John Thurso MP

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the use of shareholders' details obtained from companies under sections 116 to 120 of the Companies Act 2006 by people engaged in boiler room fraud.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

(1) whether his Department supports the European proposal for extractives companies to disclose financial information on a project-by-project basis; and whether it has a preferred definition of "project" for the purpose of this legislation;

(2) whether his Department supports the European proposals for greater transparency in the extractives sector; and what its policy is on (a) possible country-based exemptions from the proposed legislation and (b) a level of materiality that would be appropriate for the purpose of this legislation.

We do not comment on matters of security.

PICT is responsible for and maintains the systems protecting communications within the parliamentary estate and on parliamentary IT servers. We do not comment on specific security arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

(1) what plans he has to assess investments in (a) wave and tidal technology and (b) other innovative energy products against the criteria of additionality;

(2) what plans he has to assess (a) wave and tidal technology and (b) other innovative energy projects against the criteria of green impact.

In the 12 months to December 2011, a total of 74,209 transactions were recorded in the Jubilee Café. A transaction is defined as a purchase, with payment, at the point of sale. The purchase may be for one or multiple customers paid for in a single transaction.

No record is kept of the proportion of customers purchasing drinks only or purchasing food in the Jubilee Café.

The hon. Lady might find it helpful to speak directly to the Director of Catering and Retail Services on these detailed matters.

A major area of growth for the renewable energy industry will be marine energy, particularly, of course, the Pentland firth. I congratulate the Minister on the renewable energy park that he has put in the south-west and I thank him for the conversations we have had on turning the Pentland firth into a renewable energy park. Can he tell me what progress we are making?

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

(1) what the £103 million of funding from the Scottish Fossil Fuel Levy, which his Department announced in November 2011 would be made available to the Green Investment Bank, will be spent on;

(2) whether he has given consideration to vary the £103 million of funding from the Scottish Fossil Fuel Obligation Levy, which his Department announced in November 2011 would be made available to the Green Investment Bank, to support the commercialisation of wave and tidal technology.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

(1) what form of support will be provided by the Green Investment Bank for the commercial development of wave and tidal technology;

(2) for what reason innovative energy projects such as wave and tidal technology were not identified as a priority sector for the Green Investment Bank over the Comprehensive Spending Review period; and what consideration he has given to identifying this as such;

(3) whether he plans to issue guidance to the Green Investment Bank identifying specific products, such as debt finance, designed to de-risk investments in wave and tidal technology.

In the eight-month period from April 2010 until November 2010 the cumulative cost of food waste recorded was estimated at £56,996. No record is available month-by-month for this period and no record is available of the monthly or cumulative cost for the period from December 2010 until March 2011.

Since April 2011, the estimated cost of food waste in each month has been as follows:

In compiling the information to answer this question, it has become clear that wastage has not been consistently recorded in all areas and the above figures are likely to be understated. It is likely that the answer given on 19 July 2010, Official Report, column 51W, for the cost of food waste from April 2009 to March 2010 is similarly incorrect. We cannot compile wastage information retrospectively but we are taking action to capture and report this information correctly from the start of the next financial year in April 2012.

The review in 2009-10 of potential waste disposal schemes identified a preferred option of food waste composting. Food waste composting forms part of the new waste management contract, which commenced in November 2011. A food waste composting pilot for the Terrace Kitchen is due to start before the end of the 2011-12 financial year. Thereafter the scheme will be extended to the rest of the Estate.

Currently food waste is diverted from landfill and is sent to a local energy from waste facility.

Following on from that question. Given that banks can lend only if they have capital and that 80% of financial transactions take place within the financial services industry, so that only 20% result in an end user, can the Minister say what steps the Government are taking to look at the marginal utility of the financial services industry, or what Lord Turner described as its "social usefulness"?

Visitor services are a shared service between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The figures here relate to gross costs and revenue of which the House of Commons is apportioned 70% and the House of Lords 30%.

Commercial tours operate Monday to Saturday during the summer when the House is not sitting. In the two weeks of September 2010 and 2011 when the House sat, there were no tours Monday to Friday, but tours ran on Saturday. Blue Badge guides are provided under contract for paid tours.

During September, Member-sponsored line of route tours are available, and the amount paid to guides for these tours is shown in the following table. These tours are not covered by Blue Badge guides or the related contract. The table does not include evening tours related to banqueting functions.

The figures in this answer do not include the additional costs incurred for ticket administration by Ticketmaster, promotion and advertising and the administration costs covered by Visitor Services.

Formal assessments of the availability of fresh food are not carried out, but the House of Commons catering service is committed to preparing homemade foods from fresh ingredients wherever possible. Seasonality is a major factor in menu design and the catering service works closely with its suppliers to secure delivery of prime products.

Food provision in the Jubilee Cafe is constrained by the lack of kitchen facilities, but salads, sandwiches and fresh fruits are bought in daily to provide healthier alternatives to the range of cakes and other snacks served.

We estimate that over 90% of main meal dishes served in all other food outlets are prepared from fresh ingredients, with the principal exception being the use of frozen fish in some venues. Similarly, some frozen vegetables are served in the cafeterias.

Excluding the Members' Library, the House ordered 71,118 copies of newspapers in 2011 (figures for December 2011 include estimates where invoices have not yet been received). Free copies of the Evening Standard were also provided on the estate.

Orders for newspapers in 2012 onwards will be significantly lower than the 2011 total in line with savings commitments and environmental targets.

The Jubilee Café provides a snack outlet primarily for the use of visitors to the Palace of Westminster. As such, the menu is designed with that use in mind. Although the lack of a kitchen limits the menu in the Jubilee Café, salads and fresh fruit are available as alternatives to sandwiches and cakes or other high-sugar snacks.

The House of Commons catering service ensures that healthy foods are available in all its food outlets. Although it does not specifically belong to any formal healthy eating assessment or accreditation scheme, the guidance available from such schemes is regularly used to inform and educate chefs in the design and development of menus and recipes served throughout the parliamentary estate. In the cafeterias, used by many staff and MPs daily for their main meal, information is provided about the most healthy menu options available through the use of a 'traffic light' marking scheme on printed and on-line menus. Fish and vegetarian dishes feature daily on each cafeteria menu. A very high percentage of cooked meals served in the cafeterias is prepared daily from fresh ingredients, and fresh fruits, salads, low-fat dairy produce and high fibre breads and cereals are always available. Meals served in the dining rooms are similarly prepared from fresh ingredients and include fish and vegetarian options.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his policy is on implementing the recommendation of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that Ofcom includes a provision to revoke licences in the 800 MHz band in cases of interference.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport

(1) what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on the auction of the 600MHz band; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what consideration his Department has given to designating the 600MHz spectrum band for use by licensed programme making and special events users; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on how many occasions (a) he and (b) his officials have met representatives of (i) mobile operators and (ii) the entertainment industry to discuss matters relating to spectrum use and availability in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on how many occasions wireless microphones have been used at events hosted by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

946 schools visited Parliament through Parliament's Education Service in 2011, of which 12 were from Nottinghamshire.

The total number of students visiting Parliament on these visits was 39,972; of these, 371 were from Nottinghamshire.