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Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Tuesday 21 January 2014

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 Tuesday 21 January 2014

(the ‘Questions Book’)

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on

Tuesday 21 January 2014

This paper contains only Written Questions for answer on the date of issue of this paper of which previous notice has been given in the Notices of Questions paper.

For other Written Questions for answer on the date of this paper of which no previous notice has been given, see the Order Paper.

For Written and Oral Questions for answer on future days, see Part 2 of this paper.

Tuesday 21 January  
Questions to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
1 N
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of trends in levels of manufacturing activity in Leicester and Leicestershire.
      (183794)
2 N
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade & Investment employees based in the East Midlands were employed on attracting inward investment to Leicester in 2013.
      (183795)
3 N
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many companies registered in (a) Leicester South constituency and (b) Leicester city are classified as (i) small and (ii) medium-sized as defined by the Companies Act 1985.
      (183796)
4 N
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 821W, on higher education: private sector, how many students who had their loans halted in the academic year 2013-14 to date were from (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria.
      (183173)
5 N
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 821W, on higher education: private sector, how many students who had their loans halted in the academic year 2013-14 to date were from (a) the UK, (b) other EU countries and (c) countries outside the EU.
      (183174)
6 N
Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 821W, on higher education: private sector, who the providers were of the courses for students who had their loans halted in the academic year 2013-14.
      (183175)
7 N
Mr Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his letter to the Skills Funding Agency on funding for 2014-15 will be published; and what the reasons are for the time taken to publish that letter.
      (183729)
8 N
Mr Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge for each cohort of students entering university from 2005 to 2012.
      (183815)
9  
Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the average length of time taken by graduates to repay student loan debt under (a) the current fees and loan system and (b) its predecessor systems.
      (183932)
10 N
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award.
      (183912)
11 N
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what conditions his Department places on Post Office Ltd to provide services in the event of the retirement of a sub-postmaster.
      (183452)
12 N
Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness): To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2014, Official Report, column 330W, on National Careers Service, what estimate has been made of the proportion of careers advisers who will be qualified to level six by January 2015.
      (183903)
Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office
13 N
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations the Minister without Portfolio, the right hon. Member for Rushcliffe, received from representatives of British American Tobacco; and how many meetings he has held with such representatives since May 2010.
      (183819)
14 N
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 507W, on public sector: fraud, if he will provide details of the various data-sharing projects across government and the wider public sector that seek to access and share data in support of operational delivery, developing public services and improving efficiency; and if he will indicate how the work of each such project specifically relates to fraud.
      (183793)
15  
Julian Sturdy (York Outer): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the level of voluntary action around the safe use of Chinese lanterns.
      (183935)
16 N
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness): To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many redundancy payments were made to employees of central government departments in each of the last three years; and what the total expenditure on redundancy payments was in each such year.
      (183850)
Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer
17 N
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of credit unions offering cash ISAs; and if he will take steps to encourage credit unions to provide cash ISAs.
      (183505)
18 N
Mr Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on extending existing financial guarantees to the Energy Technologies Institute; and what recent discussions he has had about extending such guarantees.
      (183779)
19 N
Mr David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet Google to discuss the profits that company makes from copycat websites which charge for the tax return service and appear above Government department and agency websites in search results; and if he will highlight to them the importance of taking steps to ensure that websites with the .gov.uk domain are used solely for these services.
      (183801)
20 N
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with Ministers or officials from the Scottish Government on (a) new taxes and (b) devolution of taxes under provisions contained in the Scotland Act 2012 since that Act came into force.
      (183839)
21 N
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of legal action by the Government on the proposed EU cap on bankers' bonuses.
      (183840)
22 N
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) internal and (b) external legal work on the Government's court action against the EU plan to cap bonus payments in the financial industries.
      (183841)
23 N
John Mann (Bassetlaw): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what changes in business rates for power stations have been made in the last three months; and on what date those changes were published.
      (183842)
24 N
Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve enforcement of the national minimum wage.
      (183816)
Questions to the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners
25  
