Tag: Richard Burden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process will be for the cancellation of the Police and Crime Commissioner elections due to take place in May 2016 for areas now to form part of the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Mike Penning

The West Midlands devolution agreement, published on 17 November 2015, stated that: ‘Proposals for an appropriate relationship between the functions of a Mayor and future role of the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including in relation to fire services, to be developed, subject to local consent and a business case developed jointly by the PCC and council leaders, and in consultation with the Fire and Rescue Authorities.’

At this stage, there has been no decision to transfer PCC functions to an elected Mayor for the West Midlands and there are no plans to cancel the 2016 PCC election in the West Midlands.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Vauxhall on Zafira models catching fire.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is in regular contact with Vauxhall regarding their investigation into the cause of the fires. Vauxhall are continuing their action of notifying owners of Zafira’s, requesting the return of the vehicle to a franchised dealer for inspection of the heating and ventilation system.

DVSA have a forthcoming meeting with Vauxhall to evaluate early evidence from the fire damaged vehicles and those vehicles examined as part of the pro-active action. DVSA will continue to work with the manufacturer to identify the cause of the fires and agree an action going forward to address the issue.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many disputes have been filed through an accredited tenancy deposit scheme and withdrawn before a final decision was made in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis

The number of disputed cases filed but withdrawn by each of the three authorised tenancy deposit schemes in the last five years is set out in the tables below.

Number of cases withdrawn before adjudication by approved scheme

2010/11(1) 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

MyDeposits (2)

177 1,012 1,324 1,626 1,728

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Deposit Protection Service (3)

1,049 (4) 1,945 1,888 2,489 2,464

The Dispute Service

832 1,186 1,810 2,140 2,075

(1) From 24 November 2010

(2) Figures include cases where tenants have raised a dispute but scheme has been unable to contact them for further information.

(3) Figures include cases where (i) both parties have reached agreement (ii) notification given that the case is going to court (iii) one party has not submitted any evidence within the required timescale which has resulted in the disputed amount being paid to the other party and (iv) other reasons.

(4) From June to December 2011

The upward trend in the number of cases withdrawn before adjudication is a result of the successful use of mediation services by the schemes before the formal adjudication process begins and the detailed guidance and advice provided to both landlords and tenants by the schemes to help avoid disputes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what schemes are available to commercial drivers under the plug-in van grant scheme to purchase a home charge and charge point at work.

Andrew Jones

The Government offers grant funding to offset some of the upfront cost of the purchase and installation of dedicated domestic chargepoints to drivers of plug-in vehicles under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). This is available for any van or car eligible for the Plug-in Van and Car Grants. The scheme is available to motorists who are the registered keeper, lessee or have primary use of an eligible electric vehicle and provides up to 75% off the total capital costs of the chargepoint and associated installation costs. The grant is currently capped at £700 including VAT and this is reducing to £500 from 1 March 2016.

The Government does not presently have any similar schemes to assist with the cost of chargepoints in the workplace. This is because our focus so far has been on supporting the installation of chargepoints at motorists’ homes and in public places. However, at the last Spending Review in November last year, we announced that we will spend more than £600 million between 2015 and 2020 to support the uptake and manufacturing of ultra low emission vehicles in the UK. Further details of how this funding will be used – including for provision of charging infrastructure – will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal (ET) cases involved employees and employers from the maritime industry in each year since 2008-09; and what proportion of the total number of ET cases such cases were in each such year.

Mr Shailesh Vara

This information is not held.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any of the structures destroyed by the Israeli authorities in the South Hebron Hills on 2 February 2016 were fully or part-funded by the Government; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK government is concerned by the increase in demolitions of properties in Area C of the West Bank which are harmful to peace, and continues to raise this with Israeli authorities. According to OCHA, at least 21 of the 23 structures demolished on 2^nd February in the South Hebron Hills had been funded by international donors. We are awaiting confirmation from OCHA, however we understand 10 of these structures were funded by the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of non-emergency care in the NHS for non-EEA seafarers employed on UK registered ships in each year since 2009-10.

Alistair Burt

The Department does not hold this information.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26148, on roads: investment, which two projects are not progressing on or ahead of schedule; and when those projects are now expected to be completed.

Andrew Jones

The two projects referred to in Question 26148 are:

A63 Castle Street: this has a commitment to be complete by March 2021 but the current forecast is for August 2021.

The decision to defer was to avoid construction taking place during the year of culture.

A30 Temple to Carblake

This is being delivered by Cornwall County Council: This was originally due to Open for traffic in December 2016, although we understand from Cornwall County Council that current forecast is February 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has received outlining concerns related to his Department’s new anti-lobbying policy.

Matthew Hancock

The few representations received about implementation of the new clause in Government grants have given us the opportunity to explain that the clause does not stop grant recipients from lobbying, but prevents them from spending government grant funded by taxpayers given for a different purpose on lobbying.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the new owners of London City Airport; what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the sale of that airport on airport capacity in the South East; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There have been no discussions with the new owners of London City Airport.

The purchase of London City Airport is a commercial matter between the relevant parties.