Order Book Part 1

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
Publications on the internet
The Questions Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Wednesday 8 December 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 Wednesday 8 December 2004
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Wednesday 8 December 2004

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Wednesday 8 December of which previous notice has been given in the Notices of Questions paper. They are arranged in alphabetical order of answering Department.

For other Written Questions for answer on Wednesday 8 December of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Wednesday 8 December see Part 2 of this paper.

Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office

1
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is the policy of the Department to retain for the benefit of future (a) historians and (b) applicants under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the same (i) complete categories of files, (ii) numbers of files and (iii) representative examples of files from categories of files destroyed as had been preserved prior to the passage of that Act.

(203388)

2
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many departmental files have been destroyed in each of the past five years.

(203389)

3
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes have been promulgated in each of the past five years to the guidelines or other criteria for the retention or destruction of departmental files.

(203390)

4
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Cabinet Office special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203442)

5
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many complaints were made by her Office's civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203481)

6
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Cabinet Office special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203490)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

7
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for how many deaths within the Greater London area alcohol was found to be a primary cause in each of the last five years.

(203617)

8
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the life expectancy is of (a) men and (b) women living in the Greater London area; and if he will make a statement.

(203630)

9
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much landfill tax has been paid by operators on (a) in-house and (b) merchant landfill sites in each year since 1997.

(203688)

10
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for all announcements and publications issued by his Department and those public bodies reporting to him.

(203681)

11
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received the working tax credit and its predecessor tax credits in each year since 2001.

(203591)

12
N Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the dates since 1st January when he and his Ministers discussed with the Department for Constitutional Affairs the change in revenue that might occur if arrangements were not made immediately to approve an 80-year closure period for decennial population censuses for England and Wales; and what estimate he has made of the (a) gross and (b) net revenue in the next decade from the 1911 and 1921 censuses being released online as soon as practicable.

(202018)

13
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203461)

14
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203479)

15
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203492)

Questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

16
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what plans he has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications issued by his Office and those public bodies reporting to him.

(203686)

Questions to the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs

17
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the total cost of legal aid awards within the Greater London area has been in each of the last five years.

(203611)

18
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many people are employed by (a) Her Majesty's Magistrates' Court Service Inspectorate and (b) the Council of Tribunals; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203806)

19
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203453)

20
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203471)

21
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203500)

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

22
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many pensioners aged over 75 years living in (a) North Southwark and Bermondsey constituency and (b) the London Borough of Southwark are (i) entitled to a free television licence and (ii) receiving a free television licence.

(203396)

23
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much grant has been paid to Liverpool City Council by the Heritage Lottery Fund for the refurbishment of the Victorian parks at Sefton, Newsham, Stanley and Botanic since 1997.

(203646)

24
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people are employed by (a) Sport England East, (b) Sport England East Midlands, (c) Sport England London, (d) Sport England North East, (e) Sport England North West, (f) Sport England South East, (g) Sport England South West, (h) Sport England West Midlands and (i) Sport England Yorkshire; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203754)

25
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people are employed by (a) Creative Partnerships and (b) Culture Online; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203755)

26
Mr Alex Salmond (Banff & Buchan):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what percentage of the BBC's budget during the last four financial years came from (a) licence fee, (b) Government funding, (c) income from commercial enterprise and (d) other sources.

(203727)

27
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the estimated public expenditure on the regional archive councils in England was in the latest year for which figures are available.

(203558)

28
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the estimated public expenditure on the regional sports boards in England was in the latest year for which figures are available.

(203559)

29
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will break down the £200 million national funding for children's play announced by her predecessor in June 2001 by (a) financial year and (b) project; how much of the funding has been spent to date; and if she will make a statement.

(203549)

30
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203447)

31
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203464)

32
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203506)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

33
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) men and (b) women are being held in detention by British military authorities in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(203593)

34
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the countries in which British peacekeeping forces are deployed; and how many British peacekeeping forces were employed in peacekeeping operations on the latest date for which figures are available.

(203608)

35
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether all Government buildings in his Department within the Greater London area are fully accessible to disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

(203609)

36
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people are employed by (a) the Warship Support Agency, (b) the Army Base Repair Organisation, (c) the Defence Aviation Repair Agency, (d) the Defence Bills Agency, (e) the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, (f) the Non-deployable elements of the British Forces Post Office, (g) the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency, (h) the Pay and Personnel Agency and (i) the Met Office and Hydrographic Office; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203760)

37
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans the Government has for (a) renewing and (b) replacing the Trident weapons system; and if he will make a statement.

(203812)

38
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military and (b) civilian personnel are based in each RAF base (i) in Scotland, (ii) in England, (iii) in Wales, (iv) in Northern Ireland and (v) abroad; how these numbers have changed in each year since 1991; and if he will make a statement.

(203813)

39
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received concerning the use of napalm gas in Fallujah.

(203538)

40
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203448)

41
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203465)

42
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203505)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

43
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations he has received from the (a) Environment Agency and (b) Oil Firing Technical Association on improving the training of installers of oil-fired heating equipment.

(203410)

44
N Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the proposals for changes to the local government pension scheme (a) were in their original form and (b) are in their latest revised form.

(202711)

45
N Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether any local government pension scheme has been allowed to capitalise pension fund shortfalls.

(202712)

46
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many traveller caravans were on (a) authorised and (b) unauthorised sites in the Greater London area in each of the last three years.

(203589)

47
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much central Government grant has been allocated to the London Borough of Wandsworth in each of the last three years.

(203590)

48
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when the Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment for the Kensington New Deal for Communities area and the Elm Park neighbourhood of Liverpool will be published; and if he will make a copy available in the Library.

