Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis will be published in March 2025; and what steps he plans to take to ensure its effectiveness without additional funding.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We aim to publish the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), final delivery plan in the coming months. The content of the ME/CFS delivery plan has not yet been finalised. The responses to the 2023 interim delivery plan consultation, along with continued close engagement with stakeholders, will inform the development of the final ME/CFS delivery plan. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people living with this debilitating disease. Following the publication of the final delivery plan, we will monitor the progress across all actions in the delivery plan to ensure timely implementation and periodically report to stakeholders as appropriate.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 27042 on UNRWA: Finance, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that UK funding to UNRWA is not used (a) directly or (b) indirectly to support Hamas activities; and what assessment he has made of UNRWA's compliance with these safeguards.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A Memorandum of Understanding governs UK financial support to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and we monitor UNRWA's activity through due diligence and annual assessments. The UK is also providing £1 million to support implementation of the recommendations in Catherine Colonna's Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. We reiterated this position in our E3 joint Foreign Ministers' statement of 31 January, alongside France and Germany.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 27041 on Palestinians: Schools, what the timeline is for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Colonna report on the neutrality of educational materials in UNRWA-run schools in (a) Gaza and (b) the West Bank; and whether he has had discussions with UNRWA on replacing the current curriculum.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UN conducts quarterly progress reports on UNRWA's implementation of the recommendations made in the Colonna report, with the latest having issued in January 2025. This includes eight recommendations relating specifically to education. As noted in the answer to PQ 27041, on 28 January, the Minister for Development informed the House that she had discussed the issue of neutrality with UNRWA's leadership, including directly with Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the International Committee of the Red Cross on its role in hostage handovers conducted by Hamas.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are in regular contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which is facilitating the handover of hostages and the delivery of aid into Gaza. The UK reaffirms its support for the ICRC as the only humanitarian actor with the experience, capability, independence and mandate to carry out its important responsibilities. We believe it is critical that the ICRC is given regular access to the hostages, to fulfil its independent visiting role, as enshrined within the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has set a target for research and development expenditure in 2030.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Departmental budgets are currently set up to the end of financial year 2025/26. The government is currently in the middle of a Spending Review, which will set out the government’s spending plans for R&D through to 2029/30. This will conclude in June 2025.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor confirmed that total HMG investment in R&D is rising to a record allocation of £20.4bn in 2025/26. As part of this, DSIT's R&D budget is rising to £13.9bn for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the total cost to the public purse of training personnel on jet aircraft in (a) the UK and (b) overseas in each of the last five years; and what proportion of the total training budget each represents.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) cost for the Fast Jet training element over the last 5 years was circa £500.4 million. That includes fixed and multiple variable costs such as fuel, instructor and trainee salary, infrastructure/accommodation upkeep, aerodrome operations and runway refurbishment.
The cost detail for Fast Jet Outsourced Training over the last five years is being withheld to protect commercial confidentiality. Outsourcing services are negotiated Government to Government via Memorandums of Understanding and Technical Arrangements and therefore it is not appropriate to disclose specific cost detail.
It is not possible to state what proportion of the total training budget this represents as the information is not held in this format and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel have been trained on jet aircraft in (a) the UK and (b) overseas in each of the last five years; and in which countries overseas training has taken place.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In the last five years there have been 82 UK personnel trained on fast jet (FJ) aircraft in the UK and 22 UK personnel trained on fast jet aircraft overseas. Overseas training has taken place in the USA and Italy.
Financial Year | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | TOTAL |
FJ Pilots trained in the UK | 24 | 28 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 82 |
FJ Pilots trained overseas | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23535 on Hawk Aircraft, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high fatigue index in the remaining Hawk T1 fleet on the total number of available UK-based training hours for personnel.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Hawk T1 is not employed in a flying training role. The Hawk T1 airframes are solely allocated to sustaining the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows.
As given in the answer to Question 23535, across all airframes we have retained more than sufficient overall remaining available fatigue life to ensure all Red Arrows tasking until 2030 as planned.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is to maintain the Hawk T1 fleet under the existing fleet maintenance contract.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are two support contracts in place to support the Hawk TMk1 to its out of service date in March 2030 and the Hawk TMk2 to 2033. Specific terms and conditions are subject to commercial confidentiality. In the financial year from 2023-24 the value for solely the TMk1 aircraft maintenance was £27.7 million.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23535 on Hawk Aircraft, what plans his Department has for the replacement of the Hawk T1 by 2030; and whether it is his policy to maintain a sovereign jet training capability in this process.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2024 for Question 16460 to the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mark Francois).