Order Book Part 1

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
Publications on the internet
The Questions Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 31 January 2005

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

Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Monday 31 January 2005
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 31 January 2005

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Monday 31 January of which previous notice has been given in the Notices of Questions paper. They are arranged in alphabetical order of answering Department.

For other Written Questions for answer on Monday 31 January of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Monday 31 January see Part 2 of this paper.

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

1
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the last day for returning the 2001 census form was; how many such forms were issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS); how many were returned to the ONS; and if he will make a statement.

(213192)

2
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individual dwellings there are in Southend-on-Sea; and if he will make a statement.

(213195)

3
N Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many children in Kingswood have benefited from the Child Trust Fund.

(211872)

4
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the revenue implication of restructuring stamp duty on residential property sales so as to charge marginal rates of (a) 0 per cent. on property sales of £60,000 or less, two per cent. on sales revenue between £60,000 and £249,999, five per cent. on sales revenue between £250,000 and £499,999, seven per cent. on sales revenue of £500,000 and above, (b) 0 per cent. on property sales of £60,000 or less, two per cent. on sales revenue between £60,000 and £249,999, five per cent. on sales revenue between £250,000 and £499,999, eight per cent. on sales revenue of £500,000 and above, (c) 0 per cent. on property sales of £60,000 or less, two per cent. on sales revenue between £60,000 and £249,999, four per cent. on sales revenue between £250,000 and £499,999, eight per cent. on sales revenue of £500,000 and above and (d) 0 per cent. on property sales of £60,000 or less, two per cent. on sales revenue between £60,000 and £249,999, four per cent. on sales revenue between £250,000 and £499,999 and seven per cent. on sales revenue of £500,000 and above.

(212062)

5
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the revenue effect would be of restructuring residential stamp duty (a) by increasing the zero rate threshold to £80,000 and leaving all other thresholds unchanged, (b) by increasing the zero rate threshold to £100,000 and leaving all other thresholds unchanged, (c) by increasing the zero rate threshold to £120,000 and leaving all other thresholds unchanged, (d) by increasing the zero rate threshold to £80,000 and raising all other thresholds by £20,000, (e) by increasing the zero rate threshold to £100,000 and raising all other thresholds by £40,000 and (f) by increasing the zero rate threshold to £120,000 and raising all other thresholds by £60,000.

(213285)

6
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many taxpayers in Northern Ireland failed to meet the 31st January 2004 deadline for return of Inland Revenue tax returns.

(211891)

7
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-domestic hereditaments in England are businesses with a rateable value of (a) £10,000 or less, (b) £25,000 or less and (c) £25,001 or more.

(211589)

8
N Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Inland Revenue will make its decision on the request of Mrs Fury, a constituent of the honourable Member for Birkenhead, that it reconsiders its decision to claim back an overpayment in tax credits, made on 7th December 2004.

(212055)

9
N Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit claimants were paid compensation by the Inland Revenue between April 2004 and the end of December 2004.

(212067)

10
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Stoke-on-Trent have claimed working tax credit in each year since the credit was introduced.

(213063)

11
Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total estimated take-up rates were of research and development tax credits by eligible firms in each year since 2000, broken down by (a) size of company and (b) industrial sector.

(211928)

12
Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of research and development tax credits has been since 2000, broken down by (a) size of company and (b) industrial sector; and what the estimated value to 2014 is in each case.

(211929)

13
Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has for the Inland Revenue office at Alexandra House, Sailsbury, when the lease on the building is terminated; and if he will make a statement.

(213110)

14
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his latest estimate is of planned real growth of total managed expenditure between (a) 2007-08 and 2008-09 and (b) 2008-09 and 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

(213232)

15
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his latest estimate is of the level of the available (a) annually managed expenditure margin and (b) departmental expenditure reserve for capital and resource budgets for (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213233)

16
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213265)

17
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the survival rates for (a) all cancers and (b) each cancer classified by target organ were in the latest period for which figures are available; and what comparative information he collates on survival rates in other Western nations.

(213143)

18
N Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the cost of restoring the 10 per cent tax credit on dividends payable on shares held in equity ISAs.

(211738)

19
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of tax paid by sporting bodies in the UK in the last year for which figures are available.

(211905)

20
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of ATM charges on Basic Bank Account customers.

(213095)

21
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effects of charging for use of cash machines in public places.

(213196)

22
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of ATM charges on (a) financial inclusion and (b) low income groups.

(213208)

23
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the LINK network, (b) high street banks and (c) cash machine operators on charges for use of cash machines.

(213219)

24
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made by the Inland Revenue in its discussions with Supporters Direct to provide guidance and dedicated support for Football Supporters' Trusts to set up charities or community amateur sports clubs to run their community activities, and to help them take advantage of the range of tax reliefs available to such bodies; and if he will make a statement.

(213293)

25
N Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department expects to complete the review of the section 42 film tax incentive; which film industry organisations and representatives were involved; and when the findings of the review will be published.

(211691)

26
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants have (a) been relocated and (b) been agreed for relocation in the last 12 month; and to which areas of the United Kingdom, broken down by Department.

(213273)

27
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the Civil Service job reductions recommended by the Gershon Review were in (a) London, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Scotland, broken down by Department.

(213274)

28
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by the Government Actuary's Department on the long-term cost of public sector pensions referred to on page 43, Box 4.2 of the long-term public finance report of December 2004.

(212010)

Questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

29
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, if he will make a statement on cross-departmental co-ordination of policies for lone parents.

(212262)

30
N David Taylor (North West Leicestershire):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what recent discussions he has had with officials from the public sector unions on public service reform.

(211885)

Questions to the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs

31
Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether the Government intends to amend or repeal section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925, following the statement by the Lord Chancellor that photography will be allowed in court.

(213249)

32
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, when he will reply to the letter dated 15th December from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Thomas Gill.

(212287)

33
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213260)

34
Richard Ottaway (Croydon South):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, pursuant to his Oral Answer of 11th January, Official Report, column 159, whether magistrates are remunerated in Northern Ireland.

(212296)

35
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the estimated cost of legal aid to travellers has been in each year since 1997.

(211918)

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

36
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people over the age of 75 in each of Northern Ireland's constituencies were entitled to free television licences at the latest date for which figures are available.

(211875)

37
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her Answer of 24th January, Official Report, column 44W, on digital switch-over, what the few remaining issues relating to digital switch-over are that require to be resolved prior to the Government confirming the timetable for switch-over.

(212021)

38
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many objects have been loaned to (a) other UK museums and galleries, (b) museums and galleries in other EU countries and (c) non-EU foreign museums and galleries by national museums and galleries in the UK in each of the last five years.

(213057)

39
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

(213258)

40
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the balance of payments in the tourism sector was in each of the last two years for which figures are available.

(213075)

41
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the projected grant-in-aid funding for English Heritage is for each of the next three years.

(213076)

42
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects to publish the Green Paper on the BBC Charter renewal; and if she will make a statement.

(213246)

43
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) Royal Yachting Association and (b) Bristol Mountaineering Council about regulations involving working at heights.

(211740)

44
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations she has received from the Central Council for Physical Recreation and other bodies about the proposed levels of licensing fees for sports and community clubs.

(211741)

45
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations she has received from national governing bodies for sport on the impact of devolution on UK medal prospects in Olympic team sports.

(211742)

46
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has been made by Sport England of the levels of participation in sport by children outside school age.

(211743)

47
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much central Government funding has been allocated to sport in each year since 1994.

(211903)

48
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the (a) Football Association, (b) the Premier League and (c) the Football League on the effects of the recent European Court of Justice ruling on copyright.

(211904)

49
Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on what date she expects Lord Carter to publish her Report on her review of the co-ordination of national sports effort and resources.

(213294)

50
N Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the estimated tax payable under the Licencing Act 2003 is by organisers of country shows which attract attendance of up to (a) 5,000, (b) 10,000 and (c) 15,000; and if she will make a statement.

(211591)

51
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what role she will play in the sale of BBC Broadcast.

(211912)

52
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether competent companies will be allowed access to BBC Broadcast's essential financial information in order to determine whether to make a bid for the company; and if she will make a statement.

(211913)

53
N Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne & Sheppey):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that residents of multiple dwelling units can access digital television prior to analogue switch-off; and if she will make a statement.

(211736)

54
N Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne & Sheppey):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of residents living in multiple dwelling units who own a television licence.

(211737)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

55
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contracts for which his Department is responsible have been awarded to Autonomy plc.

(212202)

56
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has been made of the effects of the aircraft carrier programme on funding for other major defence procurement projects.

(213136)

57
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects to announce a decision on the successful tenderer for the Falcon project; and if he will make a statement.

(212097)

58
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-infantry soldiers in (a) Iraq and (b) Northern Ireland are deployed on infantry tasks.

(212099)

59
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a Black Watch soldier posted away from his battalion following the creation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will be permitted to wear the Red Hackle.

(212106)

60
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where the Royal Regiment of Scotland will have its (a) headquarters and (b) museum.

(212108)

61
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the current Scottish Regimental Headquarters and museums.

(212109)

62
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where he plans permanently to base the battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

(212110)

63
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Royal Regiment of Scotland will be formed.

(212111)

64
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Royal Scots and the Kings Own Scottish Borderers will be amalgamated.

(212112)

65
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the payments under the Profit Share Agreement with Annington Homes Ltd were invoked for (a) Gunwharf, Portsmouth, (b) Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport, (c) Peninsular Barracks, Winchester and (d) Ashford Barracks, Kent; and whether the Agreement has ever been invoked more than once on the same site.

(213321)

66
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on (a) the remit and (b) the powers of the Army Prosecuting Authority in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) the rest of the United Kingdom.

(212036)

67
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the membership is of the Army Prosecuting Authority; and if he will make a statement.

(212037)

68
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Swan Hunter regarding a financial support package; and if he will make a statement.

(212107)

69
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will reconsider his decision on the naming of the unit formed by the merger of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and the King's Regiment; and for what reasons the name proposed by the regiments involved was rejected.

(212139)

70
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Typhoon aircraft are in service with the Royal Air Force.

(212140)

71
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of origin was of fabric samples tested for the Cut and Sew Contract; and when the tests took place.

(212141)

72
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many garments have been delivered by the factory in China for the Cut and Sew Contract.

(212142)

73
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what process was used by his Department to reach a decision on the change of name of the 1st Queen's Lancashire Regiment; and whether the name change was recommended by (a) Army staff and (b) Ministers.

(212143)

74
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will reply to the letter dated 7th December from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M Thompson.

(212284)

75
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will reply to the letter dated 7th December from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr J Laycock.

(212285)

76
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213263)

77
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 26th January, Official Report, column 16WS on the reduction of Battalion Under Command GOC Northern Ireland, how many troops will remain under the command of the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland following the changes announced in that statement; and if he will make a statement.

(212117)

78
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the HQ Barracks of the proposed Royal Lancashire and Border regiment; and if he will make a statement.

(213323)

79
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he will take to preserve the (a) name, (b) insignia and (c) badge of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment in the proposed Royal Lancashire and Border Regiment; and if he will make a statement.