(203645)

49
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what consultation should be carried out prior to the declaration of a renewal area.

(203647)

50
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, under what circumstances the declaration of a renewal area permits the use of compulsory purchase orders.

(203648)

51
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether it is the policy of the Department to retain for the benefit of future (a) historians and (b) applicants under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the same (i) complete categories of files, (ii) numbers of files and (iii) representative examples of files from categories of files destroyed as had been preserved prior to the passage of that Act.

(203386)

52
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many departmental files have been destroyed in each of the past five years.

(203387)

53
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, under what provisions the retrospective switch in grant from North Yorkshire County Council to London boroughs, Metropolitan boroughs and urban unitary authorities is being made; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the grant switch on the level of council tax raised by county councils for 2005-06.

(203674)

54
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what guidance he will issue to county councils on transferring resources which have already been committed.

(203675)

55
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will give an assurance to county councils that future budgetary resources and grants will not be diverted.

(203676)

56
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for all announcements and publications issued by his Department and those public bodies reporting to him.

(203682)

57
Mr Bill O'Brien (Normanton):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which body is responsible for dealing with complaints of maladministration against the Local Government Ombudsman.

(203636)

58
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what level of childcare allowance is available for elected members serving on (a) county, (b) unitary, (c) Metropolitan borough and (d) borough and district local authorities.

(203767)

59
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the (a) administrative and (b) total expenditure of the Housing Corporation was in 1997; and what the forecast expenditure is for (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06.

(203556)

60
Dr Richard Taylor (Wyre Forest):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many staff are employed by the Supporting People initiative in (a) Worcestershire and (b) England.

(203763)

61
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203446)

62
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203463)

63
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203507)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

64
Mr Tim Collins (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to enable newly qualified teachers in the UK to qualify immediately for qualified teacher status for the purposes of EC Directive 89/48 EEC; what discussions he has held with other EU education ministers on making teaching qualifications precisely reciprocal; and if he will make a statement.

(203770)

65
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much his Department spent on (a) pre-school, (b) primary school and (c) secondary schools in the Borough of Islington for each year since 1996-97; and how much was spent by the London Borough of Islington from locally-generated revenue.

(203286)

66
N Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many day care places by each type of provider there were in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in each year from 1996 to 2001; and how many registered childcare places by each type of provider there were in (a) April 2003, (b) April 2004 and (c) October 2004.

(202709)

67
N Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the turnover of CAFCASS staff was in each family court area in the last year for which figures are available; what the turnover of staff at each contact centre was; and how many and what percentage of no-shows for arranged contacts there were in each contact centre.

(202710)

68
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of 15 year-olds have achieved (a) five GCSEs at A*-C and (b) at least one GCSE A*-C in each year since 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

(203525)

69
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of (a) Key Stage 2 pupils and (b) Key Stage 3 pupils have reached the required standards in both literacy and numeracy in each year since 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

(203526)

70
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of (a) Key Stage 2 pupils and (b) Key Stage 3 pupils reached the required standards in both literacy and numeracy in each year since 1997 in (i) Haltemprice and Howden and (ii) England.

(203527)

71
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether the 14-16 Increased Flexibility programme will be continued; and if he will make a statement.

(203594)

72
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans he has to expand vocational education and training for adults in Hendon; and if he will make a statement.

(203595)

73
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many extra 16-18 year olds he expects to stay in education in Hendon as a result of the education maintenance allowance; and if he will make a statement.

(203596)

74
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action he is taking to tackle the funding gap between schools and post-16 colleges; and if he will make a statement.

(203642)

75
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many people are employed by the (a) Union Learning Fund, (b) Adult Learning Inspectorate, (c) Well Being Project, (d) National College of School Leadership, (e) Sector Skills Development Agency and (f) Implementation Review Unit; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203745)

76
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203449)

77
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203466)

78
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203509)

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

79
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made by the Environment Agency towards developing a voluntary code of practice with the oil industry on raising standards for delivering oil to domestic heating tanks; and if she will make a statement.

(203409)

80
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the trend in oil pollution incidents since the publication of the Environment Agency's Position Statement on oil pollution of inland waters in February.

(203411)

81
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of pollution caused by leakage from domestic oil tanks.

(203412)

82
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the recommendations made by the Environment Agency in its Position Statement on oil pollution of inland waters published in February.

(203413)

83
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with which supermarkets her Department has had discussions regarding policies on stocking UK-produced food.

(203716)

84
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list in descending order the percentage of (a) pork, (b) bacon and (c) ham which (i) was British and (ii) bore the Meat and Livestock Commission's Quality Standard Mark offered for sale in supermarkets in (A) March and (B) May.

(203717)

85
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many letters were returned to her Department marked as incorrectly addressed in each of the last 12 months.

(203719)

86
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will place the recent departmental circular on the correct addressing of envelopes in the Library.

(203720)

87
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many recipients received her Department's circular on how to address envelopes; and what its circulation cost.

(203721)

88
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures she is taking to ensure that the polluter pays principle applies to the collection and management of municipal waste; which 10 local authorities have the (a) highest and (b) lowest recycling rates; and which political parties control each of these authorities.

(203660)

89
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much liquid hazardous waste was sent to in-house landfill sites in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000; and where and how such liquid hazardous waste is now being treated.

(203661)

90
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much liquid hazardous waste was deposited in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000 in merchant landfill sites' proprietary landfills in the year before such landfilling was banned; and where and how such liquid hazardous waste is now being treated.

(203662)

91
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total tonnage of waste collected has been by community recycling organisations in England in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003.

(203663)

92
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value was of contracts between community recycling organisations and local authorities in England in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003.

