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 February 2006

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 February 2006
(the 'Questions Book')

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Monday 13 February 2006

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Monday 13 February 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 February of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Monday 13 February 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 steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to enforce penalties for failing to complete a census form.

(51215)

2
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information the Office of Government Commerce holds on the total value of contracts awarded to EDS since 14th December 2005.

(51699)

3
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many payments HM Revenue and Customs has received from EDS since 14th December 2005 which are pursuant to its compensation agreement with EDS relating to the IT systems developed to support the launch of tax credits; and what the value is of each of these payments.

(51700)

4
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of the method of distributing the sum of money allocated to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to cover the cost of the free bus travel policy announced in the Budget when deciding the total sum of money to be applied to the policy.

(51466)

5
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the sum of money allocated to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to cover the cost of the free bus travel policy announced in the Budget was calculated.

(51467)

6
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received concerning the calculation of the sum of money allocated to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to cover the cost of the free bus travel policy announced in the Budget.

(51468)

7
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the Israeli Embassy in relation to the Interpal charity in the last six months; what meetings have been held between embassy officials and Ministers from his Department on the subject; and what was discussed at those meetings.

(51308)

8
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from representatives of the Interpal charity in the last six months; what response he has made to those representations; and if Ministers from his Department will meet representatives of Interpal to discuss their concerns.

(51344)

9
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were employed by (a) HM Treasury, (b) the Royal Mint, (c) National Savings and Investments, (d) the Government Actuaries Department, (e) the Debt Management Office, (f) the Office for National Statistics, (g) OGC Buying Solutions, (h) HM Revenue and Customs and (i) the Valuations Agency in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51171)

10
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what management information can be extracted from the tax credit system about (a) the number of bank accounts used for the receipt of tax credit payments and (b) the country in which the bank account is based.

(51456)

11
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax credit payments were made to bank accounts outside the UK in each of the last 12 months.

(51457)

12
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether tax credit call centre staff have been given guidance on handling calls from tax credit claimants whose awards have suddenly stopped and where identity fraud is suspected; and if he will make a statement.

(51458)

13
Mr Douglas Carswell (Harwich):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research he has undertaken on the relative cost effectiveness of the Financial Services Authority.

(51190)

14
Mr Douglas Carswell (Harwich):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Financial Services Authority's scrutiny of the financial services industry; and if he will make a statement.

(51191)

15
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in West Lancashire use a Post Office Card Account to access child benefit.

(51123)

16
N Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research was conducted in preparing the Government news network press release issued on 1st February on the tax credit system.

(50215)

17
N Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals against repayments of tax credits were outstanding at 1st February 2006.

(50216)

18
N Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total value was of outstanding repayments of tax credits at 1st February 2006.

(50217)

19
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families in Denton and Reddish constituency receive the (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit.

(51139)

20
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what level of gross domestic product was recorded in each of the last five years in (a) the Peterborough City Council area and (b) Peterborough constituency.

(51387)

21
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the most recent population figures provided by the Office for National Statistics for the City of Peterborough.

(51394)

22
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many credit unions have been established in each of the past 10 years; and what the total number of credit unions in England and Wales is.

(51409)

23
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of credit unions operating in Tamworth constituency.

(51410)

24
Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the change in average earnings in the (a) private sector, (b) public sector and (c) United Kingdom as a whole over the last 10 years; what impact this has had on the formulation of policy; and if he will make a statement.

(51282)

25
Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of trends in new car registrations in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; what changes he forecasts in each of the next two years; on what basis these forecasts are made; and if he will make a statement.

(51283)

26
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what services to the public which are provided by his Department are available from the Post Office.

(51199)

27
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will break down the (a) main estimate and (b) winter supplementary estimate provision for the Security and Intelligence Agencies Request for Resources 1 by (i) new cash and (ii) non-cash for financial years 2005-06.

(51364)

28
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will break down the Security and Intelligence Agencies Request for Resources 1 outturn by (i) new cash and (ii) non-cash for financial years 2004-05.

(51365)

29
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will break down the (a) main estimate, (b) winter supplementary estimate and (c) spring supplementary estimate provision for the Security and Intelligence Agencies Request for Resources 1 by (i) new cash and (ii) non-cash for financial years 1999-2000 to 2004-05.

(51366)

30
N Hon Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of VAT fraud in each of the last three years.

(50630)

31
N Hon Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in total has been overpaid in tax credits since they were introduced.

(50702)

32
Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Beverley and Holderness were employed in manufacturing in each year between 1992 and 1997.

(51519)

33
Ms Dari Taylor (Stockton South):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the value in pounds sterling to the UK economy of companies originally incorporated in India in 2004-05.

(51452)

34
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51769)

Questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

35
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, if he will make a statement on progress on delivering the Government's better regulation agenda.

(51524)

36
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, how many Government IT projects processed as part of the e-government programmes have gone (a) over budget and (b) over time since 1997.

(51791)

37
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what progress has been made in implementing the e-transformation agenda in North Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

(51648)

38
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what assumptions regarding energy intensity improvements the Strategy Unit made in its preparation of background papers for the current Energy Review.

(51396)

39
N Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, how many of his Department's staff are paid on a performance-related basis.

(50077)

40
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what the retirement age is for civil servants; and whether his Department plans to change it.

(51496)

41
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51781)

Questions to the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners

42
N Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):To ask the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what provision the Pension Board has made for the retention of pension rights for partners of those clergy who have entered into a civil partnership.

(50871)

43
N Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the honourable Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how many of the Church Commissioners' staff are paid on a performance-related basis.

(50078)

Questions to the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs

44
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the Government's response is to the conclusions of the Arbuthnott Commission regarding the electoral system for the UK Parliament.

(51492)

45
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many people were employed by (a) HM Land Registry, (b) National Archives, (c) HM Courts Service and (d) the Public Guardianship Office in each region in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51331)

46
Mr Wayne David (Caerphilly):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what account is taken of a tenderer's previous performance in the evaluation of tenders for provision of enforcement services to magistrates' courts.

(51656)

47
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many defendants to allegations of rape in the criminal courts were allowed personally to cross-examine the complainant in England in 2005.

(51342)

48
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what advice her Department has received from the Domestic Violence Advisory Group on domestic violence issues in the last 12 months.

(51345)

49
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that the minutes of the board meetings of external organisations operating public services on behalf of local authorities are made available for public scrutiny.

(51135)

50
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the (a) Information Commissioner's Office and (b) others on the 100 year closure rule and the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if she will make a statement.

(51124)

51
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what assessment she has made of the efficiency of the Information Commissioner's Office.

(51134)

52
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time appellants wait for a hearing in the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

(51384)

53
N Patrick Mercer (Newark):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many inquests on military fatalities are outstanding at Oxfordshire's Coroner's court.

(50572)

54
N Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how many of her Department's staff are paid on a performance-related basis.

(50079)

55
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the release of the (a) 1911 and (b) 1921 census data; and if she will make a statement.

(51732)

56
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what assessment the Legal Services Commission made of the contribution of the Specialist Support Project to the Legal Services Commission's corporate priorities.

(51375)

57
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, on what basis the Legal Services Commission assessed that funding for the Specialist Support Project was not sustainable.

(51376)

58
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how her Department plans to replace the Specialist Support Project's expertise in dealing with the legal cases of vulnerable minority groups once Legal Services Commission funding ends.

(51377)

59
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the future level of demand for specialist support legal services.

(51378)

60
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, how much was spent by her Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51782)

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

61
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people were employed by (a) the Royal Parks Agency and (b) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each month.

(51164)

62
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people over 75 are in receipt of free television licences in each Northern Ireland constituency; and what percentage of viewing households in each constituency the figure represents.

(51324)

63
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will commission research on funding by local authorities to provide disabled user access to council-run gymnasia.

(50828)

64
Mr Don Foster (Bath):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by her Department in 2004-05, excluding its non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies; and if she will make a statement.

(51206)

65
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average annual (a) number and (b) value of National Lottery grants awarded to recipients was in (i) Denton and Reddish and (ii) all UK parliamentary constituencies between establishment of the Lottery and 2000 and (A) 2001 and (B) 2005.

(51549)

66
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many drug tests have been carried out by UK Sport on members of the British 2006 Winter Olympics team in the 12 months prior to the Turin games.

(51786)

67
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many drug tests were undertaken by UK Sport in 2004-05; how many prime facie adverse findings there were for (a) male and (b) female sports people in 2004-05; and how many findings were of performance-enhancing drugs.

(51812)

68
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much each sports national governing body (NGB) has received from the community club development programme in each of the last three years; and how much NGBs have allocated to grassroots sports development under the terms of the compact with her Department on income from broadcasting in each year.

(51841)

69
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many pensioners over 75 years of age in Tamworth constituency are in receipt of a free television licence.

(51411)

70
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will visit Shrewsbury to open the new caravan centre there.

(51270)

71
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what schemes have been financed by the Football Foundation in (a) Leicestershire and (b) Loughborough constituency area since it was established.

(51127)

72
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, where the National Sports Foundation will be based.

(51128)

73
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish an organisation chart of staff in her Department working on the 2012 Olympics.

(50624)

74
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list the key civil servants in her Department involved in the delivery of the 2012 Olympics; what the responsibilities of each are; and if she will make a statement.

(50625)

75
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in her Department (a) were part of the bid team for the 2012 Olympics, (b) are working on the 2012 Olympics and (c) she expects to work on overseeing preparations for the 2012 Olympics over the next six years.

(50626)

76
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what agreements cover her Department's relationship with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games in relation to the delivery of the 2012 Olympics.

(50627)

77
N Hugh Robertson (Faversham & Mid Kent):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of her Department's budget is allocated to delivering the 2012 Olympics in each of the next three years.

(50628)

78
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department estimates it cost local authorities to administer the new alcohol and entertainment licences required by the Licensing Act 2003.

(51146)

79
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what research her Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned on the effects of the Licensing Act 2003 on public houses and premises offering late night refreshments.

(51147)

80
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much was spent by her Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51783)

81
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions have taken place between officials and recognised UK diving organisations on the future of the marine historic environment.

(51315)

82
Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which UK recognised diving organisations were invited to participate in the Marine Review Working Groups on the marine historic environment.

(51316)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence

83
N Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the US Defense Department and (b) the US Air Force in the last 12 months on the use of the airfield on Ascension Island.

(50947)

84
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were employed by his Department in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51161)

85
Mrs Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what general medical services are provided for the (a) families and (b) partners of those serving in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

(51821)

86
Mrs Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what dentistry services are provided for families of personnel in the (a) Royal Marines, (b) Royal Navy, (c) Army and (d) Royal Air Force; and if he will make a statement.

(51822)

87
Mrs Nadine Dorries (Mid Bedfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to provide the (a) families and (b) partners of armed forces personnel at RAF Henlow with general medical services; and if he will make a statement.

(51826)

88
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what evidence his Department has received on whether members of Al Qaeda were operating in Iraq prior to the start of military action in 2003.

(50827)

89
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30th January 2006, Official Report, column 29W, on aircraft cannibalisation, how many (a) C-130 Hercules, (b) Tristars, (c) VC-10s and (d) C-17A Globemaster aircraft have been taken out of service as a consequence of cannibalisations in each of the last three years.

