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Questions for Oral or Written Answer
beginning on Tuesday 24 July 2007
(the 'Questions Book')
Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Tuesday 24 July 2007
This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on Tuesday 24 July 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 Tuesday 24 July of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper. For Written and Oral Questions for answer after Tuesday 24 July see Part 2 of this paper.
Questions to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 1
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which Bills introduced by his Department and its predecessors in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152489) | 2
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, (b) the Wild Fowl and Wetlands Trust and (c) the Wildlife Trusts on the proposal to build a Severn tidal barrage. | | (151704) | 3
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, whether primary legislation will be required to implement any proposal to build a Severn tidal barrage. | | (151705) | 4
N | Mr David Drew (Stroud):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, if he will ask the Sustainable Development Commission to take evidence from hon. and right hon. Members representing constituencies in the areas around the River Severn as part of its study of tidal power in the UK. | | (151896) | 5
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, what assessment was made of the likely impact of fast-track voluntary arrangements on the level of annulled bankruptcies in preparing the regulatory impact assessment for the Enterprise Act 2002; and if he will make a statement. | | (152504) | 6
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, what assessment has been made of the impact of fast-track voluntary arrangements for bankruptcy; and if he will make a statement. | | (152507) | 7
| Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, how many complaints were received by the Insolvency Service in each year since 2002; how many of these complaints related to the fees charged by insolvency practitioners acting as trustees in individual bankruptcy cases; and if he will make a statement. | | (152508) | Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 8
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152483) | 9
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he will answer Question 143315, on marginal deduction rates, tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 13th June 2007. | | (152500) | 10
N | Mr David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) couples and (b) couples with household incomes of over £50,000 are claiming tax credits, broken down by region. | | (152317) | 11
N | Andrew George (St Ives):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion the average national income was of the average house price in (a) Cornwall and (b) England at the most recent date for which figures are available. | | (152106) | 12
N | Andrew George (St Ives):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average wage in Cornwall was at the latest date for which figures are available. | | (152107) | 13
N | Mr Terry Rooney (Bradford North):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the employment rate is of non-resident parents where the parent with care is a lone parent receiving (a) income support and (b) working tax credit. | | (152071) | 14
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was spent from the public purse on the Government's private finance initiative contracts in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion was for (a) hospitals, (b) schools, (c) road building, (d) housing and (e) other projects, broken down by category. | | (152473) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 15
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, which Bills introduced by his Department and its predecessors in areas within his Department's responsibility in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152493) | 16
N | David Taylor (North West Leicestershire):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what consideration was given to the teaching of lessons in (a) child care and (b) parenting skills in the development of the new curriculum for secondary schools. | | (151512) | 17
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, how many children in each local authority in England were (a) considered and (b) successfully placed for adoption in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06. | | (152325) | 18
N | Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, how many children in the age groups corresponding most closely to the age group (a) under 12 months, (b) one to four years, (c) five to nine years, (d) 10 to 14 years and (e) 15 to 18 years registered with Isle of Wight Council were adopted in the last period for which figures are available. | | (152326) | 19
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what estimate he has made of the average cost of (a) building and (b) maintaining a school (i) under a private finance initiative contract and (ii) through the public sector. | | (152469) | 20
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what proportion of estimated payments under his Department's private finance initiative contracts is projected to be spent on rebuilding of schools in each year between 2008 and 2019. | | (152474) | 21
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what the cost to the public purse was in the last 12 months of paying off contracts with private finance initative investors for schools that have been prematurely closed. | | (152476) | 22
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what proportion of schools categorised as a school causing concern in each of the last 10 years was built and maintained (a) under private finance initiative contract and (b) through the public sector. | | (152477) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 23
N | Angela Browning (Tiverton & Honiton):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is her policy to approve unitary status only for those councils which command broad stakeholder support. | | (152153) | 24
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if she will make a statement. | | (152492) | 25
N | Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to encourage the refurbishment of existing buildings to increase energy efficiency. | | (151254) | 26
N | Mr David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will list the central grant payment to local authorities in each year since 1997. | | (152318) | 27
N | Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the maximum cost of housing deemed affordable in Cornwall is; and how many houses (a) built in Cornwall in the last 10 years and (b) in total in Cornwall have a value at or below that figure. | | (152104) | 28
N | Andrew George (St Ives):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many units of social housing were sold to the private market in (a) England and (b) Cornwall in the last 12 months. | | (152105) | 29
N | Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what programmes her Department is sponsoring in the East Riding of Yorkshire area to promote social inclusion. | | (151895) | 30
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of local government revenue expenditure, excluding education, was financed by specific grants in each year since 1997-98. | | (152511) | 31