(203664)

93
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many community recycling organisations were registered in England to collect waste in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003.

(203665)

94
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what studies the Government has made of (a) sulphur dioxide and (b) nitrous oxide trading in the United States; and what conclusions it has drawn.

(203666)

95
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department takes to make sure that the cost and rigour of environmental regulation in the UK compares favourably with that of current and prospective members of the European Union.

(203667)

96
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the tax component of the recent increase in water rates is.

(203673)

97
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much public money was spent on collecting and managing municipal waste in England in each year between 1997 and 2002; and how much on average it cost to collect and manage one tonne of municipal waste in the UK in each year.

(203689)

98
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications issued by her Department and those public bodies reporting to her.

(203684)

99
Diana Organ (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on the review of the Cattle Identification Regulations.

(203643)

100
Diana Organ (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to protect buyers of calves that have been sold without a British Cattle Movement Service passport.

(203644)

101
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people are employed by (a) Forest Enterprise, (b) the Meat Hygiene Service, (c) the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and (d) the Sustainable Development Commission; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203744)

102
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people are employed by the Rural Payments Agency; what the running cost of the Agency was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of the Agency.

(203757)

103
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the membership is of the British Waterways Board; what the (a) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (b) running costs was of the Board in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service the Board.

(203759)

104
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the membership is of the (a) Government-Industry Forum on non-Food Uses of Crop, (b) Hill Farming Advisory Committee for England, Wales and Northern I reland, (c) Independent Advisory Group on Cattle TB, (d) Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council, (e) Pesticides Residue Committee, (f) Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, (g) Sustainable Development Education Panel, (h) Veterinary Products Committee, (i) Veterinary Residues Committee and (j) Water Regulations Advisory Committee; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203809)

105
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the membership is of the (a) Air Quality Expert Group, (b) Apple and Pear Research Council, (c) Committee of Investigation for Great Britain, (d) Committee on Agricultural Valuation, (e) Committee on Products and Processes for Use in Public Water Supply, (f) Consumers' Committee for Great Britain under the Agriculture Marketing Act 1958, (g) Darwin Advisory Committee and (h) Expert Group on Cryptosporidium in Water Supply; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running costs of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203810)

106
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the membership is of the (a) Joint Nature Conservation Committee, (b) Advisory Committee on Business and Environment, (c) Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment, (d) Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances, (e) Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, (f) Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committee, (g) Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales and (h) Agricultural Wages Committees for England; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203811)

107
Mr Alex Salmond (Banff & Buchan):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with farming bodies regarding the application of organic nitrogen in nitrate vulnerable zones.

(203693)

108
Mr Alex Salmond (Banff & Buchan):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive regarding (a) nitrate vulnerable zones and (b) nitrate derogations.

(203694)

109
Mr Alex Salmond (Banff & Buchan):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make representations to obtain a derogation to allow organic nitrogen to be applied in nitrate vulnerable zones up to 250kg per hectare.

(203695)

110
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the estimated public expenditure on the regional climate change partnerships in England was in the latest year for which figures are available.

(203560)

111
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will release the post-mortem findings for the dolphins that have been washed up on shores in the South Hams since August.

(203547)

112
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203444)

113
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203467)

114
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203504)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

115
N Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which EU-Burmese joint ventures have been affected by Annex II of the Council Common Position on Burma 2004/730/CFSP and Annex IV of Council Regulation (EC) 798/2004.

(202845)

116
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the British Ambassador to the Ukraine on the unrest in Ukraine following the second round of the Presidential elections; and if he will make a statement.

(203631)

117
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the (a) Israeli Government and (b) European Union on destruction by Israeli military forces of police stations in the Palestinian territories; and if he will make a statement.

(203632)

118
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the use of kidnap and rape by the warring factions in Darfur.

(203738)

119
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Colombian authorities on recent releases of prisoners accused of being guerillas; and if he will make a statement.

(203739)

120
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the recent expulsion of charity workers by the Government of Sudan.

(203740)

121
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Department's strategy is for reducing the supply of opium from Afghanistan.

(203741)

122
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli authorities on the recent judgements concerning the legality of the security wall.

(203742)

123
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of whether the previous Nigerian regime's use of financial instruments in the City of London was in accordance with international money-laundering conventions.

(203766)

124
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will undertake a study of the security implications for Jamaica of a sudden reduction in the price paid by the European Commission for sugar from African, Caribbean and Pacific producers.

(203554)

125
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions have taken place with the Jamaican Government on the security implications for Jamaica of a sudden reduction in the price paid by the European Union for sugar from African, Caribbean and Pacific producers.

(203562)

126
N Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it a condition of the United Kingdom's support for opening sea ports in northern Cyprus to EU trade that such ports adhere to (a) existing and future European ports directives and (b) health and safety requirements; and how he expects such rules will be enforced.

(202785)

127
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent reports of increased violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

(203802)

128
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what resources his Department has allocated to assessing the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(203803)

129
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the meetings held in the last 18 months between (a) himself, (b) members of his Department and (c) UK representatives in Rwanda and (i) members and (ii) representatives of the Government of Rwanda in which the situation in (A) the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and (B) the Democratic Republic of Congo in general has been (1) the main topic on the agenda and (2) a major topic on the agenda; what proposals (x) he, (y) members of his Department and (z) UK representatives in Rwanda made for the involvement of Rwanda in stabilising the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo; how these proposals were met by (aa) members and (bb) representatives of the Government of (I) Rwanda and (II) the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

(203814)

130
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the meetings held in the last 18 months between (a) himself, (b) members of his Department and (c) UK representatives in Uganda and (i) members and (ii) representatives of the Government of Uganda in which the situation in (A) the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and (B) the Democratic Republic of Congo in general has been (1) the main topic on the agenda and (2) a major topic on the agenda; what proposals (x) he, (y) members of his Department and (z) UK representatives in Uganda made for the involvement of Uganda in stabilising the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo; how these proposals were met by (aa) members and (bb) representatives of the Government of (I) Uganda and (II) the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

(203815)

131
Mr Clive Soley (Ealing, Acton & Shepherd's Bush):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Moldovan Ambassador concerning the arrest of Mr Serafim Urechean, Mayor of Chisinau, on his return from the UK after an official visit; and if he will make a statement.