(51789)

90
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) establishment and (b) strength was of the (i) Grenadier Guards, (ii) Coldstream Guards, (iii) Scots Guards, (iv) Irish Guards, (v) Welsh Guards, (vi) Royal Scots, (vii) Royal Highland Fusiliers, (viii) King's Own Scottish Borderers, (ix) Black Watch, (x) Highlanders, (xi) Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, (xii) Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, (xiii) Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, (xiv) Royal Anglian Regiment, (xv) King's Own Royal Border Regiment, (xvi) King's Regiment, (xvii) Prince of Wales's Own Regiment, (xviii) Green Howards, (xix) Queen's Lancashire Regiment, (xx) Duke of Wellington's Regiment, (xxi) Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, (xxii) Cheshire Regiment, (xxiii) Royal Welch Fusiliers, (xxiv) Royal Regiment of Wales, (xxv) Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, (xxvi) Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, (xxvii) Staffordshire Regiment, (xxviii) The Light Infantry Regiment, (xxix) Royal Green Jackets, (xxx) Parachute Regiment and (xxxi) Royal Irish Regiment in (A) 1997 and (B) 2005.

(51830)

91
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and on how many occasions (a) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), (b) Armoured Fighting Vehicle 430 Series, (c) Warrior Armoured Personnel Carrier, (d) Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank Challenger Repair and Recovery Vehicle and (e) Heavy Equipment Transporters were cannibalised in each of the last five years.

(51831)

92
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many tours were undertaken by each regiment of (a) the Royal Logistics Corps, (b) Royal Corps of Signals and (c) Corps of Royal Engineers in the last five years; what the (i) location and (ii) length of each deployment was; and what the length of time between each deployment was for each regiment.

(51832)

93
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), (b) Armoured Fighting Vehicle 430 Series, (c) Warrior Armoured Personnel Carrier, (d) Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank Challenger Repair and Recovery Vehicle and (e) Heavy Equipment Transporters there were in the armed forces in each year since 1997.

(51835)

94
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of helicopter lift capability in the armed forces.

(51836)

95
Dr Liam Fox (Woodspring):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the threat posed by the infiltration of insurgents from (a) Iraq and (b) Iran into Helmand province in Afghanistan.

(51837)

96
N Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the rate of deployment on the rate of recruitment for each of the reserve forces.

(50949)

97
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) original estimated cost and (b) cost on completion was for HMS Daring; and what the (i) original and (ii) current estimate is for each of the other ships in the order.

(51569)

98
N Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the threat posed by the use of improvised explosive devices in Helmand Province to UK armed services personnel.

(50623)

99
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last met representatives of (a) BAe Systems and (b) trades unions to discuss the future of Chorley Royal Ordnance; and if he will make a statement.

(51526)

100
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many explosives tests for departmental projects have been carried out at Chorley Royal Ordnance in the last 12 months; and what the nature of the test was in each case.

(51527)

101
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of the contract for ammunition produced at Royal Ordnance Chorley was in each of the last five years.

(51528)

102
N Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what makes of cars ministers in his Department use; and whether they are UK-built.

(51529)

103
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what average number of days was spent at sea by Royal Navy service personnel in (a) 2005, (b) 1995 and (c) 1985.

(51412)

104
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the last National Serviceman was (a) called-up, (b) de-mobbed and (c) killed in action.

(51413)

105
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of Royal Navy service personnel went to sea in (a) 2005, (b) 1995 and (c) 1985.

(51438)

106
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) commodores and (b) admirals were on the active list in the Royal Navy in each year since 1997; and what the total strength of the Royal Navy was in each year.

(50180)

107
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) brigadiers and (b) generals were on the active list in the Army in each year since 1997; and what the total strength of the Army was in each year.

(50181)

108
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) air commodores and (b) air marshals were on the active list in the RAF in each year since 1997; and what the total strength of the RAF was in each year.

(50182)

109
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what trends he has identified in the numbers of senior officers appointed to each of the services since 1997, as a proportion of the overall size of each service.

(50183)

110
N Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about future funding for a possible new generation of the nuclear deterrent.

(50184)

111
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what percentage of British Army personnel were recruited in Commonwealth countries in the latest year for which figures are available.

(51479)

112
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what total number of soldiers the British Army was under establishment in each year since 1997.

(51480)

113
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will provide a substantive reply to the Question tabled by the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr on the use of military airfields (MoD PQ ref1381S).

(51518)

114
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51785)

115
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what British Army units will form the (a) in theatre reserve and (b) out of theatre reserve for the 16 Air Assault Brigade deployment to Afghanistan in the summer of 2007.

(51573)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

116
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he has made changes to Planning Policy Guidance 8 relating to health concerns about mobile telephone masts since November 2003.

(51212)

117
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) traffic enforcement officers, (b) traffic wardens and (c) council parking attendants have been operating in each police authority area in each year since 2002-03.

(51730)

118
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what alternative methods were considered by his Department to distribute the sum of money allocated to cover the cost of the free bus travel policy announced in the Budget.

(51464)

119
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations he has received concerning the formula used to distribute the sum of money allocated to cover the cost of the free bus travel policy announced in the Budget.

(51465)

120
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Tyne Bridge of 20th December 2005, Official Report, column 2818W, on the free bus travel scheme, if he will list the local authorities which were allocated more funding for the concessionary scheme than they required specifically to operate the scheme in their area.

(51639)

121
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what criteria he is using for the allocation of the £88 million funding announced by the Minister for Housing in December 2005 for local authorities to reduce or prevent homelessness.

(51644)

122
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many people were employed by the (a) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (b) Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, (c) Planning Inspectorate and (d) Fire Service College in each region in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each month.

(51169)

123
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the projected increases in the population of England upon demand for housing.

(50793)

124
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the effect of the transfer of leisure facilities in West Lancashire to newly-formed charitable trusts on their access to capital for refurbishment.

(51119)

125
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many empty homes there have been in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997.

(51120)

126
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) social housing units and (b) units of shared equity housing have been made available in West Lancashire in each year since 1980.

(51121)

127
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many council houses have been sold under the right-to-buy scheme in West Lancashire in each year since 1980.

(51122)

128
Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what estimate he has made of the percentage of households equipped with (a) carbon monoxide alarms and (b) fire alarms.

(51450)

129
Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps he is taking to enable low income households to purchase carbon monoxide alarms.

(51451)

130
N Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the role of repairing existing housing stock in meeting demand for affordable housing.

(51038)

131
N Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for energy-saving from well-installed double-glazing.

(51039)

132
N Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what proportion of people accessing a service through Supporting People were at risk of domestic violence on the latest date for which figures are available.

(51347)

133
N Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many refuge places for victims of domestic violence there were in England in each year since 1997; and how much central Government funding has been made available to such refuges in each year.

(51348)

134
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will put mechanisms in place to ensure that the calculation of the needs-based formulae for supporting people grants will not include a ceiling; and that the implementation of the increase grant will take effect in full from April 2007.

(51185)

135
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with Tameside and Stockport councils to ensure that the efforts to stabilise the housing market in East Manchester do not displace problems to adjacent areas in Tameside and Stockport.

(51136)

136
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the success of the attempts by the Regeneration Company in East Manchester to reverse housing market failure in the area.

(51137)

137
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to consult on the restoration of a strategic city-wide tier of local government for Greater Manchester.

(51550)

138
N Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what percentage of new housing development in (a) each borough council in Hampshire, (b) Portsmouth and (c) Southampton has been on brownfield land in each year since 1997.

(50573)

139
N Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 19th December 2005, Official Report, column 2574W, on population projections, what consideration is being given to the inclusion in the calculations for future local government finance settlements for local authorities in Northamptonshire of housebuilding numbers and population projections in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands sub-regional spatial strategy.

(50703)

140
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the cost to public funds was of the East of England Regional Assembly in 2004-05.

(51163)

141
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many homeless acceptances there have been for each local authority in the Eastern Region in each of the last eight quarters.

(51389)

142
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the density rate target is for new housing projects in Shropshire.

(51380)

143
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what percentage of new homes in Shropshire he expects will be built on brownfield sites.

(51381)

144
N John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the annual cost of the Firefighters' Pensions Scheme was in each of the last five financial years.

(49706)

145
N John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what contribution employers have made to the Firefighters' Pensions Scheme in each of the last five financial years.

(49707)

146
N John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many firefighters have been retired due to ill-health and injury before retirement age in each of the last five financial years.

(49708)

147
N John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many firefighter vacancies there are in each fire authority area.

(49709)

148
N John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many retained duty system firefighter vacancies there are in each fire authority area.

(49710)

149
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many (a) homeless people and (b) people in temporary accommodation there are in (i) St Albans and (ii) Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement.

(51155)

150
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what his Department's definition is of bullying for the purposes of staff welfare and discipline.

(51156)

151
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what new measures are being put in place to deal with bullying in his Department; and how these measures will differ from current practice.

(51157)

152
Mr John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998 of the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 relating to home inspections.

(51645)

153
Sarah Teather (Brent East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the (a) incentives and (b) disincentives to save arising from the fixing since 1999 of the savings threshold for ineligibility for (i) council tax benefit at £16,000 and (ii) reductions of council tax benefit at £3,000.

(51563)

154
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much local authorities have spent on gas in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51148)

155
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the role of regional assemblies in England.

(51149)

156
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on the proposed changes to the Firefighter's Pension Scheme.

(51499)

157
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the proposed retirement age is for firefighters under the proposed changes to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme; and what the existing retirement age is.

(51500)

158
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many firefighters in (a) Leicester and (b) England retired on the grounds of ill-health in each of the last five years.

(51501)

159
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how many firefighters have been employed in (a) Leicester and (b) England in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51502)

160
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much funding his Department allocated to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51503)

161
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what research his Department has evaluated on the effects of age on the performance of firefighters.

(51504)

162
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much was spent by his Office on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51784)

163
N Mr Charles Walker (Broxbourne):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what plans he has to postpone the 2007 local elections; and if he will make a statement.

(51367)

164
Mr Charles Walker (Broxbourne):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how long the information contained in homebuyers information packs will remain valid before a new survey is required; and if he will make a statement.

(51719)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills

165
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will rank the licensed Sector Skills Councils by proportion of their funding derived from the Sector Skills Development Agency in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the balance of funding for each council was derived from (a) other public sources and (b) the private sector.

(51279)

166
N Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham & Sale West):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list secondary schools in England where the percentage contribution of BTEC first diplomas to the percentage of 15 year olds achieving 5 plus A* to C grades at GCSE and equivalent was (a) 0.5 to one per cent., (b) one to two per cent., (c) two to five per cent., (d) five to 10 per cent., (e) 10 to 20 per cent., (f) 20 to 30 per cent. and (g) greater than 30 per cent. in 2005.

(50944)

167
N Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset & North Poole):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what representations she has received on requirements for criminal record checks on those working in (a) creches providing care for a child for less than two hours a day and (b) after-school clubs providing services for children more than eight years old; and if she will make a statement.

(50719)

168
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the Training and Development Agency category rating is of each school-centred initial teacher training schemes in the single secondary subject of physical education.

(51470)

169
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of (a) the key outcomes from the most recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment study and (b) the implications of the study for education policy in England; and if she will make a statement.

(51471)

170
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her Department's participation was in the most recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment study; and when that participation commenced.

(51472)

171
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what criteria are used by the Training and Development Agency in allocation rounds for school-centred initial teacher training schemes.

(51473)

172
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the cohort size of each school-centred initial teacher training scheme is; and what the percentage change in the cohort size of each scheme is for the (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 allocation round.

(51475)

173
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the response rate was for participation in the most recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment study; and which other OECD member countries achieved a similar response rate.

(51476)

174
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many people were employed by (a) her Department and (b) the Office of Standards in Education in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51170)

175
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the future of the New Approaches to Contact Early Intervention Project.

