department publish the minutes of their meetings on their websites.

(176890)

522
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether a code of conduct has been published in respect of members of the Implementation Body on Language.

(176891)

523
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who the members of the Ulster-Scots Agency are; how many meetings each member has attended since their appointment; and where each meeting was held.

(176892)

524
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list the participants in each case supported by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in which the cost to the Commission has exceeded £50,000.

(176893)

525
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the average length of time has been for assets of defendants to be frozen in cases while they were being prosecuted under the Proceeds of Crime (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.

(176894)

526
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people have had their assets frozen whilst being prosecuted under the Proceeds of Crime (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 in each year since the introduction of the Order.

(176895)

527
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the sums paid to Assembly Members in (a) salaries and (b) office and staff allowances since the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in November 2003.

(176958)

528
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Office about increased funding for the Assets Recovery Agency; and if he will make a statement.

(176959)

529
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funding has been made available, and from what sources, to the Electoral Office for the production and distribution of electoral identity cards.

(176961)

530
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list the dates of meetings he has had with the Police Ombudsman since his appointment.

(176962)

531
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Electoral Office is taking to ensure that those in residential care in Northern Ireland are not disenfranchised through the omission of their names from the electoral register.

(176969)

532
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the costs of the Northern Ireland Assembly since its suspension in October 2002.

(176970)

533
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his policy is on the funding of Veterinary Nursing NVQ training levels 2 and 3 in Northern Ireland.

(177400)

534
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how further education training courses for veterinary nursing are funded in Northern Ireland.

(177448)

535
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people have been convicted of membership of an illegal terrorist organisation on the grounds that they were members of (a) the Real IRA, (b) Continuity IRA and (c) the Provisional IRA; how many of those people are serving custodial sentences; and if he will make a statement.

(177391)

536
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the implications for counter-terrorist policy of the ruling of 26th May of Mr Justice Girvan, in the case of Mullan and others, about the definition of proscribed terrorist organisations.

(177392)

537
Mr Eddie McGrady (South Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the effects of the withdrawal of funding from the Special European Union Programmes Body on playgroups in the South Down area; and whether he is taking steps to restore this funding.

(177502)

538
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the waiting time is for (a) emergency, (b) urgent and (c) routine dermatology assessment in each health trust area; and how many patients are waiting in each case.

(176846)

539
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the level of co-ordination and co-operation between the Province's health boards and trusts in relation to differences in waiting times for particular specialties at different hospitals.

(176847)

540
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the waiting times are for (a) initial outpatient assessment deemed (i) emergency, (ii) urgent and (iii) routine, (b) cataract surgery and (c) operations in general, within the ophthalmology specialty, at each hospital in the Province where such surgery is performed.

(176848)

541
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of expenditure resulting from litter, in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by council area.

(176849)

542
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) consultations, (b) operations and (c) other procedures took place within the private sector in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by specialty.

(176850)

543
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the availability of (a) telemetry and (b) other cardiac monitoring equipment during periods of high workload at local hospitals in Northern Ireland.

(176851)

544
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many drivers are awaiting MOT test appointments, broken down by area.

(176852)

545
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the value of each type of illegal drug seized in the Province in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

(176853)

546
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of sleep apnoea sufferers in Northern Ireland in each of the last 20 years.

(176854)

547
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of patients were admitted to hospital within nine months of referral for admission in the last year for which figures are available.

(176855)

548
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to introduce waiting time targets for hospital admissions.

(176857)

549
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of sleep apnoea sufferers receiving treatment with continuous positive airway pressure machines in Northern Ireland.

(176859)

550
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many clinics for sleep apnoea sufferers there are in the Province.

(176861)

551
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of patients were assessed by a specialist within two weeks of emergency referral in the last year for which figures are available.

(176863)

552
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when electronic transmission of medical prescriptions will commence in Northern Ireland.

(176865)

553
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of patients diagnosed with breast cancer were tested for HER2 in each health board area in the last year for which figures are available.

(176869)

554
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps are being taken to improve technology used to detect sexually transmitted infections.

(176870)

555
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many consultant dermatologists there are in each health board area; and what plans there are to increase the number.

(176871)

556
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many classroom assistants were trained in Braille in each of the last five years, broken down by board area.

(176872)

557
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to introduce national service frameworks in healthcare in Northern Ireland.

