Tag: Richard Burden

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the distinctions between Volkswagen’s practices (a) on the use of defeat devices and (b) in mitigating customer inconvenience in the US and the UK; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the reasons for those distinctions.

Andrew Jones

The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen extremely seriously and our priority is to protect the public. In Europe, Volkswagen Group has developed a technical solution for the affected vehicles and is testing this with the relevant type approval authorities. For Skoda vehicles this is the UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency. We understand that the company is not in the same position in the USA as there is not yet an agreed technical solution. We are urging Volkswagen to complete swiftly the recall of the affected vehicles in the UK.

In his appearance before the Transport Select Committee on 25 January, Paul Willis, the CEO of Volkswagen UK, reconfirmed that Volkswagen do not intend to offer compensation in the UK as they do not believe that vehicle owners have suffered a loss. In the USA they have offered their customers up to $1,000 in gift vouchers. It is for Volkswagen to justify to their customers the different approaches that they are taking in different jurisdictions, however the Government expects Volkswagen to treat its UK customers fairly and the Secretary of State continues to press Volkswagen on the issue of this discrepancy in compensation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate how many (a) people and (b) organisations will be affected by the interim guidance on the new anti-lobbying clause in government grant agreements.

Matthew Hancock

The information requested is not held centrally. We are currently working on improving the data collected on grants through the development of an internal Government Grants Information System. The clause will apply to all grants except in exceptional circumstances as set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-grants-register.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Prime Minister will make an assessment of the potential merits of each proposal on noise mitigation from aviation in the letter to him of 18 February 2016 from the Aviation Environment Federation.

Mr Robert Goodwill

As part of the Government’s ongoing review of noise and airspace policies it will consider the proposals set out the Aviation Environment Federation’s letter to the Prime Minister of 18 February.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from transport organisations on the impairment threat of laser pens.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Ministers and Officials in the Department have received direct representations from the British Air Line Pilots’ Association (BALPA) on the threat to pilots from a laser strike.

Further representations have been received through industry membership to the UK Laser Working Group. The Group which was established by the CAA to develop measures to reduce laser strikes to aircraft includes representatives from British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), Honourable Company of Air Pilots, various airlines and airport operators, as well as Government Departments and Agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his speech to the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism on 15 March 2016, what legal changes he was referring to in that speech.

Dominic Raab

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to 31430 on 30^th March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff currently work at the marine offices in (a) Tyne, (b) Plymouth, (c) Beverley, (d) Orpington, (e) Harwich and (f) Norwich; and how many unfilled vacancies exist at each such location.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The table below shows the current level of staffing (Headcount and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)), current full complement and vacancies at each of the six locations listed:

Marine Office	Full Complement (FTE)	Current Headcount	Current (FTE)	Vacancies (FTE)
a	Tyne (includes Ensign Unit)	23.60	18	15.90	7.7
b	Plymouth	8.27	9	6.94	1.33
c	Beverley	19	16	14.66	4.34
d	Orpington	12	11	10	2
e	Harwich	4	3	3	1
f	Norwich	5	5	5	0

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