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what her Department's expenditure was on legal fees for the judicial reviews brought by (a) the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and (b) Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council. | | (152512) | 32
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households there were on local authority waiting lists for social housing in each Government office region in each year since 1986. | | (152513) | 33
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households there were on local authority waiting lists for social housing in England in each year since 1986. | | (152514) | 34
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether building regulations apply to the construction of porches outside a domestic dwelling. | | (152515) | 35
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the Valuation Office Agency has not been granted access to the home condition report database. | | (152516) | 36
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department has issued to trading standards officers on the enforcement of home information pack regulations. | | (152517) | 37
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether a (a) spare room, (b) study and (c) box room will be classified as a bedroom for the purposes of the commencement of home information pack provisions. | | (152518) | 38
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what external consultancy or research organisations her Department and its predecessor has contracted to work on home information packs since 2002; what the topic of their research or advice was; and how much has been spent on each. | | (152519) | 39
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what (a) approvals and (b) rejections of the sale or disposal of allotments under the Allotments Act 1925 have been made by her and her predecessor since May 2007. | | (152520) | 40
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what meetings she and her predecessor had with (a) Wilkinson Star Ltd and (b) Peninsula Business Services Ltd in the last 12 months. | | (152521) | 41
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, why local authorities may not securitise their revenue streams to help finance capital projects. | | (152524) | 42
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether her Department holds records on the take-up of small business rate relief. | | (152526) | 43
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance used by the Valuation Office Agency on undertaking assessment casework for non-domestic rates valuations. | | (152527) | 44
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 25th June 2007, Official Report, column 174W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, who produced the feasibility study. | | (152528) | 45
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 25th June 2007, Official Report, columns 177-8W, on property: photographs, if she will provide the information given in the Answer as at July 2007. | | (152529) | 46
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 25th June 2007, Official Report, column 166W, on housing: construction, how many residential sales transactions for (a) all properties and (b) new build properties were (i) flats and (ii) houses in each year since 2000. | | (152530) | 47
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what DVDs have been produced by her Department and its predecessor in the last 24 months; how many copies were produced; and at what cost to the public purse for development, production and distribution. | | (152531) | 48
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the South East England Development Agency spent on hospitality and entertainment in each year since it was created. | | (152532) | 49
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the salary bands are of each pay grade in her Department. | | (152534) | 50
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 25th June 2007, Official Report, column 174W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, if she will place in the Library a copy of the first phase feasibility study report. | | (152535) | 51
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 25th June 2007, Official Report, column 164W, on Home Information Packs, if she will place in the Library a copy of written representations made by (a) Rightmove and (b) Countrywide in relation to home information packs. | | (152536) | 52
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what requests were made to her Department under the (a) Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 and (b) Environmental Information Regulations between the establishment of the Department and 30th September 2006; and what the (i) FOI case reference number, (ii) request summary, (iii) request outcome and (iv) ,where appropriate, reason for exemption was in each case. | | (152537) | 53
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 25th June 2007, Official Report, column 152W, on council tax: valuation, what each (a) product and (b) dataset is that the Valuation Office Agency has a licence to use from Ordnance Survey. | | (152538) | 54
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which Public Service Agreement targets have been (a) met and (b) not met by her Department. | | (152539) | 55
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data was taken from the National Register of Social Housing by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to supplement and validate the VOA's records as referred to in the Answer of 21st June 2006, Official Report, column 1877W, on the Valuation Office Agency. | | (152540) | 56
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath of 25th June 2007, Official Report, column 164W, on home information packs, what payments her Department and its predecessor have made to (a) Rightmove and (b) Countrywide for advice, research or consultancy on home information packs. | | (152541) | 57
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what powers local authorities have to issue bonds; and what authorisation is required from the Government for them to do so. | | (152542) | 58
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many home condition reports have been uploaded to the home condition report database. | | (152543) | 59
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many domestic dwellings in (a) England and (b) each local authority area in England are coded by the Valuation Office Agency with the VE value significant code. | | (152544) | 60
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff funded by the Housing Corporation are classified as without posts. | | (152545) | 61
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the expected date is for the publication of the reprinted Home Information Pack Toolkit. | | (152546) | 62
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Valuation Office Agency submitted a bid to the tendering process to set up and maintain the (a) home condition report database and (b) energy performance certificate database. | | (152547) | 63
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what index is used to calculate inflation in relation to the costs of providing local authority services. | | (152549) | 64
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many referendums have been held on whether to have a directly-elected mayor under the Local Government Act 2000. | | (152550) | 65
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of home condition reports commissioned to date. | | (152551) | 66