Tessa Munt (Wells): To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what heirlooms of the see there are in relation to the Bishop's Palace at Wells.
      (183920)
26  
Tessa Munt (Wells): To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what repairs or maintenance to the living accommodation of the Bishop of Bath and Wells in the Bishop's Palace in Wells were identified in the Church Commissioners' most recent Quinquennial Review; what the date was of that review; and what the anticipated costs were of any such repairs or maintenance.
      (183921)
27  
Tessa Munt (Wells): To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to the future of the Bishop's Palace in Wells, what consultation has taken place between the Church Commissioners and (a) English Heritage and (b) any other individual or body qualified to advise the Commissioners under section 4 of the Episcopal Endowment and Stipend Measure 1943.
      (183934)
28  
Tessa Munt (Wells): To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what consultation has taken place between the Church Commissioners and the Diocesan Advisory Committee in accordance with the terms of the Episcopal Endowment and Stipend Measure 1943 section 3(1) over the proposed new residence of the Bishop of Bath and Wells and the proposed change of use of the Bishop's Palace at Wells.
      (183937)
29  
Tessa Munt (Wells): To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 1502W, on Bishop of Bath and Wells, what estimated (a) stamp duty and (b) other associated costs will be paid by the Church Commissioners for their purchase or proposed purchase of property to accommodate the new Bishop of Bath and Wells.
      (183938)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
30  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on developing integrated risk management planning guidance since publication of the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England in July 2012; when the Integrated Risk Management Plan Steering Group has met since May 2010; and what plans he has to deliver the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England and associated risk management planning.
      (183948)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
31  
Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had to bring forward a local television licence on the freeview platform for Leicester and Leicestershire.
      (183928)
32 N
Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that housing estates sited across council boundaries have access to uniform broadband speeds.
      (183847)
33 N
Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the availability and speed of broadband in housing estates sited across council boundaries.
      (183848)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence
34 N
Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the sale of Royal Navy buildings in Greenock which were formerly occupied by the Coastguard; and if he will make a statement.
      (183775)
35 N
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in Cumbria joined the Territorial Army in each of the last five years.
      (183852)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Education
36 N
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award.
      (183910)
37 N
Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to narrow the gap between the educational achievement of children in care and other young people.
      (183777)
38 N
Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, columns 730-1W, on children in care, how many children's homes were run by (a) local authorities and (b) private or voluntary organisations in each region in each of the last five years.
      (183778)
39 N
Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 652-3W, on special educational needs, what measures his Department uses to identify best practice and value for money when collecting data.
      (183799)
40 N
Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 652-3W, on special educational needs, whether he holds any information on the numbers of First-tier Tribunal (Special Education Needs and Disability) appeals taking place in local authority areas across England.
      (183800)
41 N
John Mann (Bassetlaw): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which academy schools in Bassetlaw constituency have been referred to his Department for investigation in the last 12 months; and what the (a) reasons for and (b) outcomes of such investigations were.
      (183843)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
42  
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the UK is prepared for potential future diseases that may affect crops and livestock.
      (183966)
43  
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research his Department is currently conducting into potential diseases affecting wildlife which may arrive in the UK from overseas.
      (183967)
44  
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that the UK is prepared for the arrival from overseas of diseases affecting crops and livestock.
      (183968)
45  
Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues in other government departments regarding the use of Common Agricultural Policy Pillar 2 funding.
      (183927)
46  
Mr Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) animal feeding and (b) toxicology trials have been undertaken on golden rice according to Codex Alimentarious guidelines.
      (183971)
47  
Mr Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he made of the total cost of the development of golden rice between 2000 and 2014.
      (183972)
48  
Mr Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what human feeding trials there have been relating to golden rice; and what information has been obtained from those trials relating to the safety of that form of rice for long-term consumption.
      (183973)
49  
Henry Smith (Crawley): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what capital and revenue spend the Environment Agency has made in (a) Crawley and (b) Horsham parliamentary constituencies from May 2010 up to the latest date for which figures are available.
      (183933)
50  
Julian Sturdy (York Outer): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure people are better aware of the risks of Chinese lanterns.
      (183936)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
51  
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the UN is likely to approve a body to provide independent oversight to political reform in Bahrain following opposition to the National Commission appointed after the BICI report.
