Tag: Richard Burden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what work his Department is carrying out to follow up the International Maritime Organisation summit on shipping emissions in April 2016; and whether the UK will play an active role in the working group established at that summit.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are working closely with other Government departments, as well as the European Commission and European Union and IMO Member States, to reach an agreement on the development of a work plan and timetable to define shipping’s fair share of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The UK is committed to ensuring that the international maritime sector plays its part in achieving a global solution to limit average temperature increases as set out in the Paris Agreement, reached at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and will play an active role in the working group on this issue as set up at the 69^th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee in April 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK-registered offshore supply vessels have been re-flagged under open registers in each month since January 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Since January 2015, 11 offshore supply vessels have left the UK flag. Out of these 11 vessels, 10 have re-flagged under open registers. One left in January 2015; three in April 2015; two in May 2015; and one in each of June 2015, July 2015, November 2015 and March 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on developing a scheme to publish pass rates of instructors as set out in his Department’s Motoring Services Strategy; and how much funding he has allocated to that project.

Andrew Jones

The proposal to publish pass rates of Approved Driving Instructors forms part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s broader plans to improve overall standards and transparency.

The Agency has been exploring with the ADI National Association Strategic Partnership (NASP) the development of a voluntary ‘earned recognition’ scheme which would acknowledge and recognise the extent to which Approved Driving Instructors are compliant with regulations and/or adopting high professional standards.

The Agency will want to discuss the voluntary publication of pass rates with NASP as part of their ongoing discussions. Once the scope of the proposals has been determined appropriate funding will be allocated to the overall programme of reforms.

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 evidence given by the Minister of State for Transport to the EU Internal Market Sub-Committee on 18 April 2016, what the (a) purpose, (b) membership and (c) date of the last meeting of the new forum the Government has established is.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The purpose of the forum is to provide a means to consult, and gather external stakeholder input, in order to inform and influence the development of future unmanned aircraft systems aviation policy, regulation and legislation at a national and international level. The aim is to develop a richer and deeper interaction with external stakeholders which commences early in the regulatory development process.

The forum met on the 11th May 2016, and was attended by the Civil Aviation Authority, Frazer-Nash Consultancy, the British Model Flying Association, ADS Group, the Military Aviation Authority, the Department for Transport, Sussex Police, the Association of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, the Airport Operators Association, First Person View, the British Airline Pilots Association, BSI Group, with apologies from NATS.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.31 of his Department’s Road Safety Statement, published in December 2015, what progress he has made on ensuring that the Government promotes the uptake of vehicles with high safety ratings through its own buying and procurement.

Andrew Jones

The Government Buying Standards (GBS) are mandatory for central government procurement and recommended for the wider public sector.

The current GBS has been in place since 2012. Departments for Transport and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are working together to revise the standards for cars and revisions will encourage safer and cleaner vehicles where appropriate, new standards are expected by 2017.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been provided to each combined authority in each year since those combined authorities have been established.

Andrew Percy

The funding provided to combined authorities is agreed through Devolution Deals and City Deals (where applicable). These deals are individually negotiated agreements that include funding as well as the devolution of additional powers and flexibilities. The funding shown below has been provided directly by the government to each combined authority since they were established.

Combined Authority	Financial year	Overall total (£m)
Greater Manchester 1/4/2011*	2011/12	223.9
2012/13	59.6
2013/14	81.1
2014/15	182.6
2015/16	241.9
2016/17	290.3
North East 15/4/2014*	2014/15	27.4
	2015/16	117.1
	2016/17	132.0
West Yorkshire/ Leeds 1/4/2014*	2014/15	72.3
	2015/16	120.0
	2016/17	182.6
Tees Valley 1/4/2016*	2016/17	15.7
West Midlands 17/6/2016*	2016/17	85.1
Sheffield City Region 1/4/2014*	2014/15	26.0
	2015/16	82.6
	2016/17	101.2
Liverpool City Region 1/4/2014*	2014/15	28.3
	2015/16	60.1
	2016/17	98.9

*Date established

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what work her Department is doing with other countries to prevent the (a) global trade in illegal hunting trophies and (b) trade and importation of illegal hunting trophies in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The UK remains committed to working with our international partners to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, including trade in illegal hunting trophies. This is why we have invested £13 million through our illegal wildlife trade Challenge Fund to support international projects, reduce global demand for illegal wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement and help rebuild affected communities. We have been a leading player in global efforts to date, hosting the ground-breaking London Conference in 2014 and supporting follow up conferences in Botswana in 2015 and Vietnam in 2016.

Importing controls are implemented at an EU-wide level and the UK works with other EU Member States to agree a collective approach, ensuring that illegal hunting trophies are not imported into the UK.

The UK has been actively involved in the development of a proposal for enhanced global rules on hunting trophies to be considered at the 17th Conference of CITES Parties, which takes place from 24 September to 5 October. The proposal aims to enhance existing guidelines to ensure that robust controls are in place to assess the sustainability of hunting on the population of the species in question.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to make an announcement on runway expansion in the South East.

Mr John Hayes

The case for aviation expansion is clear – but it’s vitally important we get the decision right so that it will benefit generations to come. As well as progressing the package of further work announced previously, the government is considering the Commission’s evidence before reaching a view on its preferred scheme this month.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the extent to which emissions type approval requirements are met during normal on road usage of each category of road vehicle.

Andrew Jones

The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen (VW) Group extremely seriously. As we investigate what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again, the priority of course remains to protect the public. We expect VW to take every step necessary to protect its UK customers, but it is right that the Government carry out their own thorough and independent investigation.

A written statement was made today (10 November) informing the House of the latest developments on the Department for Transport’s vehicle emissions testing programme, following the revelations that VW had fitted defeat devices to some of its vehicles.

The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is working to confirm that this issue is not industry wide. They have tested two VW group vehicles known to contain a defeat device and will rerun laboratory tests on popular cars sold in the UK to compare real world driving emissions against laboratory performance. This will include measuring CO₂ .

The Secretary of State spoke to Dr Herbert Deiss of VW on 4 November to discuss CO₂ emissions, seeking information on those vehicles affected in the UK and the extent of the discrepancy. VW have stated that they are working hard to clarify the situation and are liaising with relevant approval authorities.

The Secretary of State has written jointly with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to VW seeking clarification on several issues. Separately, officials from the Department for Transport, and its Agencies have held a number of discussions with VW regarding the recall of affected vehicles.

The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of on road emissions in relation to type approval requirements, but officials are aware of the findings in published reports suggesting significant differences.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assistance the Government has given to (a) Kent Police, (b) Kent County Council, (c) other operational organisations and (d) businesses to cover costs and losses during the implementation of Operation Stack in 2015.

Andrew Jones

To date, no additional financial assistance has been provided by the Department for Transport to Kent Police, Kent County Council, or other operational organisations / businesses in relation to Operation Stack being implemented during 2015.

However, we are working closely with Highways England on the best approach to address their additional costs brought about by the implementation of Operation Stack.

Any financial assistance relating to Kent Police and UK businesses is a matter for the Home Office and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills respectively.