(51202)

176
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the projected increases in the population of England upon demand and capacity in schools.

(50791)

177
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) single men, (b) single women and (c) couples have adopted children in West Lancashire in each of the last five years.

(51115)

178
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what training teachers receive to deal with bullying in schools; and how much funding her Department has allocated for training teachers to deal with bullying in schools in (a) West Lancashire and (b) England in the last five years.

(51116)

179
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much funding her Department has allocated for IT equipment in schools in (a) West Lancashire and (b) England in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51117)

180
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many vacancies there were on GNVQ courses in (a) West Lancashire and (b) England in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51118)

181
N Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many choice advisers she expects will be required in each local education authority; and if she will make a statement.

(50785)

182
N Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what (a) training and (b) qualifications will be required to be a choice adviser; and if she will make a statement.

(50786)

183
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of pupils aged 15 years were entered for GNVQs in the last academic year for which figures are available.

(51276)

184
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of pupils achieved (a) five GCSEs A*-C grades and (b) five GCSEs A*-C grades including English and mathematic with a GNVQ Award in the last academic year.

(51277)

185
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of pupils in (a) community schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) voluntary aided schools and (d) voluntary controlled schools were entered for GNVQs in the last academic year.

(51278)

186
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of pupils who achieved five GCSEs A*-C grades in (a) community schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) voluntary aided schools and (d) voluntary controlled schools did so by gaining a GNVQ in the last year for which figures are available.

(51392)

187
Mr Edward Davey (Kingston & Surbiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what proportion of pupils who achieved five GCSEs A*-C grades including English and mathematics in (a) community schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) voluntary aided schools and (d) voluntary controlled schools did so by gaining a GNVQ in the last year for which figures are available.

(51393)

188
Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, which of the features of trust school status she considers would contribute to the raising of standards at Chesterton Community High School in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

(51551)

189
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 19th December 2005, Official Report, column 2414W, on further education funding, how many 16 to 19 year olds were unfunded as a consequence of further education colleges exceeding their recruitment targets agreeded with the relevant local learning and skills council in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04 in (i) each local learning and skills council area and (ii) each college.

(50829)

190
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23rd January 2006 to the hon. Member for Tamworth, Official Report, column 1916W, on home education, if she will commission research on the number of parents who educate their children at home.

(50869)

191
Mr David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps she has taken to extend computer-based marking.

(51311)

192
Mr David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of changes in the productivity of teaching staff as a consequence of use of (a) virtual learning environments and (b) managed learning environments.

(51312)

193
Mr David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to increase flexibility in the use of devolved capital funding.

(51313)

194
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2nd February 2006, Official Report, column 686W, on Services Education, how many admission forums have service representatives sitting on them.

(51383)

195
Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis & Littlehampton):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance her Department has issued regarding setting children by ability in schools.

(51788)

196
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Norfolk have been in special measures in each of the last five years; and how many of them have come out of special measures.

(51150)

197
N Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many childcare places have (a) opened and (b) closed since 2003.

(51371)

198
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment her Department has made of the suitability of former landfill sites for the development of new school buildings; and how many new schools have been built on such sites in each local education authority area in the North West of England.

(51138)

199
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many children in Denton and Reddish constituency have received the education maintenance allowance.

(51746)

200
N Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what her policy is on education provision for traveller children.

(50712)

201
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the capital value is of the land and buildings occupied by state secondary schools in England.

(51637)

202
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many of the companies who participated in the employer training pilots in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06 employed (i) under 50 staff, (ii) between 50 and 249 staff and (iii) 250 or more staff; and how many were in the (A) public and (B) private sector.

(51638)

203
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16th January 2006, Official Report, column 1011W, on Level 2 Qualifications, how many EU member states have taken up the Level 2 entitlement since it was introduced.

(51787)

204
N David Howarth (Cambridge):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the level of debt carried by schools in Cambridgeshire.

(50713)

205
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what rules apply to the provision of school bus passes to (a) junior and (b) high school children.

(51402)

206
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the average waiting time is for a child in Lancashire to see a school psychologist.

(51403)

207
Mr Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what role school welfare officers play in preventing bullying and truancy in and from schools in Lancashire; and if she will make a statement.

(51404)

208
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many cases are waiting to be allocated to a caseworker in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS); and what the average length of time was for allocation of new cases to a caseworker in each CAFCASS region in the last year for which figures are available.

(51160)

209
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the average class size is in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in (i) England, (ii) Staffordshire and (iii) Tamworth constituency.

(51414)

210
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what funding her Department has made available for improvements to school sports facilities in (a) Tamworth and (b) England in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51415)

211
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what funding her Department has made available for school music facilities in (a) Tamworth and (b) England in each academic year since 1997.

(51416)

212
N Ms Diana R. Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the impact on funding would be for a local education authority that did not complete its public consultation on Building Schools for the Future.

(50631)

213
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of whether the proposed level of minimum foster care allowances are adequate; and what representations she has received from (a) representative, (b) expert and (c) voluntary groups in the field of fostering on the level of these allowances.

(51838)

214
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what additional safeguards local authorities are required to put in place for looked after children placed out of area; and what assessment she has made of whether these safeguards are effective.

(51839)

215
Mr David Kidney (Stafford):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many looked after children were placed out of area by local authorities in the latest year for which the data are available; and what proportion of the total this represents.

(51842)

216
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what guidance her Department has given to further and higher education establishments on the support they should offer to young carers.

(51522)

217
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the funding for the Learning and Skills Council for adult learning was in (a) 2004-05, (b) 2005-06 and (c) 2006-07; and what factors she took into account when allocating funds.

(51570)

218
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the impact on adult learning in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) England of the changes in funding for the Learning and Skills Council for adult learning since 2004-05.

(51571)

219
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what weight has been given to the (a) sparsity and (b) deprivation factors in the school funding settlement in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08.

(51572)

220
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many teachers have had special needs training since qualification since 1997.

(51151)

221
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many hours training is given to special needs teachers in (a) (i) identifying and (ii) teaching special needs and (b) producing information for statementing; and what the contents is of that training.

(51152)

222
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of special needs education funding in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

(51153)

223
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many specialist trained dyslexia teachers there are in each local education authority; and if she will make a statement.

(51154)

224
N Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the funding per pupil from the Dedicated Schools Budget will be for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority for 2006-07.

(51516)

225
N Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what changes to the funding formula for schools have been made since 1997; and what effect each change has had on funds per pupil for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Cambridgeshire at constant prices.

(51517)

226
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will list the (a) names of and (b) donations made by sponsors of each city academy.

(51833)

227
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many school playing fields in Loughborough constituency have been sold since May 1997.

(51125)

228
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what average number of hours per week of physical education was undertaken in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Loughborough constituency area in 2004-05.

(51126)

229
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what research her Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned in the last three years on bullying in schools.

(51724)

230
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many vacancies there were for headteacher positions in each year from 1997 to 2005 in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

(51725)

231
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much her Department allocated for school IT systems in each year from 1997 to 2005 in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

(51726)

232
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much her Department has spent on outside consultants in each of the last five financial years.

(51727)

233
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will make a statement on the provision of key skills training in universities.

(51728)

234
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much her Department has allocated for key skills training in secondary schools in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England in each year since the beginning of the scheme.

(51729)

235
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much was spent by her Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51777)

236
Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if she will include veterinary students in the exemption from tuition fees.

(51439)

237
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what role she expects for (a) the voluntary and (b) private sectors in the delivery of youth support services following commissioning under local area agreements.

(51193)

238
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what level of support for the Erasmus Lifelong Learning Programme has been agreed for the UK for each of the years from 2007 to 2013.

(51194)

239
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to achieve the Lisbon objectives for education; and if she will make a statement.

(51195)

240
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, when she expects to issue guidelines to local authorities on their commissioning role under local area agreements.

(51207)

241
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the outcome of the consultations on youth matters was; what steps she plans to take as a result of those consultations; and if she will make a statement.

(51210)

242
Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what plans she has to support UK student mobility within the European Union in the years 2007 to 2013.

(51211)

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

243
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures her Department has taken to help local authorities to increase levels of recycling.

(51615)

244
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to undertake a new review of local authority work on energy efficiency; and if she will make a statement

(51176)

245
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will publish the outcome of the Review of Policy Framework for local authority energy efficiency activity.

(51177)

246
N Gregory Barker (Bexhill & Battle):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what monitoring her Department carries out to measure the effectiveness of policies to restrict the import of illegal timber.

(50945)

247
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether water abstraction charges are planned to be levied on a (a) regional and (b) national basis.

(51460)

248
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received concerning regional charges for water abstraction licences.

(51461)

249
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proposals she has received from the Environment Agency concerning water abstraction charges.

(51469)

250
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were employed by the (a) Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (b) Office of Water Services, (c) Veterinary Laboratories Agency, (d) Central Science Laboratory, (e) Veterinary Medicines Directorate, (f) Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (g) Pesticides Safety Directorate in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51162)

251
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were employed by the Rural Payments Agency in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51168)

252
N Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to increase incineration capacity in England.

(51203)

253
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the environment if each household (a) had one energy-efficient lightbulb fitted and (b) ceased to leave televisions on standby overnight.

(51323)

254
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the projected increases in the population of England upon (a) water resources, (b) the countryside and (c) the environment.

(50792)

255
N Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice her Department has (a) received from statutory advisors and (b) sought from experts on the role of gardens in urban biodiversity.

(50708)

256
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) percentage and (b) real terms changes in total income from farming were in West Lancashire in each of the last four years.

(51114)

257
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact on farmers of late payments of the single farm payment.

(50788)

258
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact on hill farming of the timescale for implementing a replacement scheme for the hill farming allowance in (a) Westmorland and Lonsdale and (b) England.

(50789)

259
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the extent to which other EU countries have implemented the Directive requiring companies in member states to produce recycled waste certificates differently from the UK.

(51291)

260
N Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Environment Agency will repay the fines and costs imposed on J E Wilson and Sons in the light of the change to the regulations removing the requirement for a recycled waste certficate from firms of this size.

(51292)

261
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made towards bringing the standard of air quality in the parts of Denton and Reddish constituency designated as an Air Quality Management Area to within the guideline limits.

(51143)

262
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has been made of air quality standards in Denton and Reddish constituency.

(51144)

263
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for footpath closure orders have been made in each metropolitan district in the county of Greater Manchester under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 since the act came into force; and how many were successful in each district.

(51145)

264
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers in Staffordshire have been registered under the Organic Entry Level Scheme.

(51417)

265
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will visit the Minsterley Agricultural Show this year in the hon. Member for Shrewsbury's constituency.

(51239)

266
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will visit the Wroxeter Vineyard in Shrewsbury constituency to discuss the impact of Government regulations on the development of English vineyards.

(51240)

267
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of potatoes were produced in Shrewsbury constituency in (a) 1989 and (b) 2005.

(51269)

268
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the total cost of imports of blueberries in (a) 2002 and (b) 2005.

(51271)

269
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will place in the Library a copy of the consultation responses received by the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions following the publication of the draft UK Climate Change Programme 2000.

(51749)

270
Mr John Maples (Stratford-on-Avon):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25th January 2006, Official Report, column 298W, on the Animal Welfare Bill, if she will list the dates of each meeting held; who attended; and what matters were discussed.

(51646)

271
Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the recycling and recovery capacity London requires for its municipal waste by 2020; what percentage increase on current capacity this represents; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure this new capacity is delivered.

