Tag: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in relation to tensions between North and South Korea following North Korea’s artillery shelling and detonation near the border between those countries.

Baroness Warsi

On 31 March 2014, during a pre-planned and pre-advised live-fire exercise, a small number of artillery shells from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea landed in waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea. The Republic of Korea military responded with its own artillery fire into waters on the northern side of the NLL. There were no reported casualties.

We have been monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with international partners. The situation is currently calmer but tensions remain high. In a Written Ministerial Statement on 31 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), urged both sides to exercise restraint and not to retaliate further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the safety of pedestrians.

Baroness Kramer

The Government has already taken a range of steps to improve and promote pedestrian safety, including making it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mile per hour zones and launching a new THINK! resource centre to help teachers educate children and teens on road safety.

We will continue to work with delivery partners, including local authorities, to identify further opportunities for improving pedestrian safety.

We welcome vehicle manufacturers developing autonomous emergency braking systems which can automatically detect pedestrians and, where necessary, apply the brakes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote ethnic minority recruitment to the police.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Improved diversity in policing is absolutely necessary to cut crime in a modern, diverse society, while building the trust and confidence of local
communities. It is important police forces reflect the communities they serve. While progress has been made to increase diversity of the workforce, the Government has said that there is still more for forces to do.

This Government’s reforms have already made improvements, for example we set up the College of Policing which has embarked on a major programme to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers. Locally Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure that the public’s priorities on crime and community safety are acted upon.

The Home Office is actively engaged with the College and forces to ensure that this work is given appropriate priority and that learning, best practice and opportunities are identified and shared.