Order Book Part 1

House of Commons

Session 2005 - 06
Publications on the internet
The Questions Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 13 June 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 13 June 2005
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 13 June 2005

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Monday 13 June of which previous notice has been given in the Notices of Questions paper. They are arranged in alphabetical order of answering Department.

For other Written Questions for answer on Monday 13 June of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Monday 13 June 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 assessment he has made of the effect of the level of taxation on the state of the economy.

(3751)

2
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to change the rate of national insurance contributions.

(3752)

3
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons passengers using transit flights are exempt from air passenger duty; and if he will assess the environmental effects of this exemption.

(4474)

4
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what percentage of gross income was paid by (a) all households, (b) the bottom quintile group and (c) the top quintile group in (i) direct taxation, (ii) indirect taxation and (iii) all taxes in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

(4059)

5
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research his Department has (a) undertaken, (b) commissioned and (c) reviewed on the effectiveness of research and development (R&D) tax credits in stimulating additional (R&D) activity in the UK.

(4060)

6
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's most recent estimate is of the cost of the British presence in Iraq in each month since the start of the conflict, broken down by (a) military and (b) reconstruction costs.

(4061)

7
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will set out the Department's policy on the private use by staff of the internet and how it is monitored.

(4528)

8
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will set out the Department's policy on the private use of official telephones and how it is monitored.

(4529)

9
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what studies his Department has (a) undertaken, (b) commissioned and (c) reviewed on the efficiency of private finance initiative; and if he will make a statement.

(4530)

10
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) starting rate, (b) basic rate and (c) higher rate taxpayers there have been in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

(4531)

11
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) individuals have entered into bankruptcy and (b) properties have been repossessed,in each quarter since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

(4532)

12
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals paid a combined deduction rate on their income in excess of 40 per cent. for the latest five years for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.

(4533)

13
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the long-run equilibrium, or sustainable, house price to earnings ratio; and if he will make a statement.

(4534)

14
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what studies his Department has conducted or commissioned about a flat-tax for (a) personal taxes and (b) business taxes; and if he will make a statement.

(4535)

15
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make available the latest Tax Benefit Manual and a copy of the summary minutes from recent Treasury Management Board meetings.

(4536)

16
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the effect on house prices of the Government's shared equity proposals; and if he will make a statement.

(4537)

17
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the rate of take-up to date of the Child Trust Fund; what plans he has to increase take-up; and what estimates he has made of future take-ups.

(4538)

18
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4547)

19
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which circumstances would (a) qualify Private Finance Initiative to be considered for and (b) exclude it from being considered for public borrowing requirements.

(3665)

20
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Public Finance Initiative funding has been written off since its inception.

(3666)

21
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the net public sector pensions liability is estimated to be over the the next 10 years based on the current retirement age.

(3667)

22
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what changes have been made to the HM Revenue and Customs prosecution policy against fraudulent tax credit claims.

(4376)

23
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions the Inland Revenue has brought for fraudulent tax credit claims in each year since 1997.

(4377)

24
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost of the use of laptops in that period was; and if he will make a statement.

(4115)

25
Mr Michael Foster (Worcester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the amount of irrecoverable VAT incurred by (a) sixth form colleges and (b) further education colleges in each of the last 10 financial years.

(4519)

26
Mr Michael Foster (Worcester):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) sixth form colleges and (b) further education colleges are registered for VAT purposes.

(4523)

27
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3806)

28
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will break down post-tax national income by (a) decile and (b) quintile for each year since 1997.

(3889)

29
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many game rearing farms are registered as valued for non-domestic rates with the Valuation Office Agency in (a) England and (b) Wales.

(4520)

30
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people living in the UK qualify for a national insurance number; and on what basis they qualify.

(3726)

31
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his definition is of a hard working family.

(3755)

32
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25th May, Official Report, column 147W, on emigration, how many UK citizens have emigrated from the UK in each year since 1990.

(4182)

33
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with finance ministers of other governments about the viability of a Tobin tax.

(3707)

34
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the performance of Partnerships UK in developing templates for private finance initiative and public-private partnership agreements.

(3747)

35
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in each year since 2000 that were attributable to clostridium difficile; and if he will make a statement.

(3764)

36
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many teenage pregnancies there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by year group.

(4638)

37
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the likely effects on tax revenue of the new rules on residential property and personal pension plans to be introduced in April 2006.

(3089)

38
N Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's policy is on (a) refunds, (b) compensation and (c) cancellation of interest payments for late payment of tax when the tax authorities find they have been in error in the amount levied.

(3746)

39
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Northern Ireland have ben subject to two or more tax investigations in the past five years.

(3663)

40
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26th May, Official Report, column 201W, on stamp duty, what the forecast revenues from stamp duty on (a) residential properties and (b) commercial properties are in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06.

(4217)

41
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average stamp duty paid for a residential property purchase in (a) each Government Office region, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland has been in each year since 1997.

(4278)

42
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount raised in stamp duty on (a) residential property and (b) commercial property in (i) each Government Office region, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland has been in each year since 1997.

(4279)

43
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the revenue from council tax in England has been in each year sine 1997-98.

(4618)

44
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the forecast revenue is from council tax in England in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06.

(4619)

Questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

45
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which Ministers since 1st May 1997 have opted not to take-up the use of a ministerial car.

(3278)

46
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on what date the first meeting of the sub-Committee on Freedom of Information will take place.

(3279)

47
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4125)

48
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3813)

49
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what recent consultations have been carried out by his Department with representatives of faith communities; and if he will make a statement.

(3890)

50
N Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, how many centrally funded websites have a gov.uk suffix.

(3114)

51
N Mr Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what estimate he has made of the number of people employed within the Civil Service who manage government websites with a gov.uk suffix.

(3115)

Questions to the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs

52
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what plans the Government has to hold (a) all-postal and (b) e-voting pilot schemes in local elections.

(3704)

53
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what value-for-money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in her Department in 2004-05.

(4550)

54
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 have been referred to the Central Clearing House; and what proportion of these referrals have been accompanied by a recommendation that an exemption should be applied to the request.

(4596)

55
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what concerns the European Commission has formally expressed in relation to the definition of personal data as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998; and if she will make a statement on the implementation of the definition of personal data in Directive 95/46/EC

(4597)

56
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what concerns the European Commission has formally expressed in relation to the powers of the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998.

(4598)

57
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether she will list the concerns that the European Commission has formally expressed in relation to the provisions in the Data Protection Act 1998 which pertain to the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area, and if she will make a statement on the implementation of Articles 25 and 26 of Directive 95/46/EC through the Data Protection Act 1998.

(4599)

58
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many lay magistrates there are in Northern Ireland, broken down by (a) gender, (b) community background and (c) age.

(4384)

59
Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether guidance has been issued to courts requiring the granting of maintenance awards on an equal basis for each parent in cases where custody is awarded on an equal basis.

(4032)

60
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if she will make a statement.

(4130)

61
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3810)

62
Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, whether she plans to hold a review of the (a) operation and (b) scope of coroners' courts; and if she will make a statement.

(3699)

63
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how much the Government has spent to date on the Family Resolutions Pilot Scheme; how many couples have completed full courses on the Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the future of the Scheme.

(4467)

64
Margaret Moran (Luton South):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many contact orders were (a) granted and (b) refused under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 in each year since the Act came into force.

(4184)

65
Margaret Moran (Luton South):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, in how many cases in which contact orders were (a) granted and (b) refused domestic violence was cited in each year since their inception.

(4185)

66
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if she will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which her Department is responsible available on-line.

(3713)

67
N Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been under the Representation of the People Act 2000 for failing to register to vote.

(3033)

68
N Bob Russell (Colchester):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if she will make a statement on progress with the proposed new court house in Colchester.

(3091)

69
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if she will extend the hours of polling for local government elections to the same as those that apply for general elections; and if she will make a statement.

(3734)

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

70
Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list the projects funded by the Lottery in Nottingham North in the 2005-06 financial year.

(3924)

71
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money in each year has remained unclaimed since the National Lottery started; and what has happened to this money.

(4584)

72
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what value-for-money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in her Department in 2004-05.

(4551)

73
John Cummings (Easington):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many applications have been received to date by Easington District Council from licensees for a new licence under the Licensing Act 2003; and what percentage of licences held this represents.

(3800)

74
N Mr Philip Dunne (Ludlow):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has received from the Local Government Association regarding the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

(2788)

75
Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 and related regulations requiring a single individual to take legal responsibility for all licensed events at a particular village hall during a 12-month period; and what representations she has received concerning this issue.

(3962)

76
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if she will make a statement.

(4129)

77
Mr Mark Field (Cities of London & Westminster):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she had with (a) local residents, (b) amenity societies and (c) other interested parties in advance of consent being given for the Live8 concert to take place in Hyde Park.

(3935)

78
Mr Mark Field (Cities of London & Westminster):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she had with the organisers of the Live8 concert in Hyde Park on ensuring that the cost of clearing up after the concert will be met by the organisers.

(3936)

79
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3809)

80
N Justine Greening (Putney):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to ensure that the Royal Parks Agency takes full account of the environmental and social impact on communities and areas surrounding Royal Parks when decisions are taken to restrict car access to those parks.

(3032)

81
Peter Law (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will press for pigeon racing to be recognised as a sport.

(4036)

82
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a statement on progress towards rollout of digital television services.

(4243)

83
N Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects analogue transmissions to be switched off.

(2783)

84
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which her Department is responsible available on-line.

(3716)

85
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress is being made in resolving issues surrounding parental supervision of children in swimming pools.

(3607)

86
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government has taken to review the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management guidelines on parental supervision of children in swimming pools.

(3647)

87
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government has taken steps to instigate research into the requirement for parental supervision of children in swimming baths.

(3648)

88
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the outcome was of the meeting on 5th April between her Department, the Health and Safety Executive and the Right to Swim Campaign.

(3660)

89
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Devonport):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent collating statistical information relating specifically to tourism in each year since 2000, broken down by region.

(3894)

90
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what resources from public funds she is making available to run the office of the 2012 Olympic Bid Committee.

(4258)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

91
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the ability of the British infantry to respond to additional urgent deployments.

(3701)

92
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role is envisaged for NATO in the Darfur region; and if he will make a statement.

(3750)

93
Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is the Government's policy that coordination of the EU and NATO efforts in Darfur should be done through NATO's military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

(3969)

94
Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what resources his Department plans to make available to (a) the EU and (b) NATO for operations in Darfur.

(3970)

95
Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which European countries have declared resources available to (a) the EU and (b) NATO for operations in Darfur.

(3971)

96
Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what form of assistance and support (a) NATO and (b) the EU plan to offer in order to support the African Union in its mission in Darfur.

(3972)

97
Mr Michael Ancram (Devizes):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new entrants there have been to each of the armed forces in each quarter since 2002.

(3973)

98
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the (a) British and (b) overseas company acquisitions made by QinetiQ in each year since 1997.

(4656)

99
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4541)

100
Ben Chapman (Wirral South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of requests for compensation from Far East detainees previously disqualifed.

(4609)

101
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Ministers from his Department will be attending the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in September.

(3941)

102
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Ministers from his Department attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in 2003; and which overseas delegates each met.

(3942)

103
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on recruitment rates to the armed forces.

(2785)

104
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations his Department has received from the facility at Hayes relating to the award of medals to servicemen and women from the First World War; and what plans his Department has for the future storage of the index cards stored there.

(3410)

105
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4124)

106
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of the latest promotional campaign to encourage people to join the Army, separately identifying the cost of (a) DVDs, (b) VHS tapes and (c) television advertising; and if he will make a statement.

(4657)

107
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for the Territorial Army centres in London; and if he will make a statement.

(4658)

108
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many United Kingdom military personnel were in Iraq on (a) 1st January 2004 and (b) 1st January 2005; and if he will make a statement.

(4659)

109
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Territorial Army medical personnel (a) have been and (b) are deployed in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(4660)

110
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects British troops to complete the present mission in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(4661)

111
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he made of requirements to protect UK access to pipelines and gas supplies in his decision to decommission the three Type-23 frigates.

(3791)

112
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the role of Type 23 destroyers is in the protection of UK energy supplies; if he will reverse the decision to decommission three of the fleet; and if he will make a statement.

(3792)

113
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the in-service date is for the first of the Astute submarines.

(3815)

114
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the out-of-service date is for (a) HMS Superb and (b) HMS Trafalgar.

(3816)

115
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which aircraft he expects to fly from the new aircraft carrier in 2012.

(3821)

116
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to fit (a) HMS Gloucester and (b) HMS Manchester with the Mark 8 Mod 1 gun.

(3877)

117
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original timetable was for producing the design of the Joint Casualty Treatment Ship; and what the current schedule is.

(3878)

118
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ship sets of Sonar 2087 have been ordered; to which Type-23s they will be fitted; and if he will make a statement.

(3879)

119
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which helicopter will operate from the four batch Type-22 frigates from 2008.

(3880)

120
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned out-of-service date is for the Royal Navy's repair ship, RFA Diligence; and what his plans for replacing the ship are.

(3881)

121
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the out-of-service date for each of the remaining Type-42 destroyers.

(3883)

122
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the in-service date for each of the eight Type-45 destroyers.

(3884)

123
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the in-service date is for the Joint Combat Aircraft.

(3885)

124
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected annual savings are from the integration of the Medical Supplies Agency and the Warship Supply Agency into the Defence Logistics Organisation.

(3954)

125
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the forecasted estimated annual running costs were of the (a) Medical Supplies Agency and (b) Warship Supply Agency if it had operated as a stand-alone agency.

(3960)

126
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements are in place to monitor his Department's contractors payments performance against their contractual requirements under DEFCON 534.

(4249)

127
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Defcon 534 is included in all of his Department's contracts.

(4515)

128
N Charles Hendry (Wealden):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the strength of the Territorial Army has been in each of the last 10 years.

(3661)

129
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Swan Hunter has made representations regarding additional funding for the Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) programme above the £87 million negotiated last year; and whether there have been variations to the contract since January.

(3919)

130
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions have taken place with French defence officials regarding the adoption by France of the UK's aircraft carrier design; and how much he expects France to pay for the right to use the UK design.

(3920)

131
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) discussions and (b) meetings officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in France about possible collaboration on the (i) acquisition and (ii) construction of aircraft carriers; and if he will make a statement.

(3921)

132
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many additional troops the UK intends to send to (a) Najaf and (b) Qadifyeh in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

(3650)

133
N Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has used (a) agency nurses and other medical specialists and (b) Frontier Medical staff in (i) Iraq and (ii) any other country where UK armed forces are deployed to augment UK military units.

(3793)

134
N Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost has been of agency staff used to augment UK military units on operations in (a) 2000-01, (b) 2001-02, (c) 2002-03, (d) 2003-04 and (e) 2004-05; and if he will make a statement.

