Tag: Richard Burden

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s policy is on capping exceed costs on mobile phone contracts for consumers.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The UK mobile network operators (Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE, together with Virgin Mobile) have signed a Code of Practice on Consumer Billing, which sets out a number of ways help customers to avoid excess charges when exceeding their monthly allowance. The code outlines the need for regular updates on usage, so customers can manage spend. For example, operators committed to sending alerts to customers – usually SMS messages – when they are nearing their bundle limits.

In addition, for contracts entered into after 23 January 2014, consumers can exit contracts without penalty, and hence can switch to another provider or tariff, when the agreed core price (usually the monthly subscription) increases. All communications providers have to comply with these rules when increasing prices.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to promote safety among older drivers; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The crucial factor for road safety is not a driver’s age, but their physical and mental fitness to drive. The current licensing arrangements support road safety without penalising those older drivers who remain fit and competent to drive.

When drivers aged 70 and over renew their licences, they must declare any medical condition that could affect their fitness to drive and confirm that they meet the legal eyesight standards. Renewals are at three-yearly intervals and provide a timely reminder for drivers to consider their health in the context of driving.

Additionally, all drivers have an ongoing duty to inform the DVLA at any time of the onset or worsening of a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive safely. When a driver declares a medical condition, the DVLA will investigate their ongoing fitness to hold a driving licence.

The Department has provided grant funding to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to develop a dedicated older drivers website that will provide information to drivers and their families on driving safely. The website should go live within the next couple of weeks.

We will consider the Older Driver forums review of older driver safety when it is published, subject to priorities set out in the British Road Safety Statement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the Brazilian government’s enforcement of domestic cabotage legislation on the offshore supply sector in the North Sea.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The UK Government’s strong preference is to encourage free trade and liberalization of cabotage wherever possible, in the broad interests of international trade and economic growth. So far as I am aware, the Brazilian Government’s decision has no significant direct effect on the offshore supply sector in the North Sea, and there is no intention to amend cabotage rules in relation to that sector.

However, the Government does recognize the present pressures upon the North Sea oil and gas sector and, on his recent visit to Aberdeen, my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister set out an action plan for a set of measures including a £1.3bn package of tax measures for the oil and gas industry to ensure the UK Continental Shelf remains an attractive destination for investment and a £20M package of investment in exploration, innovation and skills, as well as the new City Deal for Aberdeen itself.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on the results of that government’s lowering of drink-drive limits; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

I am intending to discuss with the Scottish Minister about the experience of the lower limit in Scotland and about the timescales to get access to robust evidence of the road safety impact. It is important to base our decisions on evidence and the Scottish experience will be crucial to that before we consider any possible changes to the limits in England and Wales. This Government’s current position however remains to focus resources on enforcing against the most serious offenders.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 24307, if he will publish on his Departmental website the existing guidance produced by his Department for seafarers on the national minimum wage.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Guidance produced for seafarers in respect of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the responsibility of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

General NMW guidance, including reference to seafarers, can be found at;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/calculating-the-minimum-wage

BIS is currently in the process of revising its NMW guidance for seafarers (in full consultation with relevant stakeholders) and expects to publish the amended guidance in early 2016.

“

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 26202, how many items of correspondence his Department has received from the public on the extension of the plug-in grant for motor cycles.

Andrew Jones

The last Government announced plans for a new grant to support plug-in motorcycles on 27 March 2015. Since then, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has answered 38 items of correspondence from 20 members of the public on this issue.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many organisations were affected by his Department’s pilot of anti-sock puppet rules; how many exemptions were made under that pilot scheme; and what estimate he has made of the savings to the public purse that arose from that pilot scheme.

Mr Marcus Jones

The guidelines ensure that government grants are only spent on the good causes and programmes spelt out in the underlying grant agreement, and prevent taxpayers’ money being diverted to unproductive lobbying. The savings are thus delivered by ensuring all such public money is properly spent on the intended purposes, rather than seeking to reduce the absolute level of government grants as a consequence of stopping taxpayer-funded lobbying.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many North Korean refugees have approached the British Embassy or Consulate in China for safe passage or asylum in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Hugo Swire

We do not have any record of refugees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea approaching Our Embassy in Beijing or our Consulates in China to claim safe passage or asylum in the last 10 years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 27610, for what reasons the technical solution offered by VW was accepted in the EU but not in the US.

Andrew Jones

Manufacturers are required to comply with different technical standards between the EU market and the USA market. The engineering solution proposed by VW will bring its diesel cars into compliance with the EU emissions limits and testing is underway to confirm that this solution works for all model types. We do not have information regarding VW’s technical solutions in the USA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his speech of 15 March 2016 to the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism Conference, what legal changes he has made following a campaign led by Jewish Human Rights Watch.

Dominic Raab

On 3 October 2015, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the Government’s position on boycott, divestment and sanctions, including legal changes.