House of Commons

Session 1999-2000 Publications on the internet The Order Book

Part 1: Written Questions for Answer on Thursday 20 April 2000 Here you can browse the Written Questions for answer on Thursday 20 April, of which previous notice has been given in the Notices of Questions paper. They are arranged in alphabetical order of answering Department.

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.

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THURSDAY 20th APRIL
1	Mr David Curry (Skipton and Ripon):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what information was provided to regional service centres in December 1999 to assist them in responding to inquiries about the withdrawal of organophosphate sheep dips; and on what date the advice was received by each centre.
	(120074)
2	Mr Gwyn Prosser (Dover):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his Answer of 1st March, Official Report, column 286W, on live animal exports, from which counties in England and Wales the sheep removed from consignments of slaughter/further fattening sheep in 1999 by his staff at Dover port originated; and how many originated from each of those counties.
	(120077)
3   N	Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will publish the results of the GM trials involving grainseed; and if he will make a statement.
	(119785)
4	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department, in terms of salary payments, which would result from an increase of the minimium wage for all age groups to (a) £4, (b) £4.20 and (c) £4.50 per hour.
	(120246)
5	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment he has made of the impact of the climate change levy on each sector of the agriculture industry.
	(120278)
6	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what assessment he has made of the impact of the climate change levy on the fish-processing sector; what compliance costs the sector will face; what assistance will be offered to this sector; and what derogations are (a) in place and (b) under negotiation.
	(120245)
7	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what compliance costs in relation to the climate change levy face each sector of the agricultural industry; and what assistance is being offered to each sector.
	(120244)
8	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what purposes her Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120323)
9   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list the number and value of (a) bids and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which her Department is responsible.
	(119802)
10   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which her Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119794)
11   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list gross expenditure on the Government Car Service in 1999-2000.
	(120058)
12   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the objectives are of the Cabinet Office new accommodation project.
	(120026)
13   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings she has had with the Prime Minister to discuss the work of the Performance and Innovation Unit on management of cross-cutting policies.
	(119953)
14   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make a statement on the role of the International Consultancy Group within the Centre for Management and Policy Studies.
	(120022)
15   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will give details of the financial support provided by her Department for programmes designed to reduce the use of drugs in prisons.
	(119959)
16   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make a statement on the work of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies.
	(119935)
17   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings she has had with the Prime Minister in the current year to discuss the work of the Social Exclusion Unit.
	(119956)
18   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when she proposes to give statutory backing to the Civil Service Code.
	(120025)
19   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans she has to review the operation of regulatory impact assessments.
	(119936)
20   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list the targets she has set concerning the on-line availability of government services.
	(119967)
21   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Cabinet Office Staff at Grade 7 and above are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled.
	(120027)
22   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what targets are to be set for reducing the use of drugs in prisons; and what specific measures relate to those targets.
	(119930)
23   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the timetable is for future option studies for executive agencies and NDPBs.
	(120008)
24   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list the foreign visits taken by Ministers on which they were accompanied by a special adviser since May 1997.
	(119933)
25   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list the meetings she has had in pursuance of her role as Chair of the Ministerial Group on Rural Affairs.
	(119964)
26   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will (a) list the targets set by her Department and (b) make a statement on her Department's work to meet the targets.
	(119951)
27   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost of the Government Information and Communications Service Media Monitoring Unit was in 1999-2000.
	(120013)
28   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations she has received in relation to her role as Chair of the Ministerial Group on Rural Affairs concerning the loss of banking and postal services in rural areas.
	(119981)
29   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of government services are currently available on-line through the Internet.
	(119934)
30   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost or net revenue of the International Consultancy Group within the Centre for Management and Policy Studies is planned to be in the current financial year.
	(120023)
31   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many departments have reported on their regulatory performance in departmental reports published in April 2000 in terms agreed with the Regulatory Impact Unit.
	(120011)
32   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings she has had in the last year with prison governors on the reduction of drug use in prisons.
	(119961)
33   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will publish the departmental action plans for corporate human resource systems intended to follow up the Modernising Government White Paper.
	(120007)
34   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many press officers are employed in the Cabinet Office; and how many were employed in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98 and (c) 1998-99.
	(119977)
35   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will publish the 3rd, 4th and 5th waves of quantitative research carried out through the People's Panel.
	(120009)
36   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money was spent on advertising by the Cabinet Office in (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98, (d) 1998-99 and (e) 1999-2000.
	(119974)
37   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the (a) number and (b) cost of foreign visits undertaken by special advisers within her Department since May 1997.