(3794)

135
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3715)

136
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many persons arrested in Iraq by UK forces have been transferred to the custody of the United States.

(3087)

137
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 6th June, Official Report, column 244W, on detainees (treatment), whether (a) detainees, (b) security internees and (c) enemy prisoners of war transferred by British forces to the United States military have been subject to the unlawful use of sensory deprivation techniques during interrogation.

(3088)

138
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects to complete the privatisation of QinetiQ.

(3694)

139
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units are designated by his Department to be deployed to Afghanistan during (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

(3698)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

140
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the right to buy for (a) housing association and (b) council house tenants.

(3748)

141
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on implementation of the Barker report.

(3749)

142
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) area of sites designated as derelict land in 2004, broken down by region.

(4435)

143
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will place in the Library the minutes of his meetings with the London Housing Board in (a) December 2003 and (b) January 2004 concerning its recommendations on investment allocations in 2004 to 2006.

(3937)

144
N Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will require the London Housing Board to dedicate sufficient resources to ensure that it delivers the London Plan target of 70 per cent. of new affordable housing being social rented homes.

(3938)

145
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what criteria he used in making the decision to over-rule the London Housing Boards's recommendation on investment allocations in 2004 to 2006

(3945)

146
Mr Geoffrey Cox (Torridge & West Devon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the future funding of the Land Stabilisation Programme administered by English Partnerships; and what assessment he has made of the implications of this funding for the programme's ongoing projects, with particular reference to those in Horrabridge and Tavistock, West Devon.

(4177)

147
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many people were on the housing need list in Coventry South on the latest date for which figures are available; how many new lettings there were in the constituency in 2004-05; and how many new dwellings are expected to become available for new tenancies within the constituency in 2005-06.

(2784)

148
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when the review of the Local Government Standards Board is expected to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the progress of the review.

(3814)

149
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total cost of the Local Government Standards Board was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

(3817)

150
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will require the Local Government Standards Board (a) to account separately for the costs of cases that were (i) proven and (ii) dismissed and (b) further to break down those costs by stage of the investigation and adjudication procedure; and if he will make a statement.

(3818)

151
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the daily fee paid to adjudicators sitting on a Local Government Standards Board adjudication panel is; whether there is a fee for preparatory `reading in' work on a case; when the fees were last reviewed; when they are next expected to be reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

(3819)

152
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many of the cases disposed of (a) directly by the Standards Board, (b) after an Adjudication Panel and (c) after a local standards committee hearing (i) were dismissed, (ii) were found proven but no penalty imposed and (iii) were found to be vexatious complaints in each of the last three years.

(3820)

153
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many complaints to the Local Government Standards Board against a councillor in each of the last three years were made (a) by a member of the public, (b) by another councillor, (c) by a councillor from the same political party, (d) by a councillor from another political party, (e) by an officer of a council, (f) by the Chief Executive of the council and (g) by the monitoring officer of the council, where the monitoring officer is not the chief executive; how many were (i) upheld, (ii) dismissed and (iii) resulted in no penalty being imposed in each case; and if he will make a statement.

(3895)

154
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will revise the Local Authorities (Indemnities for Members and Officers) Order 2004 to provide for circumstances in which a member of a minority party on a council seeks an indemnity from a council which is refused (a) as a result of the votes of the majority party and (b) where a technical breach of the code has been found, but no penalty imposed and no further action taken.

(3896)

155
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many of the cases disposed of directly by the Local Government Standards Board (a) were not investigated, (b) had no evidence of a breach of the code and (c) resulted in no action being required in respect of the matters under investigation in each of the last three years.

(3897)

156
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many hours of Standards Board officers' time were spent on the case of Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, broken down by grade of officer; and if he will make a statement.

(3900)

157
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he will publish the consultation document on a revised means of determining over-crowding.

(4363)

158
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the 15 local councils and 100 wards with the highest proportion of over-crowded housing, indicating in each case (a) the proportion living in each category of property and (b) the proportion of all households living in overcrowded accommodation.

(4364)

159
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his Department's policy is regarding whether living rooms should be used as sleeping accommodation for permanent members of a household; and if he will make a statement.

(4365)

160
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his most recent estimate is of the number of (a) households and (b) children living in overcrowded housing.

(4366)

161
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of social housing tenants who are (a) white and (b) black or ethnic minority live in overcrowded accommodation.

(4367)

162
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his most recent estimate is of the number of households in overcrowded accomodation, broken down by (a) region and (b) property tenure; and what the figures were in 1991.

(4368)

163
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average price of a new build residential property excluding social housing in (a) England, (b) London, (c) Westminster and (d) Barnet was on the latest date for which figures are available.

(4369)

164
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effect of buy-to-let on the cost and availability of private rented accommodation in London; and if he will make a statement.

(4370)

165
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much money has been allocated to each London local authority from the Safer Stronger Committee fund.

(4371)

166
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what percentage of new build residential properties in (a) England and (b) London have been purchased by (i) individuals not normally resident in the UK and (ii) companies not based in the UK.

(4372)

167
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what criteria have been drawn up for the council tax banding revaluation.

(4099)

168
Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford & Woodford Green):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if the Government will introduce legislation ensuring that planning authorities are bound by covenants on land for which a planning application has been submitted.

(3922)

169
Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford & Woodford Green):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what statutory obligations there are on local authority planning departments to ensure that they do not grant planning requests if such requests are in breach of existing covenants.

(3923)

170
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the impact of Planning Policy Guidance 13 on the restoration of canals and the route such canals take.

(3760)

171
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will meet the Chief Executive of Staffordshire County Council to discuss (a) the route of the Lichfield Southern Bypass, (b) the construction of associated housing by Persimmon Homes and (c) the impact on the route of the restored Lichfield canal.

(3978)

172
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will meet the directors of Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust Limited to discuss the route that the restored canal will take with respect to Planning Policy Guidance 13, and its progress to date.

(4176)

173
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make it his policy to make changes to planning law to ensure that an application for change of category of use of a residential dwelling must be made before a property can be purchased for the purpose of using it as a second home.

(3407)

174
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on (a) affordability and (b) availability of homes for local people of high levels of second home ownership.

(3408)

175
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether his Department plans to amend the cap on the discounts tenants in council housing wanting to purchase their own property are eligible to receive.

(4034)

176
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much funding for housing the London Borough of Haringey council has received in each financial year since the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 came into force; and if he will make a statement.

(3974)

177
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many applicants for funding under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 within the London Borough of Haringey have been (a) successful, (b) refused and (c) put on a waiting list; and if he will make a statement.

(3975)

178
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4122)

179
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3811)

180
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the total council tax take was for 2004-05; and how much council tax was raised from second homes.

(3733)

181
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his Department's policy is on whether local authorities should be required to have a chief executive.

(3789)

182
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 8th June, Official Report, column 563W, on public toilets, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of public toilets; and what assessment he has made of the public health and environmental consequences of the change.

(4616)

183
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what central government assistance is available to Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council to provide the number of affordable homes they have been set.

(3652)

184
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will rule out establishing unitary authorities in areas where a referendum has not given the assent of the people; and if he will make a statement.

(3769)

185
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress he has made in ensuring an adequate supply of trained inspectors to meet the requirement of the Housing Act 2004 for home condition reports.

(3705)

186
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what guidance he (a) has published and (b) plans to publish to assist local authorities in the discharge of their new licensing functions under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004.

(3706)

187
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the development of his policy on the sub-division of agricultural land into small plots for sale since his Department's letter of 19th April 2004 to chief planning officers.

(4084)

188
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what guidance he has issued to local planning authorities on the application of temporary stop notice powers, as provided under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, to cases in which agricultural land has been divided into small plots for sale.

(4085)

189
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many surveys have been sent out to residents in (a) England, (b) Adur and (c) Worthing on behalf of his Department by BMG Research entitled, Your views on your local council; and who pays for the surveys.

(4627)

190
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much has been paid to BMG Research for surveys on residents' views on local councils.

(4628)

191
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made with the sale and development of the surplus land on the Southlands Hospital site in Shoreham, West Sussex.

(4629)

192
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, which of those surplus NHS sites transferred to his Department (a) have been sold for development, (b) have secured planning permission for development and (c) are to be developed by his Department.

(4647)

193
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what percentage of houses to be built on surplus NHS sites transferred to his Department will be affordable homes.

(4648)

194
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what mechanisms the panel established to conduct the examination in public into the Draft Regional Spatial Strategy will use (a) to calculate the amount of water required for each new dwelling, (b) to establish the source for the water of each dwelling, (c) to establish the sustainability of the source of water for each new dwelling and (d) to establish the impact on local rivers, the environment and the biodiversity of the area.

(4078)

195
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if the Government will introduce legislation to provide additional protection from harassment and attack to firefighters responding to emergency calls.

(3984)

196
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will state how much (a) greenfield and (b) green belt land there is in the Solent Gateway area.

(4173)

197
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether the average council tax per dwelling figures compiled by his Department are a mean or median measure; and for what reason the measure is used.

(4175)

198
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much was raised from fines for non-payment of council tax in each year since 1997.

(4215)

199
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many fines were levied for non-payment of council tax in each year since 1997.

(4240)

200
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will publish the budget for the conduct of (a) the Lyons Review and (b) the Balance of Funding Review.

(4241)

201
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what changes the Government has made to planning guidance on (a) the density of residential development, (b) infill development and (c) suburban development, since May 1997.

(4242)

202
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed by his Department's Press Office in each year since its creation; and if he will list the responsibilities of each current staff member.

(4244)

203
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether (a) caravans, (b) stand-alone private garages, (c) armed forces barracks, (d) hostels and (e) properties occupied by squatters, are liable for council tax.

(4245)

204
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how transitional relief for the 2007 council tax revaluation in England will be funded.

(4246)

205
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans the Government has to revise Planning Policy Guidance 3.

(4247)

206
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what changes the Government has made to planning guidance relating to park and ride sites since May 1997.

(4248)

207
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will publish figures for the average business rates bill in each Government Office region in each year since 1997-98, including the estimated average figures for 2005-06.

(4266)

208
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he will lead the government agency with responsibility for the National Spatial Address Infrastructure.

(4267)

209
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will publish figures for the central government funding of neighbourhood warden schemes in each year since their commencement.

(4268)

210
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many full-time equivalent employees are employed in relation to the Lyons Review.

(4269)

211
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will publish figures listing the capital expenditure for each local authority in England in the latest year for which figures are available.

(4270)

212
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate he has made of the proportion of housing associations expected to offer Social Homebuy to their social tenants.

(4271)

213
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether the Social Homebuy Scheme will allow social tenants to purchase 100 per cent. of their equity; and if he will make a statement.

(4272)

214
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will publish figures for the number of households in (a) council housing and (b) housing associations in England in each year since 1997.

(4273)

215
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many housing association tenants are eligible for (a) the right to buy, (b) the preserved right to buy, (c) the right to acquire and (d) voluntary purchase grants.

(4274)

216
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans the Government has to increase Right to Buy discount ceilings in line with house price inflation.

(4275)

217
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the Government's definitions are of the terms (a) affordable housing and (b) key worker.

(4276)

218
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the powers and responsibilities of the regional housing boards.

(4277)

219
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the timetable for the Government's plans to merge the regional housing boards with regional planning bodies.

(4280)

220
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what access political parties will have to the National Spatial Address Infrastructure database; and if he will make a statement.

(4281)

221
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the cost will be to local authorities of revoking the changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme in the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2004.

(4282)

222
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how the Sustainable Communities Plan will amend green belt designation in each of the growth areas.

(4283)

223
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many hectares of designated green belt land there were in each local authority area, in (a) 1997 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

(4284)

224
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what powers (a) the Greater London Authority and (b) the regional chambers, have to create, amend, review or delete green belt designation.

(4285)

225
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps the Government is taking to prevent speculative sales of green belt land.

(4286)

226
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the names of the special advisers currently employed in his Department.

(4287)

227
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the consent regimes for local authorities that are administered by the Government Offices for the Regions.

(4288)

228
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the locations of each development on Green Belt land for which he or his predecessors have (a) given planning permission and (b) refused planning permission, since 1st May 1997.

(4289)

229
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate the Government has made of the cost to local authorities of implementing the new regulations on high hedges; and if he will make a statement.

(4290)

230
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the net yield from business rates was in each billing authority in England in 2004-05; and what the estimated level is for 2005-06.

(4291)

231
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the estimated average business rates bill was in each billing authority in England in 2004-05; and what the estimated level is for 2005-06.

(4292)

232
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he intends to hold a referendum on establishing an elected regional assembly in (a) the North West and (b) Yorkshire and Humber.

(4293)

233
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether the Lyons Review will consider the introduction of a capital value system in its assessment of local government finance.

(4294)

234
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the estimated audit and inspection fees to be levied by the Audit Commission for each individual council rated as excellent in their Comprehensive Performance Assessment will be in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06.

(4301)

235
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when the Government intends to revoke the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2004.

(4302)

236
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the current asset value of the Local Government Pension Scheme is (a) in England and (b) across the United Kingdom.

(4303)

237
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of the Local Government Pension Scheme's liabilities are funded.

(4304)

238
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of the Local Government Pension Scheme is invested in UK equities.

(4305)

239
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he will publish a regulatory impact assessment for his plans to revoke the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2004.

(4306)

240
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans the Government has to reduce the number of performance targets on local authorities.

(4307)

241
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the (a) set-up and (b) ongoing costs are to local authorities of the implementation and enforcement of the high hedges provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.

(4308)

242
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, for what reasons planning appeal decisions by the Planning Inspectorate are not accessible to the public via their website; and if he will make a statement.

(4309)

243
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the timetable for amending Part G of building regulations for regulating the temperature of bathing water in residential homes; and if he will make a statement.

(4310)

244
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, for what reasons transitional relief for the 2005 business rates revaluation in England is not subsidised by central Government.

(4311)

245
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much land changing to residential use was within (a) the designated green belt and (b) greenfield land, in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

(4312)

246
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much land within the 1997-designated green belt changed to developed use in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

(4313)

247
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many new dwellings have been built within the 1997-designated green belt in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

(4314)

248
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to revise planning guidance relating (a) to the green belt, (b) residential housing development and (c) infill development; and if he will make a statement.

(4315)

249
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recommendations of the Barker Review the Government has (a) already implemented and (b) intends to implement.

(4316)

250
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether there is a de minimis rule for small dwellings for the purposes of council tax valuation.

(4319)

251
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when the revised council tax valuation list will be available to the public following the council tax revaluation in England.

(4321)

252
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans the Government has to amend planning guidance on infill development; and if he will make a statement.

