The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how long is needed to bring the Army Reserves to full strength as set out in Army 2020.
Mr Mark Francois
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement and paper my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2013 (Official report, column 124WS).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) 20 highest and (b) 20 lowest value contracts awarded by his Department were in each financial year since 2009-10.
Mike Penning
I will place a copy of the document (PQ 14 194232 Top 20 & Bottom 20 Contracts 2009-2014) in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department will reply to the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin into sunbed regulation in England.
Jane Ellison
Government has noted the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin report and is currently considering the recommendations and the implications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his proposed changes to the energy company obligation will reduce funding availability for flood-risk homes which are automatically defined as hard-to-treat.
Gregory Barker
Homes at risk of flooding are not automatically defined as having hard-to-treat cavity walls, however flood-risk homes with hard-to-treat cavity walls are eligible for funding under the Energy Company Obligation. Proposed changes to the scheme will enable more homes to receive funding for energy efficiency measures, including those homes that are at risk of flooding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor London Midland’s (a) budgeting and (b) contractual relationship with Siemens for maintenance work on the Desiro EMU fleet.
Stephen Hammond
London Midland provide their Management Accounts to the Department every period. In addition, we receive an annual Business Plan and quarterly forecasts of future revenues and costs for the following twelve months. These are reviewed by qualified management accountants within the Department and challenged with the London Midland senior management team at meetings with a view to assessing the ongoing viability of the TOC.
Responsibility for monitoring the maintainer rests with the TOC who are responsible for delivering a required performance and availability benchmark through their Franchise Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department will (a) complete and (b) publish its review of the Chalara Management Plan; and if he will make a statement.
Dan Rogerson
The Government will publish an updated management approach to Chalara alongside updated management approaches to other established tree pests and diseases, and those that pose an imminent threat, in a single Tree Health Management Plan. This Plan will set out the action that the Government and others are taking to protect our tree population from pests and diseases. It will be published alongside the wider Plant Biosecurity Strategy later this spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they spent in each of the last three years on the prevention and control of HIV infection in the developing world through (1) multilateral bodies, and (2) bilateral programmes.
Baroness Northover
Over the past three years the UK Government has spent nearly £1 billion on tackling HIV through multilateral organisations and bilateral programmes.
Details of DFID spending on HIV prevention, treatment and care are available at Section 4.1 of the 2013 evaluation of the HIV Position Paper “Towards Zero Infections” and can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-infections-two-years-on.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s latest assessment is of the security situation in Egypt following the recent suicide bombing outside Cairo University grounds.
Mr William Hague
Our assessment, as published in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice, is that there is a high threat from terrorism in Egypt, including Cairo. We believe that terrorists continue to plan attacks, which could be indiscriminate and occur without prior warning. Attacks have mainly been aimed at the security forces, their facilities and other government buildings. However, attacks targeting foreigners cannot be ruled out. We continue to keep our travel advice under constant review.
During my meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 2 April, I condemned the recent attacks in Cairo and sent condolences to the family of the victim and those who have been injured.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Bahrain concerning the number of children who have been arrested there since 2011.
Baroness Warsi
Our Embassy in Manama has raised the rates of imprisonment of young people with the Ministry of the Interior and senior members of the Government of Bahrain on several occasions. This included supporting the decision by the Ombudsman’s Office of the Ministry of the Interior to investigate fully concerns about the imprisonment of children set out by human rights non-governmental organisations last year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his contribution of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 877, what the evidential basis was of his statement that the sale of the Royal Mail was in the manifesto of the last Government.
Mr David Cameron
I was referring to the previous government’s policy of seeking to part-privatise the Royal Mail.