	(119932)
38   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what financial and logistical support the Cabinet Office has provided for drug action teams.
	(119960)
39   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress is being made by the Government in establishing a baseline figure from which progress in meeting its targets on reducing drug abuse among young people can be measured.
	(119958)
40   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will list the additional functions to be carried out consequent upon the planned increase in Civil Service staff in her Department between 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
	(120012)
41   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Government is making on its targets for reducing drug abuse by young people.
	(119975)
42   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings she has had with the National Farmers Union as part of her duties as Chair of the Ministerial Group on Rural Affairs.
	(119937)
43   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what public speaking engagements have been undertaken by special advisers within her Department in each of the last three years.
	(119968)
44   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings she has had with Ministerial colleagues to discuss the increase in the overall running costs of government departments.
	(119955)
45   N	Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times press officers have accompanied Ministers on foreign visits in each of the past three years.
	(119931)
46   N	Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will examine the (a) practicability and (b) cost of collecting TV licence fees with the council tax.
	(119818)
47	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120324)
48   N	Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will announce the preferred developer of the Stonehenge visitor centre; and if he will make a statement.
	(119786)
49   N	Mr Robert Key (Salisbury):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will list the properties in Countess Road, Amesbury (a) which have been purchased on behalf of English Heritage and (b) on which there is an option to purchase on behalf of English Heritage; and if he will make a statement.
	(119787)
50   N	Sir Brian Mawhinney (North West Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Right honourable Member for North West Cambridgeshire will receive a substantive response to his letter of 28th January on behalf of his constituent, Mr Aylin.
	(120021)
51	Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when locomotives based in the National Railway Museum were last out on the Colne to Preston line.
	(120326)
52   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) in total and (b) in addition to currently-planned expenditure it would cost in (i) the UK and (ii) Scotland to give free TV licences to households headed by someone aged over 65 years.
	(119983)
53   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what will be the cost of establishing the free television licence scheme for people aged over 75 years; and how much it will cost to administer in the first full year of operation.
	(119939)
54	Mr Martin Bell (Tatton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the causes of the uncommanded flying control movements that have been reported on Chinook aircraft since 1994.
	(120103)
55	Mr Martin Bell (Tatton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what visual flying rules applied to support helicopters in June 1994.
	(120102)
56	Mr Martin Bell (Tatton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide details of the indicated airspeed of RAF Chinook 2D576 during the last 40 seconds of flight as it approached the Mull of Kintyre on 2nd June 1994.
	(120101)
57	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120322)
58   N	Mr Mark Oaten (Winchester):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what public access conditions have been agreed in relation to the sale of the remembrance garden at Serle's House.
	(119822)
59	Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the authorities in the United States which his Department consulted in order to draft paragraph 12 on United Kingdom-United States barter arrangements for plutonium transfers, contained in the report United Kingdom's Defence Nuclear Programme, published on 14th April.
	(120253)
60   N	Mr Simon Thomas (Ceredigion):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many posts at the DERA establishment in Aberporth, Ceredigion will (a) transfer to NewDera and (b) be retained within his Department as a result of his proposals in the public/private partnership consultation document.
	(119984)
61	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the cost to salaries paid by his Department of an increase in the national minimum wage to all age groups to (a) £4, (b) £4.20 and (c) £4.50 an hour.
	(120234)
62   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take in respect of (a) British military personnel serving in Zimbabwe and (b) Zimbabwean military personnel receiving training in the UK.
	(119866)
63	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the total cost of RAF aircraft maintenance and spares for the last year for which figures are available.
	(120277)
64	Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will consult internet companies about providing educational assistance for children unable to take part in mainstream education.
	(120199)
65	Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how he intends to make further use of information and communication technologies in the education of children unable to attend mainstream schooling through (a) disability, (b) illness, (c) behavioural problems and (d) neglect.
	(120196)
66	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120321)
67	Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many former grant maintained schools have sought financial contributions from the parents; and how much has thereby been raised since 1998.
	(120260)
68	Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many former grant maintained schools have (a) used and (b) exhausted their reserves since 1998.
	(120259)
69	Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how much each local education authority has spent per sixth form pupil in each of the last five years.
	(120256)
70	Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what was the average amount received by (a) former grant maintained primary schools and (b) former grant maintained secondary schools as a result of cash protection in 1999-2000 expressed (i) in cash terms and (ii) on a per pupil basis.
	(120257)
71	Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many (a) teachers and (b) classroom support staff have been employed by (i) former grant maintained primary schools and (ii) former grant maintained secondary schools in each of the last five years.
	(120258)
72	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, when the Sure Start Plus scheme will start; and if he will make a statement.