(203597)

132
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli authorities concerning house demolitions in Anata, Jerusalem and East Jerusalem.

(203539)

133
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action he is taking at the (a) UN and (b) EU in relation to Israeli (i) house demolition activity and (ii) settlement building.

(203540)

134
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203450)

135
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203468)

136
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203503)

137
Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with which countries he has had discussions to request the removal of child pornography websites; and how many such requests have been agreed.

(203678)

138
Pete Wishart (North Tayside):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to translate the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe into (a) Gaelic and (b) Scots.

(203691)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

139
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the level of per capita public expenditure through the NHS was in Islington on (a) primary care, (b) hospital care and (c) mental health for each year since 1996-97.

(203287)

140
N Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the net ingredient cost (a) in total and (b) per head of population was of (i) tranquilisers and (ii) anti-depressants in each strategic health authority in each of the last three years.

(202708)

141
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the likely effects on health tourism of the introduction of identity cards.

(203522)

142
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he expects the NHS to make savings following the introduction of identity cards.

(203523)

143
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the identity card will replace the proposed European Health Card due to be introduced by 31st December 2005.

(203637)

144
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of MRSA have been reported at Northwick Park Hospital in each of the last three years; how many of those cases proved fatal; and if he will make a statement.

(203598)

145
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what services are available from the National Health Service for patients with asthma and allied disorders.

(203816)

146
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people suffer from asthma and allied disorders.

(203817)

147
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were treated by the National Health Service for asthma and allied disorders in the last year for which figures are available.

(203818)

148
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much money was spent by his Department on people with asthma and allied disorders in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion this was of his Department's budget.

(203819)

149
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance is issued by his Department to (a) general practices and (b) hospitals about treating patients with asthma and allied disorders.

(203820)

150
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been provided for research by his Department in the last seven years on (a) the causes of asthma and allied disorders and (b) tackling these conditions.

(203821)

151
N Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what purposes the Health Professions Council is advertising on radio; what the cost of radio advertising used by them is in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of planned radio advertising.

(202176)

152
N Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding has been allocated to the Health Professions Council (a) in the current financial year and (b) for each of the next three years.

(202177)

153
N Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the business case was presented for the Greater Manchester Surgical Unit, Trafford to (a) the board of the relevant strategic health authority and (b) the respective boards of the Greater Manchester Primary Care Trust; and when that business case was approved by these bodies.

(203289)

154
N Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what surgical procedures will be undertaken by the Greater Manchester Surgical Unit, Trafford.

(203290)

155
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, where the community engagement projects proposed in Celebrating our Cultures will be established; how much funding his Department is committing to the establishment of these projects; and what the timescale is for establishing them.

(203604)

156
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what duties a community development worker employed as set out in Celebrating our Cultures will have.

(203605)

157
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether additional training will be offered to general practitioners through Celebrating our Cultures on recognising mental illness in ethnic minorities.

(203606)

158
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of specific provision for children and young people from black and ethnic minorities with mental health problems.

(203607)

159
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS organisations in implementing the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance technology appraisal, published in May 2003, on patient education models on diabetes.

(203612)

160
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many primary care trusts had completed all four pilot stage courses under the Expert Patients Programme on (a) 1st April and (b) 1st December.

(203613)

161
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people inject insulin daily for the treatment of their diabetes; and what proportion of these people inject animal insulin.

(203614)

162
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding Skills for Health has received in each financial year since April 2002.

(203615)

163
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of primary care general practices have a diabetes clinic attached to them.

(203616)

164
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinically-led diabetes networks have been established; and whether existing networks have been established at a level coterminous with secondary healthcare.

(203618)

165
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of people with diabetes were offered screening for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy in the last period for which figures are available.

(203619)

166
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the funds available to support the target for diabetic retinopathy screening contained within the 2003 to 2006 planning and performance framework has been allocated.

(203620)

167
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made towards ensuring that (a) all those people diagnosed with diabetes and (b) all people at an increased risk of developing diabetes, are included on practice-based registers.

(203621)

168
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research is being undertaken into patient education and long-term condition self-management strategies.

(203622)

169
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to central funds has been of the Expert Patients Programme to date; and how much funding has been allocated to support the mainstreaming of the Expert Patient Programme across the NHS between 2004 and 2007.

(203623)

170
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding the Informed Patient project will receive in each year until 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

(203624)

171
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the status of the National Diabetes Support Team will be after the abolition of the NHS Modernisation Agency.

(203625)

172
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes datasets defining minimum standards have NHS Information Standards Board approval.

(203626)

173
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to change the name of the Expert Patients Programme.

(203627)

174
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many primary care trusts are (a) running Expert Patients Programme courses and (b) committed to establishing Expert Patients Programme courses.

(203628)

175
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications issued by his Department and those public bodies reporting to him.