(51827)

272
Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many London waste authorities met their 2003-04 recycling standards; and how many are on course to meet their 2005-06 targets.

(51828)

273
Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the potential savings identified were in the report on waste efficiency savings in the London market jointly commissioned by her Department and the Greater London Authority; and what steps she plans to take to achieve these savings.

(51829)

274
Clare Short (Birmingham, Ladywood):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Minister of State for Climate Change will reply to the letter of 11th January from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, on behalf of Ladywood Furniture Project.

(51723)

275
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost per kilowatt hour to energy suppliers relating to the Energy Efficiency Commitment scheme.

(51400)

276
Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers local authorities have to act in respect of nuisance smells from sewage treatment plants.

(51455)

277
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent by her Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51778)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

278
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Danish Prime Minister on the recent demonstrations in the Middle East and London.

(51554)

279
Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 7th Febraury 2006, Official Report, column 736, on Palestinian elections, whether it is Government policy that a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority which commits itself to the principle for non-violence will not receive financial assistance unless Hamas renounces its commitment to destroy the State of Israel.

(51180)

280
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51172)

281
N Mr Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in meeting the commitments to fund and expand the Global Partnership Against Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction contained in the G8 Action Plan on Non-proliferation of 10th June 2004; and if he will make a statement.

(51317)

282
N Mr Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 6th February 2006, Official Report, columns 784-5W, on the United States, from which countries the former residents of the UK were transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

(51459)

283
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what sanctions are available under international agreements to take action against those countries that continue to lay landmines.

(51720)

284
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to seek international agreement on stricter controls on the use of cluster munitions.

(51721)

285
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress which has been made towards incorporating the Sudanese People's Liberation Army into the Sudanese Army.

(51794)

286
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the Sudanese People's Liberation Army to start withdrawing from the East of Sudan.

(51795)

287
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the situation in Abeyei.

(51796)

288
N Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the death of Mr Steve Macqueen in Afghanistan; and what stage British investigations of his death have reached.

(51158)

289
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will support an amendment in the Fisheries Council to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement to exclude the territory of Western Sahara from the agreement.

(51622)

290
N Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what timescale he expects for admitting India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

(50710)

291
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with authorities in (a) Mauritania and (b) Western Sahara about stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into Europe from these areas.

(51275)

292
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Gibraltar on representation of the people of Gibraltar in the UK Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

(51382)

293
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of sites in Iran that the Iranian government is using in the research, development and production of nuclear technologies.

(51385)

294
Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton North):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the recent UN report on breaches of the arms embargo on Darfur; and what action he is taking in response.

(51621)

295
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost of language training for diplomats was in the most recent years for which figures are available.

(51478)

296
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what evidence he has received of Iranian infiltration into southern Iraq.

(51448)

297
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Government and its allies in Iraq have opened (a) direct and (b) indirect channels of dialogue with representatives of armed groups commonly referred to as the Iraqi insurgency.

(51513)

298
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Political Director discussed with representatives of the Serbian government acceptance of Kosovo's independence during his recent visit to Serbia.

(51514)

299
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to religious freedom organisations in (a) Madhya Pradesh and (b) elsewhere in India.

(51131)

300
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to meet representatives of the Indian government to discuss religious militant groups threatening Christian minorities.

(51132)

301
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the (a) Indian government and (b) Madhya Pradesh State government on the attacks against minority Christians on 25th to 28th January in Madhya Pradesh.

(51133)

302
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) illegal trafficking of (i) arms, (ii) people and (iii) cigarettes across the Gulf of Aden and (b) the implications of trafficking on the funding of terrorism; and if he will make a statement.

(51423)

303
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the security situation in Somalia.

(51424)

304
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the security situation in Yemen.

(51425)

305
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the activities of (a) al-Qaeda and (b) Islamic fundamentalists in Yemen.

(51426)

306
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the activities of (a) al-Qaeda and (b) Islamic fundamentalists in Somalia.

(51427)

307
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the Jawf and Mareb tribes in Yemen have contact with (a) al-Qaeda and (b) other Islamic fundamentalist groups; and if he will make a statement.

(51437)

308
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many opium seizures have been made (a) in Afghanistan and (b) on Afghan borders since UK forces took control of the international community's efforts to stop the flow of drugs from Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

(51576)

309
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Palestinian Authority's security services since the Palestinian elections; and if he will make a statement.

(50500)

310
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authorities on the disarming of members of Hamas; and if he will make a statement.

(50501)

311
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of Hamas militants being incorporated into the Palestinian Authority's security services; and if he will make a statement.

(50502)

312
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Hamas militants in the Palestinian territories; and if he will make a statement.

(50503)

313
N Mr Keith Simpson (Mid Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether a cooperation agreement has been signed between the Palestinian Authority and the Iranian government; and if he will make a statement.

(50504)

314
N Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what payments he has authorised to Afghan poppy farmers; and if he will make a statement.

(50946)

315
Sarah Teather (Brent East):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Brent East dated 28th February 2005 regarding Mr Craig Murray.

(51561)

316
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which 10 of his Department's overseas diplomatic posts issued the greatest number of European economic area family member permits in 2004-05; and what checks were made on the eligibility of family members before they were issued.

(50709)

317
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51779)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Health

318
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will estimate the cost of (a) training and (b) funding 10,000 cognitive and behavioural therapists to work in the NHS.

(51406)

319
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what studies her Department has carried out into the health effects of mobile telephone masts since March 2003; and if she will make a statement.

(51213)

320
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will undertake research to estimate the number of people in each priority group for influenza vaccination in each local authority in England.

(51216)

321
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the contracted obligations of the public sector are under the Connecting for Health Supplier Attachment Scheme; what the maximum cost to public funds is of not meeting these obligations; and if she will make a statement.

(51694)

322
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations (a) her Department and (b) Connecting for Health have received from (i) local service providers and (ii) NHS bodies about the Supplier Attachment Scheme.

(51698)

323
Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) her Department, (b) Connecting for Health and (c) other NHS bodies have unfulfilled contractual minimum volume order obligations to local service providers.

(51701)

324
Ed Balls (Normanton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what therapeutic and recovery services are available in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield District and (c) Normanton constituency for under 16s who have suffered abuse or neglect.

(51602)

325
Ed Balls (Normanton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many trained mental health professionals are available to treat children living in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield District and (c) Normanton constituency.

(51603)

326
Ed Balls (Normanton):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Wakefield District have had to wait more than (i) one month, (ii) two months and (iii) three months for an appointment with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in the last 12 months.

(51604)

327
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice her Department issued to (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts between July and October 2005 on the differences between managerial or administrative changes and changes which impact on the planning, design and delivery of health services.

(50824)

328
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how administrative support will be given to patients' forums after forum support organisation contracts end.

(50825)

329
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which organisations have responsibility for (a) setting up and (b) running the patient and public involvement resource centre; and on what date she expects the resource centre to begin its work.

(50826)

330
N Mr John Baron (Billericay):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason patient and public involvement was not mentioned in her Department's White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say.

(51040)

331
N Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time was for an NHS in-patient operation in (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003, (d) 2004 and (e) 2005 in (i) England and (ii) each NHS hospital trust; and what the figures are to date in 2006.

(51036)

332
N Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of the changes in waiting times for operations since the Government stated that no patient would have to wait more than six months for an NHS in-patient operation.

(51037)

333
Peter Bottomley (Worthing West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what interest rate is charged to NHS authorities and trusts for cash support; and what the rate was in each of the past four years.

(51751)

334
Peter Bottomley (Worthing West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was charged in interest to NHS authorities and trusts for cash support in each of the last four years; and what estimate she has made of how much will be charged in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07.

(51752)

335
Peter Bottomley (Worthing West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of how much interest would be paid for cash support by NHS authorities and trusts in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07 based on bank rates of interest.

(51753)

336
Peter Bottomley (Worthing West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, from whom (a) she and (b) the NHS Chief Executive receive advice on hospital audiology services; what information she has received on (i) waiting times and (ii) waiting lists for hearing tests and hearing aid fitting in NHS hospitals; and what advice she has received on how to reduce them.

(51755)

337
N Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton & Cheam):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when she will reply to the invitation of the Joint Scrutiny and Overview Committee for Sutton, Merton, Kingston and Surrey to attend one of its meetings to discuss her decision in respect of better healthcare closer to home.

(50870)

338
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what her policy is on the siting of automatic teller machines which charge a fee to the user (a) in hospitals and (b) on other NHS sites.

(51204)

339
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were employed by (a) the Meat Hygiene Service, (b) the NHS Estates Agency, (c) the NHS Pension Agency, (d) the National Heath Service Purchasing and Supplies, (e) the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, (f) the Food Standards Agency and (g) her Department in each region in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51320)

340
Mr Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the Northumberland Primary Care Trust of the suspension of Dr Jayanti Ghosh is; and what legal costs were incurred by her Department in proceedings related to Dr Ghosh.

(51695)

341
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the projected increases in the population of England upon demand and capacity in the National Health Service.

(50790)

342
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in West Lancashire in each of the last 10 years.

(51109)

343
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were prescribed Ebixa on the NHS in West Lancashire in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what the cost to the NHS was in each year.

(51110)

344
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the number of people who care for people with Alzheimer's disease in West Lancashire constituency.

(51111)

345
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps she is taking to increase the number of NHS dentists in West Lancashire constituency.

(51112)

346
Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much VAT the Southport and Ormskirk hospitals paid the Exchequer for drugs purchased by the hospital in (a) 2001, (b) 2003 and (c) 2005.

(51113)

347
N Mr Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Buckingham of 6th February 2006, Official Report, column 970W, on dentistry, what assessment she has made of whether the reasons for children not being registered with an NHS dentist include lack of availability of NHS dentists in their area.

(51307)

348
N Mary Creagh (Wakefield):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will take steps to ensure that the waiting time for an NHS analogue or digital hearing aid is reduced to 18 weeks.

(50714)

349
N Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the charge per hour is for legal advice provided by Capsticks solicitors to the NHS in connection with defending clinical negligence claims.

[R] (51179)

350
N Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the percentage of an average lifetime's health expenditure which is incurred in the last year of life.

(50333)

351
N Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional funding was made available to the east end of London during the existence of the health action zone covering that area.

(50334)

352
N Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when health action zones ceased to receive additional funding.

(50335)

353
N Paul Flynn (Newport West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurse advisers supplied by private agencies were employed by (a) general practitioner surgeries and (b) hospitals in the last period for which figures are available.

(50830)

354
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the members of the citizens' panel who worked with her Department throughout the development of the White Paper on Health and Social Care Services were selected.

(51332)

355
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what incentives there will be to extend the opening hours of general practitioner surgeries.

(51333)

356
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the general practitioner contract will have to be renegotiated to accommodate the proposals in the Health and Social Care White Paper to extend opening hours of general practitioner surgeries.

(51334)

357
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England are eligible to receive direct payments; and how many have taken them up.

(51335)

358
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support and advocacy systems she plans to establish to encourage the take up of direct payments.

(51336)

359
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the introduction of the single asssessment of health and social care needs proposed in the Health and Social Care White Paper will differ from the single assessment process that is already in place.

(51337)

360
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what form the entitlement to respite care proposed in the Health and Social Care White Paper will take.

(51338)

361
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps she plans to take to establish short-term home-based respite support for carers; and what the entitlement to such support will be.

(51339)

362
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps she plans to take to ensure that those people who would most benefit from the NHS Life Check proposed in the Health and Social Care White Paper (a) take them up and (b) have their cases followed up.