(213324)

80
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people work for the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the figures were in each case in January 2004; what the personnel costs of the agency are in 2004-05; and what they were in 2003-04.

(212153)

81
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people work for the Defence Analytical Services Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; what the figures were in each case in January 2004; what the personnel costs of the Agency are in 2004-05; and what they were in 2003-04.

(212154)

82
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of its personnel budget for financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04 the MoD Police spent in Scotland (a) in monetary terms and (b) as a percentage of the total personnel budget; and if he will make a statement.

(212155)

83
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people work for the MoD Police; how many are employed in Scotland; what the figures were in each case in January 2004; what the personnel costs of the Agency are in 2004-05; and what they were in 2003-04.

(212156)

84
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people work for the (a) Defence Bills Agency and (b) Defence Dental Agency; how many in each agency are employed in Scotland; and what the personnel costs of the agency (i) are in 2004-05 and (ii) were in 2003-04.

(213082)

85
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what percentage of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2002-03 the Defence Estates Agency spent in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

(213083)

86
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people work for the Defence Estates Agency; how many are employed in Scotland; and what the personnel costs of the agency (i) are in 2004-05 and (ii) were in 2003-04.

(213084)

87
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what bilateral relations exist between his Department and its Ukranian counterpart; and if he will make a statement.

(213277)

88
N Mr Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reviews are being carried out of the public duties obligations of the Household Division including the incremental companies.

(211491)

89
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list overseas trips he and his departmental Ministers have made on official business or using official transport, since 1997, broken down by date.

(211870)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

90
N Colin Burgon (Elmet):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made with each of the Pathfinder private finance initiative housing schemes.

(211914)

91
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list local housing associations that have been given consent to impose a right of first refusal on Right to Buy or voluntary sales under section 197 of the Housing Act 2004.

(213318)

92
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how his Department reached the assessment in the final regulatory impact assessment on the Local Government Act 2003 - Small Business Rate Relief that over 400,000 businesses would benefit from small business rate relief.

(212032)

93
N Brian Cotter (Weston-Super-Mare):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many of the hereditaments in England with a rateable value of less than £25,000 are defined as small businesses.

(212033)

94
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effects of his Department's policy since 1997 on Dudley North constituency; and if he will make a statement.

(213146)

95
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans his Department has to build affordable homes for key workers in Coventry South constituency.

(211206)

96
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many tenants who left London under the Moving Out of London scheme have since returned to London.

(213067)

97
Mr Damian Green (Ashford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations he has received from (a) people and (b) organisations in Kent about the introduction of regional control rooms for the Fire Service.

(211836)

98
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he expects to issue guidance to local authorities in respect of provisions to address problems with high hedges contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.

(213221)

99
Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what complaints he has received concerning his tour of the North East on 1st November 2004; what action has been taken concerning these complaints; and if he will place a copy of the correspondence in the Library.

(212267)

100
Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the standard spending assessment per capita is for each of the English regions in 2004-05.

(213149)

101
Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what (a) polling, (b) focus group research and (c) other measures of public opinion were undertaken by his Department since June 2003 in relation to (i) the regional referendum in the North East and (ii) preparation for the referendums in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber; and if he will place a copy of the reports in the Library.

(213157)

102
Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 21st December 2004, Official Report, columns 1557-8W, on Arup Economics and Planning, whether he has received the interim report on regional chambers from Arup Economics and Planning.

(213199)

103
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many new homes have been built in rural areas in each year since 1997.

(213134)

104
N Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much Wiltshire County Council has applied for in grant aid in respect of traveller sites in the Salisbury area; and when a decision will be made on the application.

(211243)

105
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213264)

106
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of homeless people in bed and breakfast accommodation are families with children.

(212258)

107
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which projects in the West Derbyshire constituency have (a) applied for funds, (b) been supported with funds and (c) been refused funds from the Living Spaces programme; and how many applications are pending that were submitted before the 21st July 2004 deadline.

(211937)

108
Mr Bill Olner (Nuneaton):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he expects to publish his Department's response to the consultation paper, Satellite dishes and other antennas: consultation on possible changes to planning regulations for satellite dishes and other antennas.

(213087)

109
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent representations he has received about high hedges; and if he will make a statement.

(213210)

110
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what funding has been available for disabled facilities grants in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

(213301)

111
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what freedoms councils with a (a) good and (b) excellent comprehensive performance assessment result have gained; and how long those freedoms last.

(211917)

112
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average domestic rates bill per household in England was in each year from 1975 to its abolition.

(211921)

113
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average business rates bill for businesses in England has been in each year since 1997-98; and what the estimated average bill will be in 2005-06.

(211922)

114
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the estimated public expenditure by central government on (a) authorised traveller sites and (b) illegal traveller encampments has been in each year since 1997.

(211923)

115
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what helpline services the Government provides to travellers; and how much was spent on such services in the last period for which figures are available.

(211924)

116
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much central government expenditure on the Communities Plan is to be allocated to each programme which is part of the plan.

(211930)

117
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much central government plans to spend on the Communities Plan in each year of its implementation.

(211935)

118
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on plans (a) the Government and (b) the Audit Commission has to extend Comprehensive Performance Assessment to (i) the fire service and (ii) police authorities.

(211938)

119
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average (a) house price and (b) first-time buyer property purchase price was in each local billing authority in England in each year for which figures are available.

(211939)

120
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average band D council tax has been in each county council area in each year since 1997-98.

(211973)

121
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent estimate the Government has made of the cost of local government inspection to local government.

(211974)

122
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans the Government has to reduce the level of inspection of local government in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08.

(211975)

123
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average band D council tax has been in each government office region in each year since 1997-98.

(211976)

124
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will publish the regulatory impact assessment produced for the Comprehensive Performance Assessment regime.

(211977)

125
N Mr Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what response he has received from (a) the Better Regulation Task Force and (b) the Small Business Service to (i) his proposed revision of part L of the building regulations and (ii) the proposed revised standard assessment procedure.

(211586)

126
N Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will require up-to-date information on the condition of fuel tanks to be included in the home condition inspection process.

(211041)

127
N Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what planning requirements he places upon householders for bunding for domestic oil tanks.

(211043)

128
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many childen were living in temporary accommodation in (a) the South West region and (b) South Gloucestershire in each year since 1997.

(212026)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

129
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how she plans to ensure that the information-sharing database in children's services flags cases of domestic violence or child abuse to ensure that domestic violence perpetrators cannot use their rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 to track down their children or ex-partner.

(212089)

130
Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many entries there were at A-level in (a) physics, (b) chemistry, (c) biology and (d) mathematics from schools designated as specialist science colleges in each of the last eight years, including entries from such schools before their designation as specialist schools.

(213300)

131
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her policy is on installation of sprinklers in schools; what advice she has given to schools on installation of sprinklers; and if she will make a statement.

(213328)

132
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the total expenditure on the Sure Start scheme has been in Coventry South in each year since the scheme has been in operation.

(211204)

133
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what actions her Department is taking to mark National Salt Awareness Day on 26th January; and if she will make a statement.

(211944)

134
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many students admitted to (a) Staffordshire University and (b) the University of Keele were (i) overseas non-EU, (ii) EU and (iii) UK students in each year between 1997 and 2004; and what percentage of the total number of such students each of these figures represent.

(212297)

135
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what initiatives her Department has introduced since 2001 to support education in rural areas.

(213133)

136
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

(213259)

137
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many pupils have been permanently excluded from schools in (a) the West Derbyshire parliamentary constituency and (b) the county of Derbyshire in each year since 1997.

(211936)

138
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many days' care was provided by foster carers in each year between 2000 and 2004.

(212052)

139
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children were (a) taken into care and (b) placed for adoption in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age.

(212053)

140
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of cared for children who received an official police caution in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212080)

141
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of looked after children who entered university or further education in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212081)

142
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) looked after children and (b) former looked after children who received custodial sentences in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212082)

143
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of looked after children who achieved five or more high grade passes (A-C) in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212083)

144
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made about the number of girls aged under 18 years in (a) children's homes and (b) foster care who became pregnant in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212084)

145
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of looked after children who suffer from drug or alcohol related problems.

(212085)

146
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estiamte she has made of the number of (a) looked after children and (b) former-looked after children who received custodial sentences in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212086)

147
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her most recent estimate is of the number of looked after children who have become homeless after leaving care.

(212087)

148
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of cared for children who become involved in prostitution.

(212088)

149
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many expulsions and exclusions of (a) children in foster care, (b) adopted children and (c) children in children's homes there were in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

(212138)

150
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the (a) percentage and (b) cash change in education funding for Leicestershire County Council has been in each year since 2001-02; how many teachers have been employed in Leicestershire local education authority area in each year since 2001-02 in real terms; and how much funding has changed per (i) primary and (ii) secondary school pupil in Leicestershire since 2001-02.

(212122)

151
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the effect on the UK's ability to recruit international students by increased charges for visa extensions as proposed by the Home Office.

(213308)

152
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to increase the attractiveness of studying in the UK to international students.

(213309)

153
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of primary schools have a fully qualified physical education teacher.

(211835)

154
Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when Ofsted will take school meals into account during inspections as set out in the White Paper, Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier.

(213297)

155
Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she expects to complete the Government's commitment to consider introducing nutrient-based standards for school meals as set out in the White Paper, Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier.

(213298)

156
N Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps she is taking to deal with bullying in schools.

(211833)

157
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the expenditure of the Adult Learning Inspectorate was in each year since its establishment; and what the estimated budget for the next financial year is.

(211940)

158
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the expenditure of Ofsted was in each year since its establishment; and what the estimated budget for the next financial year is.

(211941)

159
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many unauthorised absences from secondary schools there were in each (a) local education authority and (b) Government Office Region in each year since 1996-97.

(211978)

160
N Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much central government funding was received by each local education authority in England (a) per primary pupil and (b) per secondary pupil in 2004-05; if she will estimate the figures for 2005-06 based on the provisional local government settlement; and if she will provide in each case estimates for England as whole.

(212020)

161
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many looked-after children have been placed in private boarding schools in each of the last four years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority.

(211955)

162
N Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of students admitted to English universities were (a) overseas non-EU, (b) EU and (c) UK students in each year between 1997 and 2004.

(212024)

163
Iain Wright (Hartlepool):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many students in Hartlepool have been in receipt of education maintenance allowances in each year since the scheme was introduced.

(213288)

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

164
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for greenhouse gas emissions of the absence of an agreed national allocation plan under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

(211782)

165
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the relationship between the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management and NIREX.

(212136)

166
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the network of combined sewage and stormwater overflows discharging raw sewage into the River Thames.

(211979)

167
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what obligations there are on Thames Water to (a) maintain and (b) update its sewage system; and what action she has undertaken to ensure that its sewage systems remain well maintained and updated.

(211980)

168
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what investment is planned from 2005 (a) to improve the quality of effluent discharged through overflows, (b) to increase the storage capacity at sewage and wastewater treatment works and (c) to ensure that more sustainable drainage systems are used in the future growth of London.

(211981)

169
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of sewage were discharged into the River Thames in the last five years, broken down by water utility; and if she will make a statement.