(176873)

558
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the costs to public funds arising from back pain in each of the last five years.

(176874)

559
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of work days lost as a result of (a) depression, (b) stress-related illness and (c) back pain in each of the last five years.

(176875)

560
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recommendations from the recent National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on eating disorders he expects to introduce in Northern Ireland.

(176876)

561
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funding has been provided for (a) dermatology and (b) sleep disorders in each of the past five years.

(176877)

562
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of deaths were due to (a) respiratory disease, (b) cardiac disease and (c) cancer in Northern Ireland in (i) the last year for which figures are available, (ii) 1994, (iii) 1984 and (iv) 1974.

(176878)

563
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many breast cancer patients were diagnosed in the last 12 months in the Province; and how many received treatment with Trastuzumab.

(176880)

Questions to the Prime Minister

564
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list his diary engagements for Wednesday 26th May to Wednesday 2nd June inclusive.

(177229)

565
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will urge the Prime Minister of Australia (a) to review his Government's policies on the Timor gap and (b) to negotiate a deal with East Timor that is both fair and in accordance with international maritime law.

(177422)

566
Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate):To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answers of 25th May, Official Report, columns 1521-2W, on Govan Shipyard, whether the Openness Team were consulted on the application of exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information; and on what basis the exemptions were applied.

(177429)

567
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Prime Minister, what rules apply to Downing Street advisers going to work for commercial companies operating in the sector for which they were responsible.

(176955)

568
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the President of the United States of America on the recent Israeli military involvement in the Rafah refugee camp; and if he will make a statement.

(177252)

569
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government, and with whom, as to the military involvement by the Israeli army in the Rafah refugee camp; and if he will make a statement.

(177253)

570
N Mr Alan Duncan (Rutland & Melton):To ask the Prime Minister, whether any EU directives incorporated into UK law since May 1997 have been (a) amended and (b) repealed.

(176549)

571
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Prime Minister, what progress in relation to the Water Action Plan agreed at last year's G8 summit in Evian he expects to report at the forthcoming Sea Island summit, with particular reference to the commitment to making political priorities of (a) safe drinking water and (b) basic sanitation.

(177483)

572
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Prime Minister, what surveys of public perceptions of his role and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176945)

573
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Prime Minister, on how many occasions since 26th November 2003 he has met organisations concerned with the issue of hunting with dogs.

(177141)

574
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make it his practice to have an official minute taken of all meetings at Number 10 where policy options are considered; and if he will make a statement.

(177151)

575
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Prime Minister, whether the interim Iraqi authority will have the power to demand the withdrawal of UK troops at whatever time they might wish.

(177087)

576
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, whether any part of the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, published on 24th September 2002, used information solely provided by the Iraq National Congress.

(176788)

577
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, when he next plans to visit Afghanistan.

(176789)

578
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Prime Minister, what papers he has submitted to date to Lord Butler's inquiry into intelligence on Iraq; and whether officials from his office have given oral evidence to the inquiry.

(177071)

Questions to the Solicitor General

579
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Solicitor General, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in Greater London in each year since 1995.

(177056)

580
Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Solicitor General, on what dates officials of the Law Officers have visited British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay; on what dates the Attorney-General received reports on the welfare of detainees; what representations he has made on behalf of the prisoners; and what action he took to make his concerns known to relatives or legal representatives of those detained.

(177589)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

581
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the involvement of NIREX in drafting the Energy Bill.

(177222)

582
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the intended relationship between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and NIREX.

(177223)

583
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will give an assurance that the Government's intentions on the future role of NIREX will be made public before the Energy Bill completes its passage through the House.

(177224)

584
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether, within EU discussions, the Government has supported a permanent ban on phthalates in specified toys and childcare articles.

(177230)

585
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps are being taken to tackle racial discrimination in employment; and if she will make a statement.

(176732)

586
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people aged (a) between 18 and 21 and (b) over 21 years of age are receiving the national minimum wage in Scotland, broken down by parliamentary constituency or nearest available area.

(176733)

587
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the factors that determine the size of a post box available at a particular location.

(176737)

588
N Mr John Battle (Leeds West):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, by what date she expects EU export subsidies on farm products to end.

(177485)

589
Mr Joe Benton (Bootle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many residents of Bootle qualify for paid leave entitlements.