(203687)

176
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by the (a) Public Health Laboratory Service, (b) Family Health Services Special Health Authority and (c) NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203743)

177
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by (a) NHS Estates, (b) NHS Professionals, (c) UK Transplant, (d) the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts and (e) the NHS University; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203750)

178
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by the (a) Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, (b) Mental Health Act Commission, (c) National Care Standards Commission, (d) NHS Appointments Commission and (e) Retained Organs Commission; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203751)

179
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by the (a) Dental Vocational Training Authority, (b) Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, (c) National Clinical Assessment Authority, (d) National Blood Authority, (e) NHS Logistics Authority and (f) Prescription Pricing Authority; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203752)

180
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the membership is of the (a) National Biological Standards Board, (b) National Radiological Protection Board and (c) Dental Practices Board; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running costs of each body were in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203823)

181
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by the (a) Health Development Agency, (b) NHS Information Agency, (c) NHS Modernisation Agency and (d) NHS Pensions Agency; what the running costs of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203824)

182
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by each of the strategic health authorities in England; what the running costs of each authority were in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of the strategic health authorities.

(203825)

183
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in implementing in the North West the National Service Framework for Mental Health.

(203592)

184
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the estimated public expenditure on the (a) regional public health observatories and (b) regional public health groups was in England in the latest year for which figures are available.

(203557)

185
N Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many of the MRSA cases reported in 2003-04 at Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull NHS Hospital Trust resulted in (a) death, (b) loss of physical ability or limbs and (c) enduring weeping wounds; and what the figures were in the previous two years.

(202707)

186
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203451)

187
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203469)

188
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203502)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

189
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will launch a campaign in the immediate future to alert cyclists to the dangers of riding bicycles during the hours of darkness without front or rear lights being displayed; and if he will make a statement.

(203633)

190
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cyclists have been charged in Greater London for riding bicycles during the hours of darkness with no visible lighting being displayed in the last period for which figures are available.

(203634)

191
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of the Criminal Justice Intervention panels in the 2004-05 financial year will be; and which authorities will be liable to fund them.

(203541)

192
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact the Criminal Justice Intervention panels are expected to have on local criminal justice and drug organisations.

(203542)

193
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact the creation of Criminal Justice Intervention panels is expected to have on (a) drug-related and (b) persistent crime in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005 to 2007.

(203543)

194
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the National Offender Management Service will inter-relate with the Criminal Justice Intervention Panels; and what impact on crime rates he expects to result from such inter-relation.

(203544)

195
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what change in the number of people accessing drug treatment as a result of Criminal Justice Implementation panel intervention he expects in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005 to 2007.

(203545)

196
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions have been carried out against employers for employing illegal workers in each year since 1993.

(203482)

197
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the identity card will replace the Application Registration Card.

(203483)

198
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of employees additional to his Department's current complement required to run the National Identity Register (NIR) and (b) the annual salary bill of the employees of the NIR.

(203484)

199
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional office accommodation will be required to house the employees of the National Identity Register; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such additional accommodation.

(203485)

200
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the annual costs of maintaining the National Identity Register when it is fully operational.

(203486)

201
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of identity cards that will have to be reissued each year to accommodate a change of address by the holder and (b) the number of identity cards that may be lost or stolen each year; and what estimate he has made of the charge for reissuing an identity card to the holder in each circumstance.

(203487)

202
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of identity cards issued each year which may contain erroneous information, (b) the number of centres required for the registering of biometric details of British citizens requiring an ID card and (c) the annual cost of maintaining each such centre.

(203488)

203
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of people likely to be prosecuted each year for failing (a) to register with the National Identity Register (NIR), (b) to renew an identity card and (c) to supply amended details to the NIR.

(203489)

204
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and accounts were undertaken by the police per day on average in the last period for which figures are available.

(203510)

205
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and account procedures were undertaken by the police on average in a day in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (a) police force area and (b) crime reduction partnership.

(203511)

206
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the average number of stop and account procedures undertaken by an individual police officer during an average duty period.

(203512)

207
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were stopped by the police per day on average in the last period for which figures are available.

(203513)

208
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his latest estimate is of the number of people who (a) move home and (b) get married in a year.

(203514)

209
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sex offenders are absent without authorisation from prisons in England and Wales.

(203515)

210
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many persons were recalled to custody having been released on home detention curfew in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years.

(203516)

211
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent by his Department on press officers in each of the past eight years, broken down by grade.

(203517)

212
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offences were committed by prisoners while released on the home detention curfew scheme since January 1999; what the category of each offence was; and on how many occasions the offence committed was similar in character to that for which the prisoner had originally been sentenced.

(203518)

213
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent on the (a) distribution to and (b) printing and compiling of documents for police officers in each year since 1997, broken down by document.

(203519)

214
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been proceeded against for the conversion of firearms in England and Wales in each year since 1993.

(203520)

215
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the likely fees to be charged for (a) the modification of identity cards, (b) making or modifying entries on identity cards, (c) the issue of identity cards, (d) applications for provision of information contained on the Information Register, (e) provision of information from the Information Register, (f) applications for confirmation of information recorded on the Information Register, (g) the issue or refusal of such a confirmation of information from the Information Register, (h) applications for the approval of a person or apparatus (the accreditation) and (i) the grant of such approvals.

(203524)

216
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) immigration and (b) security officials have been based at each major port of entry to the United Kingdom in each year since 1997.

(203528)

217
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent on providing security at ports in each year since 1997, broken down by location.

(203529)

218
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many weapons have been seized at ports of entry to the United Kingdom in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) type of weapon and (b) location of seizure.

(203530)

219
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisoners there are, broken down by category of offence.

(203531)

220
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisoners convicted of sex offences have escaped from open prisons in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

(203532)

221
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the extent of identity fraud in (a) the UK, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Spain and (e) Sweden.