      (183923)
52 N
Chris Williamson (Derby North): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish all relevant documents outlining the extent of the UK's involvement in the 1984 Amritsar attack.
      (183797)
53 N
Chris Williamson (Derby North): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Indian government about the release of Sikh prisoners.
      (183846)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Health
54 N
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the written Answer of 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 544W, on Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, what the membership of the meningococcal sub-committee was; and who was responsible for appointment to that committee.
      (183904)
55 N
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the draft Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation minutes of 2 October 2013, was assessment has been made of how many children would be ineligible for the Bexsero vaccine under the proposed formula.
      (183905)
56 N
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings he has held with representatives of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation since 2 October 2013.
      (183906)
57 N
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of signatories to the Public Health Responsibility Deal with regard to the pledges dealing with (a) construction and civil engineering industries, (b) domestic violence, (c) improving the health of young employees, (d) mental health and well-being, (e) staff health checks and (f) smoking cessation.
      (183907)
58 N
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department as an employer has signed up to (a) the Public Health Responsibility Deal and (b) the sub-pledges regarding (i) construction and civil engineering industries, (ii) domestic violence, (iii) improving the health of young employees, (iv) mental health and well-being, (v) staff health checks and (f) smoking cessation.
      (183908)
59 N
Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West and Abingdon): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review his Department's guidance on the provision of insulin pumps on the NHS in light of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations on the use of pump therapy to treat Type 1 diabetes.
      (183817)
60 N
Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of patients waited longer than four hours to be seen in accident and emergency departments in the first week of January in each of the last five years.
      (183849)
61 N
Mr Stewart Jackson (Peterborough): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the extent and adequacy of provision of in-vitro fertilisation in (a) Peterborough constituency and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.
      (183371)
62 N
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award.
      (183909)
63 N
Lucy Powell (Manchester Central): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress he has made against his target of increasing the number of health visitors by 50 per cent by 2015.
      (183813)
64 N
Mr Steve Reed (Croydon North): To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the future of accident and emergency services at Croydon University Hospital following the withdrawal of the Better Services, Better Value proposals.
      (183693)
Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department
65 N
Mr David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will meet Google to discuss the profits they make from copycat websites which charge for passport renewals and appear above Government department and agency websites in search results.
      (183798)
66  
Richard Fuller (Bedford): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what target she has set for the uptake of the Disclosure and Barring Service's Update Service by employers and organisations; and what assessment she has made of the rate of progress towards that target.
      (183922)
67 N
Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many residential raids for immigration purposes were carried out between midnight and 8 am in the last 12 months; in how many of those cases children were expected to be present; and in how many of those cases one or more parent or guardian was removed.
      (183730)
68  
Christopher Pincher (Tamworth): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to ensure proper use of Government procurement cards in her Department; and what system is in place to prevent abuse of such cards.
      (183931)
69 N
Mr Steve Reed (Croydon North): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects all claims made under the Riots Damages Act 1886, following the riots in summer 2011, to be settled.
      (183694)
70  
Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on an unannounced inspection of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre on 5 to 16 August 2013, what assessment she has made of that report; and whether, and to what timescale, her Department will implement the recommendations in the report.
      (183953)
71  
Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on an unannounced inspection of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre on 5 to 16 August 2013, what steps her Department plans to take to improve scrutiny of GEO Group UK Ltd management of Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre.
      (183954)
Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development
72 N
Mr Jim Murphy (East Renfrewshire): To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what aid the Government gives to countries with laws that discriminate against homosexuality.
      (183902)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice
73 N
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award.
      (183913)
74  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost is to the Probation Service in England and Wales of supervising a person on licence for (a) 12, (b) 24 and (c) 36 months.
      (183946)
75 N
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions were brought under the Data Protection Act 1998 in relation to unsolicited telephone calls in each of the last five years.
      (183853)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport
76 N
Mary Creagh (Wakefield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Learn Direct will receive compensation following the legal challenge by Pearson Driving Assessments to the awarding of the theory test contract.
      (183818)
77 N
