Session 2015-16
Publications on the internet
The Questions Book
Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Tuesday 2 June 2015
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 2 June 2015
(the ‘Questions Book’)
Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on
Tuesday 2 June 2015
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.
Questions to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
1
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many retail and commercial enterprise apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(461)
2
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many leisure, travel and tourism apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(462)
3
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many information and communication technology apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(463)
4
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many health, public service and care apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(464)
5
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many engineering and manufacturing technologies apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(465)
6
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many education and training apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(466)
7
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many construction, planning and the built environment apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(467)
8
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many business, administration and law apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(468)
9
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many arts, media and publishing apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(469)
10
Diana Johnson
(Kingston upon Hull North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many agriculture, horticulture and animal care apprenticeships were completed at (a) intermediate, (b) advanced and (c) higher level in each region of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
(470)
11
N
Conor McGinn
(St Helens North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department's industrial strategy is for (a) Merseyside and (b) the North West.
(427)
Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office
12
Paul Flynn
(Newport West):
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require think tanks to disclose their sources of funding.
(511)
13
Emily Thornberry
(Islington South and Finsbury):
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 483W, on voter identification, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals during the course of the current Parliament to require voters to produce photographic identification at polling stations.
(516)
Questions to Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer
14
Richard Burden
(Birmingham, Northfield):
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of call-handling by HM Revenue and Customs.
(512)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
15
N
Grahame Morris
(Easington):
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to make a decision on the appeal relating to a planning application for a facility at Grimston, Yorkshire for the breeding of dogs and other animals for laboratory use; and if he will make a statement.
(341)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
16
N
Conor McGinn
(St Helens North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has for the promotion and development of rugby league.
(426)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence
17
Vernon Coaker
(Gedling):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to consult (a) the public, (b) the defence industry and (c) academics on the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review.
(494)
18
N
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Statement of 28 May 2015 on Safety at HM Naval Base Clyde, what disciplinary procedures Able Seaman William McNeilly may face over potential breaches of security at HM Naval Base Clyde.
(429)
19
N
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Statement of 28 May 2015 on safety at HM Naval Base Clyde, which of Able Seaman William McNeilly's concerns proved to be accurate; and what steps were taken in response.
(430)
20
N
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Statement of 28 May 2015 on safety at HM Naval Base Clyde, what the terms of reference are for the investigation into the alleged use of e-cigarettes on an active Vanguard submarine; and when this investigation will conclude.
(431)
21
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to investigate allegations that the wreck of the battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary has been looted by salvors operating illegally.
(509)
22
N
Conor McGinn
(St Helens North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what organisations in each region have benefitted from the Armed Forces Covenant (Libor) Fund; and how much each such organisation has received.
(428)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Education
23
N
Tristram Hunt
(Stoke-on-Trent Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.2 of Free Schools: how to apply, published by her Department in February 2015, what definition her Department uses for the term, local demand for new provision.
(339)
24
N
Tristram Hunt
(Stoke-on-Trent Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.2 of Free Schools: how to apply, published by her Department in February 2015, what definition her Department uses for the term, need for pupil places.
(340)
25
N
Tristram Hunt
(Stoke-on-Trent Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department calculates areas of high and severe need for primary school places.
(398)
26
N
Tristram Hunt
(Stoke-on-Trent Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many places were created by the free schools programme in (a) wave 1, (b) wave 2, (c) wave 3, (d) wave 4, (e) wave 5, (f) wave 6, (g) wave 7 and (h) wave 8; and what number and proportion of such places have been created in areas of high and severe need for primary school places.
(399)
27
N
Tristram Hunt
(Stoke-on-Trent Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish forecasts for the demand for (a) primary school places and (b) secondary school places in each local authority area in each of the next five years.
(400)
28
N
Rachael Maskell
(York Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidelines her Department has issued on how a consultation under sections 5(1) and 5(2) of the Academies Act 2010 should be undertaken.
(421)
29
N
Rachael Maskell
(York Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that when a significant proportion of (a) parents and (b) staff oppose a proposed conversion of a school to academy status, that proposal should fall.
(422)
30
N
Rachael Maskell
(York Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will issue directions to the governing bodies of schools planning to convert to academy status to require them to publish the outcome of their consultation on that proposal before they make a decision on the proposal.
(423)
31
N
Rachael Maskell
(York Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what grounds parents can object to a consultation process on converting a school to academy status when they do not consider that the consultation is posing relevant questions or adequately seeking opinion; and by what process such an objection can be made.
(424)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
32
N
Sue Hayman
(Workington):
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department's policy is on the foreign ownership of (a) new nuclear reactors and (b) other new energy infrastructure in the UK.
(417)
33
N
Sue Hayman
(Workington):
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations her Department has received from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on plutonium disposition in the last five years; and if she will publish the documents on that issue submitted to her Department in that period.