(203533)

222
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who the governor of each prison is; how old each will be on 1st January 2005; on what date each joined the Prison Service; how long each has been a governor; and when each is expected to retire.

(203723)

223
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many probation areas in England and Wales exceeded their targets for victim contact during (a) 2003-04 and (b) the first six months of 2004-05.

(203827)

224
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many curfew orders with electronic monitoring were made by the courts in England and Wales in each of the last three financial years.

(203828)

225
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many curfew orders with electronic monitoring conditions were breached in each of the last three financial years, broken down by probation area.

(203829)

226
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to second offender managers from local probation services to work for regional offender managers; and if he will make a statement.

(203830)

227
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has for offender managers employed by probation areas in England and Wales to work for regional offender managers via service level agreements; and if he will make a statement.

(203831)

228
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when officials at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will resolve the immigration status of a constituent of the honourable Member for Vauxhall, reference number: A530709.

(203534)

229
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when officials at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will resolve the immigration status of a constituent of the honourable Member for Vauxhall, reference number: L0102000/1.

(203535)

230
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when officials at the Immigration Appellate Authority will set a date for the appeal hearing of a constituent of the honourable Member for Vauxhall, reference number: M1154882.

(203536)

231
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when officials at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to letters from the honourable Member for Vauxhall dated 9th March and 18th October, about a constituent, reference number: N1006256.

(203537)

232
Mr Jimmy Hood (Clydesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the outcome was of the Justice and Home Affairs Council held on 2nd-3rd December; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

(203692)

233
Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support measures to improve the performance of Northamptonshire Police; and if he will make a statement.

(203765)

234
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many persons removed under immigration legislation to other countries have been returned to the UK by those countries in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what action was then taken in respect of each case; what safeguards are in place (a) to monitor the actions of escorting officers and (b) to prevent abuse by them of those they are escorting; how many reports have been received about incidences of abuse; and if he will make a statement.

(203550)

235
N Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) warnings, (b) fixed penalty notices and (c) prosecutions there have been for breaches of Fireworks Act 2003 provisions governing use and sale of fireworks in each police authority area, grouped by region.

(203397)

236
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the estimated public expenditure on the (a) regional social inclusion partnerships and (b) Regional Community Cohesion Network was in England in the latest year for which figures are available.

(203561)

237
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203452)

238
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203470)

239
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203501)

240
Brian White (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests the UK Government has made to non-EU countries requesting that child pornography websites be removed from the internet; and on what legal basis.

(203677)

241
David Wright (Telford):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the trends in car crime in Telford since 1997.

(203725)

242
David Wright (Telford):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the trends in burglary rates in Telford since 1997.

(203726)

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

243
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the honourable Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will list works of art and artefacts (a) purchased and (b) sold by the Palace of Westminster in each of the last 10 years; and what price was (i) paid and (ii) achieved in each case.

(203718)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

244
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid programmes, have been supported in Angola during each of the last five years; at what value; and what programmes his Department is planning for the next three years.

(203288)

245
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the debt relief package proposed to the Government of Sudan by the US Administration; and whether the UK Government will be offering a similar package.

(203768)

246
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will undertake a study of the relationship between the capacity of the Jamaican sugar industry to develop its industry in a manner that adds value through the production of bio-ethanol, refining and co-generation, and development.

(203563)

247
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what resources his Department has allocated to assessing the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(203804)

248
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people hiding in the forests of Pinga and Walikale in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo following the recently reported increase in violence in the region; what assessment he has made of the provisions for humanitarian assistance (a) in and (b) close to the forests of Pinga and Walikale; and if he will make a statement.

(203805)

249
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203454)

250
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203472)

251
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203499)

Questions to the Leader of the House

252
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Leader of the House, whether special advisers for whom he is responsible have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203456)

253
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Leader of the House, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers for whom he is responsible between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203474)

254
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Leader of the House, whether departmental special advisers for whom he is responsible have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203497)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

255
N Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many whole time equivalent consultants in child and adolescent psychiatry are working (a) in Belfast and (b) within each of the Province's health boards.

(203092)

256
N Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the longest time a patient has been waiting for child and adolescent psychiatry assessment is at each health trust in the Province.

(203093)

257
N Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many individuals in the Province are waiting for assessment by child and adolescent psychiatry services.

(203094)

258
N Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will assess the merits of re-structuring child and adolescent psychiatry services on a Province-wide basis.

(203095)

259
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203455)

260
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203473)

261
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203498)

Questions to the Prime Minister

262
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Prime Minister, whether his special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203445)

263
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Prime Minister, how many complaints were made by civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers for whom he is responsible between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203462)

264
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Prime Minister, whether his special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203508)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland

265
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203460)

266
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203478)

267
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203493)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

268
Gregory Barker (Bexhill & Battle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what appointments the Shareholder Executive has made to the companies for which it is directly responsible.

(203601)

269
Gregory Barker (Bexhill & Battle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list directors of the Shareholder Executive, broken down by (a) appointing Department and (b) date of appointment; and what other (i) corporate and (ii) governmental positions each holds.

(203602)

270
Gregory Barker (Bexhill & Battle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the Shareholder Executive's day-to-day management responsibilities are for the public shareholdings for which it is directly responsible; and whether these responsibilities involve authority over (a) operations, (b) budget approval and (c) appointments.

(203603)

271
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether OFGEM plans to investigate levels of gas prices in autumn 2004.

(203566)

272
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the use of photovoltaics as an alternative to wind power.

(203552)

273
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what part her Department played in the recent European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition.