	(120120)
73	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what plans he has to increase the funding of education for three year olds in areas of need outside the inner cities.
	(120122)
74	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what assessment he has made of the availability of funding from his Department for three year olds in (a) the maintained and (b) the voluntary sectors.
	(120138)
75	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, when the next round of applications for Sure Start schemes will be announced.
	(120121)
76   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119801)
77   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119792)
78	Mr Stephen Hesford (Wirral West):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many schools will benefit from the New Deal for Schools in 2000-01.
	(120084)
79   N	Mr Robert Jackson (Wantage):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, if he will list those who responded to the consultation exercise, Ingredients for Success.
	(119464)
80   N	Mr Robert Jackson (Wantage):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, when he plans to make regulations and issue guidelines about minimum nutritional standards in school meals; and if he will make a statement.
	(119465)
81   N	Mr Robert Jackson (Wantage):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what measures he plans to put in place to monitor the operation of, and enforce the guidelines for, minimum nutritional standards in schools.
	(119501)
82   N	Mr Robert Jackson (Wantage):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, which foodstuffs listed in the guidelines for minimum nutritional standards in schools contain iron, zinc, selenium and protein.
	(119502)
83   N	Sir Brian Mawhinney (North West Cambridgeshire):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, when the Right honourable Member for North West Cambridgeshire will receive a substantive response to his letter of 16th February on behalf of his constituent, Mr Holmes.
	(120020)
84	Mr Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what procedure is followed in cases where a jobseeker and an employment office cannot reach agreement on the details of a jobseeker's agreement; and if he will make a statement.
	(120081)
85	Jackie Ballard (Taunton):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what plans he has to provide a statutory framework for the UK biodiversity action plans.
	(120210)
86	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120320)
87	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what funding sources are available to small pockets of deprivation outside the inner cities.
	(120124)
88	Paul Flynn (Newport West):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what plans he has to ban the use of bull bars on public roads.
	(120281)
89   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids for and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119798)
90   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119793)
91   N	Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make a statement on his policy relating to monitoring severance payments made to council officials.
	(119859)
92   N	Mr Damian Green (Ashford):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many submissions he received in response to the consultation paper on high hedges; and if he will make a statement.
	(119861)
93	Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many foreign Fifth Freedom carriers operate from the UK to the US; and if he will make a statement.
	(120085)
94	Mr David Lidington (Aylesbury):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what assumptions he made about the number of asylum seekers living in South East England when he prepared his response to the Crow Report.
	(120255)
95	Mr Peter L. Pike (Burnley):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what percentage of motorway route miles in England are unlit; what plans he has to increase the provision of motorway lighting; and if he will make a statement.
	(120080)
96	Mr Peter L. Pike (Burnley):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many people have been killed in road accidents on motorway hard shoulders in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
	(120078)
97	Mr Peter L. Pike (Burnley):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what percentage of (a) London Underground and (b) Railtrack stations have disabled access; what steps are being taken to increase the provision; and if he will make a statement.
	(120079)
98	Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what payments regime applies in respect of airlines using the National Air Traffic Service; what changes to such payments are proposed in advance of the Transport Bill being enacted; and if he will make a statement.
	(120325)
99	Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will instruct the Highways Agency to prepare plans for noise pollution barriers on the section of the M62 adjoining to Bradley Wood, Huddersfield.
	(120129)
100	Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what steps he is taking to ensure that noise pollution caused by motorways is reduced.
	(120128)
101	Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what arrangements he has made with the Highways Agency to increase sound pollution barriers when stretches of existing motorways are (a) upgraded and (b) modified.
	(120130)
102	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120311)
103	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what are the results of the review by the Inland Revenue of the income drawdown arrangements for annuities; and if he will make a statement.
	(120201)
104   N	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will give the employment rate for people of working age for each quarter since 1997 in each of the Merseyside constituencies.
	(119820)
105   N	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if in (a) the initial determination and (b) each subsequent determination of a working families tax credit claim the (i) number and (ii) age of children is checked against child benefit records.
	(120054)
106   N	Sir Brian Mawhinney (North West Cambridgeshire):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason he raised fuel duty by 3.4 per cent. in his recent budget.
	(119992)
107   N	Sir Brian Mawhinney (North West Cambridgeshire):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the inflation rate he has assumed for September 2000 differs from the target inflation rate he has set for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.
	(119993)
108   N	Sir Brian Mawhinney (North West Cambridgeshire):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what basis he has estimated that the inflation rate will be 3.4 per cent. in September 2000.
	(119994)
109   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the additional cost to his Department's salary bill if the minimum wage for all age groups was raised to (a) £4, (b) £4.20 and (c) £4.50 an hour.