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether further changes will be made to the HS2 Phase one Environmental Statement in the event of mistakes of fact being identified in that document.
      (183728)
78 N
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what terms of reference were used by his Department in selecting a preferred candidate for the role of Independent Assessor with responsibility for reviewing contributions made to the Phase 1 HS2 Environmental Statement consultation.
      (183773)
79 N
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who has been chosen to act as Independent Assessor in respect of the current Phase 1 HS2 Environmental Statement consultation; whether his Department chose the candidates to fulfil the role of Independent Assessor; and what compensation is payable to the Independent Assessor.
      (183774)
80  
Sir Nick Harvey (North Devon): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the draft scope for the A303 feasibility study.
      (183926)
81 N
Julie Hilling (Bolton West): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the recent Request for Proposals to Northern Rail included an option for modern or refurbished electric rolling stock.
      (183844)
82 N
Julie Hilling (Bolton West): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether additional electric rolling stock will be fully operational in passenger service in the North West before the December 2014 timetable change.
      (183845)
83 N
Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many unfilled coastguard vacancies there are at Belfast Coastguard station.
      (183776)
84 N
John Mann (Bassetlaw): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what occasions since May 2010 disaster planning arrangements have been initiated as a result of an aeroplane having difficulty landing at UK airports.
      (183820)
85 N
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether specifications for the replacement of Northern and Transpennine franchises will require prospective operators to maintain or improve (a) station staffing levels and (b) ticket office provision and opening hours.
      (183854)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
86 N
Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Mr Wetherick of Christchurch will receive a decision from the Atos Medical Service Centre in Bristol as to whether he needs a medical assessment following the referral of his case by his Department on 16 May 2013; and when he expects Mr Wetherick's benefit application to be resolved.
      (183731)
87  
Mr Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he takes to ensure that there are not discrepancies between the number of people (a) paid employment and support allowance and (b) the number that work capability providers are paid to assess.
      (183955)
88  
Mr Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he takes to ensure that his Department's contracted providers do not charge for work capability assessments or work programme placements which people do not attend as they are no longer claiming benefit.
      (183956)
89 N
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's 10 largest contracts let since the financial year 2010-11 are; what savings have been made in such contracts; what the level of overspend or underspend was in each such contract; and what steps his Department has taken to monitor the performance of each supplier of such contract following the contract award.
      (183911)
90  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition he uses for (a) expectations for sanctions referrals and (b) targets for Jobcentre Plus staff.
      (183945)
91  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his assessment of the effectiveness of the Work Programme will include (a) data on claimants returning to Jobcentre services and (b) a survey of the experiences of those completing the Work Programme.
      (183947)
92  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of correlation between increased sanctioning and (a) jobseeking success rates, (b) incidents of abuse and assaults committed against staff in jobcentres and (c) referrals of claimants to foodbanks.
      (183949)
93  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance and support his Department provides to people assessed as fit for work by ATOS and declined employment support allowance whilst awaiting reconsideration.
      (183950)
94  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's statistics on sanctions published on 6 November 2013, if he will provide a breakdown of those statistics by (a) region and (b) equality groups as proportion of the claimant count.
      (183969)
95  
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) employment and support allowance hardship claims have been made since July 2012.
      (183970)
96 N
Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the current performance of the Work Programme.
      (183814)
97 N
Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the cost to (a) the Exchequer and (b) individual incomes if eligibility for universal credit were established using gross rather than net income.
      (183772)
98 N
Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were seconded from the private sector to his Department in each of the last six years.
      (183789)
99 N
Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on boosting the literacy and numeracy of jobseekers in each Government Office region in each of the last six years.
      (183790)
100 N
Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether, in a case where a Work Programme participant has an appointment with a provider but then agrees with the provider to attend at a different date, and does so, the provider should make a report which could lead to a benefit sanction; and if he will make a statement.
      (183791)
101 N
Stephen Timms (East Ham): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseekers received a sanction from Jobcentre Plus in each of the last five years; and how many such sanctions were initiated by a report from a private-sector provider.
      (183792)
102 N
John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time vacancies were advertised in Jobcentre Plus in Barrow and Furness constituency in each quarter in each of the last five years.
      (183851)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
103 N
Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help resolve the ongoing conflict in South Sudan; and if he will make a statement.
   [Question Unstarred]  (902086)

Prepared 21st January 2014