(51340)

363
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what new information was gained as a result of the consultation, Your Health, Your Care, Your Say.

(51341)

364
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3rd November 2005, Official Report, column 1340W, on Herceptin, if she will ensure that the action plans submitted by each of the 34 cancer networks to her Department in November 2005 on how they will implement HER2 testing are (a) made public and (b) placed in the Library.

(51482)

365
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation was undertaken with patient organisations before the decision to introduce new arrangements for the supply of domiciliary oxygen.

(51677)

366
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements have been put in place for doctors and patients to obtain domiciliary oxygen supplies in an emergency since the introduction of new arrangements for the supply of domiciliary oxygen on 1st February.

(51678)

367
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations she received during the consultation on the reconfiguration of the domiciliary oxygen service; and how many were in favour of removing the supply from the community pharmacy network.

(51679)

368
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the number of unplanned admissions to hospital since 1st February resulting from problems with the domiciliary oxygen supply service.

(51680)

369
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual cost was of providing a domiciliary oxygen service through the community pharmacy network in each of the past four years.

(51681)

370
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints Ministers in her Department have received about the domiciliary oxygen service since contracts were awarded to regional oxygen supply companies on 1st February.

(51682)

371
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints her Department received about the domiciliary oxygen supply service in the five years to December 2005.

(51683)

372
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many care home inspections were carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection between April and December in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.

(51684)

373
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints local primary care organisations have received about domiciliary oxygen supply services in each of the last five years.

(51686)

374
N Mr Paul Goodman (Wycombe):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of mental health services in Buckinghamshire were funded by (a) Wycombe Primary Care Trust, (b) Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust, (c) Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust and (d) Buckinghamshire County Council in each year for which figures are available.

(51372)

375
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps she is taking to increase the number of NHS dentists in (a) the Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust area and (b) the Stockport Primary Care Trust area.

(51748)

376
Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure that all children are being covered by NHS dental care provision.

(51843)

377
Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps she is taking to ensure that NHS dental services are provided to everyone who needs them.

(51844)

378
Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make it her policy that all dentists trained in the UK should have to participate in the provision of NHS dental services for a minimum period of time.

(51845)

379
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment she has made of the take-up of the MMR vaccine in (a) Hampshire and (b) England; and if she will make a statement.

(51564)

380
Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of children have received the MMR vaccination in each (a) primary care trust, (b) local authority and (c) electoral ward in Hampshire in each of the last three years.

(51616)

381
Mr Greg Hands (Hammersmith & Fulham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed by (a) the NHS and (b) Hammersmith Hospital NHS Trust was in each year since 2000.

(51797)

382
Mr Greg Hands (Hammersmith & Fulham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescription items were dispensed by (a) the NHS and (b) Hammersmith Hospital NHS Trust in each year since 2000.

(51798)

383
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether dental practitioners will continue to receive NHS income if they do not sign the new General Dental Services contract by (a) 28th February and (b) 1st April.

(51631)

384
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the new General Dental Services contract was published for (a) consultation and (b) dental practitioners to sign.

(51632)

385
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what dates (a) she has and (b) her officials have met the (i) British Dental Association, (ii) the Dental Practitioners Association and (iii) dentists to discuss the new General Dental Services contract; and what matters were raised.

(51633)

386
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will list the bodies she consulted on the new General Dental Services contract; and how long the consultation period lasted.

(51634)

387
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment she has made of the likely impact of the new General Dental Services contract on (a) the income of dental practices and (b) patients.

(51635)

388
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many dentists are on the current NHS dental contract in each primary care trust in England.

(51636)

389
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of tuberculosis were reported in each of the last five years in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust area.

(51322)

390
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements her Department has made to ensure that (a) patients in Tamworth will have access to an independent complaints and advocacy service when the current contract with the Citizens Advice Bureau finishes and (b) that there will be a smooth transfer from the current provider to the new provision.

(51222)

391
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures she is taking to increase the numbers of Macmillan nurses working for the NHS in Staffordshire.

(51223)

392
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make a statement on plans to restructure ambulance services in Staffordshire.

(51420)

393
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses work in NHS hospitals in the Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust; and how many of them were employed via agencies in the last period for which figures are available.

(51421)

394
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients normally resident in Tamworth have been treated for cancer in the past 12 months.

(51422)

395
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many babies were born in Royal Shrewsbury hospital in (a) 1999 and (b) 2005.

(51272)

396
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether she has plans to increase the number of posts for trainee nurses at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

(51273)

397
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients with lung cancer were treated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in (a) 2000 and (b) 2005.

(51274)

398
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts on providing Herceptin to patients who are willing to pay for it.

(51379)

399
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps her Department takes to (a) identify and (b) support carers aged 18 to 25 years; and if she will make a statement.

(51446)

400
David Maclean (Penrith & The Border):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many school nurses there are in Cumbria; and where they are located.

(51208)

401
Anne Main (St Albans):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8th February to Question 46369, if she will assess the effect of late payments by NHS professionals on small and medium sized firms.

(51159)

402
N Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many care homes in (a) Leeds North West and (b) the Leeds metropolitan area have been deemed as failing to meet standard 15 of the national minimum standards in each year for which figures are available.

(50787)

403
Richard Ottaway (Croydon South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions were held with patients groups as part of the current National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisal of Alzheimer's drugs.

(51229)

404
Richard Ottaway (Croydon South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the NHS as a consequence of the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on Alzheimer's drugs.

(51230)

405
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the projected outturn against budgeted expenditure by social services departments for learning disability services is in 2005-06.

(51362)

406
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average expenditure by NHS primary care trusts per head of population on learning disability services was in each year since 1997.

(51363)

407
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average expenditure per head of population by social services departments on learning disability services was in each year since 1997.

(51441)

408
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account has been taken in the local authority budget settlements for 2006-07 of changes in the numbers of people with (a) multiple and profound disabilities and (b) autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger's syndrome.

(51442)

409
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total outturn against budgeted expenditure by social services departments in England for learning disability services was in each year since 1997.

(51443)

410
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual salary can be expected by (a) a dentist and (b) a general practitioner doing NHS work full time.

(51477)

411
Dr John Pugh (Southport):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in the registration of clinical dental technicians with the General Dental Council.

(51398)

412
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which agency will be responsible for delivering the Fitter Britain campaign announced in Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services; and what funding will be committed to the campaign.

(51129)

413
Alan Simpson (Nottingham South):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS budget was paid to non-NHS providers in 2004-05.

(51641)

414
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) job title, (b) salary including payment by results elements and (c) total employment costs were for each of the highest paid five employees in the Essex Strategic Health Authority in 2004-05.

(51657)

415
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions she has held with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on her Department's submission to NICE in March 2005 in relation to Alzheimer's disease drugs; and if she will make a statement.

(51624)

416
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will list National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisals that have taken full account of quality of life issues.

(51625)

417
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what treatments are available for moderately severe to severe Alzheimer's disease.

(51626)

418
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the (a) safety and (b) efficacy of memantine for use with moderately severe to severe Alzheimer's disease patients; and if she will make a statement.

(51627)

419
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the method of measuring quality of life undertaken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for patients with Alzheimer's disease is based on a scale that has been validated for use in people with dementia.

(51628)

420
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the current National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisal on Alzheimer's disease drugs has considered the impact of quality of life of carers.

(51629)

421
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what treatments are available for (a) Alzheimer's disease patients scoring lower than 10 in the mini-mental state examination and (b) behavioural disturbances arising in Alzheimer's disease patients.

(51687)

422
Dr Howard Stoate (Dartford):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what preferred assumptions were built into the cost-effectiveness outcomes section of the appraisal of drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and if she will make a statement.

(51688)

423
Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when she will reply to Question 45821, tabled on 23rd January, by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight.

(51718)

424
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the retirement age is for employees of the National Health Service.

(51497)

425
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) her Department and (b) her Department's associated public bodies have (i) delayed and (ii) withheld payment of (A) pay as you earn and (B) national insurance contributions owed in relation to their employees since 1997.

(51754)

426
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent by her Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51780)

427
Mr Ben Wallace (Lancaster & Wyre):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in what circumstances a patient can be removed from an in-patient waiting list; and what alternative lists they are transferred onto in those circumstances.

(51575)

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department

428
N Adam Afriyie (Windsor):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received from Windsor constituency in support of identity cards.

(50186)

429
Tony Baldry (Banbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects to decide the immigration status of Kurshed Ullah, reference M1004556.

(51541)

430
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were employed by (a) HM Prison Service Agency, (b) the Criminal Records Bureau, (c) the Forensic Science Service, (d) the Assets Recovery Agency, (e) the Medical Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, (f) the Food Standards Agency, (g) the UK Passport Agency and (h) his Department in each region in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51319)

431
Mr Douglas Carswell (Harwich):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account was taken in his Department's international migration estimates for 2004 for accession country citizens of those who were in the country before May 2004 and who then registered on the Workers Registration Scheme after that date.

(51186)

432
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the new powers of arrest under section 10(1) of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 will be implemented in England and Wales.

(51343)

433
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many rape crisis organisations received funding from his Department in each of the last five years; and how much each organisation received.

(51346)

434
N Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the range of activities covered by the Best Value Performance Indicator that local authorities need to undertake successfully to address domestic violence.

(51349)

435
N Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many domestic violence prosecutions were undertaken in each English police region in each of the last five years.

(51350)

436
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the potential change in the number of civilian posts resulting from (a) a Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire combined police force, (b) a Hampshire and Thames Valley combined police force and (c) a Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey combined police force.

(51553)

437
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department has made of the likely costs of implementing new IT systems arising from the options under consideration for the merger of police forces in the South East.

(51567)

438
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the potential start-up costs of (a) a Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire combined police force, (b) a Hampshire and Thames Valley combined police force, (c) a Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey combined police force and (d) one stand-alone Hampshire force.

(51568)

439
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received from the Hampshire Police Force on the proposed merger of police forces in the area.

(51623)

440
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether additional funding will be available from his Department to the Hampshire constabulary in the event of its merger with other forces.

(51643)

441
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department has made of the likely change in the Hampshire police precept to the council tax which would arise from a merger of the Hampshire constabulary.

(51750)

442
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the likely impact of a merger of the Hampshire Constabulary with other forces on (a) police officer and (b) civilian staff numbers.

(51810)

443
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many representations he has received to date supporting the abolition of the Hampshire police constabulary as a stand-alone force.

(51840)

444
N Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the costs of redundancies in each of the four police authorities in Wales as a consequence of the creation of a Welsh police force.

(50941)

445
N Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when responsibility for the new Wales Police Force will be devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.

(50942)

446
N Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what basis he ruled out a merger between the North Wales Police and Cheshire Police forces.

(50943)

447
N Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to ensure that the existing North Wales Police force area will not have fewer resources following the establishment of a single police force for Wales.

(51025)

448
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will bring forward legislation to devolve the commissioning of probation services.

(51187)

449
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the National Probation Service in Wales will conclude its restructuring process.

(51192)

450
Mr Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason asylum seekers are unable to apply for provisional driving licences; and whether he has any plans to seek to enable them to do so.

(51847)

451
Dr Evan Harris (Oxford West & Abingdon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of British nationals from Hong Kong who have been erroneously refused British citizenship as a result of Home Office error; over what period of time the errors occurred; what steps he has taken to rectify the errors; and if he will make a statement.