(4322)

253
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the average collection rate was for council tax for travellers in the last year for which figures are available.

(4323)

254
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether the Deputy Prime Minister pays council tax for his official residences.

(4324)

255
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether asylum seekers without leave to remain are liable for council tax.

(4325)

256
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the estimated cost is of the council tax revaluation process in England.

(4326)

257
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many, and what proportion of appeals to (a) the Valuation Tribunal and (b) the High Court, against a council tax valuation, were successful in the last year for which figures are available.

(4327)

258
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment the Government has made of the number of park and ride sites proposed for development on green belt land since the revision of Planning Policy Guidance 13 in 2001.

(4355)

259
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many Implementing Electronic Government targets local authorities must meet in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06.

(4357)

260
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the addresses of the properties provided by the Government for the use of the Deputy Prime Minister.

(4374)

261
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the address is of the offices of each (a) regional chamber, (b) regional housing board and (c) regional observatory.

(4512)

262
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer of 6th June, Official Report, column 406W, how many representations he has received from local councils advocating (a) local government restructuring and (b) unitary local government subsequent to the result of the North East regional referendum.

(4516)

263
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 23rd May, Official Report, column 36W, on vehicle fires, if he will break down figures for the number of malicious vehicle fires by each year since 1997.

(4522)

264
N Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many social houses to rent were provided in (a) Devon and (b) Plymouth in 2004.

(3040)

265
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps are being taken to encourage enterprise and entrepreneurialism in deprived areas.

(4332)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

266
Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representatives she will send to the Higher Education Funding Council Conference on rates of participation in higher education on 15th June in Birmingham; and if she will make a statement.

(4333)

267
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans the Government has to encourage schools to develop and promote tennis.

(4580)

268
Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what policies are being developed to stop the bullying with mobile phones known as `happy slapping' in schools.

(4407)

269
Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will consult mobile phone companies on the development of new technologies to block the use of mobile phones in schools.

(4408)

270
Mr Bob Blizzard (Waveney):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will allocate a portion of the funding for rebuilding of secondary schools to further education colleges for delivery of vocational education to 14 to 16 year olds.

(4263)

271
John Cummings (Easington):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many pupils have been excluded from each school in the Easington constituency in each year since 2000.

(3757)

272
John Cummings (Easington):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the average spending per meal per pupil for school meals in the county of Durham has been in each year since 1999.

(3758)

273
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much she plans to make available to schools in Coventry South to improve school meals over the next three years; and if she will make a statement.

(2786)

274
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to visit Coventry South.

(2787)

275
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many training courses for those working with people with autistic spectrum disorders are funded through learning and skills councils in (a) Staffordshire, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

(4416)

276
N Mr John Denham (Southampton, Itchen):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much each inner London local education authority has received under each Government initiative aimed at raising secondary school standards in each year since 1997.

(1743)

277
N Mr John Denham (Southampton, Itchen):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list each (a) specialist school and (b) city academy in each inner London local education authority; and on what date each opened.

(1744)

278
Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the allocation from the Children's Fund was in each of the last four financial years (a) in total and (b) for each recipient authority.

(4362)

279
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many proposals to close moderate learning disability special schools in the last eight years went to adjudication; and how many schools were subsequently closed.

(4097)

280
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children were in each category of special school in the (a) state and (b) private sector in each of the last five years, broken down by age range.

(4098)

281
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what longitudinal research her Department has collated on the life time experiences of students who attended specialist schools for moderate learning disabilities and similar students who were included into mainstream schools; and what the basis has been for the closure of moderate learning disabilities schools.

(4251)

282
Mr Philip Dunne (Ludlow):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many prisoners are registered on prison education programmes.

(4417)

283
Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what Government assistance is available to provide school transport for pupils unable to travel to schools to which they have been allocated by their local education authority by either private or public transport.

(4008)

284
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans her Department has for the funding for Community Development Centres in (a) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency and (b) England.

(4033)

285
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if she will make a statement.

(4128)

286
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of secondary schools that are ensuring that children in years 10 and 11 are set, on average, between one and a half and two and a half hours of homework per day.

(4014)

287
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools that support out-of-hours learning.

(4015)

288
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of secondary schools that are ensuring that children in year 9 are set, on average, between one and two hours of homework per day.

(4016)

289
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of secondary schools that are ensuring that children in years 7 and 8 are set, on average, between 45 and 90 minutes of homework per day.

(4017)

290
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of primary schools that are ensuring that children in years 3 and 4 are set, on average, about one and a half hours of homework per week.

(4018)

291
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of primary schools that are ensuring that children in years 5 and 6 are set, on average, about 30 minutes of homework per day.

(4019)

292
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of primary schools that are ensuring that children in years 1 and 2 are set, on average, about one hour of homework per week.

(4020)

293
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of schools that have a written policy on homework which is publicly available on request.

(4021)

294
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her estimate is of the proportion of schools that have drawn up home-school agreements as required by the School Standards Framework Act 1998.

(4022)

295
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her assessment is of progress in improving homework policies within (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools since the publication of the relevant guidelines in November 1998.

(4028)

296
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the difference is between learning by heart multiplication facts, as required by the Framework for Teaching Mathematics: Reception to Year 6 document, and learning by heart multiplication tables.

(4432)

297
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3807)

298
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of supply teachers' time is estimated will be replaced by classroom supervisors under the proposals in the technical note provided by her Department to the Gershon Review; and how much money is expected to be saved by this change.

(3725)

299
N Charles Hendry (Wealden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list the schools which provide specialist education for children with autism; and which are (a) residential and (b) non-residential.

(3662)

300
N Charles Hendry (Wealden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many special needs tribunals took place in the last year for which information is available, broken down by local education authority.

(3668)

301
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of bullying in schools in England.

(3286)

302
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether she expects the report of the Leadership Group on Behaviour and Discipline to be published; and if she will make a statement.

(3772)

303
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much has been allocated for the work of the Leadership Group on Behaviour and Discipline.

(3773)

304
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which professional bodies have been invited to (a) attend and (b) nominate teachers and head teachers to the Leadership Group on Behaviour and Discipline.

(3774)

305
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the (a) functions and (b) membership of the (i) Leadership Group on Behaviour and Discipline and (ii) Behaviour and Attendance Reference Group are.

(3775)

306
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what functions the Leadership Group on Behaviour and Discipline will take over from the Behaviour and Attendance Reference Group.

(3776)

307
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether the Behaviour and Attendance Reference Group will be abolished.

(3777)

308
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much funding the Behaviour and Attendance Reference Group (a) received in each year since it was established and (b) is projected to receive.

(3778)

309
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what account was taken of the school repair backlog when prioritising schools under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

(3779)

310
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) new schools, (b) replacement schools and (c) refurbished schools are to be provided in each of the (i) Pathfinder and (ii) wave one Building Schools for the Future projects.

(3780)

311
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many projects in wave one of Building Schools for the Future used the exemplar building design.

(3781)

312
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list the private sector partners involved in each successful bid for Building Schools for the Future.

(3782)

313
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when the criteria for rebuilding primary schools will be announced.

(3783)

314
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether Building Schools for the Future will be used as the template for the Department's plan to refurbish primary schools.

(3784)

315
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on progress on introducing personalised learning for secondary school pupils.

(3785)

316
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she expects all secondary school pupils to have access to a personalised package of learning.

(3786)

317
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what role her Department will play in implementing personalised packages of learning for secondary school pupils.

(3831)

318
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether the Department will introduce targets for the implementation of personalised packages of learning.

(3832)

319
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the (a) financial and (b) personnel resources needed to introduce personalised packages of learning for secondary school pupils.

(3833)

320
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the training required for teachers to introduce personalised packages of learning for secondary school pupils; and what plans she has to implement this.

(3834)

321
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action she is taking to increase (a) flexibility of provision and (b) choice and diversity in 16 to 19 education.

(3835)

322
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to increase diversity in 16 to 19 provision of education outside sixth form colleges, school sixth forms and further education colleges.

(3836)

323
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance will be produced for stakeholders in 16 to 19 provision of education on increasing choice and diversity.

(3837)

324
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list prospective stakeholders in 16 to 19 provision with which her Department has held initial discussions.

(3838)

325
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps she will take to make parents partners in raising school standards.

(3839)

326
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what directions she has given to the Learning and Skills Council on funding new school sixth forms.

(3840)

327
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many school sixth forms have been established since the Department launched its Five Year Strategy.

(3841)

328
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance she has issued to (a) schools and (b) local education authorities on the establishment of school sixth forms.

(3842)

329
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether she has discussed the establishment of school sixth forms with (a) the Learning and Skills Councils and (b) local education authorities.

(3843)

330
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many schools have expressed an interest in establishing a school sixth form.

(3844)

331
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what procedures a school is required to follow to set up a new sixth form.

(3845)

332
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation would be necessary to enable new school sixth forms to be set up.

(3846)

333
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps her Department is taking to improve in-service training for teachers.

(3847)

334
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action she proposes to take to broaden the range of support staff working in schools.

(3848)

335
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether she plans to require support staff working in schools to register with the General Teaching Council.

(3849)

336
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what actions her Department is taking to develop extended projects at A-level.

(3850)

337
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she intends to introduce extended projects at A-level.

(3851)

338
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the actions her Department will take to ensure that children who have not achieved the expected standards of numeracy and literacy at Key Stage 2 receive support at secondary school to achieve these standards; and whether these will include (a) curriculum flexibility, (b) targeted reading materials and (c) increased resources.

(3852)

339
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she expects individual module marks of A-level students to be made available to universities.

(3853)

340
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representations her Department has received on making individual module marks of A-level students available to universities.

(3854)

341
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what reviews her Department has undertaken in the last five years of the way funding for education and skills has been used .

(3855)

342
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what criteria will be used to determine which schools will gain greater independence.

(3856)

343
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what criteria will be used to determine whether overall educational standards are too low when making decisions on new school provision.

(3857)

344
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what role her Department will have in making new provision in education to address low standards.

(3858)

345
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, whether (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation would be necessary to allow more flexibility in the structure of governing bodies of schools.

(3859)

346
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the target dates are for agreeing the Education Vision for projects in (a) waves 4-6, (b) waves 7-9, (c) waves 10-12 and (d) waves 13-15 of the Building Schools for the Future initiative.

(3989)

347
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representations her Department has received on the structure of school governing bodies.

(4088)

348
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation will be necessary to allow primary schools to become foundation schools.

(4089)

349
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she expects the first primary schools to become foundation schools.

(4090)

350
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the progress of schools in acquiring specialist school status.

(4091)

351
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she expects schools to take on a second specialism; and when she expects (a) to bring forward legislation and (b) to issue guidance on this.

(4092)

352
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her Answer of 6th July, Official Report, column 340W, on the Leading Edge Schools Programme, what discussions her Department is having on the Leading Edge Partnership Programme; and with whom.

(4093)

353
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what criteria will be used to determine where new academies will be placed.

(4094)

354
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what powers her Department has given to headteachers to maintain (a) discipline and (b) standards of conduct since 1997.

(4095)

355
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what definition she uses of low level disruption.

(4096)

356
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many secondary schools in England offer GCSE Music.

(4108)

357
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance her Department has issued on the provision of GCSE Music in secondary schools.

(4109)

358
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many places have been available in out-of-school units in each year since 1995; and what plans she has to increase the number.

(4123)

359
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the research commissioned by Professor David Jesson of York University on the achievement at Key Stage 4 of children with high levels of attainment at Key Stage 2.

(4233)

360
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance her Department has produced on the range of subjects beyond the core requirements of the national curriculum offered in secondary schools at Key Stage 3 and 4.

(4234)

361
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much funding has been set aside for high-quality tuition in (a) the arts, (b) music, (c) sport and (d) foreign languages for the next three financial years.

(4235)

362
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what new academies are proposed to be built; and what stage discussions with sponsors and local education authorities have reached to date.

(4236)

363
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how she proposes to encourage the creation and retention of small schools and state boarding schools.

(4237)

364
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action she proposes to take to encourage more people to enter teacher training and to increase the number of options for the training of teachers.

(4238)

365
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what mechanisms will be put in place to ensure new school provison in areas where school standards are low.

(4239)

366
Mr David Jones (Clwyd West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on progress towards implementation of the workforce agreement for schools.

(4166)

367
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many assessments of carer needs have been carried out, broken down by carer age groups, since the introduction of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000.

(4462)

368
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps she is taking to encourage an increased number of foster carers; and how much her Department has spent on recruitment campaigns to encourage people to become foster carers in the last five years.

(4463)

369
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of young carers.

(4464)

370
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of young carers have been assessed for their ability to provide for the person they care for.

(4465)

371
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what measures have been taken to improve facilities for schools to respond to the needs of young carers in the last five years.

(4625)

372
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children are benefiting from the carers special grant.

(4626)

373
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of child carers who care for a relative with a mental illness.

(4650)

374
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when Ministers from her Department last met representatives from young carers' organisations.

(4651)

375
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps the new behaviour task force will take in dealing with pupils suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

(4652)

376
Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment her Department has made of sixth form provision provided by Palmers College, Thurrock; and if she will make a statement.

(4433)

377
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the number of EU students who have been resident in the UK for more than three years and will be eligible for higher education maintenance support from 2006 as a result of the European Court of Justice judgement in the case R (Bidar) v the London Borough of Ealing.

(3979)

378
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what progress has been made towards achieving the target of 50 per cent. of all 18 to 30 year olds going on to higher education by 2010.

(3980)

379
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the planned (a) staff numbers, (b) resource budget and (c) administration costs of the (i) Learning and Skills Council and (ii) Office of Fair Access are for each year between 2005 and 2010.

(3981)

380
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many access agreements have been completed between the Office of Fair Access and higher education institutions in England; and if she will place copies of each such agreement in the Library.

(3982)

381
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the deadline is for the conclusion of access agreements between the Office for Fair Access and those higher education institutions in England intending to charge the maximum tuition fees from 2006.

(3983)

382
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the potential for EU students to avoid deferred fee payments made through the PAYE system once they return to their country of origin after graduation.

(4207)

383
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the recent research findings at Swansea University that graduates can expect to earn £140,000 more over their lifetimes compared with non-graduates.

(4208)

384
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what research she has collated on the lifetime levels of earnings of (a) graduates and (b) non-graduates.

(4209)

385
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will safeguard central funding for adult education for 2005 to 2009.

(4211)

386
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to remove the age limit on modern apprenticeships.

(4212)

387
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representations she has received concerning costs incurred by higher education institutions in obtaining legal advice regarding their liabilities to make bursary or financial support available to EU students from 2006.