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what changes have been made to the eligibility requirements for local authority social housing since May 1997. | | (152552) | 67
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the change in (a) average council tax per dwelling and (b) average Band D council tax in England between 1997-98 and 2007-08. | | (152553) | 68
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have issued municipal bonds since 1997. | | (152554) | 69
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will place in the Library a copy of the funding agreement for the 2006-08 period between her Department and each Pathfinder scheme. | | (152555) | 70
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what authority local authorities require from the Government to borrow money through loans (a) from the Public Works Loans Board and (b) in the form of lenders option, borrowers option. | | (152556) | 71
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance her Department provides on the (a) definitions and (b) methodology for calculating the (a) regional, (b) national and (c) local need for authorised traveller site provision. | | (152557) | 72
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local referendums have been held by local authorities under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2003. | | (152558) | 73
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what role the (a) Electoral Commission, (b) Office for the Surveillance Commissioner, (c) Food Standards Agency and (d) Health and Safety Executive/Commission have in inspecting local authorities. | | (152559) | 74
N | Robert Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost was of the clear up operation to each affected local authority following recent flooding. | | (151454) | 75
N | Robert Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government provides funding to local authorities in England specifically for the maintenance of drains. | | (152054) | 76
N | Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what her response is to the recommendation made by the Williams Commission in its report, Quality First: The Commission on Design of Affordable Housing in the Thames Gateway, that the Planning Inspectorate should send a stronger message to developers and local authorities that low quality in the design of housing schemes is a legitimate basis upon which planning applications should be refused. | | (152328) | 77
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of estimated payments under her Department's private finance initiative contracts is projected to be spent on the construction of houses in each year between 2008 and 2019. | | (152475) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 78
N | Tony Baldry (Banbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department's working group on regulation and administration of on-course betting has identified those administrative functions of the National Joint Pitch Council which are not provided for in regulations under the Gambling Act 2005; and if he will make a statement. | | (152332) | 79
N | Tony Baldry (Banbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects to receive the conclusions of his Department's working group on regulation and administration of on-course betting. | | (152333) | 80
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152494) | 81
N | Mr Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much was allocated from the National Lottery to (a) the Heritage Lottery Fund and (b) UK Arts Lottery Distributors in each financial year since 1994, not including investment income. | | (152324) | 82
N | Mr Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the requirements for set-top boxes provided by the Digital Switchover Help Scheme include an on/off button; and if he will make a statement. | | (151255) | 83
N | Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of households which are capable of receiving a high quality and reliable analogue television signal but will not be capable of receiving a fully reliable digital television signal after digital switchover in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) the STV region and (c) the UK. | | (152466) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence 84
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152485) | 85
| Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, (b) the Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield and (c) others on the safety of the Trident warhead assembly/disassembly plant at Burghfield, with particular reference to (i) working practices and (ii) facilities. | | (152499) | 86
| Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date his Department received the first communication from the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate on the safety of the warhead assembly/disassembly facility at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield. | | (152503) | 87
| Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to replace the warhead assembly/disassembly facility at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield. | | (152505) | 88
| Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the merits of using (i) probabilistic risk assessments and (ii) deterministic risk assessments for assessing risk at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield; and if he will make a statement. | | (152506) | 89
N | Mr Andrew Smith (Oxford East):To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the future of the Defence Export Services Organisation. | | (151453) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 90
N | Tony Baldry (Banbury):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research he has evaluated on the use of electric shock collars on dogs; when his Department will begin such research; how much this study is expected to cost; and if he will make a statement. | | (152334) | 91
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152487) | 92
N | Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it the policy of the Government to exclude built-up areas in towns and villages from the extinguishment provisions of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and exercise his powers to that effect under Section 54. | | (152315) | 93
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to eradicate syringomyelia among pedigree dogs. | | (152478) | 94
| Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received on the eradication of syringomyelia among pedigree dogs. | | (152479) | 95
N | Robert Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency spent on drainage on each local authority area in each of the last three years. | | (151455) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 96
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152482) | 97
N | Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he made of the transition to multi-party democracy in Uganda; what reports he has received that the old one-party ideological training institute at Kyankwanzi is still used to instil the ruling National Movement Organisation political ideologies in Ugandan civil servants, police and military personnel; and if he will make a statement. | | (152151) | 98
N | Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to (a) the Answer of 16th April 2007, Official Report, column 37W, on Italy: diplomatic service, and (b) evidence taken before the Foreign Affairs Committee on 17th July 2004 from former ambassador Sir Ivor Roberts, if he will now place in the Library a copy of Sir Ivor's valedictory telegram following its circulation to about 4,000 recipients; and if he will make a statement. | | (152424) | 99
N | Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to inform the House when he (a) relaxes and (b) varies any of the sanctions against Russia to which he referred in his statement on 16th July 2007, Official Report, column 22, on Alexander Litvinenko (case update). | | (152462) | 100
N | Mr Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk):To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Iraq Commission's report on the future of British policy in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. | | (151086) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Health 101
N | Tom Brake (Carshalton & Wallington):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospitals are carrying out consultations on (a) bed closures and (b) service reductions. | | (151087) | 102
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152486) | 103
| Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to extend the consultation on the partial regulatory impact assessment on the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (England) Regulations 2007 to obtain views on a third option of fully implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions on the health, social and environmental aspects of marketing breastmilk substitutes, giving these precedence over trade considerations; and if he will make a statement. | | (152498) | 104
N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2nd October 20067, Official Report, column 2531W, on Vaccines (Sleeping Contracts), when negotiations are required to be completed with vaccine manufacturers under the procurement directives; what progress has been made in placing a sleeping contract; and if he will make a statement. | | (152327) | 105
N | Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to conduct a public debate on vaccine prioritisation in the event of an influenza pandemic, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in its meeting of 14th February 2007; and whether he plans to conduct a public debate on antiviral prioritisation in the event of an influenza pandemic. | | (152331) | 106
N | Mr Terry Rooney (Bradford North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS has responsibility under the Continuing Care Guidance to provide (a) chiropody, (b) physiotherapy, (c) speech and language therapy, (d) occupational therapy, (e) dietetic services and (f) continence services and pads in all care settings. | | (152073) | 107
N | Mr Terry Rooney (Bradford North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons guidance notes HSC2001(15): LAC(2001)18 and HSC(2003)006: LAC(2003)7 have been withdrawn. | | (152074) | 108
N | Mr Terry Rooney (Bradford North):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the guidance relating to home care to ensure that assessment of means is separate from assessment of needs has been changed. | | (152150) | 109
N | Bob Spink (Castle Point):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the additional time spent in hospital by those who contracted clostridium difficile in the last 12 months. | | (152101) | Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department 110
N | Mr Richard Benyon (Newbury):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the police investigation into the actions of James Dawute while at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has concluded. | | (152100) | 111
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if she will make a statement. | | (152484) | 112
N | Susan Kramer (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been of uninsured drivers (a) in total and (b) in each police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average penalty was in each case. | | (152152) | 113
N | Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, following the judgments in (a) Huang (FC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) Kashmiri (FC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will review its policy on deportations. | | (152109) | 114
N | Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests for extradition have been received from the Russian Federation in each of the last 10 years; and how many have been granted. | | (152463) | 115
N | Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the Russian arrested on 21st June on suspicion of conspiracy to murder was deported; and if she will make a statement. | | (152464) | 116
N | Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16th July 2007, Official Report, column 53W, on Boris Berezovsky, if she will take steps to enable parliamentary scrutiny of the decisions of the Border and Immigration Agency relating to political asylum via questions relating to individual cases; and if she will make a statement. | | (152465) | 117
N | Mr Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what requests she and her Department have received from the United States Administration for co-operation in the US Department of Justice's investigation into the Al Yamamah arms deal; and if she will make a statement. | | (151085) | 118
N | Helen Southworth (Warrington South):To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the direct financial contribution from her Department was to the Police National Missing Persons Bureau in 2006-07; and what the equivalent allocation is for 2007-08. | | (152316) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 119
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, which Bills introduced by his Department and its predecessors in areas within his Department's responsibility in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152496) | Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development 120
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152488) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice 121
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which Bills introduced by his Department and its predecessors in areas within his Department's responsibility in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152481) | 122
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners of English or Welsh origin are serving sentences in Scottish prisons. | | (152319) | 123
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners of Scottish origin are serving sentences in prisons in England and Wales, broken down by prison establishment. | | (152320) | 124
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners in each prison in Wales are registered as having a drug or alcohol problem; and how many are engaged in a rehabilitation course. | | (152321) | 125
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the report on the 12 step drug rehabilitation programme in Swansea Prison which led to its closure. | | (152322) | 126
N | Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham & Amersham):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) drug and (b) alcohol rehabilitation courses are available at each prison in England and Wales. | | (152323) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 127
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152495) | Questions to the Prime Minister 128
N | Norman Baker (Lewes):To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make an assessment of conformity of Answers he has given to Written Parliamentary Questions with Cabinet Office guidance on the matter; and if he will make a statement. | | (152108) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland 129
