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John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Administration regarding the decision to reduce US funding for the African Union mission in Darfur. [26971]
Ian Pearson: We have raised this issue with the US Administration who have told us that no decision has been taken to reduce funding for the African Union mission in Darfur, contrary to press accounts.
Andrew Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the
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Answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 754W, on HRH Prince of Wales (US visit), whether it is intended that, in respect of the 60 per cent. balance of other costs referred to in his reply, (a) HRH the Prince of Wales' Household shall be billed for these amounts and (b) the charities shall be billed directly for these amounts; and what amounts will be paid by each charity. [26870]
Mr. Straw: The estimated costs included in the 60 per cent. have been or will be met directly by The Prince of Wales' Household or associated charities and no recharging is therefore required. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have details of the amounts incurred by individual charities.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 754W, on HRH the Prince of Wales (US visit), what the (a) details and (b) amounts are of the other costs referred to in his reply; and if he will make a statement. [26873]
Mr. Straw: Exact costs of the visit will not be known until the final accounts are completed. However, we estimate that the total costs to be met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from public funds to be £180,000.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the cost of HRH the Prince of Wales's visit to the US was met out of the UK ambassador's frais allowance. [26874]
Mr. Straw: We are unable to provide this breakdown until all the final costs of the visit are accounted for. I will write to my hon. Friend once the figures are available, which will be by the end of December, and will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the UK Embassy's press office staff accompanied HRH the Prince of Wales during his official visit to the US; on what occasions; how many person hours were involved; what proportion of the press office person hours were in connection with events relating to the Prince's charities; on what occasions; and if he will make a statement. [26875]
Ian Pearson:
Two out of the five Press Office staff from the British Embassy in Washington accompanied Their Royal Highnesses at all times throughout the tour. The following elements required additional support from the press office: White House dinner and reception1 additional press officer; Visit to SEED school2 additional press officers; Visit to National Institutes of Health1 additional press officer; Seminar at Georgetown University1 additional press officer; Reception at the Ambassador's Residence1 additional press officer; and visit to Folger Shakespeare Library1 additional press officer.
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The Embassy estimates that 177 hours were spent in total on the press element for the duration of the visit. There were three events with which His Royal Highnesses' Foundations were associated: The National Building Museum event, the Reception hosted by Her Majesty's Ambassador and the Business and Environment Event in San Francisco. Seven hours were spent doing press work for these events.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the 10 largest amounts of damages paid out by his Department in the last year for which figures are available, indicating in each case the nature of the claim. [27739]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The last year for which figures are available is 200405. During that period, four cases of injury claims were settled by the Department. The amounts involved were:
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the 10 most valuable (a) movable and (b) immovable assets owned by his Department. [27390]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The top five most valuable movable assets are information technology hardware and software relating to e-Government projects (development of the Government Gateway, Delivering on the Promise, Knowledge Network and Directgov) and to Scope (cross-departmental information strategy.)
The next five most valuable movable assets are items of art and antique furniture located in buildings within the Cabinet Office's estate.
The top 10 most valuable immovable assets are freehold properties on the Cabinet Office's estate.
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the 10 highest-paid employees in his Department, broken down by (a) job title and (b) salary including bonuses; and whether the individual concerned is (i) a civil servant and (ii) a contractor in each case. [27570]
Mr. Jim Murphy:
Details of the remuneration of the senior management in the Cabinet Office are published in the Department's Annual Report and Resource Accounts 200405 at paragraph 3.3, beginning on page 35. A copy is available in the Library.
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Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the findings of the Better Regulation Task Force on the provisions on smoking in public places contained in the Health Bill; and if he will make a statement. [28069]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF) is an independent body, set up to advise Government on action to ensure that regulation and its enforcement comply with the five principles of good regulation. The Cabinet Office sponsors the BRTF but does not speak for it.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average amount of time taken is for Alliance Medical to provide extra scanning capacity in the NHS from winning the contract for the service to the services coming on-line. [19846]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 20 October 2005]: The contract was awarded to Alliance Medical Limited in June 2004. The first unit was scanning national health service patients five weeks later and the full service of 12 mobile scanners became operational by December 2004.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 28 October 2005, Official Report, column 573W, on carbon monoxide poisoning, how many leaflets will be available for distribution to general practitioner surgeries. [25063]
Caroline Flint: 186,500 leaflets will be printed in total and 20 leaflets will be distributed to each of the approximately 93,000 general practitioner surgeries in England. 50 leaflets will be provided for each of the endorsers and 100 will be provided for CO-Gas safety. The remainder will be stored for distribution in response to individual requests. The leaflet is also being made available on the Department's website.
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will respond to the letter of 12 September 2005 from Mr. Hewson of Ashley Lane, New Milton, regarding his family's recent experience of NHS provision. [23816]
Jane Kennedy: We have no record of receiving Mr. Hewson's original letter; however he did send a copy of the letter on 25 October 2005 and a reply was sent on 1 November 2005.
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