Tag: Richard Burden

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what annual reserves the Maritime and Coastguard Agency accrued in fees from ship survey and inspection work in each year since 2000-01.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The income the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has received for marine surveys in each year since 2000-01 is shown below:

Financial Year	£’000
2000/01	3,685
2001/02	3,455
2002/03	3,663
2003/04	3,708
2004/05	3,953
2005/06	4,115
2006/07	4,634
2007/08	4,669
2008/09	5,193
2009/10	5,513
2010/11	5,537
2011/12	5,260
2012/13	5,046
2013/14	5,519
2014/15	4,322
2015/16*	5,085

* Draft Figure (Subject to Audit)

Note that the income earned through fees is used to cover the costs of the work and surpluses are not accrued. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as a Government Agency, does not hold annual reserves.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what projection he has made of the cost savings from the proposed closure of the Marine Office in Norwich in 2019.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There are no projected savings from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) proposals to close Norwich Marine Office because the plan put forward proposes to invest in a Marine Office nearer London.

Just closing the office would realise savings of £66K per annum. The only value to the MCA is the value of the lease. The value of land and building assets reside with the landlord.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the UK’s existing (a) road infrastructure and (b) skills in the workforce for the anticipated rise in the number of autonomous vehicles.

Andrew Jones

Autonomous vehicles could potentially have significant impacts on congestion, safety, and efficiency. The Government recognises that this is an important issue and needs to be better understood to properly inform long-term policy and investment decisions. For this reason, the Department for Transport is currently engaging with interested parties and conducting research and development to understand the specific requirements on the road infrastructure needed for the deployment of these technologies.

The Transport Systems Catapult is developing a report on current and future skills for the fast-growing Intelligent Mobility sector, which includes autonomous vehicles. This report will be complete in early summer.

This work is ongoing, and forms part of a much wider programme of research and development that the Government is supporting to examine the issues associated with these technologies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK ground personnel based in Saudi Arabia have witnessed the (a) movement, (b) transport or (c) storage of cluster munitions in that country.

Michael Fallon

No.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 41943, how many people have (a) claimed and (b) received payment under the vaccine damages payment scheme in respect of a vaccine used for whooping cough.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the honourable gentleman to my response to his question dated 31 May 2016. Information regarding claims and awards in respect of a particular disease or vaccine is unavailable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on promoting (a) a sulphur limit and (b) decarbonisation measures through the International Maritime Organisation.

Mr John Hayes

Department for Transport officials continue to work with their European and international counterparts on both matters.

Ships operating in an emission control area (ECA) – such as the North Sea (including the English Channel) and Baltic Sea – are already subject to a 0.1 per cent sulphur limit. The next sulphur limit to affect shipping will be the 0.5 per cent global cap for ships when operating outside an ECA. The limit will apply in 2020, subject to the outcome of IMO’s review of fuel availability, which could see its application deferred until 2025. The review’s findings will be considered at the next session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which takes place in October 2016.

Regarding measures to reduce carbon emissions from ships, we expect a global data collection system on fuel consumption from ships to be adopted at the upcoming MEPC meeting. This is the first step in a process considering further technical and operational measures to enhance the energy efficiency of shipping. Officials will also play an active role in the Working Group at the same meeting to discuss how international shipping can play its part in delivering the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for replacing or renewing the National Stroke Strategy when it expires in 2017.

David Mowat

The National Stroke Strategy remains valid and implementation of it continues. There are, therefore, no current plans to renew the national stroke strategy. Action is being taken to ensure the progress made on stroke continues. This includes;

– publication of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy in 2013, which includes many stroke specific strategic ambitions;

– a CVD expert forum, hosted by NHS England, to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy; and

– NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke working with the Strategic Clinical Networks, Urgent and Emergency Care Networks, clinical commissioning groups, Sustainability and Transformation Plans, voluntary agencies and individual providers to support better commissioning and provision of stroke care.

More generally, the NHS Five Year Forward View recognises that quality of care, including stroke care, can be variable and that patients’ needs are changing and new treatment options are emerging. The Five Year Forward View sets out high level objectives to address these issues.

There has been no formal evaluation of the National Stroke Strategy. However there is a continuous evaluation of the quality of stroke care via the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP). This measures most of the key indicators defined as important in the strategy and findings are available on the SSNAP website:

https://www.strokeaudit.org/

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what processes the Government has in place to check luggage on flights to the UK at (a) departing airports with known security concerns and (b) the destination airport.

Mr John Hayes

Under international treaties administered by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), all contracting states are responsible for the implementation of aviation security regimes in their own airports, to be applied according to a number of standards and recommended practices set out by ICAO.

Baggage belonging to air passengers arriving in the UK is screened for security purposes at the airport of departure and would only be re-screened if the passenger was taking an onward flight from a UK airport.

The standards of aviation security applied to flights inbound to the UK are a priority for the Department for Transport. The Department deploys a network of skilled professionals to engage with host states supporting the improvement of standards in aviation security. This is to ensure the protection of all inbound UK flights, out of those regions by identifying and mitigating security risks, including vulnerabilities at international airports worldwide.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likely causes of changes in the size of the UK Ship Register since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill

A decline in UK shipping interests, including in the size of the UK Ship Register, was one of the reasons government launched the Maritime Growth Study in 2014. The evidence into the Study included an assessment from the independent UK Ship Register Advisory Panel, which was commissioned by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to review the current performance of the UK Ship Register and consider the conditions which would enable the Register to become more internationally competitive. The Panel’s report includes their views on the reasons for the decline in the Register and was published on 16 July 2015.

The wider Study, published on 7 September 2015, considered the increasing international competition faced by the UK maritime sector as a whole, but contains a number of proposals specific to the UK Ship Register.

The Government will respond formally to the Maritime Growth Study by the end of 2015, but is taking immediate action in response to some recommendations. This includes the establishment of a Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth and taking steps to support the improved operation of the MCA such as appointing a commercial director to lead the UK Ship Register separately from the Agency’s regulatory functions and a business case exploring the costs and benefits of options for more significant reform of the MCA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Statement of 10 November 2015, HCWS301, (a) how many Volkswagon vehicles have been retested to date, (b) how many such vehicles he expects to be retested and (c) what the findings were of the retest in relation to discrepancies in (i) nitrogen oxide and (ii) carbon dioxide emission figures; what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the retest programme; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Two Skoda vehicles (from the Volkswagen Group), of a type identified by the manufacturer as having defeat devices fitted, have been tested. These tests were to determine the potential for a wider test programme to identify the presence of a defeat device.

We are not planning to retest any further Volkswagen group vehicles that are known to have defeat devices fitted but the Vehicle Certification Agency will test vehicles presented by Skoda (and at Skoda’s expense) to verify that the technical solution proposed ensures that the affected vehicles operate in accordance with the regulatory requirements.

We do not have firm numbers for these preliminary tests in relation to nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide as they were not designed to provide absolute measurement, but to validate a test procedure for the wider programme.

We have approved a budget of £675,000 from public funds to ensure that this important work can proceed. However, we have agreed with ministers in Germany and in France that we will collaborate to avoid duplication of testing and secure best value for the taxpayer.