(203553)

274
N Mr Michael Clapham (Barnsley West & Penistone):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much her Department paid to lawyers for their work in contesting the coal miners chronic obstructive pulmonary disease case (a) up to and (b) since the date of the Appeal Court judgment in the matter in respect of work dealing with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger.

(202840)

275
N Mr Michael Clapham (Barnsley West & Penistone):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average transaction cost is for a settled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger claim, broken down by (a) legal, (b) medical, (c) insurance and (d) other costs.

(202841)

276
N Mr Michael Clapham (Barnsley West & Penistone):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average settlement value was of (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (b) vibration white finger cases at the last date for which figures are available; and what assessment she has made of the time it will take to complete all the cases under both schemes.

(202842)

277
N Mr Michael Clapham (Barnsley West & Penistone):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many asbestos claims her Department estimates it will receive from former employees of (a) British Ship Builders and (b) British Coal.

(202843)

278
N Mr Michael Clapham (Barnsley West & Penistone):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average compensation payment made to former employees of British Ship Builders diagnosed to be suffering a pleural plaque has been.

(202844)

279
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when (a) she and (b) other Ministers from her Department have visited Switzerland; and what plans she has for future visits by Ministers from her Department.

(203599)

280
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many reactors owned by British Energy are out of action; what discussions she has had with British Energy on the potential impact on generating capacity; and if she will make a statement.

(203761)

281
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether activities of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have been declared outwith EU Treaty rules on state aids.

(203762)

282
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many (a) people and (b) households living in fuel poverty there are in (i) Southwark and (ii) Greater London.

(203393)

283
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her estimate is of the number of children living in households in fuel poverty in (a) Southwark and (b) Greater London.

(203394)

284
Dr Brian Iddon (Bolton South East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which research councils allow students from other EU countries to accept studentships for postgraduate study in British universities.

(203635)

285
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make it her policy for companies to be required to produce annual corporate social responsibility reports in a consistent and comparable format.

(203565)

286
Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans she has to change the employment rights of cancer patients.

(203650)

287
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her response was to the proposal contained in the European Commission's communication on sugar of July in relation to (a) the proposed transitional period and (b) the level of price reductions, in relation to the effect upon African, Caribbean and Pacific producers.

(203555)

288
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the compulsory purchase of land to construct electricity pylons.

(203658)

289
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether the company (a) constructing, (b) that owns and (c) that operates an electricity pylon is permitted to make a financial profit from land that is acquired under a compulsory purchase order to construct an electricity pylon.

(203659)

290
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans she has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications issued by her Department and those public bodies reporting to her.

(203685)

291
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people are employed by the (a) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, (b) Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils, (c) Economic and Social Research Council, (d) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, (e) National Research Development Corporation, (f) Natural Environment Research Council and (g) Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203746)

292
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people are employed by the (a) Copyright Tribunal, (b) Employment Appeal Tribunal, (c) Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal, (d) persons hearing consumer credit licensing appeals, (e) persons hearing estate agents appeals and (f) employment tribunals; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203747)

293
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people are employed by (a) the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, (b) the Information Age Partnership, (c) the Low Pay Commission, (d) the Small Business Investment Taskforce and (e) the Women's National Commission; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203749)

294
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people are employed by (a) the Coal Authority, (b) the Competition Commission, (c) Postwatch, (d) the Equal Opportunities Commission, (e) Energywatch, (f) the National Consumer Council, (g) the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and (h) the Simpler Trade Procedures Organisation; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203753)

295
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the membership is of the (a) Spectrum Management Advisory Group, (b) British Hallmarking Council and (c) Design Council; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running costs was of each body in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203758)

296
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the membership is of the (a) Fuel Poverty Advisory Group, (b) Fuel Poverty Monitoring and Technical Group, (c) Industrial Development Advisory Board, (d) Intellectual Property Advisory Committee, (e) Investment Committee, (f) Measurement Advisory Committee, (g) Motorsport Competitiveness Panel, (h) National Policy Forum for Start-Ups, (i) regional industrial development boards, (j) Renewables Advisory Board, (k) Sector Analysis Strategy Committee and (l) Small Business Council; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203807)

297
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the membership is of the (a) Advisory Committee on Cleaner Coal Technology, (b) Advisory Group on Basic Technologies Programme, (c) Aerospace Committee, (d) Age Advisory Group, (e) Better Payment Practice Group, (f) Broadband Stakeholder Group, (g) Business Incubtion Fund Investment Panel, (h) Council for Science and Technology, (i) Database Market Strategy Group, (j) Distributed Generation Co-ordinating Group, (k) Employment Tribunal Implementation Group, (l) Energy Advisory Panel, (m) Ethnic Minority Business Forum and (n) Fuel Cells Advisory Panel; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

(203808)

298
Mr Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans she has (a) to bring forward legislation to provide protection for sub-contractors from loss following a main contractor's liquidation and (b) to introduce civil liability for losses by sub-contractors where they have been induced or increased by the misuse of letters of comfort by the holding company of a liquidated main contractor; and if she will make a statement.

(203735)

299
Mr Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations she has received in respect of the letters of comfort issued to sub-contractors immediately prior to liquidation of Ballast plc by its Dutch holding company; and if she will make a statement.

(203736)

300
Mr Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether the letters of comfort issued by the holding company immediately prior to liquidation of Ballast plc to sub-contractors and suppliers gave a fair and reasonable view of that company's financial position; and if she will make a statement.

(203737)

301
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203458)

302
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203476)

303
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203495)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

304
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when (a) he and (b) other Ministers from his Department have visited Switzerland; and what plans he has for future visits by Ministers from his Department.

(203600)

305
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated cost of the Thameslink 2000 project is; and if he will make a statement.