(211982)

170
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which water utilities serving Greater London were prosecuted in 2004 for serious environmental offences which resulted in a fine of over £1,000; what the nature was of the offences; and how much they were fined.

(211983)

171
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Department for Education and Skills on maintaining recruitment into the veterinary profession, with particular reference to the State Veterinary Service.

(211724)

172
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions has she had with (a) non-governmental organisations and (b) national governments on assistance for animal welfare measures following the recent tsunami.

(211725)

173
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Canadian Government on the recent BSE case discovered there.

(211726)

174
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which types of farmers are eligible for single payment scheme hardship payments for agri-environment participants.

(211727)

175
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the National Farmers Union on setting minimum prices for sourcing of agricultural produce in the UK.

(211867)

176
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce the EU system for sheep tagging; and what discussions she has had with the National Farmers' Union on this matter.

(211892)

177
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she will apply the Single Payment Scheme to areas of common land, broken down by appropriate registration schemes for the land.

(211893)

178
Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB will publish its fourth report.

(213287)

179
Mr John Gummer (Suffolk Coastal):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the US Administration about its policy on countries entering into international environmental agreements as a condition of bilateral trade agreements.

(213227)

180
Mr George Howarth (Knowsley North & Sefton East):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average level of farm income has been in each year since 1987.

(213153)

181
Mr George Howarth (Knowsley North & Sefton East):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what initiatives her Department has introduced since 1997 to support farming.

(213154)

182
Mr George Howarth (Knowsley North & Sefton East):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much public money was spent on support for farming in England in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (a) constituency, (b) county and (c) region.

(213155)

183
Mr George Howarth (Knowsley North & Sefton East):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was paid under the Common Agricultural Policy to farmers in each (a) constituency, (b) county and (c) region of England in the last period for which figures are available.

(213156)

184
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which councils have benefited from support under (a) the Vital Villages Scheme, (b) the Quality Parish Scheme and (c) the Market Towns Initiative since 2001.

(213135)

185
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make explicit reference in departmental plans and publications to enabling a wider role to be played by social enterprises in delivering her Department's environmental agenda.

(212001)

186
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will reply to the letter dated 29th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr G. Bibby.

(212288)

187
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

(213268)

188
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the benefits to English farmers of the reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy made in 2003.

(213129)

189
Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the savings to UK public funds of reforms to the Common Agricutural Policy since their introduction in 2003.

(213130)

190
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the change in incidence of bovine TB in cattle has been since 1999.

(211906)

191
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dairy farms there were in England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the estimated figure is for 2004-05.

(211907)

192
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm workers were employed on dairy farms in England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the estimated number is for 2004-05.

(211908)

193
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of household waste in West Derbyshire has been recycled in each of the last three years.

(211909)

194
Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to support the development of farmers' markets (a) in the North West region and (b) elsewhere in England.

(213101)

195
N Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of pollution in the domestic and residential sector there were in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

(211042)

196
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research has been carried out into the likelihood of the UK being struck by a tidal wave in the foreseeable future.

(211886)

197
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations her Department has made for the possibility of the UK being struck by a tidal wave.

(211887)

198
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of (a) which areas of the UK are likely to be affected and (b) the scale of likely damage which would be caused by a tidal wave.

(211888)

199
Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact on biodiversity in the UK of allowing free trade in agricultural products.

(212128)

200
Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of how much the Common Agricultural Policy costs an average sized family in (a) increased food prices and (b) taxes.

(212133)

201
Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the economic effects on (a) UK consumers and (b) the UK economy of allowing free trade in agricultural products.

(212134)

202
Hywel Williams (Caernarfon):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with interested parties in respect of the use of rivers by anglers and cormorants.

(213248)

203
Pete Wishart (North Tayside):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) viability, (b) social impact and (c) economic impact of quality requirements for Middle Eastern produce imports; when this assessment was last reviewed; and if she will make a statement.

(213234)

204
Pete Wishart (North Tayside):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of recent EU liberalisation of sugar production in its member states on (a) relations between the smaller and larger economic powers in the World Trade Organisation and (b) the economies of (i) African and (ii) Caribbean sugar producing economies; and if she will make a statement.

(213235)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

205
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Vietnamese Government about the recent detention of six Mennonite pastors and the allegations of torture that they made on their release.

(213111)

206
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the policy of the Chinese Government to repatriate refugees from North Korea; and if he will urge the Chinese Government to end this policy.

(213112)

207
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps (a) the Government and (b) the EU are taking to tackle human rights abuses by the military junta in Burma.

(213228)

208
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese Government on the rights of religious minorities; and if he will make it his policy to exert pressure on China to increase religious freedom.

(213231)

209
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan about Mrs Hanifan Bibi.

(211866)

210
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will instruct the UK representation in Sudan to investigate why the National Security Agency of Sudan confiscated all copies of the Al-Mushahid sports paper.

(211894)

211
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Cuban authorities concerning (a) Dr Oscar Elias Biscet and (b) Jorge Luis Garcia Pérez (Antúnez).

(211958)

212
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the maintenance of the EU's Common Position on Cuba.

(211959)

213
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had with the Spanish Government concerning the EU Common Position on Cuba.

(211960)

214
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Cuban Government concerning section 3(b) of the EU's Common Position on Cuba.

(211961)

215
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Cuba who are (a) serving prison sentences and (b) awaiting trial for political reasons.

(212265)

216
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the persecution of religious minorities, specifically Christians, in Bangladesh.

(212268)

217
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Bangladesh about recent allegations of abuse against Hindus.

(212269)

218
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on what action he has taken following the bomb attacks on the British envoy in Syllhet, Bangladesh.

(212270)

219
Mr John Gummer (Suffolk Coastal):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Commonwealth counterparts on the policy of the US to specify non-adherence to international environmental treaties as a condition of bilateral trade agreements.

(213251)

220
Mr John Gummer (Suffolk Coastal):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Singapore Authorities to encourage them not to agree to restrictions on their right to sign international environmental agreements as a condition of a bilateral US trade agreement.

(213252)

221
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply to the letter dated 8th December 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Majid Ali.

(212290)

222
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply to the letter dated 15th November 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Samiul Alam.

(212291)

223
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply to the letter dated 9th November 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to S. Hameed.

(212293)

224
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply to the letter dated 1st December 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Saif-Ur-Rehman.

(212294)

225
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213266)

226
Mr Calum MacDonald (Western Isles):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with EU member states on the failure by Croatia to hand over indicted war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague.

(212014)

227
Mr Calum MacDonald (Western Isles):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague to complete its work.

(212015)

228
Mr Calum MacDonald (Western Isles):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what efforts he is making to secure the arrest of indicted war criminals (a) Ante Gotovina, (b) Ratko Mladic and (c) Radovan Karadzic.

(212016)

229
Mr Calum MacDonald (Western Isles):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he is making to mark the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacres; and if he will make a statement.

(212028)

230
Mr Calum MacDonald (Western Isles):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yusoslavia in the Hague has been (a) to the UN and (b) to the UK.

(212029)

231
Mr Calum MacDonald (Western Isles):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the French government about Ante Gotovina.

(212030)

232
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, by what date and in what form he will publish the range of material to accompany the constitutional treaty to which the Prime Minister referred on 4th May 2004, Official Report, column 1456W; and what the price of such material will be.

(212031)

233
Mr Michael Moore (Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which (a) countries and (b) organisations will be represented at the forthcoming London conference on the Middle East peace process in March; at what level they will be represented; and if he will make a statement.

(211951)

234
Mr Michael Moore (Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on arms sales to (a) Burkina Faso, (b) Benin, (c) Ghana, (d) Côte d'Ivoire, (e) Mali, (f) Niger and (g) Nigeria.

(211952)

235
Mr Michael Moore (Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the Government of Burkina Faso, (b) European Union counterparts and (c) members of the Economic Community of West African States regarding the forthcoming presidential elections in Burkina Faso.

(211953)

236
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is the Government's policy to support the doctrine of anticipatory self-defence in the context of international affairs.

(212219)

237
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross concerning their assessment of the (i) nature and (ii) condition of the detention of Dr. Amir al-Saadi since his surrender in April 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(212157)

238
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the deployment of Palestinian police in southern Gaza on 26th January; what assessment his Department has made of the impact that this deployment will have on the peace process; and if he will make a statement.

(212158)

239
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the Palestinian authority and (ii) the Government of Israel on the deployment of Palestinian police in southern Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

(212159)

240
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) financial assistance, (b) logistical assistance and (c) assistance in kind (i) his Department, (ii) the UK Government and (iii) the EU have (A) offered and (B) delivered to the Palestinian Authority for the deployment of Palestinian police (1) in southern Gaza, (2) Gaza as a whole and (3) the West Bank; and if he will make a statement.

(212173)

241
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) nationalities and (b) identities of the foreign (i) suppliers and (ii) financiers of the Iraqi military procurement programme during Saddam Hussein's regime; and if he will make a statement.

(212174)

242
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the role played by Amir al-Saadi in Saddam Hussein's regime from 1981 to 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(212198)

243
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department has received concerning the possible involvement of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro with the overseas assets of the Saddam Hussein regime; and if he will make a statement.

(212199)

244
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when (a) he, (b) officials of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government last had discussions with members and representatives of (i) the US Administration and (ii) the Iraqi interim authority concerning the detention of Amir al-Saadi; and if he will make a statement.

(212200)

245
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials of his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government had with members and representatives of (i) the US Administration and (ii) the Iraqi interim authority concerning the status under which Amir al-Saadi is being detained; when this status was last (A) reviewed and (B) changed; and if he will make a statement.

(212201)

246
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, under whose authority Amir al-Saadi has been detained since his surrender in April 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(212208)

247
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the role of Amir al-Saadi in dealing with UN weapons inspectors since 1991; and if he will make a statement.

(212209)

248
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the US Administration and (ii) the Iraqi interim authority concerning the release of Amir al-Saadi; and if he will make a statement.

(212210)

249
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department has received concerning the provision of legal representation to Amir al-Saadi since his surrender in April 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(212211)

250
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the number of (a) allegations of police mistreatment, (b) charges brought against police officers and (c) dismissals of police officers following allegations of mistreatment in each year since 1997 in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

(212274)

251
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the involvement of Kongra-Gel members in (a) illegal and (b) terrorist acts since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(212292)

252
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the extradition request to Germany for Remzi Kartal announced by the Turkish Justice Minister on 26th January; and if he will make a statement.

(213069)

253
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the death toll in Turkey in each year since 1984 due directly to (a) Kurdish action, (b) Government action aimed at Kurdish groups and (c) other violent causes; and if he will make a statement.

(213070)

254
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the size and (b) the nature of the fire at the Beko Elektronik warehouse in Beylikduzu on 24th January; and if he will make a statement.

(213071)

255
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the Roj TV announcement on 25th January, claiming PKK responsibility for the fire at the Beko Elektronik warehouse in Beylikduzu on 24th January; and if he will make a statement.

(213072)

256
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the treatment of Huseyin Sundal while in police custody in Turkey in April 1996 and (b) the European High Court of Human Rights' ruling of 25th January concerning this case; and if he will make a statement.