(176995)

590
Mr Joe Benton (Bootle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the effect on residents of Bootle of new rights for night-shift workers.

(176996)

591
Mr Joe Benton (Bootle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many residents of Bootle have been affected by a reduction of the working week to 48 hours.

(176997)

592
Mr Joe Benton (Bootle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the effects of the EU Social Chapter on the residents of Bootle.

(177000)

593
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what projections her Department has made of (a) the amount and (b) the percentage of electricity the UK will be obtaining from renewable sources in each year to 2010.

(176740)

594
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what target her Department has set for (a) the amount and (b) the percentage of electricity the UK should be obtaining from renewable sources by (i) 2004 and (ii) each year to 2010; what revision to the original renewables obligation targets for electricity from renewable sources has been made since it was introduced; what progress has been made to date; and what assessment she has made of whether the targets will be met within the stipulated time.

(176741)

595
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made (a) of the number of UK manufacturers and suppliers that are involved in TVS UK Ltd and (b) TVS UK's significance to the UK defence industrial base.

(177458)

596
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the significance of the Ministry of Defence's forthcoming decision regarding the supply and maintenance of military support vehicles for the manufacturing base (a) in the West Midlands and (b) in the UK.

(177462)

597
N Mr Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what action she has taken to investigate reports that speculation in oil and gas is helping to drive up prices.

(177080)

598
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the refusal by some postal workers to deliver election literature from (a) the British National Party and (b) other political parties.

(176719)

599
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the compliance of Government websites with Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines.

(177107)

600
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether regional development agencies have contributed (a) funds and (b) resources to centres of vocational excellence.

(176901)

601
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what recent representations she has received from the Minor Titles Consortium on the Royal Mail and distribution of their newspapers in Scotland.

(177438)

602
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many VAT-registered enterprises there were in each (a) region and (b) London borough in each of the last 10 years.

(177063)

603
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what percentage of VAT-registered enterprises registered in (a) 1987, (b) 1992, (c) 1997 and (d) 2001 were still trading after (i) 12 months, (ii) 24 months and (iii) 36 months, broken down by region.

(177064)

604
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many Post Office closures there have been in each London borough in each year since1997.

(177126)

605
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many businesses were helped by each Business Link operator in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in 2001-02

(177127)

606
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many businesses have been helped by the London Development Agency in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each year from 2000; what the average sum of money received by these businesses is; how many of the businesses helped are still operating; and how many of these businesses have increased their profitability.

(177128)

607
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many small businesses in Greater London increased their net profit above £15,000 in each year since 1997; and what the percentage change was in each year.

(177129)

608
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many companies have benefited from the Small Businesses Loan scheme in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last three years.

(177130)

609
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much has been allocated to support business in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) sector and (b) region.

(177177)

610
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much has been allocated to support businesses in London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) sector and (b) borough.

(177178)

611
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what international research her Department has commissioned concerning state support for business development by sector; and if she will place the results in the Library.

(177179)

612
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what surveys of public perceptions of her Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if she will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176948)

613
Mr David Lepper (Brighton, Pavilion):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans she has to commission research into the use of radio frequency identifier devices in retail goods.

(177390)

614
Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what grants have been distributed by the South West Regional Development Agency since 2002-03, broken down by (a) county and (b) district.

(176743)

615
Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the effect upon trade of recent decisions on container terminals at Southampton.

(177198)

616
N Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the effect, in the event of the loss of the British Grand Prix, on (a) revenues in the motorsport sector, (b) jobs in the motorsport sector and (c) outsourcing of research and development and specialist engineering projects to the UK.

(177236)

617
N Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment her Department has made of the significance of the British Grand Prix to the success of the UK motorsport cluster.

(177237)

618
N Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many motorsport companies use Business Links; and how many motorsport companies have applied for research and development tax credits.

(177238)

619
N Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what initiatives her Department has undertaken to promote inward investment in the British motorsport industry.

(177239)

620
N Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department has taken to develop the Motorsport Valley brand for promoting (a) the motorsport industry and (b) motorsport-related tourism.

(177450)

621
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the extent of state support for the aerospace industry in (a) the United States, (b) European Union member states and (c) Brazil in comparision with Government support for UK aerospace.

(177142)

622
Mr Jonathan Sayeed (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the withdrawal by Advantage West Midlands of agreed funding for the Kismet Road project; and what assessment she has made of the effect on companies which have incurred costs as a result.

