Tag: Richard Burden

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24475, what his policy is on providing for parliamentary scrutiny any revisions to guidance on procurement policy and its relationship to foreign policy.

Matthew Hancock

Procurement guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) deals with operational matters and clarifies existing policy, set out in the EU Public Procurement Directives and the Public Contracts Regulations (2015), which were subject to Parliamentary process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety on working conditions and safety standards in Bangladesh.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Accord has played an important role in pushing up working conditions and safety standards in the Garments sector in Bangladesh. Since 2013 the Accord has independently inspected 1, 390 factories in the supply chains of their signatory brands. It has then supported those factories that continue to sell to Accord brands to implement Corrective Action Plans, resulting in safer factories for 2.4 million workers.

A review of the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact, completed by the EU, US and ILO in January 2016, recognised the contribution of private sector initiatives such as the Accord in improving labour, health and safety conditions for Bangladeshi workers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the (a) number of EU students in the UK university student body, (b) ability of UK universities to recruit EU staff into the academic workforce and (c) number of UK students participating in the European exchange programme.

Joseph Johnson

The Prime Minister has delivered on the commitment to renegotiate a better deal for the United Kingdom in Europe.

Based on this deal the Government has reached a clear view: The UK will be safer, stronger and better off by remaining a member of a reformed European Union.

I recently spoke about the important academic links between the UK and the rest of the EU. The speech is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/making-britain-the-best-place-in-the-world-for-science.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will direct Highways England to give evidence to the public hearing on 18 March 2016 organised by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner into closures and delays on the M6 on 4 and 5 February 2016.

Andrew Jones

Highways England is aware of the public hearing and has agreed to attend and give evidence.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government’s policy is on where unsuccessful asylum applicants from North Korea are deported to.

James Brokenshire

Unsuccessful North Korean asylum seekers will normally be removed to South Korea. As with any other nationality, all asylum and human rights applications from North Korean nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and against the background of the latest available country of origin information from a wide range of well-recognised sources.

The Constitution of Republic of Korea (South Korea) stipulates that all North Koreans are citizens of the Republic of Korea. As citizens of South Korea, North Korean asylum seekers are able to seek the protection of the South Korean authorities.

Any application for asylum owing to a fear of persecution in North Korea is, therefore, likely to fall for refusal on the basis that (i) the applicant will not be removed to North Korea. The applicant could be returned to South Korea which is not a country where they have a well founded fear of persecution; and/or (ii) the applicant could reasonably be expected to avail himself of the protection of South Korea, where they could assert citizenship.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a system of civilian drone registration similar to that used in the USA.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Officials from my department are talking to both the US and Irish authorities about the potential benefits of a registration scheme and impacts that such a scheme would have on the industry and how effective a registration scheme would be in improving transparency of ownership. However registration schemes are only as good as the enforcement mechanisms behind them. Government will be consulting on a range of options over the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government’s review of the Davies Commission on Aviation capacity in the South East includes an assessment of the costs and benefits of government investment in aviation biofuel.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including on reducing carbon emissions from an expanded airport, before taking any decisions on next steps. Separate to the work on airport capacity, the Government is also assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for the incentives which currently apply to biofuels used in road transport through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). We aim to publish a consultation on legislative amendments to this scheme later this year including proposals for aviation biofuel.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates the marine offices in (a) Brixham, (b) Leith and (c) Newlyn were closed; and how many Maritime and Coastguard Agency staff were (i) made redundant or (ii) transferred to other marine offices as a result of those closures.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Brixham Marine Office, which was collocated with the Maritime and Rescue Coordination Centre, closed on 31 October 2014 when rescue coordination activity from there stopped. There were no redundancies and two members of staff relocated to other sites.

Leith Marine Office closed on 13 May 2015. There were no redundancies and one member of staff relocated to another site.

Newlyn Marine Office closed on 31 April 2015. There were no redundancies and one member of staff relocated to another site.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Survey and Inspection Transformation Programme.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2016 to Question 31430, on Anti-Semitism, which legal changes form part of the Government’s position on boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Mr Marcus Jones

Following the announcement on 3 October, the Department issued a public consultation on 25 November on changes to the regulatory framework for investments made under the local government pension scheme. The consultation proposed that guidance would be issued on how pension fund authorities should take non-financial considerations into account when making investment decisions.

The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.