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152497) | Questions to the Solicitor General 130
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Solicitor General, when she will answer Question 138436, on foreign bribery, tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 16th May 2007. | | (152501) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport 131
N | Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the Oral Answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield of 17th July 2007, Official Report, columns 146-7, on Birmingham New Street, what further clarification of the further information is required from partners putting forward the redevelopment case for New Street Station; and if she will make a statement. | | (152084) | 132
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Bills introduced by her Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if she will make a statement. | | (152491) | 133
N | Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made in discussions with her EU counterparts on the Government's policy that motorists in the UK should not be required to use daytime running lights; and if she will make a statement. | | (151703) | 134
N | Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of speed humps on ambulances; and if she will make a statement. | | (151897) | 135
N | Susan Kramer (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number of motor vehicles being used on the road without (a) road tax, (b) insurance and (c) a driving licence. | | (152154) | 136
N | Susan Kramer (Richmond Park):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will estimate the average cost of car insurance to the individual. | | (152155) | 137
N | Robert Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects to announce the results of her Department's review of eligibility for the Blue Badge parking scheme. | | (152102) | 138
N | Robert Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons people with inflammatory bowel disease are not eligible for the Blue Badge parking scheme; and if she will extend eligibility for the scheme to such people. | | (152103) | 139
N | Robert Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will meet London First to discuss the impact of security arrangements at Heathrow Airport on business travellers. | | (152148) | 140
N | Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated cost was of the next best option (western route) which Lancashire County Council submitted in her Department as their major business scheme in 2005; what environmental mitigation measures were identified for this route; and what the estimated cost was of any such measures. | | (152329) | 141
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of estimated payments under her Department's private finance initiative contracts is projected to be spent on road constructions in each year between 2008 and 2019. | | (152470) | 142
| Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East):To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many roads originally built under private finance initiative contracts have had to undergo reconstruction in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost was to the public purse for the reconstruction of these roads. | | (152472) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 143
| Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. | | (152490) | 144
N | Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many incapacity benefit claimants have transferred from claiming incapacity benefit to (a) pension credit and (b) any other benefit in each month since November 2004. | | (152330) | 145
| Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness with which pension fund trustees are carrying out their functions in relation to divorcees under the new rules on pension sharing; and if he will make a statement. | | (152560) | 146
| Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of (a) the projected cost of the Financial Assistance Scheme in each of the next 30 years and (b) the additional funding required to meet his commitment on match-funding following the publication of the interim Young report. | | (152561) | 147
| Chris Grayling (Epsom & Ewell):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made (a) on an acturial basis of (i) the average life expectancy of the pensioners who are eligible for payments under the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) and (ii) the number of eligible pensioners who will not receive any compensation due to short life expectancy, (b) of the average amount of funding required to compensate each recipient of payments from the scheme and (c) of the amount of time that it will take to provide full compensation to all pensioners eligible for the FAS. | | (152562) | 148
N | Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff there were in post in each Jobcentre Plus office in Argyll and Bute at the end of each of the last five years. | | (152467) | 149
N | Mr Terry Rooney (Bradford North):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research his Department has undertaken into the employment rate of non-resident parents. | | (152072) | 150
N | Mr Terry Rooney (Bradford North):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will link the permitted work upper earnings level to the minimum wage; and if he will make a statement. | | (152149) | 151
N | Mr Mike Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance applies to engagement consultants employed by Working Links with regard to the selection of incentives offered to potential recruits under the scheme. | | (152346) | 152
N | Mr Mike Weir (Angus):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent on providing incentive vouchers for use by engagement consultants employed by Working Links to offer to potential recruits under the scheme (a) in Scotland and (b) throughout the UK since the commencement of the scheme. | | (152347) | Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer 153
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how revenue from planning gain supplement is planned to be allocated to local authorities in two-tier areas. | | [Transferred] (152522) | 154
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the likely cost of administering planning gain supplement for (a) HM Revenue and Customs, (b) the Valuation Office Agency and (c) local authorities in the first 12 months after it comes into effect. | | [Transferred] (152523) | 155
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of revenues from planning gain supplement is planned to be retained by the Government. | | [Transferred] (152525) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 156
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the percentage rate of (a) household recycling and (b) household composting was in each London borough in the most recent period for which figures are available. | | [Transferred] (152533) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice 157
| Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith):To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to implement the section of the Road Safety Act 2006 on causing death by careless driving. | | [Transferred] (152471) | Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 158
| Mrs Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what year rental valuations are based for the purpose of calculating housing benefits. | | [Transferred] (152548) |
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