	(119973)
110   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the additional personal tax revenue if the minimum wage was set for all age groups at (a) £4, (b) £4.20 and (c) £4.50 per hour in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.
	(119972)
111	Mr Alan Simpson (Nottingham South):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the level of capital investment in (a) oil and gas extraction, (b) other energy and water supply, (c) manufacturing, (d) distribution, (e) hotel and catering, (f) financial business services, (g) transport, (h) communications and (i) private dwellings since 1988.
	(120242)
112   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the additional revenue to the UK from (a) raising the ceiling on national insurance for employers to £1,000 a week and (b) charging national insurance at a rate of 5 per cent. for earnings over this level.
	(119969)
113   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the forecast additional spending on working families tax credit will be spent on recipients who would have (a) been entitled and (b) not been entitled to family credit in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02.
	(119947)
114   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many calls have been made to the WFTC helpline in each month since it was established.
	(119946)
115   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase the level of interest paid on backdated national insurance contribution rebates.
	(119940)
116   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are in contracted out money purchase pension schemes that are owed backdated national insurance contribution rebates.
	(119941)
117   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money is owed in backdated national insurance contribution rebates to contracted out money purchase pension schemes; and what arrangements have been made to make these backdated payments.
	(119942)
118   N	Mr Tony Worthington (Clydebank and Milngavie):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which countries have already received debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries 2 programme; how much they have received; what progress is being made to relieve debt; and when the debt relief will be received.
	(118981)
119   N	Mr Tony Worthington (Clydebank and Milngavie):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which aspects of the Cologne G7 Summit agreement on debt relief have not been implemented by (a) the IMF, (b) the World Bank and (c) individual countries.
	(118982)
120   N	Mr Tony Worthington (Clydebank and Milngavie):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on establishing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Trust Fund; and what contributions have been made by (a) national and (b) international donors.
	(118983)
121   N	Mr Tony Worthington (Clydebank and Milngavie):    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proposals he has for improving the speed and performance of the IMF implementation process of the heavily indebted poor countries initiatives.
	(118984)
122   N	Mr John Bercow (Buckingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 10th April, Official Report, column 77W, on the European Union, if he will list the responses referred to in his reply to Question number 118022; how many leaflets have yet to be distributed; what was the printing cost for the undistributed leaflets; and what analysis he has made of the cause of the small number of responses.
	(119863)
123	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120319)
124   N	Dr Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Inverclyde):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what was the sale price of the Ambassador's residence in Sandycove, Dublin; what was the purchase price of the house in Rathfarnham, Dublin, which is to be used as the Ambassador's residence; and if he will make a statement.
	(119326)
125	Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of the Gambia with regard to the recent deaths of demonstrators in pro-democracy marches.
	(120303)
126	Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Indian Government concerning the recent caste-related violence aimed at the Dalit community.
	(120300)
127	Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what communications have been received by the (a) scientific and (b) atomic energy counsellors in the British Embassy in Washington DC since May 1997, from the (i) United States Department of Energy and (ii) other U.S. nuclear authorities, in respect of the agreements affecting plutonium exported from the United Kingdom to the United States and the use to which that material has been put.
	(120252)
128   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take with respect to the granting of export licences for military materials to Zimbabwe.
	(119864)
129   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Primary Care Group Board members are from the Professions Allied to Medicine.
	(120064)
130   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Answer of 16th March, Official Report, column 306W, for what reason the completion of equal opportunities forms by Primary Care Group Board members is not compulsory; and if he will make their completion compulsory.
	(120061)
131   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) health visitors, (b) school nurses and (c) district nurses are currently in training; and what numbers in training are planned for 2001-02.
	(120060)
132   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the breakdown was by ethnic origin of health visitors employed in London by NHS trusts in each of the last four years.
	(120063)
133   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) health visitors and (b) district nurses are aged 55 years old and over; and what proportion of the current workforce in each case they represent.
	(120006)
134   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the breakdown is by (a) gender and (b) ethnic origin of the newly-appointed nurse consultants.
	(120005)
135   N	John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Primary Care Group Board members are nurses, midwives or health visitors from ethnic minority backgrounds.
	(120062)
136	Dr Peter Brand (Isle of Wight):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many speech therapists are employed by region; and how many vacancies there are for speech therapists.
	(120308)
137	Dr Peter Brand (Isle of Wight):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many speech therapists are employed by the NHS by region who have special training in communication aids.
	(120309)
138	Dr Peter Brand (Isle of Wight):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the report of the independent inquiry into clinical trials in North Staffordshire, prepared last year by a panel chaired by Professor R. K. Griffiths, will be published.