(4256)

388
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what was the (a) target for and (b) number of offenders acquiring (i) Basic Skills Level 1, (ii) Basic Skills Level 2, (iii) Basic Skills Level 3, (iv) Basic Skills Level 4 and (v) Basic Skills Level 5 in each year since 2002.

(4494)

389
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what target has been set by Offenders' Learning and Skills in relation to the number of prisoners undertaking Open University degrees by 2006; what progress has been made towards that target; and what resources have been made available to realise the target.

(4495)

390
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 7th June, Official Report, column 43WS, on student finance, what the definition is of under-represented student groups for these purposes.

(4630)

391
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many names of teachers who have been complained against are held by the Department's Child Safeguarding Unit; and in how many such cases the complaint had been dismissed.

(3963)

392
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, for what purpose a teacher's name is recorded by (a) local education authorities and (b) the Department's Child Safeguarding Unit where a complaint against that teacher has been dismissed.

(3964)

393
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidelines the Department has issued to child safeguarding units at local education authorities on the recording of (a) teachers' names and (b) details of the complaint where the complaint was dismissed.

(4023)

394
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what details about teachers are held by child safeguarding units where a complaint has been made against them.

(4024)

395
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what rights teachers have to challenge information held against their name by child safeguarding units.

(4025)

396
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in what circumstances information held by child safeguarding units is shared with third parties.

(4026)

397
Mr Eric Pickles (Brentwood & Ongar):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, for how long teachers' names are held by child safeguarding units following the outcome of a complaint.

(4027)

398
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which her Department is responsible available on-line.

(3714)

399
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 6th June, Official Report, columns 345-6W, on school sport, (a) what percentage of schools in a school sport partnership responded to the survey and (b) what percentage of schools are in a school sport partnership.

(3642)

400
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of the implementation of the Childcare Bill's new duties for local authorities.

(4378)

401
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she will publish nutritional standards for school meals in (a) secondary schools, (b) primary schools and (c) nurseries; and whether she expects these standards to be enforced through legislation.

(4005)

402
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the new student funding regime on access to part-time undergraduates courses for (a) mature students and (b) those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

(4029)

403
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what discussions her Department has had with the Open University about the effect of the new student funding system on part-time undergraduate students.

(4030)

404
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she will publish details of the formulae for distributing to (a) local education authorities and (b) schools the funding to improve school meals announced on 30th March.

(4101)

405
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what criteria are used for allocating capital funding to (a) build and (b) refit school kitchens.

(4102)

406
Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the recent change has been in the resources given by the Teacher Training Agency to the Return to Teaching scheme; and what the change in places available for former teachers on training courses will be.

(4506)

407
Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the contribution retrained former teachers have made to the education system in the last 12 months.

(4507)

408
Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the effect the policy change of the Teacher Training Agency towards the Return to Teaching programme will have on providers of training.

(4508)

409
Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list the subjects for which the Teacher Training Agency still fund Return to Teaching courses.

(4509)

410
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps the Government has taken to improve the performance of Afro-Caribbean boys at schools.

(3901)

411
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the performance of Afro-Caribbean boys against the national average performance for each age group.

(3902)

412
Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps are being taken to ensure that sixth form colleges in areas of high social need with above average drop-out rates receive equivalent funding to that allocated to high schools with sixth forms; and if she will make a statement.

(4558)

413
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many school age children were permanently excluded for bringing knives or other offensive weapons into schools in each year between 1997-98 and 2004-05.

(4259)

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

414
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what programmes the Government sponsors to protect and encourage the breeding of endangered species.

(4582)

415
Janet Anderson (Rossendale & Darwen):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce a requirement for an annual inspection of domestic oil tanks to check the risk of oil spills.

(4252)

416
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her estimate is of the number of litres of bottled (a) sparkling and (b) still water consumed in the United Kingdom in each year since 2002; and what percentage was supplied in (i) plastic, (ii) glass and (iii) other materials.

(4436)

417
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) mobile phones and (b) printer cartridges were (i) recycled, (ii) reused overseas and (iii) disposed of within the UK waste stream in each of the last five years.

(4437)

418
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of non-motor vehicle batteries were recycled in the latest year for which figures are available.

(4438)

419
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total volume of (a) domestic, (b) commercial and (c) other waste was in each region in each year since 2001-02; what this represents per head of population; and what proportion of each category of waste was (i) sent to landfill, (ii) incinerated and (iii) disposed of by other means in each year.

(4439)

420
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of trees (a) had full crowns, (b) had slight defoliation, (c) had moderate defoliation, (d) had severe defoliation and (e) were dead in the most recent survey of tree health in Europe under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, broken down by country.

(4440)

421
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many disposable nappies she estimates were (a) used and (b) disposed of by (i) landfill, (ii) incineration and (iii) other means in the last year for which figures are available.

(4441)

422
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what volume of she estimates was illegally fly-tipped in the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) the nature of the waste and (b) whether it was fly-tipped in urban or rural areas.

(4442)

423
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimated total volume of waste has been illegally fly-tipped in each year since 1992, broken down by the nature of waste.

(4443)

424
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the percentage tree cover in each EU member state was (a) on the latest date for which figures are available, (b) 10 years ago and (c) 20 years ago.

(4444)

425
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps (a) have been taken and (b) are planned to improve tree health.

(4445)

426
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total (a) area and (b) production in cubic metres of (i) broadleaf and (ii) coniferous woodland in England has been in each year since 1980, broken down by region.

(4446)

427
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the insect population in England; and what the predicted numbers are in the event of a (i) one per cent., (ii) two per cent. and (iii) three per cent. increase in current average temperatures due to climate change.

(4447)

428
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what work has been carried out (a) by and (b) on behalf of her Department to establish the background levels of fluoxetine in the aquatic environment.

(4448)

429
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information she has procured to establish the levels of residues from anti-depressant drugs in the (a) livers, (b) brains and (c) muscle of fish.

(4449)

430
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the (a) carbon dioxide and (b) greenhouse gas emissions created by outdoor patio heaters in (i) the most recent year for which information is available and (ii) each of the next five years.

(4450)

431
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her most recent estimate is of the level of UK carbon emissions resulting in a year from electrical appliances being left in standby mode.

(4451)

432
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the daily energy consumption resulting from the use of standby units on televisions; and if she will make a statement.

(4452)

433
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in what condition each site of special scientific interest (SSSI) has been in each year since 1997; and what the total land areas of SSSIs was in each category (a) in England and (b) broken down by (i) region and (ii) location in each year.

(4453)

434
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what volume of (a) low level, (b) intermediate level and (c) high level nuclear waste has become unaccounted for in each of the last five years; and what percentage has been located.

(4454)

435
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average monthly cost to consumers is of (a) water services and (b) sewerage services in each water supply area in 2004-05 (i) in total and (ii) broken down by those who were (A) metered and (B) unmetered.

(4455)

436
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the use of weight-based targets for local authorities in respect of their recycling activities.

(4478)

437
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the collection practices of local authorities for recycling purposes arising from the use of weight-based targets, with particular reference to the relationship between material collected and available in UK markets for that material.

(4479)

438
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tyres were (a) purchased, (b) reused and (c) disposed of by (i) landfill, (ii) incineration, (iii) illegal fly-tipping and (iv) other means in each year since 2001.

(4527)

439
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the occasions on which the Thames Barrier has been closed in each year since its inception; and what estimate she has made of the number of occasions when it will be closed in (a) 2010, (b) 2020, (c) 2050 and (d) 2100.

(4600)

440
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many abandoned cars were recorded in each local authority in England and Wales in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05.

(4601)

441
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions resulted in (a) convictions and (b) custodial sentences in each year since 1st May 1997 for offences related to (i) water resources, (ii) flood defences, (iii) fisheries, (iv) navigation, (v) process industry regulation, (vi) radioactive substances, (vii) waste and (viii) water quality as recorded in the National Enforcement Database; and what the average fines were where custodial sentences were awarded (A) in total and (B) broken down by region.

(4602)

442
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) complaints, (b) court actions and (c) fines against landfill sites for problems related to (i) odours, (ii) water pollutions, (iii) air pollution and (iv) human health impact there were in each year since May 1997, broken down by region.

(4603)

443
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in her Department in 2004-05.

(4544)

444
Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she intends to use the UK's presidency of the European Union to improve animal welfare standards in the broiler industry.

(3770)

445
Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on limiting the use of fast-growing breeds in the broiler industry.

(3771)

446
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to receive the results of the validation of the survey in the badger culling trial areas.

(4425)

447
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to allocate a proportion of landfill tax revenue to waste education based work in schools.

(4426)

448
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the future of auction marts.

(3639)

449
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the incidence of cases of BSE in cows born after the imposition of the reinforced feed ban.

(3640)

450
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the new guidelines on the welfare of animals recently agreed by the Office International des Epizooties.

(3641)

451
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the likely effects on rural development of the implementation of the Luxembourg Plan.

(3870)

452
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what response she will make to the main findings of the cost-benefit study of foot and mouth disease control strategies, with particular reference to vaccination.

(3871)

453
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate how many primates (a) are being kept as pets and (b) were imported in each of the last five years in order to satisfy the demand for pets.

(4074)

454
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce a ban on the keeping of primates as pets.

(4250)

455
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what factors underlay the decision to include paragliding and hang-gliding in the 28 category in relation to the Single Payment Scheme; and if she will reclassify these activities as generally permitted activities.

(3987)

456
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if she will make a statement.

(4127)

457
Mr John Gummer (Suffolk Coastal):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will instruct the British Waterways Board to realise the value of its non-operational land in order to apply it to investment in the operational waterways or to fund other cost-cutting exercises elsewhere in government.

(4594)

458
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to bring forward legislation to replace the testing of animals under the REACH proposals with a testing strategy that uses advanced scientific techniques for (a) safety testing and (b) risk assessment without using animals; and if she will make a statement.

(4147)

459
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many game rearing farms are operating in England.

(4521)

460
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make representations to the European Commission to implement the recommendations of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare for a maximum stocking density of 25kg/square metre.

(3790)

461
Peter Law (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the planting of GM crops in Wales.

(4038)

462
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to set a commencement date for the provisions in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act concerning the introduction of restricted byways; and if she will make a statement.

(4181)

463
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which her Department is responsible available on-line.

(3717)

464
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effects of the practice of Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority of levying precepts on local councils irrespective of the amount of recycling done by those authorities.

(3822)

465
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to change the basis on which targets for recycling by councils are set.

(3823)

466
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many responses she has received to the consultation on Agricultural Waste Regulations; how many were from growers; and what the results of the consultation were.

(3036)

467
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will report on the consultation into Agricultural Waste Regulations.

(3037)

468
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6th June, Official Report, column 259W, on the National Fruit Collection, whether it is the Department's intention to advertise the contract on the open market once the two-year contract has expired on 31st March 2007.

(3287)

469
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of implementing the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.

(4296)

470
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Government targets for recycling provision local authorities must meet over the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

(4297)

471
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate the Government has made of the effect of a public smokng ban on cigarette litter in the streets.

(4298)

472
Dr Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to lay an order before Parliament implementing section 2 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

(3882)

473
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received concerning the impact of the eligibility rules for Single Farm Payment on off-road motor sport events; and if she will make a statement.

(3735)

474
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures she is taking to ensure that there are adequate numbers of disposal points at sewage treatment works for delivered waste from domestic cess pools.

(3737)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

475
John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the benefit to (a) the government of Sudan and (b) the people of Darfur that will result from the oil contract between Cliveden Petroleum Sudan Ltd and the government of Sudan.

(4514)

476
John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications of the oil contract between Cliveden Petroleum Sudan Ltd and the government of Sudan for the (a) credibility and (b) effectiveness of UK foreign policy towards Sudan.

(4560)

477
N Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list those decisions of the European Court of Justice where the court has found an item of European Community legislation to be in breach of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality; and if he will make a statement.

(3275)

478
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library the most recent guidance to UK embassies on overseas bribery.

(3909)

479
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many allegations of overseas corruption have been forwarded by UK embassies overseas to London; and how many of these allegations the Department has forwarded to the law enforcement authorities.

(3910)

480
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Azerbaijan regarding the arrest and detention of Mrs Almas Guliyeva.

(4229)

481
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Russian authorities about the auction of Yuganskneftegaz.

(4654)

482
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what investigations he is undertaking into the detention and deportation from Israel on 7th/8th May of a delegation of women from Birmingham at Tel Aviv Airport; and what representations he is making to the Government of Israel on the matter.

(4225)

483
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4546)

484
Mr David Cameron (Witney):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he intends to maintain the position of honorary Consul in Antananarivo; and if he will make a statement.

(4604)

485
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Ministers from his Department will attend the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in September.

(3939)

486
Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the progress of the EU Directive on Services.

(4218)

487
Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is regarding (a) the country of origin principle and (b) the freedom of establishment principle within the EU Directive on Services.

(4219)

488
Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy that the creation of an EU External Action Service, as proposed in Article III-296(3) of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, could be agreed without ratification of the Treaty.

(4220)

489
Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Statement of 6th June, Official Report, column 1000, on the EU Constitutional Treaty, whether it is his policy that the changes to the system of qualified majority voting proposed in the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, could be agreed without ratification of the Treaty.

(4221)

490
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what advice his Department gives to those travelling overseas about the dangers of contracting (a) hepatitis C and (b) other infections from tattooing.

(4397)

491
N Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Department made to Hamas at the recent meeting held between his officials and Hamas members on (a) ceasing and (b) ceasing support for violent attacks on Israel; what representations were made to Hamas members themselves; and if he will make a statement.

(3116)

492
N Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what dates he expects meetings between his officials and Hamas members to take place; in what circumstances such meetings would be held; who he expects will attend from (a) his Department and (b) Hamas; what issues he expects to be on the agenda; and if he will make a statement.

(3117)

493
N Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department received from Israel on a meeting between his officials and Hamas members; what discussions with Israel the Department held (a) before and (b) after the meeting with Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

(3118)

494
N Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what dates his officials met members of Hamas; which officials were present; which Hamas members were present; what issues were discussed; what decisions were taken; what the outcome of the meetings were; and if he will make a statement.

(3119)

495
N Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on official meetings of UK Government representatives with Hamas.

(3120)

496
N Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking in partnership with his EU colleagues to control the trafficking of human beings into the UK.

(3860)

497
N Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what instructions he has given his diplomatic representatives in relation to contacts with Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

(3511)

498
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4121)

499
Paul Flynn (Newport West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much has been spent by the UK on supporting measures to eradicate heroin poppy cultivation in Afghanistan; and what change there has been in the (a) cultivation of poppies and (b) production of heroin over the period of that support.

(3761)

500
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of whether British citizens Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters, who died at Balibo, East Timor, on 16th October 1975, were murdered; and if he will make a statement.

(4497)

501
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has met the relatives of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters to inquire into the security of the United Nations' police files on their case; and if he will make a statement.