(213073)

257
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the number of Kurdish people who (a) migrated from the northern part of Iraq during the Saddam Hussein regime to (i) Iran, (ii) Turkey, (iii) Syria and (iv) other countries and (b) have migrated to the northern part of Iraq since the end of the Saddam Hussein regime from (A) Iran, (B) Turkey, (C) Syria and (D) other countries; and if he will make a statement.

(213236)

258
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people have been registered to vote in northern Iraq (a) in numbers, (b) as a percentage of the population of the Kurdish area of Iraq, (c) as a percentage of eligible voters in Iraq and (d) as a percentage of all registered voters in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(213237)

259
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the Kurdistan Democratic Party, (ii) the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and (iii) other Kurdish parties in northern Iraq concerning (1) the elections and (2) the territorial integrity of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(213238)

260
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the Turkoman community and (ii) the Turkoman Front on (A) the coalition plans for the future of Iraq, (B) the elections in Iraq and (C) the territorial integrity of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(213239)

261
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the statement released on 25th January by the Turkish Human Rights Association Ynsan Haklari DerneDý regarding the number of honour killings in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

(213240)

262
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the net migration into the Kurdish area of northern Iraq since 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(213241)

263
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of General Ilker Basbug's statement on 26th January concerning the impact of Kurdish migration to Kirkuk on the stability of the region; and if he will make a statement.

(213242)

264
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the Turkish Government and (ii) the Turkish armed forces concerning the elections in Iraq; what concerns were raised during these discussions; and if he will make a statement.

(213243)

265
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the US Administration, (ii) the governments of the EU member states and (iii) the Iraqi interim authority concerning Turkey's concerns over the (1) run-up to and (2) outcome of the elections in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(213244)

266
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he, (b) officials in his Department and (c) representatives of the UK Government have had with members and representatives of (i) the US Administration, (ii) the Iraqi interim authority, (iii) the Government of Turkey and (iv) the Government of Israel concerning the territorial integrity of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(213245)

267
N Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it remains the Government's position that the UK retains the right to decide whether to opt in to EU asylum measures, as set out in his oral Answer of 16th December 2003, Official Report, column 1427, following the European Commission's statement on 24th January on asylum policy.

(211878)

268
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to (a) international organisations and (b) non-governmental organisations concerning monitors for the forthcoming Iranian presidential elections.

(212069)

269
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what technical support the UK has offered the Government of Vietnam to facilitate World Trade Organisation membership.

(213275)

270
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to facilitate the long-term goal of the Ukrainian Government of EU accession.

(213278)

271
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the Government will provide to the new Government of Ukraine to enable internal reforms in the legal system, the media and minority rights.

(213279)

272
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the UK will provide to the South East Asia region in establishing a tsunami early warning system.

(213280)

273
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what matters in respect of bilateral UK-China co-operation on carbon capture and storage were discussed during his recent visit to China; and what programmes for scientific consideration on carbon sequestration have been established with countries in South and South East Asia.

(212130)

274
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the full text of the Iraqi declaration on Weapons of Mass Destruction of 7th December 2002 to be published.

(213105)

275
Dr Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Iraqi Government concerning the release of Dr Amir Al-Saadi.

(213109)

276
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list overseas trips he and his departmental ministers have made on official business or using official transport since 1997, broken down by date.

(211871)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

277
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of inpatients in East Sussex had their hospital stay prolonged by adverse drug reactions in the last 12 months.

(211779)

278
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of hospital admissions caused by adverse drug reactions in East Sussex in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

(211780)

279
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the working group on undergraduate dental school places to publish its report; and whether the dental profession has been involved in the working group.

[R] (211728)

280
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many dentists have started work full-time in the NHS in response to the Returning to Dentistry campaign.

[R] (211729)

281
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to increase the number of dental academic staff to take account of his undertaking to increase dental undergraduate places by an extra 170 per year.

[R] (211730)

282
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on progress towards recruiting an extra 1,000 full-time dentists into the NHS by October 2005.

[R] (211731)

283
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to attract more dentists to the Community Dental Service.

[R] (211732)

284
N Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of how many people in England suffer from (a) arthritis, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) asthma and (d) mental illness; and how many of each are exempt from prescription charging.

(211532)

285
N Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England are undergoing chemotherapy treatment; and how many of these are exempt from prescription charging.

(211533)

286
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) membership and (b) attendance record of each member of the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor review group is.

(213094)

287
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's review of tricyclic drugs; and what methodology the Agency will use for the review.

(213152)

288
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with glaucoma in each year since 1989, broken down by age.

(213224)

289
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons no compensation is payable to the families of those who died before 29th August 2003 from Hepatitis C caused through NHS treatment with blood and blood products.

(212098)

290
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the relationship between high blood pressure and kidney disease.

(211943)

291
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Deputy Prime Minister about future funding for healthy living centres and healthy lifestyles workers.

(213077)

292
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS dentists were employed in Stoke-on-Trent in each of the last five years.

(213056)

293
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent advertising the dangers of excessive alcohol in each of the last seven years.

(213059)

294
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent by his Department on (a) treating and (b) rehabilitating alcoholics in each of the last seven years.

(213060)

295
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many dentists have started work full-time for the NHS in Stoke-on-Trent since the inception of the Returning to Dentistry campaign.

(213074)

296
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) accident and emergency admissions and (b) ambulance call-outs resulting from incidents occurring (i) on and (ii) in the vicinity of premises licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises under the Licensing Act 1964 there were in the last period for which figures are available.

(212061)

297
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of British citizens possessing E111 forms issued (a) before and (b) after August 2004; and if he will make a statement.

(213292)

298
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the likely impact of draft guidelines published by the United States Food and Drug Administration regarding the regulation of experimental crops on UK (a) importers and (b) retailers of (i) animal feed and (ii) food intended for human consumption.

(211733)

299
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what efforts his Department has made to raise awareness of the salt content in processed food.

(213115)

300
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether patients with kidney disease are made aware of the importance of seeking medical advice about their daily salt intake levels.

(213116)

301
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the health risks to patients on dialysis of failing to monitor sodium intake levels.

(213117)

302
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each primary care trust have received the (a) flu and (b) pneumonia vaccine this winter; and what percentage of eligible people this represents in each case.

(213088)

303
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the hourly average pay rate for workers in the social care sector.

(213137)

304
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he has issued to social services departments on costs which must be taken into account when deciding weekly rates for care homes; and whether this includes a recommended minimum hourly rate of pay.

(213138)

305
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paramedic ambulances are based in (a) Lancashire and (b) each constituency in Lancashire.

(212040)

306
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how long on average people waited for ambulances responding to 999 calls in Chorley in the last year for which figures are available; and how many times the target response time was missed during that period.

(212041)

307
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make a statement on the financial position of the Lancashire Teaching Hospital Trust.

(212042)

308
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many intensive care beds were located in Chorley Hospital in each of the last five years.

(212043)

309
Mrs Joan Humble (Blackpool North & Fleetwood):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Agenda for Change programme applies to staff employed by private companies providing services within the NHS.

(211957)

310
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each primary care trust are receiving Enbrel on NHS prescription for juvenile arthritis.

(213204)

311
N Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to make a decision on the proposal for the building of the Paddington Health Campus.

(211734)

312
N Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the revenue available to support the revised Paddington Health Campus project to take account of the gap in revenue highlighted in the NAO/Department of Health report on the previous outline business case.

(211735)

313
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to increase the flexibility of continued professional development for general practitioners, with particular reference to opportunities offered to those working in rural or remote medical practices.

(212137)

314
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of whether Wockhardt's production of diamorphine will be sufficient to meet NHS requirements; and if he will make a statement.

(213270)

315
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the alternative medicines his Department has recommended for use in the NHS for pain management whilst supplies of diamorphine are being addressed; whether these alternative medicines require additional equipment in order to administer them; and what additional resources are being made available to the NHS for pain management.

(213271)

316
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements he has made with alternative (a) UK and (b) foreign suppliers of diamorphine to the NHS.

(213272)

317
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213253)

318
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what expenditure is planned for the hepatitis C awareness campaign in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06.

(213198)

319
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Alzheimer's disease patients are being treated in West Derbyshire; what the total spending on drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease was in West Derbyshire in each of the last three years; what assessment he has made of the availability of drugs for moderately-severe to severe Alzheimer's disease in West Derbyshire; how much was spent by the NHS on drug treatments for advanced Alzheimer's disease patients in West Derbyshire in each of the last three years; and what measures have been taken to assist carers of patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease in West Derbyshire.

(211915)

320
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) care homes and (b) care home places were available in West Derbyshire in each of the last seven years run by (i) Derbyshire County Council and (ii) the voluntary independent and private sector.

(211916)

321
Mr Tony McWalter (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the needs of those who suffer from Parkinson's disease are being met; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which nursing specialists can contribute to the meeting of these needs.

(212260)

322
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) grant levels calculated on the capitation formula basis and (b) amount of grant paid to (i) the East Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust and (ii) the Fenland Primary Care Trust (A) were in each year before the merger of the trusts and (B) have been in each year since the merger.

(213128)

323
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which trusts amalgamated to form the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Trust; when amalgamation took place; what grant payments were made to each trust in the three years prior to amalgamation; what the grant payment has been made to the amalgamated trust in each year since inception; and what the budget deficit of the amalgamated trust at inception was.

(213213)

324
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list health authorities where radiotherapy waiting times do not comply with the clinical guidelines on the maximum acceptable delays before the start of treatment.

(212212)

325
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to reduce waiting times for treatment for patients with (a) cancer and (b) brain cancer who are initially referred non-urgently but are identified as suffering from cancer.

(212213)

326
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will set a deadline for ending the current variation in the prescribing of anti-cancer drugs as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee in its Report on tackling cancer in England, HC 166.

(212214)

327
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to reduce radiotherapy waiting times for (a) cancer and (b) brain cancer.

(212215)

328
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of trends in radiotherapy waiting times.

(212216)

329
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doses of (a) tamiflu and (b) other antivirals the Government has stockpiled; and what plans his Department has to increase these stockpiles.

(213139)

330
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the relative contribution of (a) delay in referral from general practitioners and (b) delay in carrying out diagnostic tests to late diagnosis identified by the Public Accounts Committee in its report on Tackling Cancer in England, HC166 of (i) cancer, (ii) brain cancer, (iii) lung cancer, (iv) breast cancer, (v) prostate cancer, (vi) childhood leukaemia and (vii) cancer of the gastro-intestinal tract.

(213144)

331
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS Trusts are taking part in merger talks/proposals.

(213211)

332
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has received requests from his counterparts in (a) the National Assembly for Wales and (b) the Scottish Parliament to discuss the use of NHS mobile diagnostic treatment centres.

(212218)

333
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what minimum standards of service must be met before he approves the merger of ambulance trusts.

(211902)

334
N Dame Marion Roe (Broxbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral Answer of 18th January, Official Report, column 675, on chiropody services, when the guidance on the provision of podiatry services contained in the report of the joint Department of Health and NHS Chiropody Task Force, Feet First, was discontinued.