	(120306)
139	Dr Peter Brand (Isle of Wight):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many speech therapists are in training.
	(120307)
140   N	Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his Department's consultation document Protecting Children Supporting Parents, if he will list the eight countries in which there are explicit bans on physical punishment by parents, citing the documentary evidence for the existence of the ban in each country.
	(119817)
141   N	Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many reports he has received from the Social Services Inspectorate about the implementation of circular HSC 1999/162: LAC (99) 28; and how many of these reports indicate that the circular is not being properly implemented.
	(119862)
142	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120318)
143	Mrs Janet Dean (Burton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in implementing the Working-time Directive within the NHS.
	(120237)
144   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119795)
145   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119789)
146   N	Mr Roger Gale (North Thanet):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he intends to implement the ruling of the European Court on the re-instatement of slimming drugs proscribed by the Medicines Control Agency on 9th April.
	(119995)
147	Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what adverse reactions there have been as a result of the use of squalene in vaccines.
	(120200)
148	Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if squalene is authorised for use in vaccines in the UK.
	(120105)
149	Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what monitoring his Department is undertaking of patients who have been given squalene vaccine.
	(120301)
150	Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the use of squalene as an adjuvant in vaccines.
	(120104)
151   N	Mr Simon Hughes (North Southwark and Bermondsey):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the amounts claimed by and payments due to local authorities for asylum support prior to 1st April 1999 have been fully resolved following the issuing of audit certificates; if he will list the amounts claimed and received; and if he will make a statement.
	(120056)
152	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure public awareness of his document, entitled The Physical Punishment of Children.
	(120186)
153	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will allow a longer time for public response to their consultation on the document, entitled The Physical Punishment of Children.
	(120185)
154	Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to reduce the age at which flu vaccine is made available.
	(120097)
155	Angela Smith (Basildon):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received regarding the availability of qualified and experienced radiographers to undertake breast cancer screening.
	(120083)
156   N	Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual revenue cost is for each of the next 20 years of the PFI projects approved to date.
	(118861)
157   N	Mr Desmond Swayne (New Forest West):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many private management contracts have been awarded within the NHS since May 1997; and if he will list the value of the contracts by NHS region.
	(118862)
158   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what is the latest estimate of the cost of full implementation of the report of the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.
	(119858)
159	Jackie Ballard (Taunton):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the average length of time from breach of a probation condition to the offender's appearance in court for each probation service in England and Wales in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
	(120191)
160	Jackie Ballard (Taunton):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unexecuted warrants for the arrest of offenders in breach of probation conditions are held by each police force in England and Wales.
	(120192)
161   N	Mr Tim Boswell (Daventry):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what specialist training and standard protocols are made available to custody officers for handling persons with learning difficulties and other vulnerable adults.
	(119996)
162	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120317)
163	Tom Cox (Tooting):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) men and (b) women from ethnic minority communities living within Greater London were special constables on 1st April.
	(120071)
164   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119796)
165   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119788)
166	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign passports the Passport Office holds which are currently unaccounted for.
	(120119)
167   N	Mr Simon Hughes (North Southwark and Bermondsey):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the amount (a) spent, (b) claimed and (c) reimbursed to each local authority in the United Kingdom, and in total, in relation to expenditure on asylum support in each six month period since 1st April 1999; how many payments to local authorities are (i) outstanding and (ii) in dispute; and if he will make a statement.
	(120055)
168   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria must be met by those wishing to provide accommodation to the National Asylum Support Service.
	(120057)
169   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been relocated to Morecambe in the last 12 months.
	(120014)
170   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is his policy regarding the relocation of asylum seekers to seaside resorts through (a) voluntary and (b) compulsory dispersal schemes; and if he will make a statement.
	(120017)
171   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is his policy on consulting honourable Members on the relocation of asylum seekers to their constituencies.
	(120016)
172   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the National Asylum Support Service has to use the Grosvenor Hotel in Morecambe to house asylum seekers.
	(120015)
173   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information is provided to honourable Members representing constituencies in the North West of England from the National Asylum Support Service and the North West Regional Consortium about proposals for relocating asylum seekers in their constituencies.
	(120019)
174   N	Miss Geraldine Smith (Morecambe and Lunesdale):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what visits have been made by his Department's officials to Morecambe to look at potential properties to house asylum seekers.
	(120018)
175   N	Steve Webb (Northavon):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what means it is possible for a person with a well-founded fear of persecution in another country legally to enter the United Kingdom (a) when holding valid travel documents from the regime which they are fleeing and (b) in the absence of such documents.