(4498)

502
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the security of the police files of East Timor's Serious Crimes Unit; and if he will make a statement.

(4499)

503
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what correspondence he has had with Indonesia's (a) Foreign Minister and (b) Ambassador regarding the case of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters; and if he will make a statement.

(4500)

504
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the British police regarding their involvement in the case of British citizens Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters; and if he will make a statement.

(4501)

505
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in persuading the Indonesian authorities to bring to trial in Indonesia or to extradite to East Timor those Indonesian military officers from Indonesia's Battalion 745 who have been indicted by East Timor's Serious Crime Unit for the murder of Financial Times journalist Sander Thoenes; and if he will make a statement.

(4502)

506
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in persuading Indonesian authorities to investigate crimes committed by the Indonesian Army's Battalion 745 (a) on 21st September 1999, including the attack on Sunday Times journalist Jon Swain and his three companions and (b) during other stages of the Battalion's withdrawal from East Timor in 1999; and if he will make a statement.

(4503)

507
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his assessment is of the outcome of the recent London debate on the constitutional amendment in Uganda.

(4075)

508
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the recent statement made by the World Bank on the future of Uganda.

(4076)

509
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the steps taken by the government of Uganda to deal with institutional corruption in that country.

(4077)

510
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what measures are being taken to help Russia secure its nuclear (a) material and (b) facilities against terrorism.

(4632)

511
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many EU directives have been issued (a) in each month since 2000 and (b) in each year since 1975.

(3729)

512
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to visit Romania; and what assessment he has made of the likely timetable for Romania becoming an EU member.

(3651)

513
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will urge the leaders of the Arab League to take steps to assist in resolving the situation in Darfur.

(3655)

514
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for how long the lease of Diego Garcia to the US runs; and what arrangments he expects will be put in place for Diego Garcia when the lease expires.

(3656)

515
Mr Mark Lancaster (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made in response to the Zimbabwean police force's expressed intention to use force during the National Strike to be held on 9th and 10th June.

(3925)

516
Mr Mark Lancaster (North East Milton Keynes):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made in relation to the Zimbabwean Government's slum clearance campaign.

(3926)

517
Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Israel regarding the future of the Separation Wall.

(4264)

518
N Mr John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work is being done by (a) his Department and (b) the EU Commission on proposals for (i) an EU Diplomatic Service, (ii) an EU President, (iii) an EU Foreign Minister, (iv) an EU Defence Agency and (v) implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; what the legal basis is in each case; and when work began.

(3986)

519
N Mr John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times in each of the last five years his Department has requested an impartial investigation by the relevant national authorities into allegations of the torture or ill-treatment of British citizens detained abroad.

(4153)

520
N Mr John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times in each of the last five years the Department has raised concerns about the torture or ill-treatment of British citizens detained abroad with the relevant national authorities.

(4154)

521
N Mr John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times in each of the last five years the Department has received representations regarding the torture or ill-treatment of British citizens detained abroad.

(4155)

522
Mr David Marshall (Glasgow East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has in place for repatriating UK citizens stranded abroad in the event of a major scheduled airline failure.

(4591)

523
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3718)

524
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what action was taken in response to representations made on 12th March 2004 by Theo von Boven, UN special rapporteur on torture, in relation to four men reportedly held incommunicado in detention by the Badr organisation in Basra.

(3085)

525
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Ministers were given copies of Foreign Office briefings on the legality of military action in Iraq prior to the commencement of hostilities.

(3086)

526
N Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what changes have been made to the list of persons banned from travel to the EU from Zimbabwe since the recent elections and changes in the composition of the government in that country; and if he will make a statement.

(3767)

527
N Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on EU sanctions against Zimbabwe following the recent election in that country.

(3768)

528
N Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of South Africa concerning the sale of Alouette helicopter spares to Zimbabwe.

(3797)

529
Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department has received regarding the country of origin of the Alonette helicopter spare parts sold to Zimbabwe.

(4488)

530
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with officials in his Department concerning meetings between his officials and members of Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

(3288)

531
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Israel and (b) the Palestinian Authority concerning meetings between his officials and members of Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

(3289)

532
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when, and on how many occasions, since the death of Yasser Arafat, officials from his Department have met members of Hamas.

(3290)

533
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which countries have requested the deployment of armed service personnel on United Kingdom soil to guard (a) the G8 Summit and (b) Prestwick Airport.

(4004)

534
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which provisions of the Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe can be made (a) without that Treaty being ratified and (b) under existing European treaties.

(3762)

535
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Zimbabwean Government about the bulldozing of squatter camps.

(3763)

536
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which proposals the Government will place on the agenda for the Brussels summit on 16th and 17th June.

(4058)

537
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many members of staff in his Department are deployed in Afghanistan.

(3695)

538
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the projected levels of deployment for his Department's personnel to Afghanistan is by the (a) end of 2005, (b) middle of 2006 and (c) end of 2006.

(3697)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

539
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the Health Select Committee to improve the diagnosis and treatment provided by the NHS for people suffering with allergies.

(4579)

540
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the Health Select Committee regarding (a) assisting people who suffer with obesity and (b) encouraging people to take action to stop them being obese.

(4581)

541
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions there have been for anti-depressants in England in each year since 1991, broken down by type, including fluoxetine.

(4434)

542
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on the frequency and level of bacterial contamination found in (a) bottled and (b) tap water; and what assessment she has made of the health implications therefrom.

(4480)

543
John Battle (Leeds West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors who trained in the UK are working in developing countries.

(3657)

544
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) overall budget and (b) budget for each constituent body is for the NHS Business Services Authority; whether there will be any reduction in staff numbers from the Dental Practice Board following the merger into the NHS Business Services Authority; and what estimate her Department has made of the transfer costs of the merger.

[R] (3281)

545
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria her Department has advised primary care trusts to apply for the approval of growth funding to Personal Dental Service applicants.

[R] (3282)

546
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in implementing the NHS IT system for NHS dentistry; and whether dentists will (a) have access to the NHS Net and (b) have access to electronic patient records.

[R] (3283)

547
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when she plans to conduct a new dental clinical academic staff vacancies survey; how much of the funding for dental schools has been allocated for the creation of more clinical academic posts; and what joint action her Department and the Department for Education and Skills are planning concerning recruitment and retention of dental academic staff.

[R] (3284)

548
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Polish dentists who have been recruited by (a) primary care trusts and (b) Methods Consulting, have subsequently returned home.

[R] (3285)

549
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for patients to be fitted with a digital hearing aid at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

(3825)

550
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations she has received on the change in her Department's national guidelines on the fitting of digital hearing aids; and if she will make a statement.

(3826)

551
N Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons patients fitted with analogue hearing aids in the past three years are ineligible to be fitted with digital hearing aids; and if she will make a statement.

(3827)

552
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in her Department in 2004-05.

(4542)

553
Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of (a) the financial situation of the West Herts Hospitals Trust, (b) the implications for clinical services of its financial situation and (c) proposals for ward closures at Watford Hospitals; what plans she has to provide additional (i) financial and (ii) other support to the Trust; and if she will make a statement.

(3914)

554
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans she has to issue policy guidance following the ruling in the case of Fletcher v NHS Pension Agency and the Secretary of State for Health to the NHS Pensions Agency on the subject of payment of bursaries to student midwives during maternity leave.

(4653)

555
N David T. C. Davies (Monmouth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when she expects to reply to the Question tabled by the honourable Member for Monmouth for Answer on 25th May, ref 1150.

(3658)

556
N David Davis (Haltemprice & Howden):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the numbers of obese (a) adults and (b) children in (i) East Yorkshire and (ii) England; and how these figures compare with levels of obesity in other developed countries.

(3659)

557
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of the effect of needle exchange projects on the prevention of hepatitis C infection in (a) the Burton constituency and (b) England.

(4395)

558
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice her Department has given to local authorities to assist them in monitoring tattoo and piercing parlours to prevent infections, with particular reference to hepatitis C.

(4396)

559
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice she has given to the Department for Education and Skills regarding the training needs for those working with people with autistic spectrum disorders.

(4415)

560
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders amongst the black and minority ethnic population; and if she will make a statement.

(4418)

561
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the number of adults with autistic spectrum disorders in (a) Staffordshire and (b) England.

(4419)

562
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of how many adults have undiagnosed autistic spectrum disorders; and what action is being taken to ensure that individuals receive a correct diagnosis and appropriate support.

(4420)

563
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the number of people in the Burton constituency infected with hepatitis C; how many people in the constituency have been diagnosed with hepatitis C; and how many people in the constituency were treated for hepatitis C in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

(4422)

564
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans she has to fund research projects into whether electromagnetic fields are a cause of childhood leukaemia.

(4423)

565
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice she is giving to (a) other Government departments and (b) local authorities with regard to the construction of new homes and schools in the vicinity of overhead power lines following publication of the Draper Report.

(4424)

566
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will (a) mount a hepatitis C awareness campaign and (b) develop adequately resourced managed clinical networks to tackle hepatitis C.

(4428)

567
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice has been given to local authorities on the appropriateness of (a) learning disability teams and (b) mental health teams taking the lead responsibility for people with autism.

(4430)

568
N Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the level of user satisfaction with NHS Direct is.

(3571)

569
N Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what checks are made to ensure that private diagnostic and treatment centres are complying with her Department's requirement that none of their staff have worked for the NHS in the preceding six months.

(3572)

570
N Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the restrictions on private diagnostic and treatment centres recruiting NHS staff applies to agency staff working in the NHS.

(3573)

571
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) governors and (b) public governors there are of each foundation hospital trust; and how many public governors of each trust declare in their personal manifesto a declaration of interest that they (i) have medical qualifications and (ii) have worked in health.

[R] (4064)

572
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on the prevalance of clostridium difficile bacterium at Stoke Mandeville Hospital; and whether she has instigated an inquiry into fatalities there.

[R] (4065)

573
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of arrhythmia were treated by (a) the Acute Trust and (b) community trusts, including GP services, in Gloucestershire in the last year for which figures are available.

(4342)

574
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of sudden cardiac death were reported in Gloucestershire in the last year for which figures are available; and how many were people aged (a) under 18, (b) 19 to 25 and (c) 26 to 35 years.

(4343)

575
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many specialist nurses there are in Gloucestershire who deal with (a) coronary heart disease and (b) arrhythmia in young people.

(4344)

576
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans she has to increase access to NHS dentistry in Stroud constituency.

(4345)

577
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what rehabilitation help is available for blind and partially sighted people; how many trained staff there are who can provide that help in health trusts and local authorities; and what advice is she seeking to increase appropriate training and numbers.

(4517)

578
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action she plans to take to ensure that each health trust and local authority has an adequate number of trained people to deliver rehabilitation help to blind and partially sighted people in accordance with the Government's Fair Access to Care Services and if she will estimate the additional funding required in order to meet that target.

(4518)

579
Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans she has to deal with the effect of second-hand smoke in the workplace.

(3738)

580
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS dentists have retired in each year since 1997.

(4359)

581
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS dentists have left the NHS in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

(4360)

582
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time dentists there were in 1997; and how many there were in the last period for which figures are available.

(4361)

583
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans she has to ensure that the guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence instructing health care trusts to provide anti-TNFa intervention to those patients with rheumatoid arthritis who qualify is followed by trusts.

(3406)

584
Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps her Department is taking to (a) recruit and (b) retain dentists who register new NHS patients in the constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale; and if she will make a statement.

(4007)

585
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in her Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if she will make a statement.

(4126)

586
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent NHS general practitioners have been employed in each of the last five years in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency; and if she will make a statement.

(4614)

587
Mr Michael Foster (Worcester):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what change in funding from the 2005-06 baseline has been determined for South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust for 2006 to 2008.

(3965)

588
N Julia Goldsworthy (Falmouth & Camborne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations she has received regarding payment to NHS and primary care trusts in Cornwall for treating tourists from other parts of the UK in the summer months; if she will ensure that appropriate payment is made to NHS and primary care trusts for such treatment; and if she will make a statement.

(3753)

589
N Julia Goldsworthy (Falmouth & Camborne):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the formula for allocating funding to (a) NHS trusts and (b) primary care trusts in Cornwall takes account of the costs of administering the recovery of payments for treating tourists from other parts of the UK in the summer months.

(3754)

590
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3808)

591
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of patients under the age of 18 years have been prescribed anti-depressants in each of the last 10 years.

(4524)

592
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice she has issued on the prescribing of anti-depressants to (a) children and (b) adolescents.

(4633)

593
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what systems of audit are used to check information provided by general practitioners to strategic health authorities and primary care trusts in terms of dealing with targets.

(3728)

594
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by how much the contract price for the new South Birmingham Hospital has changed since the initial budgets.

(3788)

595
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on recommendations 6, 7 and 14 of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Report on Social Value Judgments: Guidelines for the Institute and its Advisory Bodies.

(4179)

596
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Department has to update the June 2000 Antimicrobial Strategy and Action Plan.

(4592)

597
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what the £12 million that has been made available for monitoring the use of antibiotics is being spent.

(4593)

598
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7th June, Official Report, columns 531-2W, on mobile telephones, if she will commission research into the effect of interference from a mobile phone in a breast pocket on the variables in the dynamic equilibrium that forms part of the cardio-vascular system.

(4663)

599
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance her Department has provided to (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts on the eligibility criteria for IVF treatment provided by the NHS since 25th February.

(3946)

600
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether her Department has issued guidance to (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts on how to prioritise fertility treatment for patients according to social criteria.

(3947)

601
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps her Department has taken to assess compliance with the announcement on the availability of IVF treatment made by the then Secretary of State for Health on 25th February.

(3948)

602
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many primary care trusts have produced clinical guidance on the availability of IVF treatment to women in their area following the announcement made by the then Secretary of State for Health on 25th February.

(3949)

603
Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what sanctions are available to her should primary care trusts ignore guidance on the availability of medical treatment issued by her Department.

(3950)

604
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in transferring responsibility for the provision of healthcare services in prisons to primary care trusts.

(3708)

605
N Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the outcome of discussions held at the recent Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting of 2nd to 3rd June was, with specific reference to (a) the Foods Supplements Directive, (b) pandemic influenza and (c) health claims made on foods.

(3518)

606
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the incidence of clostridium difficile reported by each hospital trust has been in each month since the start of the mandatory reporting scheme.

(3765)

607
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance she has issued to hospital trusts on the (a) prevention and (b) eradication of clostridium difficile.

(3766)

608
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of clostridium difficile were reported to her Department under the voluntary reporting scheme in each year between 2000 and 2003; and if she will make a statement.

(3798)

609
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals care for people who have suffered a stroke, but have yet to open a specialist stroke unit; and what the planned date is of the opening of each such unit which is to be provided at those hospitals.