(203588)

306
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much per commuter mile was paid by Thameslink to the Government in each of the last three years; what the total payments from Thameslink have been in each of the last three years; if he will change the contractual arrangements with Thameslink so that such contributions from commuters are not required; and if he will make a statement.

(203640)

307
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is towards the charging of emergency vehicles for using (a) the M6 Toll Road and (b) other toll roads; and if he will make a statement.

(203567)

308
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average length of time is between receipt of an application for a (a) theory driving test and (b) practical driving test and the date of the test in (i) Southwark, (ii) Greater London and (iii) England; and if he will make a statement.

(203392)

309
N Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the (a) lane closure and (b) roadworks on the M62 between junctions 35 and 38 will finish.

(201876)

310
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the report from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Team on the Blue Badge Parking Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

(203668)

311
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reform the Blue Badge Parking Scheme to ensure that (a) local authorities are more circumspect in issuing Blue Badges and (b) there are sufficient disabled parking spaces to accommodate Blue Badge parking holders.

(203669)

312
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to prevent abuse of the Blue Badge Scheme.

(203670)

313
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with local authorities regarding (a) reform of and (b) abuse of the Blue Badge Scheme.

(203671)

314
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure greater security of the Blue Badge Scheme.

(203672)

315
Mr Francis Maude (Horsham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for all announcements and publications issued by his Department and those public bodies reporting to him.

(203683)

316
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people are employed by (a) the Driver Standards Agency, (b) Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority, (c) Vehicle Certification Authority and (d) Vehicle and Operator Service Agency; what the running costs of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of each body.

(203826)

317
Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on repair works to the M6 Thelwall viaduct; and if he will make a statement.

(203756)

318
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to report the Rail Safety and Standards Board findings on the health and safety effects on rail passengers of crowding and standing on trains.

(203722)

319
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will announce his decision on the Shell Haven Port enquiry.

(203769)

320
Dr Richard Taylor (Wyre Forest):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Government funding will be made available for the Stourport-on-Severn relief road.

(203764)

321
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203459)

322
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203477)

323
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203494)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

324
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203457)

325
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203475)

326
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203496)

Questions to the Minister for Women

327
Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton North):To ask the Minister for Women, what plans she has to ensure that female mature students have access to childcare.

(203649)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

328
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney & Shetland):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals have benefited from the (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal 25 plus, (c) New Deal 50 plus, (d) New Deal for Disabled People, (e) New Deal for lone parents, (f) New Deal for partners, (g) New Deal: self-employment and (h) New Deal for musicians in (i) Orkney, (ii) Shetland and (iii) the Highlands and Islands.

(203564)

329
David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the likely effects on benefit fraud, expressed as an annual percentage, of the introduction of identity cards.

(203521)

330
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chief Inspector of the Health and Safety Executive with regard to the Nuclear Industry Inspectorate's ability to provide nuclear safety assurances during the dispute with Prospect.

(203037)

331
N Simon Hughes (North Southwark & Bermondsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) people and (b) households in the (i) North Southwark and Bermondsey and (ii) Dulwich and West Norwood constituencies were (A) eligible to receive and (B) received the winter fuel payment in 2003-04.

(203395)

332
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are employed by Jobcentre Plus; what the running cost of the body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the future of the body.

(203822)

333
Mr Alex Salmond (Banff & Buchan):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the financial assistance fund announced on 14th May by his Department to assist workers who have lost out in pension wind-ups will be operational; and if he will make a statement.

(203690)

334
N Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to improve the performance of the Child Support Agency in the handling of direct approaches in correspondence and by telephone from the constituents of honourable Members.

(202019)

335
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

(203443)

336
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints were made by departmental civil servants regarding the conduct of special advisers between 31st March 2003 and 31st March 2004.

(203480)

337
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether departmental special advisers have made speeches in their official capacity since May 1997.

(203491)

338
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure computerised pension and benefit payments are made over the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement.

(203679)

339
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that pension payments due on Christmas Eve are paid earlier.

(203680)

340
N Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the assumptions were behind the fall in the projected cost of winter fuel payments in 2006-07 and 2007-08 compared to previous years.

(203391)

341
David Wright (Telford):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners are in receipt of pension credit in Telford; and if he will estimate how many are entitled to claim and have not done so.

(203724)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

342
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a property purchased via Right to Buy is charged stamp duty on the selling price (a) net of discount and (b) before the discount is applied.

[Transferred] (203551)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

343
Mr Peter Robinson (Belfast East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average weekly working hours for the junior ranks of the full-time Home Service Royal Irish Regiment were between October 2003 and October 2004.

[Transferred] (203546)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

344
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average proportion of household income spent on mortgages by first-time buyers buying property within the Greater London area was in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

[Transferred] (203629)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

345
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects to hear the appeal submitted to the British Embassy in Kiev on 6th September relating to the refusal to allow Mrs Inna Isaacs to join her husband; and if he will make a statement.

[Transferred] (203548)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

346
Mr George Osborne (Tatton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the membership is of the (a) Advisory Committee on Animal Feeding Stuffs, (b) the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, (c) the Advisory Committee on Research, (d) the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food, (e) the Beef Assurance Scheme Membership Panel, (f) the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, (g) the Consumer Committee, (h) the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals and (i) the Meat Hygiene Advisory Committee; what the (i) cost of salaries and expenses to members and (ii) running cost was of each body in the last year for which figures are available; and how many staff are employed to service each body.

[Transferred] (203748)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

347
Tom Cox (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on the (a) present living conditions of the civilian population in Fallujah and (b) the availability within Fallujah of water and heating facilities.

[Transferred] (203610)

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Revised 8 December 2004