(211370)

335
Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what timetable has been set for the extension of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults scheme to all NHS workers; and what plans are in place to ensure that extension is effective.

(213295)

336
Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, why Protection of Children Act (PoCA) and Protection of Vulnerable Adults (PoVA) referrals are not automatically cross-checked; and if he will require the automatic cross-checking of PoVA and PoCA lists.

(213296)

337
Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what initiatives his Department has introduced since 2001 to support health services in rural areas.

(213102)

338
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the Food Standards Agency spent on inspecting and auditing the performance of local authorities in the most recent year for which figures are available.

(211945)

339
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were registered with an NHS dentist in (a) each Government Office region and (b) each parliamentary constituency in each year since 1997.

(211946)

340
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients are waiting for treatment in each Government Office region in England.

(211947)

341
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many MRSA cases there were in each Government Office region in each year since 1997.

(211948)

342
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the expenditure of the (a) Social Services Inspectorate and (b) Commission for Social Care Inspection was in each year since its establishment; and what the estimated budget for the next financial year is in each case.

(211949)

343
N Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that the patient information leaflet for human insulin includes reference to the full range of side effects experienced by those taking human insulin, as reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines.

(211590)

344
N Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will delay any contractual commitment by Portsmouth Hospitals Trust to rebuild Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham by way of a private finance initiative until he has received the recommendations of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.

(212065)

345
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) principal and (b) assistant dentists offered NHS treatment in the Strategic Health Authority of Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in each year since 1997.

(212013)

346
Hywel Williams (Caernarfon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent dentists were employed by the NHS in England per 10,000 of the population in the last three years for which figures are available.

(213325)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

347
Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the policy of the Prison Service is on faith-based offending behaviour initiatives; what the contractual arrangements at Dartmoor are under which an outside organisation is providing services of this kind; and how much in public funds (a) was spent in financial year 2003-04 and (b) is budgeted for (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06 in connection with such externally sourced faith-based initiatives.

(213089)

348
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many inquests in the jurisdiction of the Teesside Coroner were heard in (a) August, (b) September, (c) October, (d) November and (e) December 2004 by the (i) coroner, (ii) deputy coroner and (iii) assistant deputy coroner.

(212063)

349
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for how many days in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004 the (i) coroner, (ii) Deputy Coroner and (iii) Assistant Deputy Coroner for Teesside sat on inquests.

(212064)

350
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for how many days on average in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004 (i) coroners, (ii) deputy coroners and (iii) assistant deputy coroners in the North East region sat on inquests.

(212090)

351
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the salaries of the (a) Coroner, (b) Deputy Coroner and (c) Assistant Deputy Coroner of Teesside were on 1st December 2004.

(212091)

352
Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time between death and inquest in the jurisdiction of the Coroner for Teesside was in 2004; and what the average time between death and inquest was in other coroners' jurisdictions in (a) the North East and (b) England and Wales in that year.

(212092)

353
Mr Roy Beggs (East Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many extradition requests from the United Kingdom Government to the Government of the Irish Republic have resulted in the extradition of the person or persons concerned in the last 10 years for which records are available; what representations have been made to the Government of the Irish Republic in respect of non-executed requests; and if he will list those requests not yet executed.

(212058)

354
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police authorities have contracts with Autonomy plc.

(212204)

355
N Mr David Cameron (Witney):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received about current levels of violent crime in the Thames Valley; and if he will make a statement.

(211516)

356
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the asylum registration card issued by his Department establishes a right of abode in the UK.

(212101)

357
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum registration cards have been issued in each of the last six months; and how many in each month prohibited employment.

(212102)

358
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many holders of asylum registration cards with employment prohibited have left the UK (a) voluntarily and (b) through deportation in each of the last six months.

(212103)

359
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people to whom asylum registration cards have been issued are resident in the UK.

(212105)

360
Ross Cranston (Dudley North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effects of his Department's policy since 1997 on Dudley North constituency; and if he will make a statement.

(213145)

361
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the Government's responsibilities to asylum seekers under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.

(212261)

362
Jim Dowd (Lewisham West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police driving schools there were in England and Wales in each of the past 10 years; and how many police officers took (a) a standard driving course and (b) an advanced driving course in each year.

(213250)

363
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley East & Mexborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been in (a) South Yorkshire and (b) England of retailers for selling tobacco to under-age children in each of the last five years.

(212263)

364
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley East & Mexborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been in (a) South Yorkshire and (b) England of retailers for selling alcohol to people under 18 years in each of the last five years.

(212264)

365
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been employed as special constables in Stoke-on-Trent in each of the last seven years.

(213062)

366
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) incidents of violence against the person and (b) police emergency call-outs resulting from incidents occurring (i) on and (ii) in the vicinity of premises licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises under the Licensing Act 1964 there were in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

(212059)

367
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under (i) section 172, (ii) section 172A and (iii) section 173 of the Licensing Act 1964 in each year since 1997; how many landlords have had their licences revoked due to breach of these provisions; and if he will make a statement.

(212060)

368
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 10th January, Official Report, column 326W, on the OASys IT System, what estimate he has made of the cost of OASys assessments for those young adult offenders aged 18 to 20 years sentenced to fewer than 12 months imprisonment.

(212147)

369
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were subject to OASys assessments in the last 12 months.

(212148)

370
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of operating the OASys system has been in the last 12 months.

(212149)

371
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 10th January, Official Report, column 326W, on the OASys IT System, if he will list those prisons which provide (a) custody plans and (b) prisoner passports for adults serving short sentences.

(212150)

372
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisoners have been subject to (a) custody plans and (b) prisoner passports; and what percentage such prisoners represent of adults serving short sentences.

(212151)

373
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to make it mandatory for all prisons to provide custody plans or prisoner passports; and if he will estimate the cost of doing so.

(212152)

374
N Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the financial settlement for the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority was in each year between 1995-06 and 2004-05.

(212054)

375
N Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many mandatory minimum sentences have been imposed under the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 in respect of (a) third-time burglars and (b) third-time drug dealers.

(211739)

376
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in relation to the introduction and operation in Northern Ireland of control orders as announced by the Home Secretary on 26th January; and if he will make a statement.

(212035)

377
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the outcome of the consultation and review of in-country leave to remain application charges will be made available.

(211890)

378
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 21st November 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Yulima Vincente Vidal.

(212275)

379
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 8th December 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Ayesha Siddiqui.

(212276)

380
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 14th December 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Sakariya Mohamed.

(212277)

381
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 21st November 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Dr A. R. Esta Bragh.

(212278)

382
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 11th October from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Pauline Clear.

(212279)

383
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 6th December from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Alis Nicolae Bubric.

(212280)

384
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 6th December from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Saima Manzoor Ahmed.

(212281)

385
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 17th November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Thembelani Chinyoka.

(212282)

386
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 1st November from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Lily Beverley.

(212283)

387
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 14th December from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms A.A. Khushi.

(212286)

388
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 19th October 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Nabila Jahanbir.

(212289)

389
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will reply to the letter dated 14th December 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Faiza Saleh.

(212295)

390
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213267)

391
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of (a) anti-social behaviour and (b) alcohol-related crime there have been in (i) the Derbyshire constabulary and (ii) the western area of the Derbyshire constabulary in each of the last seven years.

(211910)

392
Mr Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices for littering have been issued by Derbyshire community support officers in the last 12 months.

(211911)

393
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many telephone wire taps have been authorised in the last 12 months in the West Mercia Police Constabulary area.

(213311)

394
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the last appraisal was carried out of the Chief Constable for West Mercia Police.

(213312)

395
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid by West Mercia Constabulary in out of court settlements in the last 12 months.

(213313)

396
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the length of employment of each Chief Superintendent in the West Mercia Police Constabulary is.

(213314)

397
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been made against West Mercia Police Constabulary in the last 12 months.

(213315)

398
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the procedure for carrying out a police search of a private residence.

(213316)

399
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the salary is of (a) the West Mercia Police Chief Constable and (b) each West Mercia Police Chief Superintendent.

(213317)

400
N Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the use of anti-social behaviour orders.

(211510)

401
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people under 21 years have died in each of the last five years for which figures are available in (a) police custody, (b) prison and (c) other secure sites; and if he will make a statement.

(213322)

402
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long, on average, it took to process an application by an international student for leave to remain in the last period for which figures are available.

(213281)

403
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department expects to raise in each of the next three years from levying charges on students applying for leave to remain.

(213282)

404
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the operating budget of the Managed Migration Unit of the Home Office is for 2004-05.

(213283)

405
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the cost of processing a visa extension application made by an international student studying at a UK university; how the cost was assessed; and on what data he based his calculation of the cost.

(213284)

406
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data he has collected on the average level of income for an international student studying at a UK university; and whether he will take account of the average level of income for international students studying in the UK when calculating the proposed level of increase to visa extension charges.

(213286)

407
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact on the UK economy of the proposed increase in visa extension charges for international students.

(213304)

408
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data he collects on the quality of service international students receive while processing a visa extension.

(213305)

409
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports have been lost by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate while processing international student applications for leave to remain over the past five years.

(213306)

410
Mr David Rendel (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact of the plans to increase visa charges on the number of international students studying in the United Kingdom.

(213307)

411
Mr Alex Salmond (Banff & Buchan):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister for Asylum and Immigration will reply to the letter of 15th November 2004 from the honourable Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent Mr G Pesic.

(212169)

412
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much central government grant has been paid to each local authority in England to cover the cost of asylum seeker support in each year since 1996-97.

(211919)

413
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much central government grant has been paid to local authorities in (a) each Government Office region, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland to cover the cost of asylum seeker support in each year since 1996-97.

(211920)

414
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his targets are for reduction in child abuse deaths over the next 10 years.

(213113)

415
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children were killed by their parents or carers in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

(213114)

416
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who initiated the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in Westminster Hall on 27th January; and if he will make a statement on the role played by the BBC in the arrangements.

(212226)

417
Mr Anthony Steen (Totnes):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who drew up the guest list for the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in Westminster Hall on 27th January; and which honourable and Right honourable Members were invited.

(212227)

418
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average sentences given to individuals convicted of offences involving the baiting and mistreatment of badgers was in each of the last five years.

(211880)

419
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals were convicted of offences involving the baiting or mistreatment of badgers in each of the last five years.

(211881)

420
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where each of the focus groups convened for the consultation on the legislation on identity cards met.

(213290)

421
John Thurso (Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of adults in Scotland who for physical reasons are unable to provide (a) fingerprints and (b) iris scans for the purposes of the national identity cards scheme.

(213291)

422
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to ensure the accuracy of data used in the calculation of grant entitlements for Derbyshire Police Authority for the financial year 2005-06.

(213230)

423
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many gun crimes there have been in the Avon and Somerset police authority in each year since 1997.

(212012)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

424
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will list the pledges made by his Department (a) in response to international appeals and (b) at donor conferences in each of the past three years; and what the outstanding amounts due to be released in respect of each pledge is.

(213090)

425
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10th January, Official Report, column 52W, on Bangladesh, what changes to the Chars Livelihood Programme: concept and management in Bangladesh Maxwell Stamp have requested as a result of the recent tsunami.