(4222)

610
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what categories of people (a) are and (b) are not entitled to free testing and treatment for HIV/AIDS on the NHS.

(4216)

611
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed by the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority.

(4458)

612
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what has been the budget of the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in each year since its inception; and what its budget is for 2005-06.

(4459)

613
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS patients have been (a) infected with and (b) died from the clostridium difficile bacteria in each of the last five years.

(4460)

614
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the number of people infected with hepatitis C; and how many people are currently receiving treatment for it.

(4461)

615
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children have been treated for heart disease; how many have been screened for signs of heart defects; and how many children have died from heart-related conditions in each of the last five years.

(4466)

616
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the nurse to patient ratio is at each neonatal unit in hospital trusts at (a) special care level, (b) high dependency care level and (c) intensive care level.

(4468)

617
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total expenditure on NHS hospital neonatal care has been in each of the last eight years.

(4469)

618
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many neonatal units currently comply with British Association of Perinatal Medicine recommended minimum nursing requirements.

(4470)

619
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the mortality rate for (a) babies and (b) infants was in each of the last 10 years.

(4471)

620
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many dental practices in Sussex are currently taking on new NHS patients; and how many were open to new NHS patients in 1997.

(4472)

621
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered dentists are practising in Sussex; and what the number was in 1997.

(4473)

622
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the proposed job savings from the Mental Health Act Commission are under her plans for merger with the Healthcare Commission.

(4620)

623
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS patients were treated abroad in each of the last five years; and in what countries.

(4621)

624
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the funding was per head for each primary care trust area in England in 2004-05; and what the expected level is in 2005-06.

(4622)

625
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average weekly consumption of alcohol for (a) men and (b) women has been in each of the last 10 years.

(4623)

626
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under the age of 18 were admitted to hospital for alcohol related problems in 2004-05.

(4624)

627
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research her Department has carried out into (a) the causes of childhood leukaemia and (b) whether there is a link with electromagnetic fields.

(4634)

628
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS hospitals are operating mixed sex wards.

(4635)

629
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS hospitals are operating (a) NHS-owned and (b) privately-owned (i) CAT scanners and (ii) MRI scanners on NHS premises.

(4636)

630
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the change in spending on mental health services has been in cash terms and as a percentage of overall NHS spending in each of the last five years.

(4637)

631
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many girls under 16 have been prescribed (a) contraceptive pills, (b) contraceptive implants and (c) contraceptive long-term injections in each of the last eight years.

(4639)

632
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the age is of the youngest girl to have received contraceptive prescriptions in the last five years.

(4640)

633
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of mumps among children have been reported in the last 12 months.

(4641)

634
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of whether there is a link between electricity pylons and cancer in children; and if she will make a statement.

(4644)

635
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children were treated for self-harming in 2004.

(4645)

636
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children have been treated by child and adolescent mental health services in each of the last eight years.

(4646)

637
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on her policy on the future of general practice.

(4232)

638
Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what her policy is on restricting provision of medical care to failed asylum seekers; and if she will make a statement.

(3864)

639
N Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will list key services set to transfer from Hemel Hempstead Hospital; and what the new location is in each case.

(3990)

640
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations she has received on changes to services at Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

(3991)

641
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the Article III-278 (7) of the EU Constitution on EU regulations on Working Time in Hospitals, with particular reference to West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust.

(3992)

642
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on the impact of the Working Time Directive on West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust.

(3993)

643
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on plans for the transfer of staff employed at Hemel Hempstead hospital units.

(3994)

644
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research has been conducted on comparative survival rates in hospitals with and without intensive care on site.

(3995)

645
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on projected bed numbers for Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

(3996)

646
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on plans for property redevelopment at Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

(3997)

647
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on the entry-into-service date of the planned new accident and emergency unit at Watford.

(3998)

648
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on plans to modify ambulance stationing patterns in relation to the transfer of Hemel Hempstead Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit.

(3999)

649
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average catchment area of an accident and emergency unit is in terms of (a) population and (b) travel time.

(4000)

650
Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will list Hertfordshire hospitals which had ward closures in each year since May 1997, broken down by medical specialty.

(4001)

651
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which her Department is responsible available on-line.

(3719)

652
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Devonport):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of supermarket kits designed to counter hospital-based infections.

(3891)

653
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the United Kingdom are obese; and what estimate has been made of the number of people who died as a result of obesity in each of the last five years.

(3898)

654
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to encourage people suffering from obesity to lose weight, with particular reference to those in disadvantaged areas.

(3899)

655
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients (a) have died from and (b) been infected by Clostridium difficile since 2003.

(3903)

656
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidelines have been issued on the hygiene of interaction between patients, clinical staff and visitors in NHS hospitals

(3904)

657
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether there has been a change in hospital cleanliness rates since the clean-hands policy and the use of alcohol gel was implemented.

(3905)

658
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether bedside Bibles have been removed in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust to stem transmission of infections between patients.

(3906)

659
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidelines are followed when isolating patients who contract infections in relation to contact between patients, clinical staff and visitors in NHS hospitals.

(3907)

660
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what reports she has received of complaints to hospitals about Bibles in wards.

(4002)

661
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on ensuring that ambulance response times are recorded consistently across all ambulance trusts.

(4394)

662
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many assaults have been recorded on ambulance staff in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

(4398)

663
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions for violence against the staff of NHS trusts have been taken out in each year since 2003; and what targets have been set by her Department to increase the number of incidents where the perpetrators are prosecuted.

(4399)

664
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will estimate the number of violent incidents in ambulance trusts in the NHS in England in each year since 1997, broken down by trust.

(4400)

665
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what her Department's plans are for the expansion of community hospitals over the next five years.

(4401)

666
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which ambulance trusts use CCTV inside (a) all and (b) some of their ambulances.

(4402)

667
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been allocated centrally for the expansion of community hospitals over the next five years.

(4403)

668
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what her Department's policy is on the provision of protective uniforms to ambulance personnel for protection against violent attack.

(4404)

669
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what her Department's policy is on what equipment should be provided in ambulances.

(4405)

670
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what her most recent estimate is of how much was spent by (a) the NHS, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each NHS trust in England on information technology.

(4553)

671
Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what targets have been set by her Department on reducing incidents of violence against NHS staff.

(4631)

672
Dr Tony Wright (Cannock Chase):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what action she is taking following the findings of the Draper Report on the relationship between childhood leukaemia and proximity to high voltage power lines.

(4552)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

673
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research he has commissioned into the link between gun and drug crime.

(3702)

674
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of measures he has taken to control (a) illegal immigration and (b) unfounded asylum claims.

(3703)

675
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been made against police officers in each year since 1997 in (a) Southend and (b) Essex; and what action has been taken against the officers concerned.

(4583)

676
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are followed during the period between convictions and sentencing when a judge requests a pre-sentence report; how that report is compiled; and who is consulted before the report is completed.

(4585)

677
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many tickets issued following infringements caught on speed cameras have been challenged and upheld in each year since their introduction in (a) Essex and (b) Southend.

(4586)

678
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were employed in the Probation Service in each year since 1997 in (a) Essex and (b) Southend.

(4587)

679
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time has been between deaths and inquests in the jurisdiction of the Teesside Coroner during the last 12 months.

(3520)

680
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the number of unfinished cases currently in the jurisdiction of the Teesside Coroner is; and how many are over six months old.

(3521)

681
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the backlog of cases requiring inquests in the jurisdiction of the Teesside Coroner is; and how many are over six months old.

(3522)

682
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, at what age a coroner who was appointed in 1972 must retire.

(3523)

683
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time has been between deaths and inquests in the coroners' jurisdictions (a) in the North East and (b) nationally during the last 12 months.

(3524)

684
John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assurances were sought by his Department from Friedhelm Eronat about the prospective scope of his business activities before the decision was made to grant him British citizenship.

(4513)

685
John Bercow (Buckingham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions took place between his Department and the United States Administration about the activities in the oil business of Friedhelm Eronat before he was granted British citizenship.

(4559)

686
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the outcome of the pilot automatic number plate recognition system project.

(3952)

687
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the automatic number plate recognition system is expected to help reduce the number of uninsured drivers.

(3953)

688
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the incidence of false positive alerts from the automatic number plate recognition system.

(3955)

689
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of alerts from the automatic number plate recognition system have been false positives; and what proportion related to (a) stolen vehicles, (b) non-payment of vehicle excise duty, (c) expired MOT certificates and (d) absence of insurance.

(3956)

690
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many number plates have been logged per day on average in each month since the automatic number plate recognition system has been in place; and how many related to (a) stolen vehicles, (b) non-payment of vehicle excise duty, (c) expired MOT certificates and (d) absence of insurance in each case.

(3957)

691
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many automatic number plate recognition readers are (a) in place and (b) planned, broken down by police authority.

(3958)

692
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the allegations of overseas corruption held by the National Criminal Intelligence Service come from (a) Africa, (b) Latin America, (c) the Caribbean, (d) the Middle East, (e) North Africa, (f) North America, (g) Central Asia, (h) South Asia, (i) Europe and (j) the Pacific.

(4227)

693
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many allegations are on the register of allegations of overseas corruption held by the National Criminal Intelligence Service.

(4228)

694
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what responsibilities will fall to his Department as a result of EU Public Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC; and what actions his Department plans to take in response to the Directive.

(4655)

695
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Department will take to ensure that identity cards will not be required to be produced by those subject to stop and search, with particular reference to stop and search of black and ethnic minority individuals.

(4406)

696
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency plans the Department is making in the event that the identity card technology goes wrong.

(4409)

697
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who will have access to data stored in connection with identity cards.

(4410)

698
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Department has to enable the police to fit mobile fingerprint technology to their vehicles.

(4411)

699
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Department has made of the extent to which the introduction of identity cards will eliminate identity theft perpetrated over the telephone.

(4412)

700
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of the proposed identity card will be for (a) pensioners, (b) the unemployed, (c) low earners, (d) lone parents and (e) students.

(4413)

701
Ms Dawn Butler (Brent South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the penalties will be for UK residents who refuse to register for the proposed identity card.

(4414)

702
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the average cost per year of a prisoner held in (a) PFI-funded and (b) non PFI-funded prisons in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

(4540)

703
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4545)

704
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his proposals for changes to the work permit system on ethnic minority businesses in the catering sector in relation to their ability to recruit skilled staff from the Indian sub-continent; and if he will make a statement.

(4164)

705
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been made in relation to the interception of communications under (a) the Interception of Communications Act 1985 and (b) the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for each year since such complaints have been permitted; and how many complaints were upheld in each year.

(4575)

706
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the progress of implementing the Basic Disclosure by the Criminal Records Bureau and if he will bring forward legislation to activate the offence of Enforced Subject Access under Section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998.

(4576)

707
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether consent in the proposed identity card bill will be defined by reference to Directive 95/46/EC.

(4577)

708
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the access that the police, security services and tax officials will be given to any national register established under legislation on identity cards.

(4578)

709
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the estimated cost of policing the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in September is; and from which budget the funding will come.

(3940)

710
Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in Preseli Pembrokeshire in each year since 1997.

(3712)

711
Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many violent crimes have been recorded in Pembrokeshire in each year since 1997.

(3739)

712
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's current policy on the repatriation of Iranian nationals who are seeking asylum in the United Kingdom is.

(4487)

713
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many judicial review actions against the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been resolved without a final decision in court.

(4489)

714
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many judicial reviews against the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been upheld by the court.

(4490)

715
Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what percentage of cases referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, result in acquittal.

(4491)

716
N Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to control the trafficking of human beings into the UK.

(3863)

717
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the projected prison population in England and Wales is in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) 2009.

(3872)

718
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the projected size of the prison caseload is for financial years (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09.

(3873)

719
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to penalise the contractors at HMP Rye Hill following its recent inspection and controller reports.

(3874)

720
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the 42 probation boards in England and Wales will be retained under the National Offender Management Service arrangements.

(3875)

721
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of the finding of illicit alcohol there were at Rye Hill Prison during 2004-05

(3876)

722
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been for not having a bicycle bell of (a) cycle dealers and (b) cyclists.

(4223)

723
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department issues to the police on ascertaining whether a bicycle without a bell was sold before the change in the law requiring a bell came into force.

(4224)

724
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money has been raised from speed cameras in each of the last five years; how much of this money has been retained by road safety partnerships; and how much has been kept by the Government.

(4510)

725
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many care home staff are awaiting clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau; how many care home staff were awaiting clearance in each of the last 18 months; and if he will make a statement.

(3976)

726
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme.

(3977)

727
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a check to be carried out by the Criminal Records Bureau; and if he will make a statement.

(4031)

728
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4120)

729
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police authorities have used the services of a psychic; and at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

(4610)

730
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional prison places have been provided, and at what cost, in each of the last six years; what the average cost of building a new prison place is; and if he will make a statement.

(4611)

731
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles were recovered by police forces in each of the last 10 years; and at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

(4612)

732
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are subject to (a) internal investigations and (b) disciplinary proceedings; and if he will make a statement.

(4662)

733
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many road traffic accidents drivers (a) had been using and (b) tested positive for drugs in the last 12 months, broken down by police authority.

(4041)

734
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the date of appointment was of each member of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs.

(4042)

735
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which members of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs have an expertise in (a) schizophrenia, (b) neurology and (c) toxicology; and what the extent of that expertise is in each case.

(4043)

736
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the merits of barring those members of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs who were part of the group recommending the reclassification of cannabis to Class C from the current assessment of the stronger varieties of cannabis.

(4044)

737
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance he has given to police officers on differentiating between varieties of cannabis with a high tetrahydrocannobinal content and varieties of lesser strength.

(4057)

738
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3805)

739
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what policies he is pursuing to encourage greater participation in civil society by faith communities; and if he will make a statement.

(3893)

740
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions for financially disadvantaged individuals will be made to offset the cost of the proposed identification cards.

(4525)

741
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what audits the Charities Commission uses to determine whether charities are acting in accordance with their constitutions.

(3727)

742
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in each year since the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in each age cohort under the age of 18 have been issued with reprimands or final warnings for muggings; and how many of those have later been convicted of another offence.

(3796)

743
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Department has to allow the use of retinal scans in the police national computer database.

(4617)

744
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dispersal orders have been issued to Tamworth residents since January 2004.

(3908)

745
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he intends to answer the letter dated 16th May, from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Thembelani Musdnza.

(4492)

746
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he intends to answer the letter dated 9th May, from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Zahoor Ahmed.

(4493)

747
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects the requirements for the National Identity Register to be finalised.

(4131)

748
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on how the information stored in the National Identity Register will be used.

(4132)

749
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the likely effects of identity cards on vulnerable groups in society.