(418)
34
N
Sue Hayman
(Workington):
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will prioritise supply chains and the creation of jobs as close as possible to any future development of (a) nuclear infrastructure and (b) renewable energy sources.
(419)
35
N
Sue Hayman
(Workington):
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have had on the future of the Magnox site at Bradwell in the last three years.
(420)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
36
N
Debbie Abrahams
(Oldham East and Saddleworth):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of seals killed off the coast of the UK in each year since 2010.
(393)
37
Jim Fitzpatrick
(Poplar and Limehouse):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on commencing field trials for a cattle vaccine for bovine TB.
(471)
38
Jim Fitzpatrick
(Poplar and Limehouse):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has held with other EU member states in which bovine TB occurs on establishing joint research on a TB vaccine for cattle.
(472)
39
Jim Fitzpatrick
(Poplar and Limehouse):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the most recent update of the tentative timeline for possible use of a vaccine against bovine TB in the EU as set out by the EU Commissioners in January 2013.
(473)
40
Susan Elan Jones
(Clwyd South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of seals killed by the British fishing industry in the last 12 months.
(478)
41
Susan Elan Jones
(Clwyd South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to encourage the use of non-lethal seal deterrents on the coast.
(479)
42
Toby Perkins
(Chesterfield):
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the effectiveness and adequacy of current legislation on the protection and conservation of seals.
(475)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
43
N
Mr Jim Cunningham
(Coventry South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the political situation in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.
(327)
44
N
Dan Jarvis
(Barnsley Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect international religious freedom and reduce global religious persecution.
(433)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Health
45
N
Luciana Berger
(Liverpool, Wavertree):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of implementing in full the guidance issued by NICE in 2013 on in-vitro fertilisation; and on what basis of calculation that estimate was reached.
(434)
46
N
Luciana Berger
(Liverpool, Wavertree):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to reduce geographical inequalities in provision of in-vitro fertilisation treatment.
(435)
47
N
Luciana Berger
(Liverpool, Wavertree):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue guidance to parents and teachers warning them of the dangers of the internet dare known as the paracetemol challenge, in which children reportedly attempt to consume larger quantities of that medication.
(436)
48
N
Luciana Berger
(Liverpool, Wavertree):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment he has made of the speed with which (a) GPs in the UK and (b) their equivalents in other countries refer patients who might have cancer; and what steps he is taking to speed up cancer referrals.
(437)
49
N
Luciana Berger
(Liverpool, Wavertree):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of self-harm amongst children and young people.
(438)
50
Jeremy Lefroy
(Stafford):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-UK nationals accessed NHS services in England in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; how many such nationals were charged for those services in each of those years; and how much revenue the NHS raised from those charges in each of those years.
(517)
51
N
Jesse Norman
(Hereford and South Herefordshire):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential for virtual wards to improve health care delivery.
(900002)
Questions to the Secretary of State for the Home Department
52
Mr David Anderson
(Blaydon):
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the planned legislative proposals on tackling extremism and terrorism, what the Government's definition is of extremism.
(480)
53
Mr David Anderson
(Blaydon):
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to include provisions in the planned legislative proposals on tackling extremism and terrorism to ensure that statements which are based on fact or evidence will not be classed as extremist.
(481)
54
N
Mr Jim Cunningham
(Coventry South):
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress has been made by investigations into cases of historical child abuse.
(326)
55
Kwasi Kwarteng
(Spelthorne):
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle Security Industry Authority licences being issued fraudulently.
(474)
Questions to the Secretary of State for International Development
56
N
Dan Jarvis
(Barnsley Central):
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is offering to Nepal after the recent earthquakes in that country.
(432)
57
Jeremy Lefroy
(Stafford):
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support immunisation programmes in developing countries.
(477)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Justice
58
Mr David Anderson
(Blaydon):
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 18 March 2015 to Question 227319, for what reasons Sodexo has increased the number of mainstream prisoners housed with sex offenders in a one-house block.
(476)
59
N
Bridget Phillipson
(Houghton and Sunderland South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 24 February 2015 to Question 225118, what progress the court reform programme has made in the rebuilding of Sunderland Court.
(299)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
60
N
Mr Ivan Lewis
(Bury South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with parties represented in the Northern Ireland Executive on the consequences of failure to pass the Welfare Reform Bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(450)
61
N
Mr Ivan Lewis
(Bury South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the failure to pass the Welfare Reform Bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly; and if she will make a statement.
(451)
62
N
Mr Ivan Lewis
(Bury South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent steps she has taken to encourage inward investment in Northern Ireland.
(452)
Questions to the Prime Minister
63
Paul Flynn
(Newport West):
To ask the Prime Minister, what his policy is on the number of recommendations for the creation of new peerages that he intends to propose to Her Majesty during the course of the present Parliament.