(213107)

426
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what his policy is on how International Financial Institutions (IFIs) should conduct consultations; what his policy is on which aspects of the (a) Cabinet Office and (b) EU codes on conducting consultations should apply to consultations run by IFIs; and if he will make it Government policy to object to consultations run by IFIs if they do not meet these terms.

(213215)

427
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action his Department has taken to ensure that (a) Dalits and (b) indigenous peoples benefit from the UK aid money to the region affected by the tsunami; and what (i) funds and (ii) programmes are specifically earmarked for (A) the Dalit community and (B) indigenous people in that region.

(213216)

428
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) funds and (b) programmes funded by his Department for the region affected by the tsunami have a specific focus on (i) women, (ii) orphans and (iii) older people.

(213217)

429
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will list the (a) funds and (b) programmes delivered by his Department on a (i) unilateral, (ii) bilateral and (iii) multilateral basis for the region affected by the tsunami which have a specific focus on enabling women to participate fully in the reconstruction of their communities.

(213218)

430
Mr Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what level of investment his Department is seeking in (a) energy efficiency and (b) renewable energy from the World Bank Group.

(213299)

431
N Mr Alan Duncan (Rutland & Melton):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 24th January, Official Report, column 25W, on Iraq, if he will list the multilateral organisations to which the UK Government has contributed since April 2003; in what month each contribution was made; and how much was contributed to each organisation.

(211830)

432
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213261)

433
Mr Tony McWalter (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress is being made in the establishment of an advisory development science research board; and what mechanisms it will use to solicit representation.

(212259)

434
Dr Lewis Moonie (Kirkcaldy):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take in response to UN General Assembly Resolution A/58/L60 on Improving Global Road Safety; and if he will make a statement.

(213329)

435
Dr Lewis Moonie (Kirkcaldy):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action his Department has taken in response to the World Health Organisation and World Bank report on road traffic injury prevention, published in April 2004; and if he will make a statement.

(213330)

436
Dr Lewis Moonie (Kirkcaldy):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what Government funding was provided (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the Department's budget for (i) transport-related projects, (ii) road transport-related projects and (iii) road safety-related projects in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

(213331)

437
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on (a) the amount of food donated by international donors and (b) the amount of food available to the population of Angola of the law which came into effect in December 2004 in Angola prohibiting the import and use of genetically modified crops; and if he will make a statement.

(212160)

438
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of microenterprises on the economic development of developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

(212161)

439
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) economic and (b) social value of the introduction of microenterprises aimed at providing mechanised peanut butter processing and corn grinding, with particular reference to Sanankoroni and Mountougoula in Mali; and if he will make a statement.

(212162)

440
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the tendering process under the law implemented in December 2004 for contracts to mill food aid entering Angola; and if he will make a statement.

(212163)

441
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has undertaken of the (a) economic, (b) social and (c) humanitarian impact of the World Health Organisation, Pan-American Health Organistaion and Medical Mission project undertaken by Engineers Without Borders UK in Paramaribo, Surinam; what assessment he has made of the long-term viability of the programme; and if he will make a statement.

(212193)

442
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has undertaken of the (a) economic, (b) social and (c) humanitarian effect of the Pastoral Social and University of Ibarra project undertaken by Engineers Without Borders UK in Ecuador; and if he will make a statement.

(212271)

443
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment his Department has made of the long-term viability of the Pastoral Social and University of Ibarra project undertaken by Engineers Without Borders UK in Ecuador; and if he will make a statement.

(212272)

444
Angus Robertson (Moray):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much (a) financial assistance, (b) logistical assistance and (c) assistance in kind was provided to Engineers Without Borders UK by his Department for the programme in Paramaribo, Surinam with the World Health Organisation, Pan-American Health Organisation and Medical Mission in each year since its inception in 2004; and if he will make a statement.

(212273)

445
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much expenditure by his Department in response to the tsunami emergency has been allocated to Ministry of Defence Resources.

(213078)

446
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding his Department has provided to the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI) in each of the last five years.

(213079)

447
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will estimate the cost of the new debt initiative announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on his recent visit to Tanzania.

(213080)

448
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding has been provided by the Government under the debt initiative recently announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, broken down into (a) funding provided before the initiative was announced and (b) additional funding planned under the initiative.

(213085)

449
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate he has made of the likely trade gains to least developed countries under the Doha Development Agenda; and if he will make a statement.

(213086)

450
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is his policy to withhold aid from Rwanda if he receives evidence of attacks by Rwandan forces on groups seeking to destabilise the country, with particular reference to the ex-FAR and the Interahamwe.

(213099)

451
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is his Department's policy to continue adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding signed with Rwanda with the intention of providing long-term stable funding to support Rwanda's development and recovery from genocide.

(213100)

452
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what projects on carbon capture and storage have been supported by his Department in each year since 1997.

(212127)

453
Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing international trade barriers on reducing corruption in developing countries.

(212131)

454
Mr John Taylor (Solihull):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the economic effects on developing countries of allowing free trade in agricultural products.

(212132)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

455
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will publish the consultation document on alternative admissions criteria to post-primary schools.

(213091)

456
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the latest figures for enrolment at grammar schools in the Province are; and what they were in 2002-03.

(213092)

457
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will reintroduce school performance tables in the Province.

(213093)

458
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether reconviction rates for young offenders have met the target set by the Positive Steps programme.

(213096)

459
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what percentage of participants in the Northern Ireland Prison Service Young Offenders' Centres Positive Steps Programme have completed the programme; and how many have gone through more than one programme.

(213097)

460
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the reconviction rate for young offenders in Hydebank Wood Young Offenders' Centre has been in each year since 2000 for (a) all inmates, broken down by remand and sentenced prisoners and (b) those inmates participating in Northern Ireland Prison Service drug programmes.

(213098)

461
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many inmates at Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Institution are registered drug addicts.

(213147)

462
David Burnside (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has undertaken a cost benefit analysis of the Positive Steps Programme.

(213148)

463
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people in each Northern Ireland constituency were claiming pension credit at the latest date for which figures are available.

(211873)

464
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people over the age of 75 were claiming the additional cold weather premium at the latest date for which figures are available.

(211874)

465
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Irish Football Association on the staging of the under-19 European Football Championships in venues across Northern Ireland.

(211876)

466
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the percentage change in the Regional Rate in Northern Ireland was in each of the last five years.

(211877)

467
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to introduce measures to allow the owners of commercial property to claim compensation from the Northern Ireland Office in the case of damage caused by three or more people or by a proscribed organisation.

(211901)

468
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what financial assistance was provided to the Currie Primary School in North Belfast in this financial year.

(211963)

469
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy in North Belfast.

(211964)

470
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which posts, not including Housing Executive staff, are funded by the Housing Executive to assist local communities and residents' groups in North Belfast.

(211965)

471
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the policy of the Housing Executive is in respect of the letting of properties to commercial lessees.

(211966)

472
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he expects to announce the name of the new Chairman of the Ulster Scots Agency.

(211967)

473
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had on the funding of measures dealing with schemes for former loyalist paramilitaries.

(211968)

474
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many attacks on taxi drivers in North Belfast have been reported in the last year; and who was found to be responsible in each case.

(211969)

475
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what action he plans to take in relation to Sinn Fein in response to the Chief Constable's assessment that the IRA was responsible for the Northern Bank robbery.

(211970)

476
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which schools in North Belfast have received funding to address interface problems in each year since 2000.

(211971)

477
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to address financial pressures on schools in interface areas of North Belfast.

(211972)

478
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how he defines a fit person to be entrusted with a firearm within the terms of Article 9 of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004; and if he will make a statement.

(211777)

479
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will place a copy of the equality impact assessment of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 in the Library.

(211778)

480
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to consult the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in relation to the introduction of control orders as announced by the Home Secretary on 26th January.

(212034)

481
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the recent outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the North Down area; and what steps he is taking to prevent such an outbreak reccurring.

(212039)

482
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213254)

483
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he will publish his consultation document on post-primary admissions criteria.

(211693)

484
Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what measures the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has taken (a) to inform parade organisers that it is their responsibility to ensure the good behaviour of supporters and followers of parades and (b) to instruct his officers to have regard for the behaviour of supporters and followers, and to regard them as participants for the purposes of securing compliance with a determination of the Parades Commission.

(213302)

485
Mr Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what measures he has taken to ensure that, where reports of monitors acting on behalf of the Parades Commission contain evidence of breaches of determinations, those reports are routinely handed to the police service of Northern Ireland for investigation and the results of that investigation are fed back to the Commission.

(213303)

486
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many consultant vacancies there are in each health trust in the Province, broken down by specialty; and for how long each post has been vacant.

(212164)

487
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many individuals in the Province provide cognitive behavioural therapy within the NHS for those suffering depression and anxiety.

(212165)

488
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the current (a) average and (b) longest waiting time (i) for an initial assessment regarding and (ii) from assessment to commencing cognitive behavioural therapy is in each health board area.

(212166)

489
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps are taken to ensure health service employers are fully informed (a) of potential employees who have been forced to leave other posts within the health sector and (b) of the details of their departure.

(212167)

490
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, under what circumstances police checks are conducted on applicants for (a) permanent local trust and (b) agency health care staff posts.

(212168)

491
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what reports he has received of counterfeit medications being discovered in the Province within the legitimate wholesale medicines supply chain.

(212170)

492
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what advice has been given to health boards and trusts in the Province by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety regarding service development over the next three years.

(212171)

493
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether children have contracted MRSA in Northern Ireland.

(212172)

494
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many children (a) attended and (b) were admitted to hospital in the Province as the result of (i) alcohol and (ii) illegal drug use in the last year for which figures are available.

(212175)

495
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 10th January, Official Report, column 252W, on MRI scans/scanners, what action he has taken following the offer by an independent provider to carry out additional MRI scans on a not-for-profit basis.

(212176)

496
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the average waiting time from diagnosis for (a) occupational therapy and (b) speech therapy assessment of children with autistic spectrum disorders is in each of the health board regions in the Province.

(212177)

497
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what resources have been provided for the treatment of autistic spectrum disorders in the Western Health Board area.

(212178)

498
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many vacancies there are in community dentistry in the Province.

(212179)

499
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to increase the number of dentists in the Province.

(212180)

500
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what incentives he has assessed to encourage dentists in the Province to work within the NHS.

(212181)

501
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much each health trust in the Province spent on cleaning in the last 12 months.

(212182)

502
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will estimate the cost of treating Northern Ireland eating disorders sufferers outside the Province in each of the last five years.

(212183)

503
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many specialist trauma counsellors are working in the Province.

(212184)

504
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he expects specialist eating disorders teams to be operational within each Board area in the Province.

(212185)

505
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on losses from fraud affecting the health service in the Province.

(212187)

506
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many employees have been suspended from work at health trusts in the Province in each of the last five years.

(212188)

507
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many whole-time equivalent nursing vacancies there are at each health trust in the Province.

(212189)

508
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many nurses from overseas were employed by each health trust in the Province on the latest date for which figures are available.

(212190)

509
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many individuals in the Province (a) have received and (b) are receiving Pegylated Interferon therapy to treat Hepatitis C.