(177206)

623
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what action her Department is taking to encourage the development of (a) ground source and (b) air source heat pumps.

(176759)

624
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what business opportunities are available for (a) clowns, (b) tightrope walkers, (c) stilt performers, (d) unicyclists and (e) other circus performers in the North West; and if she will make a statement.

(177134)

625
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her assessment is of the contribution to the North West economy that circuses make.

(177135)

626
Mr Simon Thomas (Ceredigion):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what support her Department is giving to the organisers of the Farnborough Airshow taking place from 19th to 25th July; and whether this includes assistance to enable overseas visitors to attend.

(177500)

627
N Paddy Tipping (Sherwood):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much had been paid (a) in total and (b) in Nottinghamshire for coal health claims for (i) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (ii) vibration white finger at 31st March.

(176546)

628
N Paddy Tipping (Sherwood):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the (a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average payment made in respect of (i) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (ii) vibration white finger is; and what the equivalent figures are for Nottinghamshire.

(176548)

629
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations have been made to the East Midlands Regional Development Agency concerning the funding for completing the road linking the A50 at the A514 junction at Chellaston with Wilmore Road in Derby.

(176750)

630
Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department takes to help small UK businesses recover money which is owed to them by large multi-national companies.

(176832)

631
Tony Wright (Cannock Chase):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the effect of steel (a) price increases and (b) supply problems on manufacturing industry; and if she will make a statement.

(177012)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

632
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were informed by the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency that they are required to resit their driving test because they failed to apply for a full licence within two years of passing their original test in each year since 1997.

(177491)

633
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the road schemes (a) in the Targeted Programme of Improvements and (b) submitted for funding through the Local Transport Plan Process between 1999-2000 and 2002-03, giving for each (i) the cost of the scheme when it was first submitted for approval and (ii) the most recent estimate or final cost of the scheme.

(176797)

634
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel & South Downs):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how often since 1997 (a) his Department and (b) its associated public sector organisations have undergone portable appliance testing of IT equipment; and what the cost was of portable appliance testing in each year since 1997.

(176915)

635
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues and officials (i) have held and (ii) plan to hold with representatives of (A) Network Rail, (B) the Health and Safety Executive and (C) other interested parties, with regard to Freshford Station near Bath; and if he will make a statement.

(177497)

636
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of (a) the safety and accessibility of the station platform at Freshford Station, Bath, (b) progress with the proposed changes to the platform and (c) the likely conpletion date of the changes; and if he will make a statement.

(177498)

637
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many crimes have been committed at stations that meet secure station status in each year since the scheme's inception.

(176964)

638
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria stations need to meet to be designated secure stations under the Secure Stations scheme.

(176965)

639
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many stations with Secure Station status have subsequently had the designation removed in each year since the scheme's inception.

(176966)

640
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money has been spent advertising the Secure Station scheme.

(176967)

641
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which stations have been designated secure stations under the Secure Stations Scheme.

(177078)

642
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money has been spent, broken down by local authority, in dealing with speeding tickets issued to (a) fire service vehicles and (b) police vehicles.

(177079)

643
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to respond to the Greenaway review into the motor insurance industry.

(177441)

644
N Mr Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will report progress on each of the bullet points on page 20 of the Department's Race Equality Scheme 2003-05.

(176820)

645
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Ministers or officials have made representations to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) regarding the omission of figures relating to greenhouse gas emissions from air and freight transport from ONS reports; and if he will make a statement.

(177231)

646
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what surveys of public perceptions of his Department and of its areas of responsibility have taken place over the last 12 months; what the (a) title and (b) nature of these surveys was; what the findings of each survey were; where these findings have been published; what the cost of such surveys was; and if he will make a statement and place copies of the surveys in the Library.

(176949)

647
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which UK seaports have their own police forces.

(177157)

648
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will publish his conclusions on the arrangements for ports police in England and Wales.

(177158)

649
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to whom ports police forces are accountable.

(177159)

650
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff from ports police forces were employed at UK seaports and airports in each of the last five years.

(177176)

651
Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many oil transfers have taken place off the coast of South Devon in Lyme Bay in each of the last 10 years.