	(120052)
176   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prohibited weapons are held by private individuals in England by permission of the Secretary of State.
	(119870)
177   N	Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford):    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the honourable Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford will receive a reply to his letter of 24th January to the Minister of State, the honourable Member for Hornsey and Wood Green, concerning the proposal to house asylum seekers in the Maldon district.
	(119963)
178	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what purposes her Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120316)
179	Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington):    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will review the Government's aid to the Government of Gambia following the recent deaths of demonstrators in pro-democracy marches.
	(120302)
180	Mr John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington):    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance is provided by her Department for the Dalit community in India.
	(120299)
181   N	Mr Andrew Dismore (Hendon):    To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many of the Queen's Counsel to be appointed on Maundy Thursday are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minority backgrounds, (c) solicitors and (d) (i) below the age of 45 and (ii) above the age of 60 years; and what was the (A) highest, (B) lowest, (C) average and (D) mean declared fee income of (x) successful and (y) unsuccessful candidates.
	(119819)
182   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids for and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119797)
183	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120315)
184   N	Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if disciplinary proceedings will be instituted against officers present at the location of the attack on 27th April 1997 in Portadown town centre on Robert Hamill and Gregory Girvan.
	(119709)
185   N	Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many witness statements have been taken by the Royal Ulster Constabulary inquiry team investigating the murder of Robert Hamill.
	(119710)
186   N	Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made with the investigation by the Royal Ulster Constabulary into the assault on Gregory Girvan in Portadown town centre on 27th April 1997.
	(119711)
187   N	Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list by rank the number of officers within the Royal Ulster Constabulary Mobile Support Unit based at Mahon Road, Portadown.
	(119712)
188   N	Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will list by rank and the time at which they attended, those officers above the rank of constable who attended the scene of the assaults on Robert Hamill and Gregory Girvan in Portadown town centre on 27th April 1997.
	(119713)
189   N	Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his Answer of 10th January, Official Report, column 32W, on Robert Hamill, for what reasons police did not cordon off the location of the attack on Robert Hamill in Portadown on 27th April 1997 until 07.27 hours.
	(119714)
190	Mr Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham):    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make a statement about the Royal British Legion's request for a special gratuity for former Far East prisoners of war or their widows.
	(120072)
191	Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):    To ask the Prime Minister, what representations he has received from councillors in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in respect of Sellafield since 1st April.
	(120251)
192	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120314)
193   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many prohibited weapons are held by private individuals in Scotland by the permission of the Secretary of State.
	(119871)
194	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120313)
195	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what progress is being made in clearing the backlog of payments of winter fuel allowance to those who lost their original cheque.
	(120126)
196	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what advice he is giving to people who have no record of a phone-call made reassuring them about future SERPs entitlement in respect of the compensation scheme.
	(120127)
197	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what recommendations have been made by the Retirement Income Working Party; and if he will make a statement.
	(120202)
198   N	Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what plans he has to increase income support, or other state assistance, following the abolition of MIRAS, for unemployed people who are paying increased mortgage repayments as a result of mis-selling of endowment mortgages.
	(119965)
199   N	Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what assessment he has made of the impact of the abolition of MIRAS on unemployed people with endowment mortgages.
	(119966)
200	Mr Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many people have applied for money from the Social Fund and how much money was issued in loans through the Social Fund, in each of the last three years in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) North-West England.
	(120099)
201	Mr Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many recipients of benefits have them paid (a) into a bank account and (b) through the Post Office.
	(120098)
202   N	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what is the average length of time that (a) male pensioners, (b) female pensioners and (c) all pensioners have drawn the basic state retirement pension at five yearly intervals since 1970.
	(120053)
203	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will list the names of those inter-ministerial groups whose (a) membership and (b) dates of meetings have been withheld in response to parliamentary questions.
	(120241)
204	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Crosby of 17th April, Official Report, column 403W, on the Inter-ministerial Group for Older People, if he will publish the same information for the Inter-ministerial Group on Countering Fraud.
	(120243)
205   N	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, when the report on the Contributions Agency by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate was published; and if he will place a copy in the Library.
	(119821)
206	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what is the (a) number and (b) proportion of pensioners who at the point of retirement had weekly income from pensions and other sources greater than their basic state retirement pension (i) 30 years ago, (ii) 25 years ago, (iii) 20 years ago, (iv) 15 years ago, (v) 10 years ago, (vi) 5 years ago and (vii) at the point when the latest available data was collected.
	(120240)
207   N	Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if his Department has completed checking the individual payroll items against the Departmental Central Index; and if he will make a statement.
