Tag: Richard Burden

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to Highways England was of its contract with Amey for services in Area 7; and which other companies bid for that contract.

Andrew Jones

The contract awarded by Highways England was for a value of £422,720,000 over 15 years. This is the maximum spend allowable through this contract and includes for inflation over its duration. Other companies that bid for the contract were: –

• Carillion Construction Ltd
• Colas Ltd
• Costain Ltd
• Martin & McCann Ltd
• Ringway Infrastructure Services Ltd
• Skanska Construction Ltd
• GC Landscapes Management Ltd

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to improve national minimum wage enforcement in the shipping industry.

Nick Boles

The application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for seafarers continues to be considered by the cross-Government working group which is reviewing the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011.

The Government is working with key stakeholders through this working group to agree and finalise revised guidance on the NMW for seafarers which will be published in spring 2016.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who is entitled to receive the NMW does so, and we have committed to increasing the enforcement budget again this year in order to secure that aim. HM Revenue and Customs will investigate all NMW complaints from workers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department plans to monitor and assess the effect of the revised anti-lobbying clause beyond 1 May 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In line with guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, the Department will monitor compliance with this clause in the same way as other contractual terms and conditions, and will consider enforcement action where necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress in the EU structured dialogue with Israel in halting the demolition and confiscation of EU-funded structures in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There has been a significant increase in Israeli demolitions since the start of 2016. The UK and the EU continue to raise concerns about demolitions with the Government of Israel and make it clear that demolitions are contrary to international humanitarian law in all but the most exceptional cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the UK Ship Register’s obligations are in relation to seafarers’ (a) employment and (b) collective bargaining agreements; and whether he plans to make changes to those obligations as a result of the recommendations of the (i) Maritime Growth Study and (ii) UK Ship Register Advisory Panel.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Seafarers’ employment conditions and collective bargaining agreements are a matter for agreement between management and workers/employers and seafarers.

The UK Ship Register’s obligation is to enforce UK regulations ((Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc) 2014). These regulations implement the international requirements relating to living and working conditions on board (the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006).

No changes to that obligation were recommended by the Maritime Growth Study or UK Ship Register Advisory Panel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33618, what the new contract arrangements are which he refers to; what assessment was made of the potential use of contract arrangements similar to those new contract arrangements with Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd referred to; and for what reasons the contract was not put out for full tender.

Andrew Jones

(a) The ‘new contract arrangements’ is a reference to the two-year contract extension granted in 2013 to Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd as part of an agreed settlement following its legal challenge to the theory test service procurement of that time.

(b) Those new contract arrangements were bespoke to the settlement at that time.

(c) As indicated in response 162377, Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd will continue to provide the driver theory test services. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have now agreed a contract variation to extend the contract for a period of 4 years. Their contract would otherwise have ended on 4 September. The contract for them to continue to provide the services has not been put out to tender because there is insufficient time to conduct an open competition and have a new provider ready to start in time. This extension allows us time to conduct a thorough procurement exercise and explore options for alternative delivery models.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK seafarer (a) officers and (b) ratings employed in the offshore supply vessel sector have been made redundant in each month since June 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We do not hold this information.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average waiting time for a practical driving test and (b) number of staffing opportunities at test centres not yet filled was in each region of England in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency recruitment strategy.

Andrew Jones

The average waiting time for a car driving test for the 2015/16 financial year was 8.4 weeks. The average waiting time for a car test measured at the time of writing (24 May) was 11.5 weeks.

The following table explains the current driving examiner recruitment position:

	New Recruits 2015/16	Planned Recruits 2016/17	completed training since 1 Apr 2016	currently undergoing training	training start confirmed	offer made – undergoing pre- employment check	Ongoing recruitment (latest advert)
Scotland & N England	28	58	2	8	16	9	32
Central England & N Wales	64	67	7	4	24	3	49
Southern England & S Wales	59	58	9	8	30	2	45
London & S E England	42	104	8	8	13	7	52
	193	287	26	28	83	21	178

During 2015 DVSA carried out a review of the end to end process of driving examiner resourcing – from forecasting demand for driving tests to understand where and how many driving examiners are needed, through the attraction and selection stages of recruitment to offer of appointment and training. The overall assessment was that there was significant scope for improvement at all stages in the process. The recommendations of the review are being implemented and include:

• the use of improved forecasting models
• modernised attraction approaches
• more focussed assessment methods
• streamlined training programmes.

The overarching objectives are to shorten the time from a driving examiner vacancy being identified to it being filled. DVSA also wants to improve the diversity and capabilities of the new starters it appoints.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made to his French counterpart on the effect on road freight of recent strike action in France.

Andrew Jones

Transport Ministers and the Department for Transport had received no written representations on this subject, as of 31^st May 2016. The effect on road freight of the recent strike action has not been specifically raised by UK Transport Ministers with French counterparts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Foreign Secretary on diplomatic efforts to promote an agreement for reducing shipping emissions through the International Maritime Organisation.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Department for Transport officials continue to work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other departments to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in ongoing discussions in the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee regarding a global solution to tackling emissions from international shipping.

With greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping expected to grow as others sectors act to reduce theirs, the UK Government is clear that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) must take further steps to cut emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Negotiations in the IMO on how the global shipping sector further reduce emissions and contribute to the goal in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C, are at an early, technical stage.