Tag: Richard Arkless

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a security review has been initiated for the purpose of strengthening port security between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Mr Robert Goodwill

All maritime security requirements are risk informed and are kept under constant review. The Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with ports, ferry operators and other agencies to ensure the safety of the travelling public.

The DfT also has a set of comprehensive maritime security requirements which port facilities and ships are required to implement, with a well-established monitoring and oversight programme in place to ensure compliance with this regime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to encourage an increase in the number of HGV drivers in the UK to meet demand for such drivers.

Andrew Jones

The Department’s agencies are taking action on HGV driver testing and licensing. This includes recruiting 78 new driving examiners, as well as 65 in training and 41 offered posts. Licence renewal times where there are not medical issues have reduced and changes are being made to the operation of parts of the medical renewals process. The Department is working with other parts of Government to encourage and enable more people to become lorry drivers, including via apprenticeships and action related to Jobcentre Plus.

I note that over 55,000 tests were conducted in 2014-15, the highest total since 2008-09. Further, the number of Large Goods Vehicle practical and theory tests of all types conducted during July to September 2015 was 34 per cent higher than in the same quarter of 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who will be eligible to vote in the forthcoming EU referendum; and for what reason he plans to exclude European citizens resident in the UK from voting in that referendum.

Mr David Lidington

The franchise for the EU referendum was debated and agreed by both Houses during the passing of the EU Referendum Act 2015. This has now received Royal Assent and is set in law.

The franchise for the EU referendum includes those enfranchised for UK parliamentary elections, with the addition of Members of the House of Lords and Commonwealth and Irish citizens in Gibraltar.

Amendments during the passage of the EU Referendum Bill, seeking to include EU citizens in the franchise for the EU referendum, were considered and overwhelmingly rejected by both Houses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the Government’s policy is on maintaining the provisions of European Commission Directive 2008/94/EC on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer; and what assessment the Government has made of the effect the UK leaving the EU will have on the operation of the Pension Protection Fund.

Mr Robin Walker

The Government has clearly stated that the UK does not need to be part of the EU to have strong protections for workers’ rights. At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people, seizing opportunities to make Britain a country that truly works not just for a privileged few, but for everybody.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Scottish Government and (b) Scottish FA on strengthening security at Scottish stadiums and sporting events.

David Mundell

Protective security postures for public events are coordinated across the United Kingdom by the UK National Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters; the Police Service of Scotland forms part of the national counter-terrorism police network. The UK National Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters is providing guidance to ground safety staff for sports stadia across the UK. The Home Office is also in regular contact with the Scottish Government on counter-terrorism measures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefits claimants in Dumfries and Galloway were sanctioned between the months of October and December for each year from 2010 until the most recent date for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

The information requested, up to 30 June 2015, is published and available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with television channel and radio station providers on inclusion and the representation of disability in mainstream media.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The government is encouraging the industry to be proactive in increasing diversity on and off screen – including in the representation of disabled people. I have hosted a number of roundtables that have addressed this issue, including a conference in January, which raised the wider issue of lack of representation of disabled people in the creative industries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department monitors the obligations it places on its subcontractors to pay bills within 30 days.

Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to implementing a prompt payment policy throughout the supply chain. We place a contractual obligation on our prime contractors to pay their subcontractors within 30 days.

As with all contractual issues, in relation to direct contracts between the MOD and its suppliers, we would investigate any breaches to contract conditions on a case-by-case basis. While there is currently no established method of monitoring prompt payment outside of our direct contracts, we are working to update MOD contractual conditions to strengthen the prompt payment obligation throughout the supply chain.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many community projects have benefited from monies allocated by Scotland’s Big Lottery Fund in Dumfries and Galloway constituency in the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

Information on the community projects in the Dumfries and Galloway constituency that have benefited from monies allocated by the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland in the last five years is available on the Big Lottery Fund websitehttps://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/about-big/big-lottery-fund-in-your-constituency.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the EU Commissioner on Competition on plans for recovering unpaid taxes and preventing multinationals avoiding tax.

Mr David Gauke

The UK is supportive of Commission action against illegal state aid, including recovery where illegal state aid has been found. This is an important part of ensuring that the single market works effectively and on the basis of fair competition.