(4133)

750
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to audit the accuracy and efficiency of (a) biometric readings and (b) the National Identity Register.

(4134)

751
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research his Department has conducted on systems to link identity card readers to the National Identity Register.

(4135)

752
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what he expects the cost to be for replacement of lost identity cards.

(4136)

753
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of biometric readings.

(4137)

754
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what he expects the cost will be for individuals who need to amend their details on the National Identity Register.

(4138)

755
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the penalty will be for those unwilling to pay the £1,000 civil penalty for not obtaining an identity card.

(4139)

756
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the powers of the National Identity Cards Scheme Commissioner.

(4140)

757
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the pilot studies carried out for the identity cards scheme.

(4141)

758
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the likely impact of identity cards on (a) immigration control, (b) illegal working, (c) misuse of public services, (d) activities of organised criminals and (e) terrorism.

(4143)

759
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the technology that will be used for identity cards; and if he will make a statement.

(4144)

760
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations he has received on the likely impact of identity cards on civil liberties; and what response he has made.

(4145)

761
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to issue identity cards to newly arrived asylum seekers.

(4146)

762
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he expects further primary legislation to be required to extend the use of the information stored on the National Identity Register in the second stage of the identity cards process.

(4165)

763
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research he has evaluated on the impact of identity cards on tackling crime in countries which have identity cards.

(4167)

764
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms will be put in place to ensure the security of the National Identity Register.

(4171)

765
Mr Sadiq Khan (Tooting):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there are plans to include (a) DNA and (b) medical records on the National Identity Register in the second stage of the identity cards process.

(4172)

766
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has for improving education services in prisons.

(3709)

767
Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has made to the Israeli authorities concerning the passage through the Separation Wall of farmers from the Jayyous area to their land.

(4265)

768
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the letter of 28th April to the honourable Member for Aylesbury from NCC5 of the Managed Migration Directorate, whether case S1081532 has now been allocated to a caseworker; and when he expects the applicant to be notified of the decision.

(4257)

769
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans there are to review (a) the qualifications required to become a probation officer and (b) the content of those qualifications during the 2005-06 financial year.

(4205)

770
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in each probation area were on long-term sickness absence on the latest date available, broken down by grade.

(4206)

771
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies there were in each probation area on 31st March of each year between 2001 and 2005, broken down by grade.

(4210)

772
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the staffing establishment for each probation area was on 31st March of each year between 2001 and 2005, broken down by grade.

(4261)

773
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff (a) joined and (b) left the Probation Service in England and Wales during (i) 2003-04 and (ii) 2004-05, broken down by grade.

(4262)

774
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued to minors in each of the last five years, broken down by age.

(4605)

775
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with which commercial companies his Department has held discussions about the proposed identity card scheme.

(4606)

776
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department has spent on preparations for and feasibility studies on identity cards.

(4607)

777
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many CCTV cameras are currently operated by police in England and Wales.

(4608)

778
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what measures his Department has taken to prevent abduction of African children in England and Wales.

(4649)

779
Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the target is of the Youth Justice Board for the number of hours a week young offenders should spend in education; and how many juvenile establishments met this target in (i) 2002-03 and (ii) 2003-04.

(4496)

780
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3720)

781
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent research has been (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned by his Department into the profiles of users of British airports.

(3968)

782
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which sections of commerce, agriculture or industry feature most prominently as employers of illegal labour.

(4554)

783
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there were in 2003 and 2004 of employers who employ people illegally resident in this country.

(4555)

784
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Devonport):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidences of `micro' or `pocket' bikes being ridden illegally on-road there have been in each year since 2002; and how many of those incidences related to underage riders.

(3886)

785
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Devonport):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many successful prosecutions for the illegal riding of `pocket' or `micro' bikes there have been in each year since 2002, broken down by region.

(3887)

786
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Devonport):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will seek to change the legislation relating to the drinking of alcohol to make it an offence to drink in public if a person is under the age of 18.

(3892)

787
Alan Simpson (Nottingham South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the merits of including radio frequency identification chips in (a) passports and (b) identity cards.

(4142)

788
Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained under anti-terrorism legislation in each year since 1975; how many were (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens; how many of those detained were subsequently charged with (i) terrorist and (ii) other criminal offences; and how many were deported.

(4100)

789
N Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the value of teaching parenting skills to parents in combating juvenile anti-social behaviour and crime; and if he will make a statement.

(3038)

790
N Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in Devon and Cornwall since 1st January 2004; and if he will make statement.

(3039)

791
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many military forces will be deployed by the United States to Scotland for the G8 Summit.

(4003)

792
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received concerning the proposed visit by animal rights activist Dr Jerry Vlasak to the United Kingdom.

(3696)

793
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of school age children bringing knives or other offensive weapons into schools were (a) reported to the police and (b) resulted in prosecution or caution in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(4260)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

794
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what net percentage of forest cover worldwide has been lost since 1990; and what acreage this represents, broken down by country.

(4456)

795
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what action he is taking to prevent further loss of forest cover in Africa.

(4457)

796
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the UK has spent on Iraqi reconstruction to date; and how much is planned for the remainder of the 2005-06 financial year.

(4062)

797
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4549)

798
Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations he has received concerning reports that the Nicaraguan government has been allocating funds received from the IMF for poverty alleviation projects to service internal debts; and if he will make a statement.

(4006)

799
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4119)

800
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will publish the progress report on the action taken by his Department (a) to progress access to water in seven key partner countries in Africa and (b) to boost capacity for the water sector in four other countries; and if he will make a statement.

(4504)

801
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) proportion and (b) amount of his Department's resource budget was spent on counter terrorism measures in (i) Africa, (ii) Afghanistan, (iii) Pakistan, (iv) the Phillipines, (v) the remaining South and East Asia and Pacific countries and (vi) all other countries in each year since 2001-02.

(3643)

802
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what opportunities his Department offers African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to choose between the EU Economic Partnership Agreement model and their own voluntary agreements in respect of trade relations.

(3644)

803
N Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of his Department's aid programme to the developed countries.

(3645)

804
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he has taken to reduce Malawi's dependency on the tobacco crop.

(3759)

805
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants in the Department received faith awareness training in 2004.

(3812)

806
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3721)

807
N Mr Andrew Smith (Oxford East):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on progress in making available generic antiretroviral drugs at reasonable prices for the treatment of AIDS in poor countries.

(3512)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

808
Jim Dobbin (Heywood & Middleton):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the total cost was of policing parades for which a form 11/1 was (a) completed and (b) not completed in each of the last five years.

(3828)

809
Jim Dobbin (Heywood & Middleton):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many participants in parades have been prosecuted for not completing form 11/1 in the last five years.

(3829)

810
Jim Dobbin (Heywood & Middleton):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many parades proceeded (a) with and (b) without completion of form 11/1 in each of the last five years.

(3830)

811
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the membership is of the Working Party established to develop guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland; how many times it has met; and where each meeting was held.

(4053)

812
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he will take to ensure adequate consultation with (a) the public and (b) interested organisations in relation to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's development of guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland.

(4054)

813
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will publish the minutes of meetings of the Working Party on guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland.

(4055)

814
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what workshops the Working Party drawing up guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland has held; and if he will publish the reports of such meetings.

(4056)

815
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he expects the Working Party on the development of guidance on abortion in Northern Ireland to report to the Department.

(4148)

816
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of the population in Northern Ireland is categorised as fuel poor.

(4149)

817
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps are being taken to tackle fuel poverty in Northern Ireland.

(4150)

818
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many deaths are estimated to have been caused by cold related illnesses in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

(4151)

819
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on measures to tackle fuel poverty.

(4152)

820
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to introduce a statutory framework for life sentence tariffs in Northern Ireland.

(4383)

821
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what EU funds from (a) mainstream funds and (b) special programmes and initiatives have been allocated to North Belfast in each year since 1997.

(4385)

822
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who the members are of the inter-departmental group on personal care; and how many times the group has met in each year since its formation.

(4386)

823
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his policy is on the introduction of free personal care for the elderly in Northern Ireland.

(4387)

824
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when the review of the Dogs Order (a) began and (b) ended; how many meetings of the review group were held; and who the members of the review group were.

(4388)

825
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how he defines the clearance of offences for the purposes of determining the success of the Police Service of Northern Ireland crime detection rates.

(4389)

826
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many crimes have been recorded in (a) North Belfast and (b) Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; in how many cases there was a detection; in how many cases proceedings were commenced; and in how many cases convictions were secured.

(4390)

827
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made on the implementation of the Government's Money Advice strategy for Northern Ireland; how much has been allocated so far; and what criteria were used to determine the recipients.

(4391)

828
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a code of practice on access to information held by cross border implementation bodies is expected to be adopted.

(4392)

829
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much has been spent by the Belfast Regeneration Office in each year since its formation.

(4393)

830
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4118)

831
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made in identifying the source of the leak within the Police Service of Northern Ireland or the Police Ombudsman's office to the Press Association in December 2004 in relation to the case communicated to him on 31st January.

(3513)

832
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the Government's plans to introduce a national identity card scheme.

(3514)

833
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent steps he has taken to eradicate cross-border illegal dumping of waste, with particular reference to asbestos.

(3515)

834
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to increase representation of the (a) Roman Catholic and (b) ethnic minority communities within the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

(3517)

835
N Lady Hermon (North Down):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people he estimates will register for the Police Service of Northern Ireland text messaging service enabling people with hearing or speech problems to contact the emergency services using mobile phones.

(3519)

836
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many cases of clostridium difficile were reported to his Department under the voluntary reporting scheme in each year between 2000 and 2003; and if he will make a statement.

(3799)

837
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the rate of growth of total industrial production in Northern Ireland was in 2004; and what his estimate is of such growth in 2005.

(4079)

838
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what use has been made of the expenditure allocated in September 2003 to bring about a 10 per cent. reduction in electricity prices to business in Northern Ireland.

(4080)

839
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the growth of the Northern Ireland economy in 2004; and what his estimate is for 2005.

(4081)

840
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many jobs there were in the manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland at 31st March of each year from 1998.

(4082)

841
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of employee jobs in Northern Ireland in (a) the private sector, (b) the public sector and (c) in total at 31st March of each year from 1998.

(4083)

842
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to propose changes to the law to enhance the powers of civilian scenes of crime officers in Northern Ireland to carry out a forensic examination on a non-consenting suspect.

(4086)

843
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the use of video identification in place of identity parades in Northern Ireland.

(4087)

844
N Dr William McCrea (South Antrim):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will give a date for the publication of the draft retail planning policy document for Northern Ireland.

(3291)

845
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Strangford constituency, the effects on Strangford of health policies implemented by his Department since 1997.

(3664)

846
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many racist attacks have occurred in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland over the last three years; and what steps have been taken by the agencies to combat such attacks.

(4069)

847
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when the job evaluation process for classroom assistants is expected to be finalised; and if he will make a statement.

(4070)

848
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many job losses among (a) administration staff, (b) school crossing patrol personnel, (c) classroom assistants, (d) teachers and (e) other ancilliary staff will be incurred within the South Eastern Education and Library Board Area due to the cutbacks the board have initiated; and if he will make a statement.

(4071)

849
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps Invest Northern Ireland is taking to attract inward investment for the former TK ECC factory site; and if he will make a statement.

(4072)

850
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many foreign nationals have applied for employment within the National Health Service in Northern Ireland over the last three years, broken down by type of employment.

(4073)

851
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many multiple sclerosis sufferers are receiving Beta Interferon in each health board; how many were waiting for the drug in each board in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement.

(4103)

852
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many successful requests for traffic calming measures are awaiting action by the Department of Regional Developments Roads Service section within the Strangford constituency; what the average time between approval and completion of work was in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

(4104)

853
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the status of the Draft Ards and Down Area Plan is following the Judicial Review; and if he will make a statement.

(4105)

854
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps are being taken to attract more speech therapists to the NHS in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

(4106)

855
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the longest time was that a special needs child waited to be statemented within each of the education and library boards in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

(4107)

856
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the proposals for domestic rates reform will be revenue-neutral.

(4328)

857
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the timetable is for reform of domestic rates.

(4329)

858
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the conclusions of the Equality Impact Assessment are on the impact of reforming domestic rates into a capital value system on (a) Protestant and (b) middle class areas.

(4375)

Questions to the Prime Minister

859
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Prime Minister, for what reason the Cabinet Committee on UK-US relations has been abolished; what representations he received on this matter from the US authorities; and which other committees are now undertaking the work previously dealt with under the auspices of the committee.

(3280)

860
N Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland):To ask the Prime Minister, when a serving British Prime Minister last visited (a) Orkney and (b) Shetland.

(3034)

861
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will be attending the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in September.

(3944)

862
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Prime Minister, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Office in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4112)

863
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to reply to the letter to him dated 18th January from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Taseem Iqbal.

(4334)

864
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reply to the letter to him dated 14th February from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M. Osman Mohammoud.

(4335)

865
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reply to the letter to him dated 7th February from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Jamal Mohammed Bin Omar Al Rida.

(4336)

866
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reply to the letter to him dated 9th December 2004 from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Guy-Blackburn.

(4337)

867
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reply to the letter to him dated 23rd March from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr N Hussain.

(4338)

868
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to reply to the letter to him dated 15th March from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Khan.

(4339)

869
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reply to the letter to him dated 27th January from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Nicolae Boblic.

(4340)

870
Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will instruct the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reply to the letter to him dated 22nd March from the Right honourable Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Timothy Feist.

(4341)

871
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the President of Belarus on increasing democracy and accountability; and if he will make a statement.

(3653)

872
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Prime Minister, which areas of reform will be given priority during the UK Presidency of the EU.

(3951)

Questions to the Solicitor General

873
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Serious Fraud Office will investigate all cases of foreign bribery that pass through vetting stage.

(3911)

874
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, if he will list the jurisdictions to which the Serious Fraud Office provides mutual legal assistance with regard to allegations of overseas corruption offences.

(3912)

875
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, how many requests for mutual legal assistance from foreign jurisdictions the Serious Fraud Office has received which relate to allegations of overseas corruption offences in the last 10 years; and if he will list the jurisdictions from which these requests have come.

(3913)

876
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, how many requests for mutual legal assistance from foreign jurisdictions received by the Serious Fraud Office with regard to overseas corruption have resulted in domestic investigations being opened by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last five years.

(3915)

877
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, how many investigations into allegations of overseas corruption the Serious Fraud Office is conducting; and how many allegations are being vetted.

(3916)

878
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, what action he is taking to ensure that the Serious Fraud Office has appropriate funding to pursue foreign bribery investigations.

(3917)

879
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Solicitor General, what action he is taking to implement the OECD's recommendation that the Serious Fraud Office's role in leading foreign bribery investigations be confirmed.