(177202)

652
Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the contingency plans drawn up by Devon, Torbay and Plymouth Councils for coping with oil pollution spills; and whether those plans have been assessed in the light of projected levels of future oil transfers in Lyme Bay.

(177203)

653
Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) numerical and (b) percentage change in the number of oil transfers in Lyme Bay he has projected for the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

(177204)

654
Mr John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to implement the recommendation of the ICE Ergonomics Ltd Report of July 2001 commissioned by the Joint Aviation Authorities concerning the seat pitch on British passenger aircraft.

(177147)

655
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations have been made to the Government Office of the East Midlands concerning the funding for completing the road linking the A50 at the A514 junction at Chellaston with Wilmore Road in Derby.

(176749)

656
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to publish the Montague Report; and what the reasons are for the delay in publication.

(177218)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

657
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many (a) hunt kennels, (b) knacker's yards and (c) renderers are approved under the EU Animal By-products Regulation to collect and process fallen stock in each county in Wales.

(176779)

658
Mr Oliver Letwin (West Dorset):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what progress has been made towards the five per cent. reduction in real terms in his Department's administration budget by 2008, announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17th March, Official Report, column 331.

(177423)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

659
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of disability living allowance; and of these, what percentage are only in receipt of the care component.

(176734)

660
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of council tax benefit in the City of Edinburgh local authority area.

(176735)

661
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money was claimed in council tax benefit in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

(176736)

662
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the cost to local authorities of administering council tax benefit; and if he will make a statement.

(176739)

663
John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of average income the state pension represented in each year since 1994.

(177409)

664
N Hugh Bayley (York, City of):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of (a) public and (b) private sector employees are members of final salary pension schemes; and what the percentages were in 1997.

(176987)

665
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the Health and Safety Executive's employees based in offices outside London travel to work by car; and how many HSE offices have green travel plans in place.

(176720)

666
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the capital cost is of the new headquarters of the Health and Safety Executive in Bootle; what the anticipated revenue costs in its first full year of operation are; and what the current building's annual revenue costs are in Bootle.

(176721)

667
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the Health and Safety Executive is financing the revenue costs of the 12 extra Band Five posts it is internally recruiting for in the North West region of the Executive; and what their total annual revenue costs will be in a full financial year.

(176722)

668
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Health and Safety Executive North West region spent on casual staff in the region in financial year 2003-04.

(176723)

669
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many visits by Band Three Inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive in 2003-04 per week were made in (a) the North West region and (b) the West Midlands region.

(176724)

670
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of the Band Zero and Band One staff in each of the regions of the Health and Safety Executive received performance awards in financial year 2003-04.

(176725)

671
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proposals the Health and Safety Executive will be bringing forward to introduce workplace-based parking charges.

(176726)

672
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make the Health and Safety Executive deputising allowance and day subsistence allowances inflation-proof; and what these allowances are (a) per hour and (b) per day at present.

(176727)

673
Andrew Bennett (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many retired employees, and at what grade, have subsequently been re-employed by the Health and Safety Executive since 2001; and what plans he has to cease this policy.

(176728)

674
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Answer of 12th March, Official Report, column 1795W, on asbestos, what proportion of the asbestos identified in buildings occupied by his Department's staff was the (a) chrysotile and (b) amphibole form of asbestos.

(176787)

675
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Sure Start maternity grant leaflets were distributed to Job Centre Plus local offices; and what steps he has taken to ensure that (a) all Job Centre Plus local offices were supplied with leaflets from the start of the scheme and (b) staff were fully briefed about it.

(176771)

676
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications have been (a) received and (b) approved for Sure Start maternity grant (i) in total and (ii) at the Twickenham Job Centre Plus office; and what estimate he has made of the numbers who are entitled to this benefit.

(176772)

677
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in reviewing the road traffic accident fixed costs scheme in order to consider its extension to the employers' liability insurance market.

(176976)

678
Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many businesses have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for operating without employers' liability compulsory insurance in each of the last five years; and what the total level of fines imposed upon these businesses was.

(176981)

679
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Health and Safety Commission's report on the effectiveness of the current strategy to promote director's responsibility for health and safety.

(177446)

680
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has any plans to change the upper age limit for eligibility for the Disability Living Allowance; and if he will make a statement.

(177511)

681
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cut-off date is for eligibility for the winter heating allowance; and whether he has any plans to change the eligibility criteria.