(212191)

510
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he expects that the autistic spectrum disorders sub-group of the Mental Health Review will produce its report; and if this report will have the same significance as those of the Working Committees.

(212192)

511
The Reverend Martin Smyth (Belfast South):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer of 19th January, Official Report, column 977W, on maternity units, what the reasons were for the temporary arrangement in December 2004; what form this arrangement took; and when it is expected to end.

(212023)

512
Mr David Trimble (Upper Bann):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what budget has been allocated by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to Armagh Observatory for the financial years (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05; and what budget is planned for 2005-06.

(211931)

513
Mr David Trimble (Upper Bann):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has to develop, expand or enhance the facilities at Armagh Observatory.

(211932)

514
Mr David Trimble (Upper Bann):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many jobs have been created in Northern Ireland as a result of foreign direct investment in the last three financial years; and what the average cost per job of Invest Northern Ireland grants and loans was in each year.

(211933)

515
Mr David Trimble (Upper Bann):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much Invest Northern Ireland has spent in the last three financial years on acquiring equity in local companies.

(211934)

Questions to the Prime Minister

516
N Mr John Hayes (South Holland & The Deepings):To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Answer of 26th January to the Right honourable Member for Folkestone and Hythe, Official Report, column 300 on homelessness and the Thames Gateway development, to which honourable Member he was referring; and what the evidential basis was for his statement that the opposition planned to cancel the project.

(211868)

517
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list the overseas trips he has made on official business or using official transport, since 1997, broken down by date.

(211869)

518
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, when he plans to meet the Chairman of the Gulf Co-operation Council during the British Presidency of the EU.

(212195)

519
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, when he will set a date for the referendum on the European Constitution.

(212196)

520
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, when he expects to appoint the next Cabinet Secretary.

(212197)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland

521
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what amendments have been made to the Scotland Act 1998 in each year since 1998.

(212217)

522
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213255)

Questions to the honourable Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

523
Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex):To ask the honourable Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to his Answer of 15th December 2004, Official Report, column 1140W, on polling and research, if he will place copies of the research in the Library.

(212266)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

524
N Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations she has received from British defence companies that the arms embargo on China should be lifted.

(211694)

525
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time members of staff in her Department, excluding agencies and secondees, are working on issues relating to (i) electricity generation from coal, (ii) electricity generation from gas, (iii) nuclear power and (iv) renewable energy; and if she will estimate what average proportion of their time is spent on these issues.

(211781)

526
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what contracts for which her Department is responsible have been awarded to Autonomy plc.

(212205)

527
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what obligations she plans to place on the producers of business waste electrical and electronic equipment to finance the building up of the separate collection of such equipment.

(212206)

528
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the likely collection rate for operation schemes dealing with business compliance with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

(212207)

529
N Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the Answer of 30th November 2004, Official Report, column 81W, on post office closures, when she expects Post Office Ltd. to reply to the honourable Member for Gordon; and if she will make a statement on the average time taken by Post Office Limited to respond to such parliamentary questions.

(211692)

530
N Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when she will answer the questions tabled by the honourable Member for Gordon, with reference numbers (a) 206155, tabled on 21st December 2004, (b) 206131, tabled on 20th December 2004, (c) 202945, tabled on 6th December 2004, (d) 203088, tabled on 6th December 2004, (e) 201181, tabled on 30th November 2004, (f) 201178, tabled on 30th November 2004, (g) 200600, tabled on 29th November 2004 and (h) 200601, tabled on 29th November 2004.

(212057)

531
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the Report of the Church of England's Review of Clergy Terms of Service with particular reference to section 23 of the Employment Relations Act 1999.

(211882)

532
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the difference in the purchase costs of new vehicles between the UK and (a) other European countries and (b) the USA.

(211899)

533
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department is taking to protect workers over 65 years from unfair dismissal.

(213209)

534
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the length is of the contract between her Department and Post Office Limited for the Post Office card account service.

(211996)

535
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who has assisted her Department in the monitoring of the Post Office card account service.

(211997)

536
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what service standards have been set for the monitoring of her Department's contract with Post Office Limited for the Post Office card account service; and who set those standards.

(211998)

537
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how the term rural is defined for the purposes of UK Government policy on post offices; and what discussions she has had with Ministers in the Scottish Executive about such a definition.

(211999)

538
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many post offices in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland fall within her Department's definition of rural post offices; and what percentage that represents of the total number of post offices in each case.

(212000)

539
Mr John Gummer (Suffolk Coastal):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with the US Administration about its policy on countries entering into international environmental agreements as a condition of bilateral trade agreements.

(213226)

540
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what financial support her Department has given to the Swan Hunter Shipyard in each of the last five years.

(212051)

541
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much has been paid by her Department in launch aid in each year since 1997; how much has been repaid since 1997; and if she will make a statement on the effect of the aid on the creation of jobs.

(212093)

542
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the number of jobs (a) in the aerospace industry in Lancashire and (b) dependent on the aerospace industry in Lancashire.

(212094)

543
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people in the Chorley constituency have benefited from the national minimum wage since its introduction.

(212095)

544
Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the cost was in 2004 of the Collaborative Research and Development scheme; and how much was allocated under the scheme to (a) bioprocessing, (b) technologies to support environmentally-friendly transport, (c) advanced composit materials and structures, (d) inter-enterprise computing, (e) renewable technologies, (f) disruptive technologies in electronics and displays, (g) sensor and control systems and (h) administration of the scheme.

(211925)

545
Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the total estimated take-up rates by eligible firms of Grants for Research and Development were in each year since 2003, broken down by (a) micro projects, (b) research projects, (c) development projects and (d) exceptional projects; and what the cost of administration of each category of projects was.

(211926)

546
Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the cost of the Grants for Research and Development programme was in each year since 2003, broken down by (a) micro projects, (b) research projects, (c) development projects and (d) exceptional projects, and by (i) industrial sector and (ii) average size of grants per category; and what the forecast costs in each year to 2014 are.

(211927)

547
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what her latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

(213257)

548
N John Mann (Bassetlaw):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many miner compensation claims have been submitted so far in 2005 by (a) AJ Revill Associates, (b) Thorn Legal Services Ltd, (c) Union and General Services Ltd, (d) Daton Holdings Ltd and (e) Thorn Compensation Services Ltd.

(211831)

549
Julie Morgan (Cardiff North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the likely change in the number of households containing young children that are fuel poor as a result of recent increases in energy prices.

(213319)

550
Julie Morgan (Cardiff North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures are being taken to alleviate the impact on fuel poverty in households containing young children of recent increases in energy prices.

(213320)

551
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many applications have been received to date from potential operators of the pathfinder round of Enterprise Capital Funds; and when the deadline is for applications.

(213205)

552
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the estimated (a) administration and (b) programme costs of the Enterprise Capital Funds are in each year between 2004 and 2008.

(213206)

553
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the fund limit of the Enterprise Capital Funds is; and what criteria were used in setting the limit at this level.

(213207)

554
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the expenditure by her Department on legal fees was in each year since 1997.

(213214)

555
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proportion of all the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by her Department in the 2003-04 parliamentary session was consequent on EU legislation.

(213225)

556
Sandra Osborne (Ayr):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what initiatives her Department has introduced since 2001 to support businesses in rural areas.

(213131)

557
Mr Peter Pike (Burnley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment her Department has made of the potential for job creation in the UK of the Airbus A380 Project.

(213223)

558
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions her Department has had with (a) the LINK network, (b) high street banks and (c) cash machine operators on charges for use of cash machines.

(213193)

559
John Robertson (Glasgow Anniesland):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what action her Department has taken to ensure (a) transparency and (b) fairness in charges for ATM withdrawals.

(213194)

560
Mr Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps Her Majesty's Government is taking to facilitate UK - Ukraine trade and foreign direct investment by UK companies into the Ukraine.

(213276)

561
Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what financial support has been made available in each year since 1997 through the Export Credits Guarantee Department for (a) fossil fuel power plants and (b) carbon capture and storage sequestration technology, broken down by country of receipt.

(212135)

562
Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will invite the North West Regional Development Agency to assess the contribution of farmers' markets to the economy in the North West.

(213106)

563
N Mr Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate she has made of the proportion of domestic insurance policies in England which cover environmental damage arising from leakages from domestic oil supplies to (a) a person's own land and property and (b) third parties; and if she will make a statement.

(211587)

564
N Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what progress has been made in implementing the Health and Safety Commission and Executive's recommendations of 2000 relating to carbon monoxide and the gas supply industry; and if she will make a statement.

(211695)

565
N Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many oil installers and servicers in the UK are registered with Oftec.

(211044)

566
N Mr Hugo Swire (East Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what requirements she places upon householders to ensure that their domestic oil tanks are regularly inspected; and what steps her Department takes to encourage consumers to have adequate insurance cover for their oil tanks.

(211045)

567
N Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the status is of the EU software patent directive; if she will make it her policy to oppose the directive as it stands; and if she will make a statement.

(212017)

568
Mr Michael Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of developments in the renewable energy industry in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK since 1997; and if she will make a statement on the Government's plans for renewable energy development in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.

(213150)

569
Mr Michael Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps her Department has taken (a) to export renewable energy technologies developed within the United Kingdom to the developing world and (b) to market advancements in the field of renewable energy overseas; and if she will make a statement.

(213151)

570
Iain Wright (Hartlepool):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Fireworks Act 2003 on the number of firework-related accidents in Hartlepool

(213289)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

571
Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to establish a rail industry national archive; and if he will make a statement.

(212203)

572
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have travelled (a) to and (b) from Stoke-on-Trent railway station in each of the last seven years.

(213065)

573
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the length of time a driver has had a licence is recorded at motorway accidents.

(211884)

574
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213269)

575
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the timetable for the distribution of services provided by Central Trains between other train operating companies.

(212070)

576
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the quality and reliability of information to passengers (a) on trains, travelling between and (b) at stations in Birmingham and Worcestershire.

(212071)

577
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether through-rail services between Droitwich Spa and Malvern will be maintained following the distribution of the Central Trains franchise between other train operating companies.

(212072)

578
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that expansion of powers to passenger transport executives does not have an adverse impact on train services in surrounding shire county areas.

(212073)

579
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of line speed restrictions in Worcestershire on the punctuality and reliability of local train services.

(212074)

580
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) the West Midlands Regional Assembly about the impact of new housing in Worcestershire on the demand for travel to Birmingham.

(212075)

581
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive about selective door opening at Bromsgrove station.

(212076)

582
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Network Rail about the lengthening of Bromsgrove station platforms.

(212077)

583
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are (a) to renew signalling in the Worcestershire area and (b) to introduce a new signalling section between Worcester and Droitwich Spa.

(212078)

584
Mr Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are to remodel track layouts between Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street Stations.

(212079)

585
Patrick Mercer (Newark):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the cost of the Nottingham Express Transit will be borne by the local authority.

(211834)

586
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much is available in the Access for All fund to improve disabled access at railway stations; and what criteria are used for distribution of grants from the fund.

(211900)

587
Mr Archie Norman (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the passenger footfall is of each railway station prioritised or considered under the Access For All fund; and how much funding has been allocated from the fund to each station.