(51399)

452
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will introduce proposals to increase the obligations on convicted sex offenders relating to their ongoing contact with the police.

(51793)

453
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what key performance indicators are used to evaluate the performance of Group 4 Securicor in the provision of the electronic monitoring of offenders.

(51209)

454
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many contracts have been awarded to Group 4 Securicor for the provision of electronic monitoring of offenders by (a) his Department and (b) other government agencies.

(51214)

455
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value is of contracts between the Government and Group 4 Securicor for the provision of electronic monitoring of offenders.

(51281)

456
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to review contracts awarded to Group 4 Securicor for the provision of electronic monitoring of offenders.

(51373)

457
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what crime detection rates were recorded for (a) violence against the person, (b) sexual offences, (c) robberies, (d) burglaries, (e) theft of a vehicle and (f) drug-related offences in (i) Peterborough constituency and (ii) the Eastern Region in the last year for which figures are available.

(51321)

458
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applicants resident in the Peterborough City Council area have broken their bail conditions in each of the last three years.

(51388)

459
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people applying for positions within residential care and nursing homes in (a) Tamworth, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England are awaiting clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau.

(51224)

460
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisoners underwent treatment for drugs dependence in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England and Wales in each of the past five years.

(51225)

461
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers there are in each division of Staffordshire Police Force; and what the population is of the area covered by each division.

(51226)

462
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) police officers and (b) community support officers there are per 100,000 people in each police force in England and Wales.

(51227)

463
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces in England and Wales employ traffic wardens.

(51228)

464
N Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what basis he assesses the cost of a biometric passport as accounting for 70 per cent. of the cost of the passport and identity card.

(50948)

465
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisoners on average were held in Shrewsbury Prison in (a) 1995, (b) 1996, (c) 1999, (d) 2001 and (e) 2005.

(51238)

466
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what services to the public which are provided by his Department are available from the Post Office.

(51198)

467
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department last assessed the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of (i) conventional and (ii) private finance initiative funding for the construction of new prisons; and what the outcome of that assessment was.

(51552)

468
John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the result has been of his Department's consideration of the merits of establishing an independent licensing authority to tackle employment discrimination related to criminal records checks.

(51405)

469
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much additional funding was made available to police forces specifically to tackle binge drinking and alcohol misuse at the time the Licensing Act 2003 came into force; what the timescale was for such funding; and what the take-up was by each police force, including the Metropolitan Police.

(51183)

470
Mr Malcolm Moss (North East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions have been brought under the Licensing Act 2003 since November 2005 for (a) sales of alcohol to under-age children and (b) crime and disorder associated with pubs and clubs.

(51184)

471
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) deputy and (b) assistant chief constables have spent their entire police career serving in one police force.

(51188)

472
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many parenting orders have been applied for to date.

(51189)

473
N Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6th February 2006, Official Report, column 940W, on enrolment centres, if he will list the criteria that will be used to select (a) the premises in which the interviews over a secure webcam will be conducted and (b) the local administrators who will facilitate the interviews.

(51401)

474
N Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what calculation was used to arrive at the 19-minute average travelling time for first-time applicants for passports under the new arrangements involving personal interviews at offices; and what estimate he has made of the number of people who would have to travel for (a) less than and (b) more than 19 minutes who live in (i) Argyll and Bute constituency, (ii) Scotland and (iii) the United Kingdom.

(51407)

475
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to encourage the use of individual support orders for young people subject to anti-social behaviour orders.

(51288)

476
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many offenders were found guilty of (a) drunken and disorderly behaviour and (b) drunken and aggravated disorderly behaviour in each year between 1997 and 2005 in (i) England and (ii) each local authority in England.

(51289)

477
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalty notices have been issued in relation to the illegal use of fireworks in each police force area since the legislation was introduced.

(51290)

478
Mr John Spellar (Warley):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department will reply to the letters of (a) 25th October 2005 regarding Mr McLaren and (b) 15th November 2005 regarding Mr Tiash Singh from the hon. Member for Warley.

(51811)

479
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7th February 2006, Official Report, column 1090W, on child protection, how many cautions for possession of an indecent photograph of a child were issued in each of the last five years to people working with children.

(51640)

480
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy that cautions should not be used to deal with offences where reoffending is likely; and if he will make a statement.

(51733)

481
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of police officers in each force are (a) black and ethnic minority and (b) women; what proportion of the population in each police force area are (i) black and ethnic minority and (ii) women; what targets each police force has for the proportion of its officers who are (A) black and ethnic minority and (B) women; and how many otherwise suitable recruits in each police force have been turned down because they would not contribute to the achievement of those targets.

(50621)

482
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the retirement age is for employees of the police service.

(51374)

483
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51776)

484
N Mr David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are taken to prevent those convicted of and imprisoned for hate crimes seeking to indoctrinate other prisoners.

(51280)

Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development

485
N Gregory Barker (Bexhill & Battle):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of 25th January 2006, Official Report, columns 2119-20W, on timber, what plans he has to sign voluntary partnership agreements with (a) Brazil, (b) Indonesia and (c) China.

(50873)

486
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid and support is being given to the Wajir region of Kenya by the UK to deal with the present drought and consequential famine in the region.

(51474)

487
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people were employed by his Department in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each region in each month.

(51173)

488
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding is being made available by (a) the UK Government and (b) the EU to the new government in the South of Sudan.

(51848)

489
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what financial help his Department plans to make available to the representative assembly to be created in Juba, South Sudan; and what financial help his Department has provided to (a) the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and (b) non-SPLM parties.

(51849)

490
Sandra Gidley (Romsey):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funds the UK has contributed to the UN Fund for Women in each year since 1997.

(51408)

491
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will make a statement on Yemen's progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.

(51428)

492
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much (a) bilateral aid and (b) multilateral aid the UK has given to Yemen in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

(51429)

493
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much bilateral aid from the UK has been used for improving healthcare facilities and tackling diseases in Yemen in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

(51430)

494
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid the UK has given to Yemen in each of the last five years for projects to protect and promote the rights of women; and if he will make a statement.

(51431)

495
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much bilateral aid from the UK has been spent on education and education facilities in Yemen in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

(51432)

496
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to improve the operation of the judiciary in Yemen; what funds have been committed to projects to achieve this; and if he will make a statement.

(51433)

497
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contribution his Department has made to the Social Fund for Development in Yemen in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

(51434)

498
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid and resources the UK has contributed to tackling the recent poliomyelitis outbreak in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.

(51435)

499
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to tackle corruption in Yemen; what funds have been committed to projects to achieve this; and if he will make a statement.

(51436)

500
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps have been taken to encourage Afghan farmers to move from growing poppies to other crops; and if he will make a statement.

(51559)

501
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the counter-narcotics trust fund in Afghanistan.

(51574)

502
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many poppy fields have been (a) identified and (b) destroyed by UK forces in Afghanistan in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

(51606)

503
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much his Department has provided in Direct Budgetary Support to Afghanistan in each year since 2001; how much will be given in each year until 2008; and if he will make a statement.

(51607)

504
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral funding his Department has given to non-governmental organisations working in Afghanistan in each year since 2001.

(51608)

505
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral aid has been provided to Afghanistan by the UK in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

(51609)

506
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the UK has provided to Afghanistan for developing education facilities and increasing access to education in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

(51610)

507
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the UK has provided to Afghanistan for (a) the development of health capacity and (b) increasing access to treatments in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

(51611)

508
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the UK has provided to Afghanistan (a) for strengthening women's rights and (b) for improving access to clean water and sanitation in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

(51612)

509
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff from his Department have worked in Afghanistan in each year since 2001; what estimate he has made of the number who will work there in each year until 2008; and if he will make a statement.

(51613)

510
Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 26th January, Official Report, column 2398W, on the water action plan, what percentage of budget support from his Department was spent by each African country in receipt of such support on access to safe water and sanitation in 2004-05.

[R] (51672)

511
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51775)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

512
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) primary schools in Northern Ireland and (b) children attending them were affected by the decisions of education and library boards to withdraw school crossing patrol services within the past 12 months.

(51325)

513
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the change in (a) male and (b) female unemployment in East Londonderry constituency has been in each of the last five years.

(51326)

514
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the change in numbers of (a) males and (b) females in part-time employment in East Londonderry constituency has been in each of the last five years.

(51327)

515
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the change in the numbers of those diagnosed with prostate cancer in Northern Ireland has been in each of the last 10 years.

(51328)

516
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many Planning Appeal Commission hearings were held in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

(51329)

517
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people defined as (a) Protestant, (b) Roman Catholic and (c) non-determined have been offered support and assistance by the Equality Commission at fair employment tribunals in cases of alleged discrimination on the grounds of religion in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

(51330)

518
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much was allocated to the Springvale Community Outreach Initiative over the past three years; and what the sources of the funding were.

(51813)

519
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much was allocated for salaries within the Springvale Community Outreach Initiative in each year since its formation.

(51814)

520
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what community groups and projects have been engaged in working with the Springvale Community Outreach Initiative since its formation.

(51815)

521
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funding has been allocated to each (a) community group, (b) project and (c) programme by the Springvale Community Outreach Initiative in each year since its formation.

(51816)

522
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list the (a) full-time and (b) part-time campus and outreach centres of the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education; and what the funding allocated to each was in the last year for which figures are available.

(51818)

523
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the date was of the latest Equality Impact Assessment carried out by the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education regarding its distribution of services in terms of their (a) physical location and (b) community impact.

(51819)

524
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the community background is of (a) senior managers, (b) lecturers, (c) cleaning staff, (d) catering staff and (e) security staff employed by the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education.

(51820)

525
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many basic skills courses are run by the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education on each campus; and how many clients attended each course in the latest period for which figures are available.

(51823)

526
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much money the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education received for training from the Department of Employment and Learning for 2005-06.

(51824)

527
Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many training deliverers are used by the Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education; where each is located; what courses each offers; and what the value is of each contract with training deliverers.

(51825)

528
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with whom consultations were carried out prior to the decision to introduce pre-movement testing of cattle; how results are being monitored; by whom; and what research is planned to assess the impact of the change.

(50700)

529
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people in Foyle constituency applied to the Roads Service for disabled parking bay outside their homes in each of the last five years; and how many such applications were (a) granted and (b) denied.

(51692)

530
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many applications from people resident in Foyle constituency to the Roads Service for a disabled parking bay outside their homes are awaiting assessment; and what the average time taken for processing such applications is.

(51693)

531
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what dedicated paediatric gastroenterology services are available in Northern Ireland; and where these are located.

(51697)

532
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many children are on the waiting list for upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures; how many additional referrals are added to that waiting list on average per month; how many procedures are carried out on average each month; and on what date the longest-waiting patient joined the list.

(51702)

533
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he expects paediatric gastroenterology services in Northern Ireland will attain the service standards as set out in the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Document, Commissioning Tertiary and Specialised Service for Children and Young People.

(51705)

534
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many whole time equivalent paediatric gastroenterologists are employed in the NHS in Northern Ireland; what support there is in terms of (a) nursing staff, (b) allied health professionals and (c) fully funded endoscopy theatre sessions; and what the plans are for each category for 2006-07.

(51706)

535
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many children under the age of 16 years have had (a) gastro-intestinal endoscopy and (b) colonoscopy procedures carried out by non-paediatric consultants since 1st January 2003.

(51707)

536
Mark Durkan (Foyle):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether all children under the age of 16 years who have been referred for (a) upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy and (b) colonoscopy procedures will have their procedures performed by paediatric consultants.