(177563)

682
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by his Department on the New Deal for young people in Greater London in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003.

(177059)

683
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have received winter fuel payments in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payment was in each case.

(177060)

684
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people who have participated in the Workstep programme in Greater London gained employment in each year since 1999.

(177061)

685
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by his Department on the Workstep programme in Greater London in each each year since 1999.

(177062)

686
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of benefit fraud were detected in Greater London in each of the last six years; and how many of these have resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions.

(177185)

687
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost was of administering council tax benefit payments in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years.

(177186)

688
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of council tax benefit payments made in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years.

(177187)

689
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of council tax benefit payments made in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the total amount of council tax benefit unclaimed in each of those years.

(177188)

690
Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority expects to have in place a fully developed risk model that targets schemes where funds may be at risk as recommended by the Committee of Public Accounts in its 15th Report of 2002-03.

(177254)

691
N Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many income support claimants there were in each Jobcentre Plus district in England in the latest month for which figures are available; and what funds are available in each district for (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans.

(176265)

692
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what percentage of cases relating to Child Support the Child Support Agency has made an error in (a) January 1997, (b) January 2000 and (c) January 2004; and if he will make a statement.

(177452)

693
N John Mann (Bassetlaw):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what date has been set for all existing Child Support Agency assessments to be made using the new assessment criteria system.

(176463)

694
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the minimum amount awarded through the Pension Credit Scheme is; whether small amounts are rolled up until reaching a certain value before being sent out; and if he will make a statement.

(177025)

695
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many vacancies he estimates there are in the North West for (a) tightrope walkers, (b) jugglers, (c) stilts performers, (d) unicyclists and (e) other circus performers; and if he will make a statement.

(177131)

696
Mr John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to introduce legislation to improve health and safety standards at public swimming pools.

(177123)

697
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what health and safety regulations and guidance are in place governing the operation of lorry loader cranes.

(176763)

698
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents there were in each of the last five years involving lorry loader cranes.

(176764)

699
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to increase the current health and safety requirements for those who operate lorry loader cranes; and if he will make a statement.

(176765)

700
Mr Ian Taylor (Esher & Walton):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to re-examine the use of statutory rates of interest for child support departures or variations where a parent has assets.

(177406)

701
Mr Ian Taylor (Esher & Walton):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence he has collated to support his Department's assumption that the assets of non-resident parents have achieved the long-term sustainable interest rate of 8 per cent., net of tax, during the last five years.

(177408)

702
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Scotland have applied for attendance allowance since February 2002, broken down by (a) disability benefit centre and (b) quarter.

(176761)

703
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many attendance alllowance claims in Scotland (a) were subject to appeal between February 2002 and February 2003, broken down by (i) disability benefit centre and (ii) quarter and (b) have been subject to appeal since February 2003, broken down by month.

(176762)

704
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) Pension Service, (b) Jobcentre Plus and (c) Social Security offices there are in the United Kingdom.

(177382)

705
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason income support recipients are not automatically transferred to pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit when they reach 60 years.

(177394)

706
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what percentge of girocheque payments were delayed or lost between 31st March 2002 and 1st April 2003; and how many of these late payments resulted in emergency payments to claimants.

(177395)

707
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 11th May, Official Report, columns 6-7WS, on vulnerable customers (payments by cheque), whether pensioners unable to get to their local Pension Service office will be able to collect emergency pension payments from the nearest Jobcentre Plus or Social Security office instead.

(177435)

708
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 11th May, Official Report, columns 6-7WS, on vulnerable customers (payments by cheque), whether claimants who report late or missing payments will automatically be informed that emergency payments can be made to them both inside and outside of post office opening hours.

(177436)

709
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) costs of administering and (b) actual benefit expenditure for (i) the state retirement pension, (ii) child benefit, (iii) income support, (iv) minimum income guarantee of pension credit, (v) job seekers allowance, (vi) disability living allowance and (viii) incapacity benefit in the latest year for which figures are available.

(177490)

710
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total expenditure on each New Deal programme has been in the period 1997-98 to 2003-04; and, of this, how much has been spent on (a) departmental administrative costs and (b) payments to external providers.

(177523)

711
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of expenditure on payments to external providers in each New Deal scheme in each year since 1997-98, broken down by (a) overhead costs, (b) profits, (c) payment to other providers and (d) other payments for which information is available.