	(119860)
208   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119791)
209   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids for and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119799)
210	Fiona Mactaggart (Slough):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what was the average annual cost of administering the payment of retirement pension by cash to pensioners who receive their payment in cash on a weekly basis, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
	(120193)
211	Fiona Mactaggart (Slough):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what was the average annual cost of administering the payment of retirement pension by automated credit transfer to pensioners who receive their payment by ACT on a four-weekly basis, in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
	(120194)
212	Fiona Mactaggart (Slough):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many pensioners in the last three financial years have switched from weekly cash payments to four-weekly automated credit transfer; and what assessment has been made of the amount that has been saved in administrative costs as a result.
	(120195)
213   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what the additional cost to his Department's wage bill would be (a) in Scotland and (b) the UK if the minimum wage for all age groups was raised to (i) £4, (ii) £4.20 and (iii) £4.50 per hour.
	(119980)
214   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how much it will cost in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland to increase the basic state pension for the (i) over 70s and (ii) over 80s by (1) £2, (2) £3, (3) £4, (4) £5 and (5) £10 a week.
	(119970)
215   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what the effect on housing benefit expenditure will be if social rents in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK were reduced by (i) 5 per cent. (ii) 10 per cent. and (iii) 15 per cent.
	(119978)
216   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will make a statement on the proposed pensioners' tax credit; and when it will come into force.
	(119971)
217   N	Mr Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what the cost would be of increasing the earnings disregard for people in work claiming housing benefit by (a) 10 per cent., (b)15 per cent. and (c) 20 per cent. in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.
	(119979)
218	Steve Webb (Northavon):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Fylde of 18th April, Official Report, column 401W, on pensions, if he will estimate his Department's expenditure on pensioners as a proportion of GDP in each year from 1979-80 to 1990-91.
	(120239)
219	Steve Webb (Northavon):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, when his Department first announced plans to halve child poverty in 10 years and eradicate child poverty in 20 years; and when these targets are due to be met.
	(120238)
220	Steve Webb (Northavon):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will place in the Library a copy of leaflets produced by his Department in the late 1980s which offered guidance to married women on whether to revoke their election to pay a reduced rate of national insurance contributions.
	(120096)
221	Steve Webb (Northavon):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will make it his policy to compensate married women who received inaccurate advice from his Department about whether to revoke their decision to pay a reduced rate of national insurance contributions following the reform of national insurance contributions in 1989, and who as a result are receiving a lower rate of retirement pension.
	(120095)
222   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will estimate the annual cost in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK of raising the basic state pension to the level of the minimum income guarantee for (i) all pensioners, (ii) pensioners aged over 70 years and (iii) pensioners aged over 80 years.
	(119867)
223   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will estimate the cost of increasing the basic state pension in line with average earnings over the next five years in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.
	(119868)
224   N	Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will estimate the annual cost of (a) removing the means test for benefits for pensioners and (b) keeping SERPS in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.
	(119869)
225   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many pensioners have been entitled to means-tested benefits in each of the past five years; how many are expected to be entitled to be means-tested benefits in each of the following five years; and what proportion those represent of total pensioners in each year.
	(119944)
226   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will place in the Library a copy of the combined pension statement launched on 12th April, referred to in Departmental press release 00/114
	(119945)
227   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how much it has cost to administer the winter fuel payments in each year since their introduction; and what the projected costs are for the forthcoming year.
	(119938)
228   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many pensioners had an income less than £10 above the minimum income guarantee in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01; and what is his estimate for 2001-02.
	(119943)
229   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many people received Sure Start Maternity Grant in 1999-2000; and how many are expected to receive it in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2001-02.
	(119948)
230   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what (a) reviews, (b) task forces and (c) advisory groups have been established by his Department since 22nd February 1999; what is their membership; and what reports have (i) been published and (ii) are due to be published by (1) them and (2) other such bodies established before 22nd February 1999.
	(119949)
231   N	Mr David Willetts (Havant):    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, how many pension schemes of companies that have (a) gone into liquidation and (b) otherwise ceased to exist are awaiting regulatory approval for their winding-up.
	(119950)
232	Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if Export Control Organisation guidelines detailing end-use assurance required for export licence applications apply to open individual export licences for strategic goods.
	(120203)
233	Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what changes have been made in the last three years to the guidelines on end-use assurance required for companies and individuals applying for single individual export licences for strategic goods.
	(120205)
234	Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in what circumstances an item on the military list can be exported without the requirement of an end-use certificate.
	(120236)
235	Mr Roger Berry (Kingswood):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, for what reason the 1998 Annual Report on Strategic Exports does not include information about physical exports of strategic goods from the UK to the Channel Islands.
