Tag: Richard Burden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 14 April 2016 to Questions 32741 and 32742, what grounds are given in the Cabinet Office guidance referred to for undertaking (a) business engagement assessments and (b) impact assessments; and what weight was given to those grounds in the decision not to undertake either such assessment for the (i) programme and (ii) proposals referred to.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The statement below is extracted from the Cabinet Office guidance:-

‘Any proposed change in policy, process or practice by a regulator which does not require a full Impact Assessment, but which creates a significant increase or decrease in the burden of regulator activity on business should trigger an Assessment.’

The proposals contained in the consultation document do not propose a significant change to the point of service delivery of regulated services to the end user, for example vessels in ports around the United Kingdom or globally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library copies of his letter to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield of 4 May 2016 on local government and ethical procurement.

Matthew Hancock

I will place this correspondence in the Library as requested, following the end of the pre-referendum period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of climate change on (a) agriculture, (b) food security and (c) levels of malnutrition in developing countries.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID is supporting research organisations to make assessments of the impact of climate change on agriculture, food security and malnutrition. This includes support to the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Programme. One of its recent assessments found that 60% of production of beans in sub-Saharan Africa was at risk from climate change. DFID also supports the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition which has recently made an assessment of the effects of climate change on food systems and nutrition.

DFID is using these assessments to inform our policies and programmes on agriculture. For example DFID’s Agriculture Policy Framework includes action on climate change as one of its priorities for our programmes. An example is our support to the International Fund for Agriculture Development’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP). Our support to ASAP is helping 6 million smallholder farmers to cope with the effects of climate change and at the same time increasing their agriculture productivity, incomes and food security.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations his Department has received on motor vehicle mileage fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has received representations from Noble Lords and the Retail Motor Industry along with two Parliamentary Questions on mileage fraud during the past year. Mileage fraud is an offence under the ‘Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008’ and the Fraud Act 2006 and is dealt with by local Trading Standards enforcement. It is now a requirement for vehicle mileage to be recorded on the MOT form. This allows consumers to check previous mileages for a vehicle online at the GOV.UK website. Department for Transport and Business and Innovation and Skills ministers are considering whether there are further practical steps that can be taken to address mileage fraud.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing regulations on drones; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of our citizens. That is why we apply one of the highest regulatory safety standards for commercial aviation in the world.

There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK.

The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective. Further work is underway to better understand the risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes to ensure that regulations remain fit for purpose.

Awareness and education on current restrictions are vitally important. The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to provide employment and social enterprise opportunities for (a) the homeless and (b) those at risk of homelessness in (i) the West Midlands and (ii) Birmingham, Northfield constituency.

Mr Marcus Jones

The government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. We have increased central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Spending Review period. We have also maintained and protected homelessness prevention funding for local government, totalling £315 million by 2019/20. One person without a home is one too many, and we are clear that more needs to be done to ensure that support is available for some of the most vulnerable in society.

We recognise that employment and social enterprise opportunities are key factors to help people avoid homelessness and secure a sustainable place to live and build personal resilience. That is why we have invested £15 million to improve outcomes for young people through the Fair Chance Fund. This funding is turning around the lives of around 1,900 18 to 25 year olds with complex and overlapping needs, by supporting them into accommodation, education, training and employment. Young people are being supported by seven projects across the country including in Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Walsall and Wyre Forest and the majority of projects are funded by social investment. We will build our learning on this to our £10 million Social Impact Bond for people with complex and multiple needs. In addition we have funded a £40 million Platform for Life programme, providing affordable shared accommodation for homeless young people, so that they have a stable platform for work.

Moreover, we are actively working across government and through our local partners to help vulnerable people find a job and get into training. STRIVE, a joint pilot project with BEIS, DCLG and DWP, is helping homeless people into jobs by improving their basic English, maths and IT skills and is being delivered by Crisis and St Mungo’s. We are continuing to drive cross government action through the Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness which is making sure that homelessness is an integral part of every department’s planning and that policies are joined up.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the statement issued by his Department on 7 October 2016 on death sentences issued in Gaza, what discussions he has had with counterparts in the region on the subject of that statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

​We have not discussed the contents of this statement with regional counterparts. The increasing use of the death penalty in Gaza is a worrying trend. The UK maintains a no contact policy with the de facto authorities in Gaza.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his Department’s policy to ban internal combustion engines by 2030 to promote zero emission mobility.

Mr John Hayes

We are spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support the development, manufacture and use of ultra low emission vehicles. This programme includes incentives to encourage motorists to choose cleaner vehicles, and grants for essential recharging infrastructure. This is putting the UK on track to meet our goal of all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040, making almost all cars and vans zero emission by 2050.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of Innovate UK’s effectiveness in securing (a) jobs and (b) growth for UK businesses.

Joseph Johnson

Innovate UK has supported more than 5000 individual companies since it was established in 2007. It publishes an Annual Report which details its activities during the year and any reviews undertaken of individual programmes. A copy of Innovate UK’s latest Annual Report is in the library of the House and can also be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/446302/FINAL_-_Innovate_UK_Accounts_2014-15_.pdf.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with his counterparts in (a) China, (b) Vietnam and (c) South Korea about the dog meat trade in those countries.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government is committed to raising the standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. Whilst there are no international norms, laws or agreements governing the trade and consumption of dog meat, we believe it is necessary to work with governments to gain agreement on animal welfare standards and phase out cruel and inhuman farming practices.

I raised the importance of animal welfare with the Vietnamese government during my visit in February. Our Ambassador in Seoul has raised the issue of cruelty related to the dog meat trade with the South Korean authorities, explaining that UK Parliamentarians and the public would like to see regulation that would bring this to an end. Ministers have also raised the issue with Chinese counterparts, and we continue to work alongside the authorities there to help protect the welfare of stray animals.

I will be writing to all relevant Ambassadors about this issue in due course and the Government will consider a review of how we interact with various international organisations on dog meat consumption, specifically on the issue of health.