(177524)

712
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days of sick leave were taken in his Department in 2003; how many related to employees suffering (a) stress and (b) other mental health problems; and what the cost was to his Department.

(177525)

713
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of pensioners not claiming each means-tested benefit for which they are eligible, broken down by (a) benefit and (b) Government region.

(177526)

714
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimates he has made of (a) the number of incorrect benefit payments into Post Office card accounts, and (b) failure to pay benefits into post office card accounts; and if he will make a statement.

(177527)

715
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made since his Department's report in June 2003 on employer liability insurance on proposals to reduce the numbers of uninsured firms.

(177528)

716
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been penalised with reduced benefit for failing to attend a compulsory work-focused interview in each year for which figures are available, broken down by benefit received in each case.

(177529)

717
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents have faced criminal sanctions under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 because they have (a) failed to provide the Child Support Agency with required information and (b) provided false information.

(177530)

718
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on each New Deal programme in 2003-04, broken down by (a) subsidies to employers, (b) payments to external providers, (c) payments to partipants and (d) departmental administrative costs.

(177531)

719
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were committed to prison because they had committed offences relating to the work of the Child Support Agency in each year since the Agency was established.

(177532)

720
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many football supporters who have travelled abroad to football championships (a) have been investigated for possible infringement of benefit rules, (b) have had benefits withdrawn and (c) had overpayments identified, broken down by football championship.

(177534)

721
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have (a) been invited to attend work-focused interviews and (b) attended work-focused interviews in each year for which figures are available, broken down by category of claimant.

(177535)

722
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been prosecuted for making a false statement in the Child Support Agency in respect of their income in each of the last seven years.

(177536)

723
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have lost benefit as a result of breaching their community service orders; and what the average loss of benefit has been, broken down by claimants of (a) income support, (b) jobseeker's allowance and (c) training allowances.

(177537)

724
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on schemes to reduce the benefits of people who breach their community service orders; and how much benefit was withdrawn in each year as a result.

(177538)

725
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parents have failed to pay Child Support in each year since 1997; and of these how many have (a) received a driving ban and (b) received a jail sentence in each year.

(177539)

726
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of non-resident parents who have had their driving licences removed by the courts in each year since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000.

(177540)

727
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what changes have been made to housing benefit to support the policy that 16 to 17-year old lone parents should be housed in semi-independent adult-supervised accommodation.

(177541)

728
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pension schemes have started the winding-up process in each year since 1997; and how many pension scheme members have been affected, broken down by (a) pensioners and (b) people who had not retired when the winding-up began.

(177544)

729
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evaluation his Department has made of the effect of benefit sanctions.

(177545)

730
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of pensioners his Department estimates (a) were eligible for means-tested benefits and (b) were claiming means-tested benefits in each year since 1997, broken down by benefit.

(177546)

731
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) individuals and (b) households he expects to be eligible for pension credit in (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07 and (iv) 2008-09.

(177548)

732
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's target is for the number of (a) individuals and (b) households who will be receiving pension credit by (i) 2004-05, (ii) 2005-06, (iii) 2006-07 and (iv) 2007-08.

(177549)

733
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people on the (a) new Deal for Young People and (b) the New Deal for 25 Plus have had their jobseeker's allowance reduced in each year for (a) two weeks, (b) four weeks and (c) 26 weeks.

(177550)

734
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people on the (a) new Deal for Young People and (b) the New Deal for 25 Plus have had sanctions on their jobseeker's allowance in each year since 1998-99.

(177551)

735
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average weekly payment of incapacity benefit has been in each year since 1997-98.

(177552)

736
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners have migrated from over-the-counter benefit payments to automated credit transfer in each month since May 1997.

(177553)

737
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people participated in each New Deal scheme; and how many of these received a benefit sanction each year, broken down by (a) New Deal programme and (b) type of sanction.

(177555)

738
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress officials in his Department have made in providing more detailed and robust information on the sanction regime of the New Deal for Young People in the last year; if he will place the results of that progress in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

(177556)

739
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median income (a) before and (b) after housing costs (i) on the old equivalence scale and (ii) on the proposed new equivalence scale in the latest year for which figures are available.