(3918)

880
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Solicitor General, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in the Law Officers' Departments in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4111)

881
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Solicitor General, when he will answer the letter from H. R. Johnson of 18th March, a constituent of the honourable Member for Hornsey and Wood Green; and if he will make a statement.

(4613)

882
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 7th June, Official Report, column 456W, on theft, what powers the police have to ensure that a mugger is prosecuted.

(4183)

883
Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Solicitor General, if he will make a statement on those matters the Department has to take into account and what steps it has to take when it receives a request for extradition from the US.

(4431)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

884
N Vera Baird (Redcar):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the terms of reference are for the Discrimination Law Review; who is on the reference group for the review; when the review will start; who will lead the review; and what consultation the review will hold with (a) honourable Members, (b) the public and (c) relevant pressure groups.

(3756)

885
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on the circumstances which led to the recent leak of radioactive material from a pipe at the Thorp plant.

(3276)

886
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what period of time elapsed between instruments at the Thorp plant indicating that a leak of radioactive material was occurring and the decision being taken to close the facility.

(3277)

887
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what weaknesses were uncovered in which power stations during recent inspections by Government nuclear inspectors of the graphite cores of advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations.

(4481)

888
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what dates were originally predicted by computer models as to when inevitable weakening in the graphite cores of advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations would occur; what revision of these dates was undertaken in subsequent studies; and what bearing this has on the scheduling of decommissioning advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations.

(4482)

889
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what factors lead to the onset of weakening in the graphite cores of advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations at a rate faster than that predicted by computer modelling; and what measures his Department has put in place to guard against further such weakening.

(4483)

890
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what implications the risk of advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations developing cracks in their graphite cores will have on (a) their current operational life, (b) the operational life of plants using similar systems and (c) Government policy relating to the possible construction of new nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement.

(4484)

891
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will estimate the total cost of closing down each advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power station in order to carry out maintenance work on the graphite core.

(4485)

892
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate he has made of the number of outdoor patio heaters imported into the United Kingdom in each year since 1997.

(4526)

893
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the Answer of 25th May, Official Report, column 111W on Nuclear Industry, to the honourable Member for Leyton and Wanstead, if he will give an undertaking that United Kingdom public funds will not be spent on this project.

(4595)

894
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which Ministers from his Department will be attending the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in September.

(3943)

895
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans he has for the Export Arms Sales Unit; and if he will make a statement.

(4066)

896
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many staff were employed in the Export Arms Sales Unit at the end of March in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; and how many are planned for (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

(4067)

897
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions he has had with the trades unions over the future of the Export Arms Sales Unit.

(4068)

898
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4117)

899
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what percentage change in crude oil production from the UK occurred between January and March 2004 and January and March 2005; and what assessment the Department has made as to whether were this trend to continue throughout 2005, the UK would produce more or less oil than it consumed.

(3731)

900
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment he has made of trends in (a) personal and (b) corporate insolvencies since 1997.

(3710)

901
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate he has made of the likely level of use that will be made of the new community interest companies in the management of voluntary organisations in England.

(3711)

902
Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will invite the Competition Commission to investigate the level of car parking charges in force at airports in the UK.

(3700)

903
Mr David Marshall (Glasgow East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions he has held with (a) the Association of British Travel Agents, (b) the Federation of Tour Operators and (c) the Association of Independent Tour Operators regarding the regulatory burden in the travel industry.

(4589)

904
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3722)

905
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what action the Government has taken to ensure that owners of mobile phones do not receive unsolicited calls from firms selling goods.

(4226)

906
N Mr Mike Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the future of the universal service obligation following Postcomm's recommendations on the future cost of first class post.

(3090)

907
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on the Government's policy regarding the extension of copyright term for sound recording.

(3736)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

908
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to tackle aircraft emissions.

(4379)

909
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on Government policy for airport expansion in the UK.

(4380)

910
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on reducing road congestion.

(4381)

911
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the Department's plans are for the East Coast Main Line.

(4382)

912
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average mileage of a car was in the UK for each year since 1985.

(4475)

913
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cars have ceased to be licensed in each year since 1985.

(4476)

914
Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he has about the average percentage of vehicle components removed from vehicles for reuse at end-of-life disposal in each year since 1985.

(4477)

915
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the introduction of the MOT computerisation programme; and what it was when the contract to run the system was awarded.

(3959)

916
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in the testing of the MOT computerisation system by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and Siemens Business Systems.

(3988)

917
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the MOT computerisation system to be fully operational.

(4009)

918
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment was made of the MOT computerisation trial at 50 garages in 2004; and what conclusions were reached.

(4010)

919
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the planned installation of the MOT computerisation programme in 1,000 MOT garages is expected to be completed; when the service is due to go live; and when it will be extended to all other MOT garages.

(4011)

920
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost was at today's prices of the original contract with Siemens Business Services to run the MOT computerisation programme; when this contract was awarded; how much has been spent to date; and what estimate he has made of how much will have been spent by the time the system is operational.

(4012)

921
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the progress of the MOT computerisation programme; and what assessment (a) has been conducted and (b) is planned of the (i) effectiveness and (ii) value for money of its implementation.

(4013)

922
Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what derogations the Government has (a) sought and (b) secured from (i) Article 4, (ii) Article 7 and (iii) other articles of Directive 2002/15/EC.

(4230)

923
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of collecting vehicle excise duty in the latest year for which information is available.

(4539)

924
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4543)

925
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the policy of the Government is on the transport of crude oil in single hull tankers in the area of the Solent.

(4373)

926
N Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has held concerning plans for major internal refurbishment of Lime Street station.

(3516)

927
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money did the Government provide for rural bus services in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; and what the projected figure is for 2005.

(4358)

928
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money was spent on rural bus services by the Government in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; and how much is projected to be spent in 2005.

(4505)

929
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the safety of the junction at Greenodd on the A590 in Cumbria; and if he will take steps to ensure (i) a lower speed limit and (ii) a roundabout are introduced at the junction.

(3409)

930
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost of the use of laptops in that period was; and if he will make a statement.

(4116)

931
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when London Heathrow Terminal Five is expected to be operational; and if he will make a statement.

(4615)

932
Mike Gapes (Ilford South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in which newspapers advertisements were placed for recruitment of members of the Rail Passengers Council.

(3927)

933
Mike Gapes (Ilford South):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the consultants Odgers, Ray and Berndtson conducting the selection process for the members of the Rail Passengers Council were chosen.

(3928)

934
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the evidential basis is for the claim that puffin crossings cause less vehicle delay than pelican crossings; what assessment the Department has made of which type of crossing pedestrians prefer; and what guidance his Department gives to local authorities as to which system to install for newly implemented pedestrian crossings.

(3724)

935
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many personal injury accidents there have been on the roads in each Government Office Region in each year since 1990; how many involved serious injuries; and how many (a) people in total and (b) children died.

(3732)

936
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many speed cameras were installed in each Government Office Region in each year since 1990.

(3745)

937
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make provision for sector tendering for bus services outside London.

(4180)

938
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents occurred on the A49 between Ludlow and Shrewsbury in the last 12 months.

(3654)

939
Peter Law (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what action is being taken to improve services on the South Wales Main Passenger Rail Service.

(4040)

940
Mr Bob Laxton (Derby North):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to publish a timetable for the break-up of Central Trains; and which franchise he expects will then be responsible for the Derby to Matlock services.

(4063)

941
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3723)

942
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account will be taken in drawing up further proposals for road charging of the effects of the London congestion charge on (a) numbers of people travelling and (b) methods of transport used.

(3824)

943
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much private sector investment is expected to be made in Crossrail.

(3966)

944
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the latest estimate is of the cost of Crossrail.

(3967)

945
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which projects originally intended to be (a) completed and (b) commenced by Network Rail in the financial year 2004-05 have been deferred.

(3985)

946
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate the Department has made of the cost of gantry construction and installation in connection with a road pricing system in the whole of the United Kingdom.

(4556)

947
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether home owners who suffer (a) noise pollution and (b) vibration damage following the introduction of the high speed line on the North Kent Coast line in 2009 will be eligible for compensation.

(3035)

948
Mr Mark Todd (South Derbyshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has made to the EU on ensuring that the implementation of working hours restrictions in the transport sector is monitored in each EU member state.

(3869)

949
N Steve Webb (Northavon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and which consultees responded to the Civil Aviation Authority's consultation on the West End airspace development incorporating route changes over Wales and South West England.

(3031)

950
N Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his estimate is of the cost to local authorities of the introduction of free-fare schemes for people aged over 60 years and people who are disabled for local journeys by bus; and whether the cost to local authorities will be fully reimbursed by his Department.

(3795)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

951
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4114)

952
Peter Law (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with Network Rail on the inclusion of Newport as a through destination on the planned Cardiff to Ebbw Vale passenger railway.

(4035)

953
Peter Law (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what representations he has made to the Strategic Rail Authority on improving the main line passenger service from London to South Wales.

(4037)

954
Peter Law (Blaenau Gwent):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on measures to improve digital signals in the South Wales valley communities.

(4039)

Questions to the Minister for Women and Equality

955
Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Minister for Women and Equality, what plans the Government has to provide working mothers with access to personal advisers in relation to childcare; and if she will make a statement.

(3888)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

956
N Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of housing benefit and council tax benefit claims that will need to be reassessed as a result of overpayments of tax credits in the last 12 months; what assessment he has made of the cost implications for local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

(2856)

957
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) cost and (b) circulation of Inspire magazine was in the last year for which figures are available.

(4511)

958
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what value for money procurement savings were identified and what reduction in civil service posts occurred in his Department in 2004-05.

(4548)

959
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what advice and training is available for employees of Jobcentre Plus on autistic spectrum disorders.

(4429)

960
N Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to extend the retirement age for the basic state pension to 70 years for persons employed in certain professions; and if he will make a statement.

(3862)

961
N Mr Brian H. Donohoe (Central Ayrshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to help those people who paid into the Turner and Newall pension fund; whether the Government is considering setting up a compensation scheme; and if he will make a statement.

(3649)

962
Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce a free phone enquiry telephone number for the Child Support Agency.

(3961)

963
N Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average housing benefit payment in (a) the London Borough of Haringey and (b) Greater London has been in each of the last eight years; and if he will make a statement.

(4110)

964
Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey & Wood Green):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many laptop computers have been used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen in that period; what the cost was of the use of laptops in that period; and if he will make a statement.

(4113)

965
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, under what conditions the Sure Start maternity grant is paid; how many grants were paid out in each Government Office Region in each year since the start of the scheme; how much was paid out in total; and for what proportion of births it was paid.

(3730)

966
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what benefits may be paid to couples without children.

(3787)

967
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list the Child Support Agency's identified risks over the last four years; and what the failed (a) level and (b) nature of each was.

(3865)

968
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list payments (a) made to and (b) withheld from EDS for the new Child Support Agency computer system.

(3866)

969
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) widows and (b) widowers are receiving bereavement allowance; and how many of these are over 55 years and claiming the full rate of benefit.

(3867)

970
Mr David Laws (Yeovil):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) widows and (b) widowers have received the lump sum bereavement benefit of £2,000 within the last 12 months.

(3868)

971
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to make all Acts of Parliament published before 1988 for which his Department is responsible available on-line.

(3740)

972
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff were employed by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Agency in each of the last five years of its existence, broken down by grade; how many of the staff employed by the Agency on 5th April are now employed by the Pensions Regulator, broken down by grade; and how many new staff have been employed by the Pensions Regulator since 6th April, broken down by grade.

(4346)

Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

973
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many deaths were caused by hepatitis C infection in Burton constituency in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

[Transferred] (4427)

974
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency will have powers to enter residential premises when inspecting them during the forthcoming council tax revaluation process in England.

[Transferred] (4174)

975
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency will take into account the (a) number of bathrooms, (b) number of bedrooms, (c) floor area, (d) age of the property, (e) off-street parking, (f) out-buildings, (g) conservatories and (h) size of garden when valuing a residence in the forthcoming council tax revaluation process in England.

[Transferred] (4231)

976
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the council tax band of the residences of (a) the Prime Minister and (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Downing Street.

[Transferred] (4317)

977
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many council tax valuations the Valuation Office Agency have made in England in each year since 1997.

[Transferred] (4318)

978
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will state the number of appeals against council tax valuations in England for each year since 1997.

[Transferred] (4320)

979
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the incidence of testicular cancer per 1,000 men has been in (a) England and (b) Hartlepool in each year since 1990.

[Transferred] (4330)

980
Mr Iain Wright (Hartlepool):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the incidence of breast cancer per 1,000 women has been in (a) England and (b) Hartlepool in each year since 1990.

[Transferred] (4331)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

981
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list each non-departmental public body, executive agency, quango or taskforce which (a) has regional offices or (b) is based around a Government Office region; and what the date of establishment was of each.

[Transferred] (4295)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

982
Paul Flynn (Newport West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will change the policy which prevents British citizens accepting and wearing foreign state awards; and if he will make a statement about the offer by the Malaysian Government to award the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal to British citizens who served between 1957 and 1966.

[Transferred] (4557)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

983
Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will issue advice to local authorities regarding the desirability of having a named senior manager with responsibility for autism for both children and adults.

[Transferred] (4421)

984
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with disabilities use direct payments.

[Transferred] (4642)

985
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will simplify the paperwork relating to the qualification for and management of direct payments for people with long-term disabilities.

[Transferred] (4643)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

986
N Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to ratify the Warsaw Convention on trafficking in human beings.

[Transferred] (3861)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

987
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what powers the proposed Consumer Trading and Standards Agency will have to (a) inspect and (b) set targets for local authorities trading standards.

[Transferred] (4299)

988
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the timetable is for the establishment of the proposed Consumer Trading and Standards Agency.

[Transferred] (4300)

989
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on the impact of the proposed Consumer Trading and Standards Agency on local authority trading standards.

[Transferred] (4356)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

990
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will calculate the grant settlement to cover the costs of the concessionary fare scheme announced in the Budget according to public transport usage figures or figures for the take-up of concessionary travel.

[Transferred] (4213)

991
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the costs to local councils from April 2006 of the introduction of a free fare scheme for people aged 60 plus and the disabled for local journeys by bus; how he expects councils to meet the increased costs of concessionary fares; and what proportion of the increase will be met by the Treasury.

[Transferred] (4214)

992
Mr David Marshall (Glasgow East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce a levy on all UK outbound flights to pay for protection arrangements for air travellers.

[Transferred] (4588)

993
Mr David Marshall (Glasgow East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to replace ATOL bonding with a simple levy on outbound UK air passengers to pay for consumer protection of air travellers.

[Transferred] (4590)

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Revised 13 June 2005