Many of you will have seen Prime Minister Questions Time on the BBC. This is an example of MP’s putting Oral Questions to the Prime Minister. Other Ministers also have scheduled sessions on a regular basis in Parliament when they answer oral questions. Unfortunately the time allocated for MP’s to ask oral questions in The House is very limited and only a very few questions get to be asked and answered in this way. To compensate for this it is possible to ‘table’ written questions to a Minister and to receive a written answer.
I ask written questions for many reasons. In some cases a constituent may raise an issue with me which in order to deal with I need more facts and information. I may obtain this information through a written question rather than writing a letter to the relevant department. Because parliamentary questions and their answers, and indeed the time it takes to answer them, become a matter of public record, the information needed often arrives far quicker in response to a written question. Part of my role as a constituency MP is to scrutinise the conduct of government. The government are sometimes not as communicative and open on issues and facts as perhaps they should be. Written questions can, and often do, flush out these facts. To do my job properly for my constituents on local issues I need to be as fully informed on these issues as possible. Asking written questions is a good and effective way of achieving this.
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: Rape (Victim Support)
2 April 2009
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: College Building Programme
2 April 2009
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: NHS Dentists
24 March 2009
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: Violent Crime
23 March 2009
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: MP calls for Parliamentary debate on A&E closures.
19 March 2009
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: Defence Questions: Injured service personnel
23 February 2009
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: Assaults on NHS staff
10 February 2009
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: Mike Penning demands help for regeneration after Buncefield
2 February 2009
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: Forces' families welfare - TA units
12 January 2009
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: NHS Dentistry
16 December 2008
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: Buncefield
11 December 2008
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: Buncefield
13 November 2008
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: Health Inequalities
4 November 2008
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: Royal British Legion
23 October 2008
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: Christmas parcels to troops
16 October 2008
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: Mike Penning calls for quick action on local government Icelandic investments
10 October 2008
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: Football Clubs
6 October 2008
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Health
: Accident and Emergency Departments
11 March 2008
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attendances at (a) walk-in centres, (b) minor injuries units and (c) type one accident and emergency departments there were in each quarter since the quarter ending December 2002. [189570]
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Health
: Chlamydia: Screening
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts are not reporting data on Chlamydia screening to the Health Protection Agency. [174055]
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Health
: Chlamydia: Screening
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 11 October 2007, Official Report, column 705W, on Chlamydia infection: screening, what percentage of primary care trusts are participating in the Chlamydia screening programme in the latest period for which figures are available; and for what reasons (a) Devon, (b) Havering, (c) Hillingdon and (d) Sandwell had not submitted plans to the Health Protection Agency. [174056]
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Health
: Chlamydia: Screening
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many screens for Chlamydia were reported to the Health Protection Agency in (a) the first quarter of 2007-08 and (b) the second quarter of 2007-08; and what proportion of the target screening population this represents in each case. [174005]
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Health
: Chlamydia: Screening
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that implementation of the Chlamydia screening programme is included in the NHS operating framework. [174004]
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Health
: Chlamydia: Screening
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 25 October 2007, Official Report, columns 546-7W, on Chlamydia: screening, when he plans to have developed a national template for a Chlamydia screening local enhanced service through the community pharmacy contractual framework; and on what date he plans to publish the final evaluation of the Boots Chlamydia screening pathfinder. [174051]
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Health
: Dietary Supplements: Nutrition
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when Food Standards Agency officials proposed that Ministers from his Department should meet representatives of consumers of food supplements to discuss the setting of maximum permitted levels for nutrients in such supplements; and for what reasons no date for such a meeting has been set; [169179]
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Health
: Doctors
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors graduated in England in each year since 1997; how many NHS vacancies there were for these doctors in each year; how many GP posts became available in each year; and how many foreign national doctors began employment in the UK in each year. [170617]
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Health
: Drugs: Misuse
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were prescribed (a) methadone and (b) other hard drug substitutes in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the size is of the waiting list for substitutes programmes. [170666]
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Health
: Drugs: Waiting Lists
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was to move from the waiting list to treatment programmes for hard drug substitutes in the latest period for which figures are available. [170665]
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Health
: Infertility: Females
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of (a) female infertility there have been (i) in total and (ii) of tubal origin and (b) male infertility there have been in England in each year since 1997-98. [174017]
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Health
: Prescription Drugs: Side Effects
18 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) estimate he has made of and (b) research he has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated on the number of patients who have had adverse reactions to medicines due to (A) prescription and (B) use after the use-by date; and if he will make a statement. [171910]
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Health
: Departmental Consultants
17 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many management and other consultants are employed by his Department. [170616]
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Health
: Departmental Information Officers
17 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press officers are employed by (a) his Department and (b) the NHS. [170858]
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Health
: Health Services: Foreigners
17 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards are (a) in place and (b) planned to prevent visits to the UK for the primary purpose of using the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [170654]
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Health
: Hospitals: Admissions
17 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency re-admissions there were in each year since 1997; and how many were of people aged (a) 0 to 10, (b) 11 to 18, (c) 19 to 65, (d) 66 to 75 and (e) over 75 in each year. [166083]
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Health
: Paramedical Staff: Qualifications
17 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on mutual recognition for military and civilian paramedic qualifications; and if he will make a statement. [170547]
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Health
: Pregnancy: Health Services
17 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of treating an entopic pregnancy in the latest year for which figures are available. [174015]
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Health
: Drugs: Death
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died from drug overdoses while on the waiting list to receive hard drug substitutes in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [170667]
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Health
: In-vitro Fertilisation
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of providing one cycle of in-vitro fertilisation treatment in the latest year for which figures are available. [174014]
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Health
: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence intends to publish a review of its guidance on Fertility: assessment and treatment for people with fertility problems, published on 25 February 2004. [174016]
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Health
: NHS: Managers
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total wage cost of employing managers in the NHS was in the latest period for which figures are available; and what it was in 1997. [170597]
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Health
: Nurses: Pay
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average wage of nurses outside the NHS in (a) the last year for which figures are available and (b) 1997. [170657]
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Health
: Paramedical Staff: Training
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the use of (a) vocational training courses and (b) degree-level courses to train paramedics; and if he will make a statement. [170548]
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Health
: Pregnancy Complications
13 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of ectopic pregnancy there have been in each year since 1997-98. [174018]
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Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
: Departmental Official Hospitality
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to ensure that English wine is served (a) exclusively and (b) at the request of guests at meals, parties and receptions hosted by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [164289]
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Health
: Dental Services: Armed Forces
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the role of his Department is in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence in recruiting military dentists; and if he will make a statement. [170598]
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Health
: Doctors: Disciplinary Proceedings
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average length of time an NHS doctor spent on (a) full and (b) part pay during a period of suspension in the last period for which figures are available. [170618]
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: Doctors: Disciplinary Proceedings
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS doctors are suspended, broken down by reason for suspension. [170619]
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: Drugs: Death
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died from drug overdoses while on hard drug substitutes in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [170669]
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Health
: NHS: Managers
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average wage was for each NHS management grade in (a) the latest period for which figures are available and (b) 1997. [170595]
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Health
: NHS: Pay
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what 10 highest salaries were paid by the NHS were in the latest period for which figures are available. [170601]
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Health
: NHS: Reserve Forces
12 December 2007
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of military medical reservists working in the NHS. [170589]
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Parliamentary questions are tools that can be used by Members of Parliament to seek information or press for action. They oblige Ministers to explain and defend the work, policy decisions and actions of their departments. All questions are recorded in The Official Report (Hansard) and so they, and the answers given, become widely available and a matter of public record.