(177557)

740
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many schemes with insufficient assets to secure their guaranteed minimum pensions have expressed an interest to (a) his Department and (b) other Government bodies in having their state pension fully reinstated; how many schemes have been treated as qualifying for this; how many schemes have had their state benefits reinstated; and how many members of these schemes have received their reinstated benefits.

(177559)

741
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimates he has made of the proportions of pension income coming from (a) state benefits and (b) funded pensions and other private services in each year since 1996-97.

(177560)

742
N David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when a letter will be sent to the honourable Member for Walsall North in reply to his letter of 28th April, addressed to the Chief Executive, The Pension Service, regarding a constituent, ref. RFE/BRLPR/2747BWY.

(176465)

Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office

743
Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were employed by each local authority in the South West on emergency planning in each of the last three years; and if he will estimate the number employed in each case in 2004-05.

[Transferred] (177191)

744
Mr Adrian Flook (Taunton):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the budget was in each of the last three years for each local authority in the South West responsible for emergency planning; and what the budget is in each case for 2004-05.

[Transferred] (177193)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

745
N Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to change the rules relating to the purchase of annuities.

[Question Unstarred][Transferred] (177329)

746
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many pensioners there have been in each year since 1979; and how many there are projected to be in each year to 2020, broken down by gender.

[Transferred] (177558)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

747
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to change the regulations for upgrading the level of compartmentation fire protection in system built structures such as those of CLASP and SCOLA design.

[Transferred] (177593)

748
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of the £1.2 billion provided to further education colleges for the period 2003 to 2006 has been allocated to (a) Government targets for growth in (i) 16 to 19 year old students, (ii) adult students, (b) changes in pension entitlements and (c) changes in the level of national insurance contributions.

[Transferred] (177388)

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

749
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to monitor the prevalence of particulate matter below 2.5 microns as part of her Department's air quality strategy.

[Transferred] (176896)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

750
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the Independent Expert mandated by the 23rd April UN Commission on Human Rights' decision on Sudan to be appointed.

[Transferred] (177384)

751
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Secretary of State for International Development's letter of 25th May to the honourable Member for Buckingham, what the response was of the Sudanese Foreign Minister to the representations made to him about the activities of the Janjaweed militias in Darfur.

[Transferred] (177385)

752
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Secretary of State for International Development's letter of 25th May to the honourable Member for Buckingham, if he will list the issues of detail to be determined for progress to be made from the framework agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement to the comprehensive peace agreement envisaged for the parties.

[Transferred] (177402)

753
Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the Ceasefire Monitoring Commission on Sudan to begin its work.

[Transferred] (177403)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

754
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to proscribe the Real IRA under the Terrorism Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

[Transferred] (176968)

755
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to amend Schedule 2 to the Terrorism Act 2000 in the light of the ruling on 26th May by Mr Justice Girvan in the case of Mullan and others.

[Transferred] (177393)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

756
Mr Simon Thomas (Ceredigion):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which ministers will be attending the Farnborough Airshow in July.

[Transferred] (177501)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

757
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what mechanism the Government plans to use to deliver rural transport policy (a) with reference to the future of the Countryside Agency and (b) following the ending of Rural Bus Challenge.

[Transferred] (176913)

758
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the common carcinogens emitted from petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK; and what tonnage of each was emitted in each year since 1997.

[Transferred] (177479)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

759
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has held with National Assembly for Wales Secretaries concerning improvements to the A483.

[Transferred] (177368)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

760
N Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made, following representations by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, regarding the provision of tactile markings that will be issued as part of the Department's exception scheme to facilitate blind and partially sighted people's identification of them amongst other postal items they might receive.

[Question Unstarred] (177311)

761
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on the New Deal (a) by region and (b) by London borough in each year since 1997.

[Transferred] (177050)

762
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were working in permanent New Deal placements (a) by region and (b) by London borough in each year since 1997.

[Transferred] (177051)

763
Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people registered with the New Deal failed to be placed in permanent employment after (a) six months and (b) 12 months in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) region and (ii) London borough.

[Transferred] (177052)

764
N Dr Nick Palmer (Broxtowe):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will increase the amount which carers are allowed to earn without affecting their benefit.

[Question Unstarred] (177325)

765
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many national insurance numbers (a) have been issued in each year since 1992, (b) have been extinguished in each year since 1992 and (c) have been current in each year since 1992.

[Transferred] (177533)

© Parliamentary copyright 2004
Revised 7 June 2004