(211956)

588
Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what initiatives his Department has introduced since 2001 to support transport provision in rural areas.

(213108)

589
N Mr Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with (a) Passenger Transport Authorities, (b) the Passenger Transport Executive, (c) Regional Chambers, (d) Regional Development Agencies and (e) the Local Government Association on proposals for regional transport boards; and if he will make a statement.

(211588)

590
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reported road accidents involved drivers who had passed their test within one year of the incident in each of the last five years.

(211883)

591
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many individuals (a) failed and (b) passed all parts of the driving test in each of the last five years.

(211889)

592
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent by his Department on multi-modal studies since 1997.

(212066)

593
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the change in the level of rail usage has been since 2000.

(212096)

594
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many multi-modal studies have been commissioned since 1997; how many have been completed; and how many are still under way.

(212100)

595
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the target set in the Ten Year Plan 2000 to increase rail use by 50 per cent. by 2010 is still in force.

(212113)

596
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passengers travelled on the railways in each year since 1990.

(212114)

597
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of disposing of unwanted assets of the Strategic Rail Authority when it is abolished.

(212115)

598
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff he expects to transfer from the Strategic Rail Authority to DfT-Rail.

(212116)

599
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what budget has been allocated for redundancy payments connected to the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority.

(212118)

600
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what budget has been allocated to meet costs arising from the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority.

(212119)

601
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what redundancy packages will be offered to staff at the Strategic Rail Authority who lose their jobs because of its abolition.

(212120)

602
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs he expects will be lost when the Strategic Rail Authority is abolished.

(212121)

Questions to the Minister for Women

603
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Minister for Women, if she will make a statement on the relative rates of pay for women and for men in Stoke on Trent.

(213066)

604
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Minister for Women, pursuant to her oral Answer of 27th January, Official Report, columns 450-1, on pay rates for women employed in social care, what the evidential basis was for her statement on the level of the median female hourly wage; and what the (a) average and (b) modal hourly figures for pay rates for women in the social care sector are.

(213103)

605
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Minister for Women, pursuant to her oral Answer of 27th January, Official Report, columns 450-1, on rates of pay for men and women, what the evidential basis of the figure for the gender pay gap was.

(213104)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

606
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals were in receipt of (a) winter fuel payments and (b) over-80s annual payments in Southend-on-Sea in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2004.

(213127)

607
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals were in receipt of (a) income support, (b) council tax benefit and (c) housing benefit in Southend-on-Sea in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2004.

(213200)

608
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals were in receipt of (a) jobseeker's allowance (contribution based) and (b) jobseeker's allowance (income based), or their equivalents, in Southend-on-Sea in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2004.

(213201)

609
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals were in receipt of (a) basic state pension and (b) over-80s pension in Southend-on-Sea in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2004.

(213202)

610
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals were in receipt of (a) incapacity benefit, (b) disability living allowance, (c) attendence allowance, (d) carer's allowance and (e) child benefit in Southend-on-Sea in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2004.

(213203)

611
Mr A.J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many programmes under the Workstep Scheme have (a) failed their audit and (b) been subject to re-audit.

(212123)

612
Mr A.J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average cost per client of the Workstep Scheme was in the last period for which figures are available.

(212124)

613
Mr A.J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sheltered workshops approved under the Workstep programme are operating in each of the counties and metropolitan districts in the Northern Region.

(212125)

614
Mr A.J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent changes have been made in the provision of funds for training for the Workstep programme; and if he will make a statement.

(212126)

615
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what advice he (a) gives and (b) has given to contractors regarding the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations in respect of outsourced contracts on behalf of the job services.

(213081)

616
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with disabilities in Coventry South constituency have returned to work in the last five years.

(211205)

617
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on state pension entitlement of British citizens who move abroad.

(213212)

618
Mr Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to ensure the equal treatment of all British pensioners resident abroad in relation to updating of state retirement pensions.

(213326)

619
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the operational costs of the pension book in each year since 1997; and what percentage that represents of (a) the total budget for his Department and (b) the total budget of all UK Government departments in each year since 1997.

(211962)

620
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of fraud connected with the operation of the pension book in each year since 1997.

(211988)

621
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on programmes to help the unemployed move back to work in each year since 1997; if he will list the programmes involved, specifying the amounts spent on each programme in each year since 1997; and what percentage of each amount was spent in Scotland.

(211989)

622
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of his Department's budget has been spent on public promotional and advertising campaigns on financial support available to carers in each year since 1997.

(211990)

623
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with (a) Ministers in the Scottish Executive, (b) the British Medical Association in Scotland and (c) the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland about the placement of employment adviser support in GPs' surgeries in Scotland.

(211991)

624
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the winter fuel payment is treated as a recurring item of pension income expenditure in his Department's budget.

(211992)

625
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department first publicly described the financial assistance scheme as an emergency package.

(211993)

626
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department made of the anticipated take-up levels via (a) bank accounts and (b) Post Office card accounts prior to the introduction of direct payment.

(211994)

627
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence his Department has relied upon to conclude that over 90 per cent. of pension and benefit claimants in the UK are satisfied with direct payment; and what customer feedback was sought in Scotland to determine preferences on payment methods.

(211995)

628
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department decided to publish information on pension credit figures on a quarterly basis.

(212002)

629
N Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are employed at the benefits offices earmarked for closure in Scotland.

(212003)

630
N Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects the Financial Assistance Scheme to commence.

(212004)

631
N Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what cross-departmental meetings have been held in the last 10 weeks on the timing of the commencement of the operation of the Financial Assistance Scheme.

(212005)

632
N Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what cost-benefit analysis his Department has undertaken in the last five months of the introduction of citizens' pensions.

(212006)

633
N Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what cross-departmental meetings involving his Department have been held in the last five months in the introduction of citizens' pensions.

(212007)

634
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases are being dealt with by the Child Support Agency at the Falkirk Centre; how many of these cases are being dealt with under the new system; and how many old scheme cases remain on the old computer system.

(212022)

635
Annabelle Ewing (Perth):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's take-up targets are for pension credit for (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of the UK.

(212027)

636
N Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) sickness and absence and (b) turnover rates for Social Fund staff were in the latest period for which figures are available.

(212056)

637
N Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the letter of the Secretary of State to the honourable Member for Birkenhead dated 16th December 2004, what the results have been of the discussions with EDS for delivering a working IT scheme for the Child Support Agency; and on what date he expects such a scheme to come into operation.

(212068)

638
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers in Stoke-on-Trent are in receipt of both the carer's premium and the basic state pension.

(212298)

639
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people of pensionable age in Stoke-on-Trent do not receive (a) the full basic state pension and (b) part of the basic state pension as a result of their contribution records.

(212299)

640
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children were living in poverty in Stoke on Trent in each of the past seven years.

(213058)

641
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children lived in low income households in Stoke-on-Trent in each of the last seven years.

(213061)

642
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Stoke-on-Trent have been in receipt of winter fuel payments in each of the last seven years.

(213064)

643
Mr Mark Fisher (Stoke-on-Trent Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with disabilities in Stoke-on-Trent have returned to work in each of the last seven years.

(213197)

644
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Selby parliamentary constituency have found work through the (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal for Disabled People, (c) New Deal for 25 plus and (d) New Deal for 50 plus.

(213220)

645
Mr John Grogan (Selby):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to alter the regulations covering entitlement to pension credit to take account of the aspects of the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 regarding the equal treatment of homosexual couples.

(213222)

646
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17th January, Official Report, column 773W, on benefit rates, if he will make it his policy to collect figures for the number of people in hospital for more than a year living on the weekly benefit rate of £15.90 who suffer from mental ill-health.

(211954)

647
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

(213262)

648
Sandra Osborne (Ayr):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what initiatives his Department has introduced since 2001 to promote training in rural areas.

(213132)

649
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Health and Safety Commission and Executive spent on inspecting local authorities in the most recent year for which figures are available.

(211942)

650
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the expenditure of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate and its predecessor was in each year since 1996-97; and what the estimated budget for the next financial year is.

(211950)

651
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for incapacity benefit were denied on the grounds of insufficient National Insurance payments in the last two years for which figures are available.

(213229)

652
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers are in receipt of both the carers premium and the basic state pension.

(211827)

653
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners do not receive the full basic state pension because of their contribution records; and by what aggregate amount their pensions fall short of the basic level.

(211828)

654
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners receive some form of state pension.

(211829)

655
N Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether employers who run defined benefit occupational pension schemes are entitled to make unilateral changes to accrual rates in respect of future service; and what rights scheme members have to object in such circumstances.

(212018)

656
N Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the cost in each of the 10 financial years from 2006-07, net of savings in means-tested benefits and additional income tax revenues, of paying from April 2006 a basic state pension to all single people aged 75 years or above at the rate of the guarantee credit for single people regardless of contribution record, and a basic state pension to all couples where one or both partners is aged 75 years or above at the rate of the guarantee credit for couples, with that pension being indexed to earnings in subsequent years, and assuming that the savings credit is abolished for those aged 75 years or above, on the basis of the assumption that additional payments will be made to any groups who would otherwise lose out in order to ensure that there are no cash losers; and if he will make a statement.

(212019)

657
Mr Michael Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average, (b) shortest and (c) longest time taken to make winter fuel payments between application and payment has been in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) each constituency in each of the last six years.

(213140)

658
Mr Michael Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were eligible for winter fuel payments in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) each constituency in each of the last six years.

(213141)

659
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have left the New Deal for Young People, broken down by constituency; what percentage in each constituency found sustained jobs; and if he will make a statement.

(212008)

660
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many telephone helplines his Department sponsors; and how many calls each helpline received on the latest date for which figures are available.

(212009)

661
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in each parliamentary constituency (a) have started, (b) have left, (c) are participating in, (d) have found jobs following and (e) have found sustained jobs following (i) the New Deal for Young People and (ii) the New Deal for over-25s.

(212011)

662
Mr David Willetts (Havant):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) computer terminals and (b) laptop computers are held by his Department and its executive agencies.

(212025)

663
Hywel Williams (Caernarfon):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what Welsh language requirements there are on Medical Services Ltd in respect of services that they provide to the Department.

(213247)

Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office

664
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his latest estimate is of unallocated departmental spending in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, and (c) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

[Transferred] (213256)

665
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the job description is of Fiona Gordon, an employee of his Department.

[Transferred] (213310)

666
Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) salary, (b) pension rights and (c) other benefits Fiona Gordon claims from his Department.

[Transferred] (213327)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

667
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the survival rates for the common forms of cancer were in each year since 1990, broken down by (a) social class and (b) English region.

[Transferred] (213142)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

668
Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what responsibilities the Work Permit Scheme places on an employer who makes redundant an employee employed under that scheme.

[Transferred] (212038)

669
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals received (a) points penalties and (b) convictions in respect of speeding offences in each of the last five years.

[Transferred] (211879)

670
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the work of the Security Industry Association regarding wheel clampers.

[Transferred] (212104)

671
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all wheel clamping firms are now licensed under the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

[Transferred] (212129)

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Revised 31 January 2005