The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish a draft of the Modern Transport Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The final date for the introduction of the Modern Transport Bill will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 12 April 2016 to Question 32352, whether the memorandum of understanding between the Home Office, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police has been agreed.
Mr Robert Goodwill
I can confirm that the memorandum of understanding between the Department for Transport, the Home Office, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police has been signed and is operational.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he and his officials have had with Public Health England about the collection of data on secondary breast cancer in (a) the West Midlands and (b) England.
David Mowat
Ministers, officials, Public Health England (PHE) and breast cancer charities are in ongoing discussions about secondary breast cancer data.
The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), which is part of PHE, is supporting the direct reporting of recurrence data by all hospital trusts, as part of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset (COSD). Since 2013 there has been the ability to report breast cancer recurrences in COSD, and in 2015 this was expanded to include all cancer recurrences, but these data are not yet being fully collected and submitted by all trusts.
NCRAS is helping trusts improve their reporting by visiting, providing reporting guidance, and by giving rapid feedback on the number of recurrences they have submitted to NCRAS. To further support this work NCRAS is currently preparing to share new provider-level data for the whole of England on the data completeness of recurrence reporting within trusts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Ambassador to Israel was asked to sign the letter, signed in July 2016 by eight European ambassadors, to Israeli officials on the confiscation of EU-funded structures and the displacement of 49 people in Jabal al Baba; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Our Ambassador to Israel was not asked to sign this letter. We understand that a group of international donors to the Occupied Palestinian Territories Humanitarian Pooled Fund wrote to the Israeli authorities to note their concerns about confiscation of several humanitarian assistance projects. The UK is not part of this fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from (a) Birmingham Airport and (b) other regional airports outside London on maintaining existing routes and increasing the number of long haul flights on offer; and if he will make a statement.
Mr John Hayes
Transport Ministers have regular discussions with airport operators across the country on aviation policy issues, including domestic and international air connectivity. The UK’s airports operate commercially, and it is a matter for them to work collaboratively with airlines to maintain existing air services and develop new ones.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects in Israel and the Palestinian territories were supported from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund in 2016-17; and what the level of funding and support was for each such project.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The following projects are funded from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) during the current financial year (2016/17). These are projected spend figures and so are subject to change.
– Small training team as part of the United States Security Coordinator to provide institutional development and professionalisation of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces. £2.23m.
– Technical assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior (MOI) to improve its capability to provide oversight and management of the security services. £1.8m.
– Support to EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support. £0.067m.
– Empowerment of young Israeli leaders to strengthen support for peace in their communities. £0.3m.
– UK-Israel Informal Security Dialogue. £0.025m.
– Legal Aid and Settlement Monitoring in the West Bank. £1.5m.
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 implications for his policies of the recent findings of the UK Flag Advisory Panel on reform of the UK Ship Register.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The findings of the UK Ship Register Advisory Panel formed part of the evidence considered by the Maritime Growth Study, published on 7 September, and helped inform the Chair’s specific recommendations on 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 taking steps to support the improved operation of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) by appointing a commercial director to lead the UK Ship Register separately from the Agency’s regulatory functions and developing a business case to explore the costs and benefits of options for more significant reform of the MCA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how he plans to implement his policy on local authority procurement policies in relation to boycotts, divestments and sanctions against other countries and the UK defence industry announced on 3 October 2015.
Matthew Hancock
Cabinet Office will shortly issue guidance that reminds public authorities of their international obligations when letting public contracts. Foreign policy is not a matter for local authorities. The guidance will make clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate and may be illegal, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions that have been put in place by the Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 16052, what steps he is taking to ensure that the two Skoda vehicles tested were representative of the affected models and manufacturers from the Volkswagen Group; and what steps were taken to validate the effectiveness of the test procedure for the wider programme.
Andrew Jones
The two Skoda cars tested are part of the Vehicle Certification Agency fleet. Their engines are of the type that VW has confirmed as being equipped with software that recognises test conditions. Our testing has confirmed differences in exhaust emissions when measured using the type approval tests and with an alternative procedure. However, it cannot be guaranteed that a single alternative procedure would identify defeat strategies on other vehicles and therefore our planned programme of work will involve a number of alternative tests, including real driving, to interrogate their emission behaviour.
Our programme will consider, without bias, approximately 40 vehicles that are representative of some 70 different models in the UK market. These have been selected based both upon the volume of sales over each of the last 5-years and the overall number of each model currently licensed for use on the roads of Great Britain.
We have agreed with ministers in France and in Germany to exchange knowledge and understanding as our respective programmes develop. This collaboration may allow our programmes to be rationalised to avoid duplication of testing and secure best value for the taxpayer.
An update on progress will be prepared early in the New Year and a full report will be issued at the conclusion of the work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women’s refuge services (a) take steps to improve the level of reporting and (b) contribute to data gathering on cases of domestic violence and forced marriage.
Mr Marcus Jones
Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims is a key priority of this Government. As announced at Summer budget we have carried out, along with Home Office, a review of domestic abuse services, working closely with the Women’s sector using much of their data and we recognise how important data reporting is. Since 2003, the Government has supported UKRefugesOnline to maintain a database of domestic abuse services. In the Summer Budget we allocated an additional £131,000 of funding to support additional caseworkers at the helpline. It is for local commissioners to draw up agreements on data collection with domestic abuse service providers to support their local area Domestic Abuse Strategies.