	(120204)
236	Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans he has to draw upon the experience of internet companies in providing disabled people with (a) access to and (b) training in, new technologies.
	(120197)
237	Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what initiatives he will implement to encourage internet businesses to assist in tackling the problems of deprived areas.
	(120198)
238	Mr Martin Caton (Gower):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, for what purposes his Department requires a birth certificate to be furnished by (a) employees, (b) contractors, (c) those applying for employment and contracts and (d) other persons.
	(120312)
239	Mr Vernon Coaker (Gedling):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps he is taking to promote the development of internationally-agreed animal welfare standards in the context of the WTO negotiations building on existing work in the Council of Europe.
	(120123)
240	Mr Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will state (a) the resident unemployment and (b) the number of existing manufacturing jobs in each of the electoral wards of the North East Region which were (i) included in and (ii) excluded from the European-aid approved map in recent changes.
	(120206)
241   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the number and value of (a) bids for and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible.
	(119800)
242   N	Mr Don Foster (Bath):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.
	(119790)
243   N	Mr Bruce George (Walsall South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what recommendations made by the Trade and Industry Select Committee in its seventh report of 1995-96 have been (a) implemented and (b) are in the process of being implemented.
	(119781)
244   N	Mr Bruce George (Walsall South):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what compensation has been paid to homeowners whose properties (a) are rendered unsaleable and (b) have suffered undue financial loss in value due to their proximity to disused mineshafts in the last five years.
	(119782)
245	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when he expects the European Commission to reach a decision on the legality of the proposed state aid to the coal industry.
	(120113)
246	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who his Department's (a) Director of Energy Utilities and (b) Director of Coal Units are.
	(120118)
247	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what his policy is regarding granting permission to construct gas-fired power stations under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.
	(120115)
248	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when Britain will become a net importer of natural gas.
	(120107)
249	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which interested parties he will be consulting regarding the proposed state aid to the coal industry; and by when the consultation process will be completed.
	(120112)
250	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the movements of senior civil servants from and to the division of his Department dealing with energy issues in the last six months.
	(120110)
251	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what position (a) Mr Jonathan Green and (b) Mr Michael Atkinson (i) held in his Department on 1st January and (ii) will hold on 1st May.
	(120117)
252	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment his Department has made of the likely future reserves of North Sea gas, taking into account the proposal to lift the stricter current policy from October.
	(120108)
253	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what estimate his Department has made of the likely proportion of electricity generated from (a) gas, (b) coal, (c) nuclear power and (d) renewables in (i) 2003, (ii) 2005, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2012, (v) 2020 and (vi) 2030.
	(120106)
254	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will provide an analysis of how the figure for state aid for the coal industry was derived.
	(120111)
255	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he intends to reopen the application of the gas-fired power-station proposals which he refused as a result of the stricter consent policy.
	(120116)
256	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the occasions on which he has discussed with the European Commission the potential for state aid to the coal industry.
	(120114)
257	Mr Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions he, his Ministers and his officials had with (a) Kevin Maguire and (b) Keith Harper of the Guardian during (i) the week beginning 10th April, (ii) Saturday 15th April and (iii) Sunday 16th April; and what subjects were discussed.
	(120109)
258	Ms Julie Morgan (Cardiff North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what evaluation he has made of Capita's performance in Companies House, Cardiff.
	(120212)
259	Ms Julie Morgan (Cardiff North):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what guidance he has given to (a) government agencies and (b) Companies House about the hospitality managers may accept from companies with which they are outsourcing contracts.
	(120190)
260	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how quickly he could pay regional selective assistance to Rover following receipt of a valid application.
	(120093)
261	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what criteria the Towers Consortium need to fulfil to be eligible for regional selective assistance.
	(120094)
262	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what legal advice he received concerning the legality of imposing a moratorium on gas-fired power stations.
	(120183)
263	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if BMW has indicated that it would consider a bid for (a) the new Mini and (b) the R30.
	(120076)
264	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will estimate how much coal capacity is lost for each additional 1MW of gas-fired electricity generation, assuming electricity demand and the import level stay the same.
	(120184)
265	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many (a) meetings and (b) conversations he has had with (i) the principals and (ii) other representatives of (1) Alchemy Partners, (2) the Towers Consortium and (3) BMW since 31st March.
	(120092)
266	Mr John Redwood (Wokingham):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what changes have been made recently in the officials dealing with coal and industrial subsidy.
	(120207)
267	Mr Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent):    To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will appoint to the Board of British Nuclear Fuels a suitably qualified representative from a non-govermental organisation.