Tag: Richard Burden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 15 of the Office of Rail and Road’s report, Monitoring Highways England, published in October 2015, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing data on the delivery of the road investment programme.

Andrew Jones

A key element of the recent Roads Reform work was the appointment of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as the independent monitor of Highways England. The ORR will be working with Highways England to ensure that they have the necessary data and information to perform their role effectively.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when developing his Department’s policy on local authority procurement policies and companies’ investment and divestment decisions announced on 3 October 2015.

Matthew Hancock

Cabinet Office will shortly issue guidance that reminds public authorities of their international obligations when letting public contracts. Foreign policy is not a matter for local authorities. The guidance will make clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate and may be illegal, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions that have been put in place by the Government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 16052, if he will estimate the number of vehicles likely to be tested; and what criteria is being used to decide which models will be tested.

Andrew Jones

The two Skoda cars tested are part of the Vehicle Certification Agency fleet. Their engines are of the type that VW has confirmed as being equipped with software that recognises test conditions. Our testing has confirmed differences in exhaust emissions when measured using the type approval tests and with an alternative procedure. However, it cannot be guaranteed that a single alternative procedure would identify defeat strategies on other vehicles and therefore our planned programme of work will involve a number of alternative tests, including real driving, to interrogate their emission behaviour.

Our programme will consider, without bias, approximately 40 vehicles that are representative of some 70 different models in the UK market. These have been selected based both upon the volume of sales over each of the last 5-years and the overall number of each model currently licensed for use on the roads of Great Britain.

We have agreed with ministers in France and in Germany to exchange knowledge and understanding as our respective programmes develop. This collaboration may allow our programmes to be rationalised to avoid duplication of testing and secure best value for the taxpayer.

An update on progress will be prepared early in the New Year and a full report will be issued at the conclusion of the work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential for the UK to be a world leader in (a) production of, (b) use of and (c) research into autonomous vehicle technology; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of practice developed in autonomous vehicle projects and research in Sweden.

Andrew Jones

We recognise the transformative potential that connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies have for mobility and our transport system, and the significant opportunities that exist for UK industry in their development and commercialisation.

That is why we are committed to the development of CAVs, maintaining and improving the UK’s world leading position. Together with industry, academia, and cities we are running trials of CAVs in four cities in England, and have plans for a connected corridor on a key route combining urban roads and motorways. We are also funding research into intelligent mobility focusing on connected and autonomous vehicles.

The Government has also announced:

– A £20 million collaborative R&D competition, match-funded by industry, to explore user behaviours, and how other road users will respond to these technologies.

– A world-leading, Code of Practice for driverless cars to help make UK best place for testing without placing additional regulatory burden on industry.

– A new joint policy team, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), which will act as a single point of contact for industry and co-ordinate/enhance government activity.

There are a number of other countries, including Sweden that are trialling driverless vehicles. We will review outcomes of both the UK and international trials and take forward the valuable insights they will provide for policy development.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the Road User Satisfaction Report to be published for (a) Northwest Area 12, covering parts of Greater Manchester and North Yorkshire, (b) Northwest Area 13, covering parts of Cumbria and Lancashire and (c) North East and Yorkshire Area 14, covering parts of Durham and Northumberland; and for what reason those reports were not published at the same time as the other regional reports.

Andrew Jones

The Area User Satisfaction Survey (ARUSS) runs continually throughout the year across England. Results are provided for each area every 6 months on a rolling basis.

Area 12 and Area 14 (Yorkshire and the North East)

The report covering the period June 2015 to November 2015 will be available at the end of December 2015 and published on the Highways England website.

Area 10 and Area 13 (North West)

The report covering the period July 2015 to December 2015 will be available at the end of January 2015 and published on theHighways England website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, where repairs to (a) the Strategic Road Network and (b) other key local roads are required in each region following recent flooding; and what estimate he has made of those repairs.

Andrew Jones

The flood recovery envoy for Yorkshire, the Minister of State for Transport (Mr Goodwill), convened a meeting on January 7 2016 with North Yorkshire County Council, wider local representatives, the military and Highways England experts to finalise a plan for reconstructing Tadcaster Bridge. The Government is providing £3.3m of funding immediately to repair the bridge. It has incurred substantial damage and the current estimate is that it will take up to a year to repair.

The Department for Transport is working closely with affected local highway authorities following the recent storms encountered in some areas of the country. As part of this work, local highway authorities are assessing the damage caused and likely estimated costs. It is too early to provide an estimate of the repairs or likely timescales until all waters have receded.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on the case of the Hares Boys; what discussions he has had with the Israeli authorities on that case; and what information he holds on the current situation.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received a number of parliamentary questions from Members of the House of Commons, letters from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents and letters and emails from members of the public on the case of the Hares Boys.

An official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv met Chief Military Prosecutor, Maurice Hirsch, on 23 November to raise our concerns over this case in addition to our broader concerns about Israel’s child detention policy. We were informed by the Chief Military Prosecutor that the Hares boys agreed to a plea bargain resulting in their imprisonment for 15 years. We continue to monitor developments in the case of the Hares boys and raise the issue with the Israeli authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which recommendations from the (a) skills section and (b) other sections of the Maritime Skills Study the Government plans to implement; and what the timescale for implementation will be.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government formally responded to the Study in December 2015 accepting all the recommendations directed to government and progress is already being made.

A new Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth has been established to drive growth and tackle issues affecting the sector. The Working Group, including representatives from industry, met for the first time in November 2015 and discussed a range of issues around maritime skills including expanding apprenticeships (recommendation 11).

In addition, the Government has issued an invitation to tender for the Seafarer Projections Review (recommendation 7). The review of SMarT – Support for Maritime Training (recommendation 9) will need to take account of the Seafarer Projections work and will follow in four to six weeks’ time.

Officials are also working with the Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence on the recommendations pertaining to increasing youth awareness of seafaring and better links to the Royal Navy and the wider maritime sector (recommendations 13 and 15).

The other recommendations concerning skills are directed primarily at industry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24171, what funding the Illegal Money Lending Team received in each of the last five years; and how much it will receive in each year until it becomes funded through a levy.

Nick Boles

Annual funding for the Illegal Money Lending Teams as reported to the Department by National Trading Standards was:

Year	England	Wales
2015/16 *	£3,097,822	£546,674
2014/15	£3,605,286	£634,016
2013/14	£3,716,789	£673,625
2012/13	£3,716,789	£595,670
2011/12**	£3,716,789	£653,625

* * Additionally, for 2015/16 the FCA agreed to outsource work to a maximum of £880,000, split £748,000 to the England Team and £132,000 to the Wales Team. The FCA will outsource work to a maximum of £500,000 for 2016/17.

** Until the creation of NTS in April 2012, the teams were funded directly by BIS.

BIS has committed to maintaining its funding of the teams at 2015/16 year levels for 2016/17. It is anticipated that levy funding will be in place from 2017/18.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made on the cancellation of the UK delegation to Israel and the Occupied Territories to follow up the report published by a delegation of British lawyers, entitled Children in Military Custody, in June 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have not received representations on this issue. I expressed my strong disappointment at Israel’s unwillingness to host this follow-up visit with Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely during my visit to Israel on 18 February. Officials from the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, including the Ambassador, also lobbied the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs to cooperate with the visit, and will continue to follow up. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention in Israel.