(51708)

537
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many responses to the Government's public consultation on the Costello Report proposals indicated opposition to the decision to prohibit academic selection.

(50705)

538
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what analysis the Department for Education Northern Ireland has made since 2000 of alternative models to the 11-plus test of post-primary academic selection; and if he will make a statement.

(50715)

539
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what was the cost to health and social services boards of implementing UK-wide changes in NHS staff pay and conditions in 2005-06; and what the expected cost is for 2006-07.

(50716)

540
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the effect on public expenditure of the proposals for post-primary education in the Draft Education (Northern Ireland) Order; what estimate he has made of the period of time it would take to realise the estimated charges of those savings; and if he will make a statement.

(50717)

541
N Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the (a) gross and (b) net cost to public funds of implementing the proposals for post-primary education embodied in the Draft Education (Northern Ireland) Order.

(50718)

542
Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will carry out an audit of the post-primary schools estate in Northern Ireland to establish the (a) extent and (b) cost of (i) investment and (ii) divestment that would be necessary to implement the changes proposed in the draft Education (Northern Ireland) Order.

(51484)

543
N Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to make statins available free to patients with high cholesterol in Northern Ireland.

(51181)

544
Mrs Iris Robinson (Strangford):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the costs were to the Sperrin Lakeland Trust associated with the appointment of (a) an interim chief executive and (b) an interim director of nursing in 2004-05.

(51182)

545
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51774)

Questions to the Prime Minister

546
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):To ask the Prime Minister, when he expects to make an announcement on whether the ban on intercepting hon. and right hon. Members' telephone communications is to be lifted.

(51834)

547
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Prime Minister, whether an official minute was made of his meeting with President Bush and his advisers on 31st January 2003.

(51447)

548
N Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Prime Minister, whether the Government provided information to the Butler Inquiry team relating to his meeting with President Bush and his advisers held at the White House on 31st January 2003.

(51515)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland

549
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51773)

Questions to the Solicitor General

550
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 24th January 2006, Official Report, column 1963W, on Jo Martinson, what account was taken of the fact that the charges of (a) driving a vehicle without insurance, (b) driving without a licence and (c) not informing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of the existence of a material disability, were not instituted against the driver of the vehicle that caused the death of Jo Martinson.

(51301)

551
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 24th January 2006, Official Report, column 1963W, on Jo Martinson, what enquiries he made into the evidence submitted by Essex Police to the Crown Prosecution Service that the vehicle that caused the death of Jo Martinson did not have a tax disc.

(51302)

552
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Solicitor General, what changes were made under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to the Crown Prosecution Service's power to instigate prosecutions.

(51303)

553
N Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon):To ask the Solicitor General, what the cost per hour is of lawyers working in the Treasury Solicitor's Department.

[R] (51178)

554
N Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Solicitor General, if he will make a statement on the (a) role and (b) effectiveness of the involvement of the Crown Prosecution Service in determining delayed charge bail cases in Northamptonshire.

(50711)

555
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Solicitor General, how much was spent by the Law Officers' Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51772)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

556
N Mr Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment he has made of the scale of windfall profits made by the energy generating sector as a result of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

(51175)

557
N Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate he has made of the number of post offices that could be expected to close as a result of the possible loss of income arising from the ending of the contract for the Post Office card account in 2010.

(50872)

558
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps he plans to take to prevent the closure of post offices following the ending of the contract for the Post Office card account.

(51483)

559
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what percentage of water used by a nuclear power station is of drinking water standard.

(51489)

560
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures are in place to ensure that sufficient quantities of water are always available to nuclear power stations, with particular reference to Dungeness.

(51490)

561
N Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much water was used by Dungeness B in each of the last five years; and what the average quantity of water used by a nuclear power station was in each year.

(51491)

562
Roger Berry (Kingswood):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many applications were made for trade licences in connection with the ACPO 2004 International Police Conference and Exhibition held at the NEC Birmingham on 11th to 13th May 2004; and how many were granted.

(51397)

563
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many people were employed by the (a) Postal Services Commission, (b) Office of Fair Trading, (c) Insolvency Service, (d) Patent Office Agency, (e) Companies House, (f) Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, (g) Office of Gas and Electricity Market, (h) National Weights and Measures Laboratory, (i) Department of Trade and Industry, (j) Small Business Service and (k) Employment Tribunal Service in each region in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each month.

(51165)

564
N Colin Challen (Morley & Rothwell):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether the Community Renewables Initiative will receive financial support after 31st March.

(50704)

565
N Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the projected increases in the population of England upon demand for energy.

(50794)

566
N Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment the Government has made of the cost of removing home addresses from the Companies House register.

(51174)

567
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans he has to meet businesses that supported the proposals in the operating and financial review.

(51703)

568
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the Post Office will be of ending the Post Office Card Account in 2010.

(51704)

569
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proportion of franchisees of main posts office terminated their contracts before the agreed end date in each of the last five years; and on how many occasions action has been taken to enforce a contract until a suitable alternative location is in place.

(51562)

570
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what powers the Post Office has to prevent franchisees of main post offices terminating their contract before the agreed end date.

(51577)

571
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his Answer of 7th February 2006, Official Report, column 1073W, on nuclear fuels, how many tonnes of non-spent nuclear material were imported into the UK in the latest year for which records are available, broken down by country of export.

(51716)

572
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his Answer of 7th February 2006, Official Report, column 1073W, on nuclear fuels, if he will break down each of the volumes of uranium by isotope of uranium.

(51731)

573
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many organisations his Department considered to carry out the cost-benefit report into extending Sunday trading hours; which organisation was selected; what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of compiling the report; and what measures are in place to ensure that the report will be independent.

(51418)

574
Mr Brian Jenkins (Tamworth):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many meetings officials from his Department have had with representatives of (a) trade unions, (b) retail organisations and (c) other groups on Sunday trading since September 2004.

(51419)

575
Mr David Jones (Clwyd West):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when he will announce his decision on the application by NPower renewables for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for the development of the Gwynt y Mor wind farm.

(51642)

576
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures he is taking to ensure that migrant workers from Poland are protected under UK employment laws.

(51614)

577
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) Executive Agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) each independent statutory body, organisation and body financially sponsored by his Department in each of the last five years.

(51196)

578
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what external consultants and advisers have been engaged by his Department on the proposals to consolidate the number of consumer bodies; and how much in fees has been paid to these external consultants and advisers for this exercise.

(51197)

579
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will introduce legislation under which company employees would be able to vote on the election of all non-executive directors.

(51505)

580
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will seek to introduce legislation under which he would be obliged to make a statement to the House on every report of inspectors from his Department indicating whether that report will be published and what the reasons are for any decision not to publish.

(51506)

581
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will seek to introduce legislation under which company directors would be held personally liable for publishing dishonest financial statements.

(51507)

582
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will seek to introduce legislation under which every company would be required to serve the public interest.

(51508)

583
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will require the Financial Reporting Council to publish reports on the weaknesses of all auditing firms inspected by it.

(51509)

584
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2001 on the quality of the auditing of companies.

(51510)

585
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will bring forward legislation under which the minimum age of directors for public limited companies will be at least 18 years.

(51511)

586
Mr Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will seek to introduce legislation under which directors of large companies as defined in the Companies Act 1985 would not be able to cast any vote on any annual general meeting resolution relating to their remuneration.

(51512)

587
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what training is provided for assessment of applications for research and development grants; and what methods are used to assess their knowledge of business, commerce and technical innovation.

(51493)

588
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what sums from unused research and development grants were carried forward from 2004-05 to 2005-06 in each region.

(51494)

589
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what proportion of funds allocated for research and development grants for each regional development agency for 2005-06 had been offered to project applicants by 31st January 2006; and what proportion of the funds allocated were offered in 2004-05.

(51495)

590
Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what financial contribution was made by each bank and building society which signed the agreement with the Government on the provision of universal banking services.

(51314)

591
N Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations he has received from Royal Mail on the minimum number of Post Office branches required to fulfil the terms of its universal service obligations.

(50950)

592
Grant Shapps (Welwyn Hatfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what measures the Department has taken to make it easier for smaller companies to win orders from Government departments.

(51487)

593
Mark Simmonds (Boston & Skegness):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will make a statement on Yemen's application to join the World Trade Organisation.

(51386)

594
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many stakeholder meetings he is holding for the Energy Review 2006; and to how many of these meetings he is inviting representatives of the energy efficiency industry.

(51454)

595
Ms Dari Taylor (Stockton South):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which five Indian companies in the UK with a presence in the financial services sector have the largest number of employees; and how many employees each has.

(51453)

596
N Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate he has made of the average number of transactions in the last three years of trading at each (a) rural and (b) urban post office which has closed in each of the last five years; and what the average distance is that customers travel to the nearest post office following such closures.

(50622)

597
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate he has made of the value of defence contracts to British manufacturing in each year between 1997 and 2005.

(51305)

598
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many manufacturing companies in the UK have had contracts with (a) the US government and (b) the US Department of Defense in the last five years; and what the total value has been of such contracts in each case.

(51306)

599
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51771)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport

600
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made with the extension of the East London line; and if he will make a statement.

(51722)

601
Mr David Amess (Southend West):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it a condition of the next rail franchise for the line operated by C2C Rail Ltd that the successful company reintroduce (a) flexitime and (b) early bird season tickets; and if he will make a statement.

(51205)

602
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make provision for additional capacity on the rail line linking Wellingborough to London.

(51525)

603
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding each local transport authority received in each year since 1997-98 (a) in total, (b) per mile of road and (c) per head of population.

(51653)

604
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many bus services have been (a) withdrawn and (b) added to service in each financial year since 1st April 1998 (i) in total and (ii) in each traffic area region.

(51654)

605
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will update Table A3 of the Transport 2010 document (a) in the same format and (b) at current prices.

(51655)

606
Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many appeals against parking penalty charge notices there were in each local authority in England in the last five years for which figures are available; and how many were successful.

(51685)

607
N Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cases involving (a) near miss incidents and (b) contraventions of International Collision Prevention Regulations there have been in the Channel in each year since 2000, broken down by flag.

(48825)

608
N Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many inspectors have been employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2000; and how many inspections were carried out by the Agency in each year since 2000, broken down by flag.

(48826)

609
N Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many holders of certificates of equivalent competency are serving on merchant vessels which joined the UK shipping register since 2000.

(48827)

610
N Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funds were allocated for external radio surveys of merchant ships on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in 2005-06; how much of this fund remains to be spent; and if he will make a statement.

(48828)

611
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of free bus travel on the existing arrangements for bus travel between (a) Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, (b) Durham and Tyne and Wear and (c) Northumberland and Durham.

(51462)

612
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were employed by the (a) Driving Standards Agency, (b) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (c) Highways Agency, (d) Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (e) Office of Rail Regulation, (f) Department for Transport, (g) Vehicle Certification Agency and (h) Vehicle and Operator Services in each region in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each month.

(51166)

613
N Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what powers exist to place a permanent stopping order on a road where the use of the road has changed; and if he will make a statement.

(50701)

614
Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research he has commissioned into the likely effects on the environment of encouraging people to use trains instead of short-haul flights.

(51605)

615
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what obligations the Highways Agency is under to remove litter from motorway embankments and verges; and how often the agency has undertaken to remove litter from th (a) M60 and (b) M67 motorways in Denton and Reddish constituency in its cleansing programme.

(51141)

616
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Greater Manchester bus, rail and tram operators and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive on the introduction of smartcard technology for pre-travel payment on public transport in the county.