(518)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport
64
N
Mr Jim Cunningham
(Coventry South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations his Department has received from local residents' groups on High Speed 2.
(323)
65
N
Mr Jim Cunningham
(Coventry South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the total cost of High Speed 2.
(324)
66
N
Mr Jim Cunningham
(Coventry South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's estimate is of the (a) commencement and (b) completion dates for construction of Phase 1 of High Speed 2.
(325)
67
N
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
(Chesham and Amersham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish a list of all properties on phase 1 of High Speed 2 which lie (a) within 300 metres, (b) between 300 and 500 metres and (c) between 500 and 1,000 metres of the route where it is constructed from the surface in (i) Chesham and Amersham and (ii) Aylesbury.
(401)
68
N
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
(Chesham and Amersham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the report from the Davies Commission on airport capacity will be published.
(402)
69
N
Mrs Cheryl Gillan
(Chesham and Amersham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Residents' Commissioner at HS2 Ltd will produce her first quarterly report.
(403)
70
N
Lilian Greenwood
(Nottingham South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many outstanding disputes there are with train operating companies over payments relating to the decision to hold regulated fares increases at RPI in 2014 and 2015.
(394)
71
N
Lilian Greenwood
(Nottingham South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the maximum speed of bi-modal IEP trains in regular service will be when they are running on diesel power.
(395)
72
N
Lilian Greenwood
(Nottingham South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to issue East Midlands Trains' Direct Award; and when he expects to make a decision on the rolling stock that will be used on the Midland Main Line once electrification works are completed.
(396)
73
N
Lilian Greenwood
(Nottingham South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of (a) Reading Station Area Redevelopment, (b) East West Rail Phase 1 and Phase 2, (c) the Northern Hub, (d) TransPennine electrification, (e) Great Western Main Line electrification, (f) Midland Main Line electrification, (g) South Wales Main Line electrification, (h) Valley Lines electrification, (i) Southampton Port to Basingstoke DC to AC conversion and (j) Oxford to Leamington Spa electrification.
(397)
74
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what settlement his Department has arrived at with unsuccessful bidders for the salvage contract for SS Gairsoppa.
(510)
75
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what complaints were received by his Department from unsuccessful bidders for the salvage contract for SS Gairsoppa.
(513)
76
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any officials in his Department have been subject to disciplinary procedures regarding the awarding and management of the salvage contract for SS Gairsoppa agreed between his Department and Odyssey Marine Exploration.
(514)
77
Mr Kevan Jones
(North Durham):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to recover outstanding money owed by Odyssey Marine Exploration to his Department regarding the salvage contract for SS Gairsoppa; and how much remains unpaid.
(515)
78
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the expected availability of qualified maritime (a) surveyors and (b) inspectors over the next five years.
(454)
79
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average age is of (a) inspectors and (b) surveyors employed in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and how many staff employed in each position will reach 65 years of age within the next five years.
(455)
80
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new employment contract for maritime surveyors employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA); what consultancy fees were paid by the MCA in drawing up that contract; what consultation was undertaken with MCA staff on that contract; and when that contract will come into effect.
(456)
81
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the role of his Department was in the design of the new employment contract for maritime surveyors and inspectors employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and what impact assessment his Department has made of the provision to end the contractual commitment to provide out of hours contact.
(457)
82
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) targets were for ship (a) survey and (b) inspection work in each of the last 10 years; and what the MCA's performance was against each such target in each of those years.
(458)
83
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's ship (a) survey and (b) inspection work was completed by classification societies in each of the last 10 years.
(459)
84
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency paid to classification societies in each of the last 10 years; and for what categories of work these payments were made in each of those years.
(460)
85
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the vacancy rate was for maritime (a) surveyors and (b) inspectors in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in (i) the most recent period for which figures are available and (ii) each of the last 10 years.
(482)
86
Ian Lavery
(Wansbeck):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many maritime (a) surveyors and (b) inspectors have (i) left and (ii) joined the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each of the last 10 years.
(483)
87
N
Conor McGinn
(St Helens North):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of running a proportion of direct train services from London to Liverpool through (a) Newton-le-Willows, (b) Earlestown and (c) St Helens Junction.
(425)
88
N
Bridget Phillipson
(Houghton and Sunderland South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 26 February 2015 to Question 225524, what progress KPMG has made in its review of the bus market.
(282)
89
N
Bridget Phillipson
(Houghton and Sunderland South):
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the Government's policy is on plans by the North East Combined Authority to implement a quality contract scheme for bus services in the Tyne and Wear area.
(283)
Questions to the Secretary of State for Health
90
N
Mr Peter Bone
(Wellingborough):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to improve A&E provision in North Northamptonshire.
[Question Unstarred]
(900013)