Tag: Richard Burden

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff currently work at the marine offices in (a) Tyne, (b) Plymouth, (c) Beverley, (d) Orpington, (e) Harwich and (f) Norwich; and how many unfilled vacancies exist at each such location.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The table below shows the current level of staffing (Headcount and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)), current full complement and vacancies at each of the six locations listed:

Marine Office	Full Complement (FTE)	Current Headcount	Current (FTE)	Vacancies (FTE)
a	Tyne (includes Ensign Unit)	23.60	18	15.90	7.7
b	Plymouth	8.27	9	6.94	1.33
c	Beverley	19	16	14.66	4.34
d	Orpington	12	11	10	2
e	Harwich	4	3	3	1
f	Norwich	5	5	5	0

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals to reduce the number of marine offices in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the number and severity of incidents involving trains carrying nuclear material on the rail network.

Andrea Leadsom

Details of safety events involving the transport of nuclear material both by rail and on the strategic road network can be found in the following report:

Events reported to Nuclear Safety Regulator 2001-2015:

http://news.onr.org.uk/2016/02/events-reported-to-nuclear-safety-regulator-2001-15/

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the proposal to the International Maritime Organisation to develop a work plan to define shipping’s fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the meeting on 18 to 22 April 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We welcome the paper submitted to the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee proposing the development of a work plan to define international shipping’s fair share in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Negotiations on how the global shipping sector can 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.

Department for Transport officials have been working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other departments to ensure that the UK is well placed to play a leading role in the upcoming discussions regarding this “fair share” and will continue to do so as progress is made towards a global solution to tackling emissions from international shipping.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Departments provide how much funding to the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

Andrew Jones

The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The total amount of funding for 2016/17 is £0.4m from DfT and £6.3m from BIS. This includes admin and programme spend.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what annual reserves the Maritime and Coastguard Agency accrued in fees from ship survey and inspection work in each year since 2000-01.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The income the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has received for marine surveys in each year since 2000-01 is shown below:

Financial Year	£’000
2000/01	3,685
2001/02	3,455
2002/03	3,663
2003/04	3,708
2004/05	3,953
2005/06	4,115
2006/07	4,634
2007/08	4,669
2008/09	5,193
2009/10	5,513
2010/11	5,537
2011/12	5,260
2012/13	5,046
2013/14	5,519
2014/15	4,322
2015/16*	5,085

* Draft Figure (Subject to Audit)

Note that the income earned through fees is used to cover the costs of the work and surpluses are not accrued. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as a Government Agency, does not hold annual reserves.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what projection he has made of the cost savings from the proposed closure of the Marine Office in Norwich in 2019.

Mr Robert Goodwill

There are no projected savings from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) proposals to close Norwich Marine Office because the plan put forward proposes to invest in a Marine Office nearer London.

Just closing the office would realise savings of £66K per annum. The only value to the MCA is the value of the lease. The value of land and building assets reside with the landlord.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the UK’s existing (a) road infrastructure and (b) skills in the workforce for the anticipated rise in the number of autonomous vehicles.

Andrew Jones

Autonomous vehicles could potentially have significant impacts on congestion, safety, and efficiency. The Government recognises that this is an important issue and needs to be better understood to properly inform long-term policy and investment decisions. For this reason, the Department for Transport is currently engaging with interested parties and conducting research and development to understand the specific requirements on the road infrastructure needed for the deployment of these technologies.

The Transport Systems Catapult is developing a report on current and future skills for the fast-growing Intelligent Mobility sector, which includes autonomous vehicles. This report will be complete in early summer.

This work is ongoing, and forms part of a much wider programme of research and development that the Government is supporting to examine the issues associated with these technologies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK ground personnel based in Saudi Arabia have witnessed the (a) movement, (b) transport or (c) storage of cluster munitions in that country.

Michael Fallon

No.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 41943, how many people have (a) claimed and (b) received payment under the vaccine damages payment scheme in respect of a vaccine used for whooping cough.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the honourable gentleman to my response to his question dated 31 May 2016. Information regarding claims and awards in respect of a particular disease or vaccine is unavailable.