(51142)

617
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) bus operators in Greater Manchester and (b) Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive to ensure that any increase in demand caused by the introduction of free off-peak travel for pensioners is met.

(51740)

618
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the likely change in bus and Metrolink passenger numbers in the county of Greater Manchester resulting from the introduction of free off-peak travel for pensioners.

(51741)

619
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made in (a) ascertaining responsibility for and (b) rectifying the flooding problem on the M60 between Denton and Hollinwood, Oldham; and whether enforcement action will be taken to ensure its rectification without the requirement for further public funding.

(51742)

620
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the future viability of the Stalybridge-Stockport railway line for local passenger rail services.

(51743)

621
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) metropolitan local authorities and (b) passenger transport executives on the introduction of red route measures to principal transport corridors in cities and conurbations.

(51744)

622
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the viability of a park and ride scheme in (a) Tameside metropolitan borough and (b) Stockport metropolitan borough.

(51745)

623
Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether concessionary bus fare schemes operate between local authority areas on the borders of England and Wales.

(51630)

624
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps have been taken towards producing an evaluation strategy to assess the effectiveness of the Government's aviation policy; what the proposed timetable is for the production of this strategy; and what processes will be used to formulate it.

(51649)

625
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the 2006 Aviation White Paper Progress Review will be published; whether it will include revised passenger forecasts to take account of the increased cost of oil; whether his Department will seek the views of (a) other Government departments and (b) external stakeholders on progress made; and whether it will include an assessment of the role reductions in aviation emissions will play in the target to cut overall emissions by 60 per cent. by 2050.

(51650)

626
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of (a) average and (b) the range of costs for journeys by (i) rail and (ii) air; what assessment he has made of the merits of a policy to keep the average cost of travel by rail below that of travel by air; and if he will make a statement.

(51817)

627
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what priority he plans to give to seating capacity on trains when awarding rail franchises.

(51790)

628
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Highways Agency on a bypass for Dorrington near Shrewsbury on the A49.

(51231)

629
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will meet the Highways Agency to discuss the merits of a pedestrian crossing in the village of Westbury near Shrewsbury.

(51232)

630
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was spent on road (a) improvements and (b) modernisation in Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency in (i) 1997, (ii) 1999 and (iii) 2005.

(51233)

631
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will meet representatives of Shrewsbury Friends of the Earth to discuss the proposal to build a north west relief road on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

(51234)

632
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will direct the Highways Agency to install a sign for Shrewsbury on the M6 junction with the M54.

(51235)

633
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will visit the village of Westbury near Shrewsbury to address the safety of the road through the village.

(51236)

634
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will visit Shrewsbury to address the safety of the Dobbies roundabout at the junction of the A5 and A49.

(51237)

635
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from Condover Parish Council; and if he will make a statement.

(51548)

636
Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact in the United Kingdom of the current draft regulations on emissions from air conditioning systems in motor vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

(51284)

637
Norman Lamb (North Norfolk):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what services to the public which are provided by his Department are available from the Post Office.

(51200)

638
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been spent on enquiries and consultation exercises relating to improvements on the A27 around Worthing in each of the last 12 years.

(51674)

639
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the purpose has been of each of the enquiries and consultation exercises relating to improvements on the A27 around Worthing in each of the last 12 years.

(51675)

640
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with train operating companies on encouraging greater use of bicycles by commuters; which train operating companies restrict the carrying of bicycles on trains; and if he will make a statement.

(51676)

641
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of capacity on the East Coast main line.

(51647)

642
Dr Andrew Murrison (Westbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to issue draft guidance on rural speed limits.

(51846)

643
Mr Andy Reed (Loughborough):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department's expenditure for 2012 has been committed to projects designed to encourage cycling.

(51130)

644
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the funding required to fund free off-peak travel for (a) older and (b) disabled persons on buses in Swindon.

(51285)

645
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding the Government is providing to Swindon Local Authority to provide free bus travel for (a) older and (b) disabled persons.

(51286)

646
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure local authorities provide late night public transport for young people.

(51287)

647
Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the use of bio-optical spectacles to facilitate driving for people with imperfect eyesight; and if he will make a statement.

(51651)

648
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the potential use of satellite navigation systems in charging for road use.

(51390)

649
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much income from toll roads his Department has received in each of the last five years.

(51391)

650
Keith Vaz (Leicester East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the retirement age is for employees of the Maritime Coastguard Agency.

(51498)

651
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51770)

652
Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ask the Highways Agency to carry out dry scrim testing on stone mastic asphalt.

(51368)

653
Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of whether stone mastic asphalt surfaces have the same skid co-efficient as hot rolled asphalt.

(51369)

654
Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of whether there has been a change in the incidence of accidents involving pedestrians on crossings where shellgrip is no longer used.

(51370)

655
Bill Wiggin (Leominster):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Highways Agency has tested chemical washing on new thin surface material road surfaces.

(51440)

656
N Mr David Winnick (Walsall North):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many former ministers, apart from prime ministers, have official cars provided for their use; from which administrations; and if he will make a statement.

(50795)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

657
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Health Minister in the National Assembly for Wales Government on the impact of the new dental contract on NHS dentistry in Wales.

(51792)

658
N Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will establish a public inquiry into the death of Robert Powell of Swansea on 17th April 1990 of Addison's disease.

(51486)

659
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51768)

Questions to the Minister for Women and Equality

660
Lynda Waltho (Stourbridge):To ask the Minister for Women and Equality, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on improving the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence.

(51689)

661
Lynda Waltho (Stourbridge):To ask the Minister for Women and Equality, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of services available to children who have been involved in domestic violence.

(51690)

662
Lynda Waltho (Stourbridge):To ask the Minister for Women and Equality, if she will discuss with ministerial colleagues (a) the courts being provided with powers to include restraining orders in the sentencing of perpetrators of domestic violence and (b) the granting of anonymity for the victims of such violence in relevant court proceedings.

(51691)

663
Lynda Waltho (Stourbridge):To ask the Minister for Women and Equality, what plans the Government has to improve the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence.

(51696)

Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

664
N Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the nationwide roll-out of Pathways to Work proposed in the recent Green Paper will apply only to new claimants; and what the estimated cost is of rolling out the scheme nationwide to all existing claimants over the same period.

(50185)

665
N Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which areas have been selected as pilots for the replacement of the Post Office card account.

(50706)

666
N Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people use the Post Office card account for the payment of benefits and pensions, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

(50707)

667
N Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternatives to the Post Office card account he plans; and what income streams will be received by the Post Office as a result.

(51485)

668
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19th January 2006, Official Report, column 1550W, on benefit, what information his Department does not hold which would be required to estimate the annual cost of raising all housing benefit and council tax benefit earned income disregards to levels commensurate with the real terms value of the disregards in 1988.

(51488)

669
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to pilot the placement of employment advisers in general practitioner surgeries; and if he will make a statement.

(51734)

670
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funds will be made available for the placement of employment advisers in general practitioner surgeries; what assessment he has made of the merits of the use of employment advisers from (a) Jobcentre Plus, (b) private companies and (c) voluntary organisations; and if he will make a statement.

(51735)

671
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to use the private and voluntary sector to provide work focused interviews in (a) existing Pathways to Work areas and (b) the next phase of Pathways to Work areas.

(51736)

672
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list the private and voluntary sector organisations with which he has held discussions with on (a) placement of work advisers in general practitioner surgeries, (b) provision of work focused interviews for Pathways to Work and (c) provision of work focused interviews for lone parents.

(51737)

673
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to use the private and voluntary sectors to deliver work-focused interviews to lone parents; and if he will make a statement.

(51738)

674
Danny Alexander (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what barriers he identified to the provision by private and voluntary sector organisations of welfare to work and employment advice service to benefit recipients as a part of existing and planned Government programmes; and if he will make a statement.

(51739)

675
N John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are receiving winter fuel payments in each constituency in Scotland.

(51309)

676
N John Barrett (Edinburgh West):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will extend winter fuel payments to those people who are severely disabled.

(51310)

677
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6th February 2006, Official Report, column 860W, on benefit payments provision, how much debt owed to the Department has been recovered by private sector partners under the Enforcement Initiative.

(51395)

678
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the progress of the Ambition pilots for job placement; and what follow-up actions have been taken by (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) other Departmental agencies as a result of the pilots.

(51673)

679
Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average speed of response to calls and (b) proportion of failed calls was for each public call centre operated by or on behalf of his Department in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the staff turnover was in each call centre in the same period.

(51717)

680
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were employed by the (a) Rent Service, (b) Health and Safety Executive, (c) Department for Work and Pensions, (d) Child Support Agency, (e) JobcentrePlus and (f) Pension Service in each region in each of the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what percentage of posts were vacant in each month.

(51167)

681
N Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of incapacity benefit there were in each social services authority (a) in 2001 and (b) in the most recent year for which figures are available.

(51318)

682
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Coventry South and (b) the West Midlands region are (i) entitled to council tax benefits and (ii) receiving council tax benefits; and if he will make a statement.

(50074)

683
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many lone parents whose youngest child is aged between 11 and 16 years are caring for a child who is sick or disabled in (a) Coventry South and (b) the West Midlands region.

(50075)

684
N Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many lone parents whose youngest child is 14 years had received benefits for more than a year in Coventry South in the last year for which figures are available.

(50076)

685
Mr Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent South):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners have had their income raised above the poverty level since 1997 in (a) Stoke-on-Trent South constituency and (b) the UK.

(51715)

686
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Denton and Reddish constituency receive the pension credit.

(51140)

687
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Tameside metropolitan borough and (c) Stockport metropolitan borough are (i) entitled to and (ii) receiving council tax benefit.

(51747)

688
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Birmingham collect their (a) pensions and (b) benefit payments through the Post Office card account.

(51481)

689
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has given to Jobcentre Plus on the support they should offer to young carers.

(51521)

690
Tim Loughton (East Worthing & Shoreham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the carers' benefit regulations on young carers aged 16-21 years who want to continue in education or begin training.

(51523)

691
Adam Price (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from the European Commission on the compatibility of the provisions of the Pensions Protection Fund with Article 8 of the European Insolvency Rights Directive.

(51449)

692
N Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6th February 2006, Official Report, columns 597-8W, if he will list the 25 different bank accounts referred to; and whether each allows customers to make at least 52 withdrawals each year at post offices without incurring bank charges.

(51035)

693
N Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Parliament was first informed that (a) the Government's contract with the Post Office to pay pensions and benefits into Post Office card accounts lasted until 2010 and (b) the Government did not intend to renew this contract with the Post Office when it expired in 2010.

(51304)

694
N Hon Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse resulting from social security fraud in each of the last three years.

(50629)

695
Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley & Holderness):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many occupational pension schemes in Beverley and Holderness have fully wound up since 1997; and how many are in the process of winding up.

(51520)

696
Sarah Teather (Brent East):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants have had the level of their council tax benefit payments affected by having savings over £3,000 in each year since 1999.

(51565)

697
Sarah Teather (Brent East):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants have been refused council tax benefit because they had savings over £16,000 in each year since 1999.

(51566)

698
Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by his Department on (a) gas and (b) electricity in 2004-05.

(51767)

699
Mark Williams (Ceredigion):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision has been made for (a) people who are hard of hearing and (b) Welsh language speakers under the Jobcentre Plus customer management system.

(51652)

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

700
Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend):To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent representations he has received concerning free bus travel between different transport authorities.

[Transferred] (51463)

© Parliamentary copyright 2006
Revised 13 February 2006