Tag: Richard Burden

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the incidence of hearing loss of mobile phones and other similar devices which do not have a volume control; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The Department has made no assessment of the effects on the incidence of hearing loss of mobile phones and other similar devices which do not have a volume control.

The Department’s Policy Research Programme is funding COSMOS (Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health) which is conducted by Imperial College London and expected to end in 2019. This study will investigate possible health effects from long term use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies, on a United Kingdom cohort of 105,000 adults. One of the health outcomes investigated will be tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Hearing loss is one of the factors that may be involved in the development of tinnitus and this study will monitor the incidence of tinnitus in mobile phone users.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on ensuring the Government meets its EU renewable energy targets.

Andrew Jones

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) requires larger fossil fuel suppliers to demonstrate that sufficient renewable fuel has been supplied to meet their obligation. The obligation is set as a proportion of a supplier’s overall fuel supply by volume.

Renewable fuels supplied for use in transport in the UK are also reported under the RTFO on a volume basis, in litres or kilograms. The energy content of renewable fuels used in transport is calculated using the default energy values set out in Annex III of the Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC).

Officials from the Department for Transport and the Department for Energy and Climate Change are in regular contact on the development of proposals to meet EU renewable energy targets, under the Directive.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency retaining core responsibility for the (a) commercial promotion and (b) auditing and assurance of the Red Ensign Group of Shipping Registers.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Secretary of State for Transport has ultimate responsibility for the safety of all British shipping and has delegated authority to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to ensure that the standards maintained by Red Ensign Group (REG) shipping registries operated by UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are in accordance with their International obligations.

Commercial promotion and marketing is the responsibility of the individual shipping registries. The registers operate on the basis of mutual support rather than in direct commercial completion.

The MCA’s promotion of the REG shipping registries is limited to ensuring that they all maintain the same core high standards and international obligations as the REG ship registers are represented as a single member state within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by the UK.

Overseeing, monitoring, enforcing of standards, the audit and assurance of the REG shipping registries, is undertaken by the MCA’s Business Improvement and Assurance (BI&A) team which is independent from the UK Ship Register (UKSR). As part of this process, the BI&A team will monitor REG members to ensure that they have in place the necessary resources and infrastructure appropriate to the types and size of ships they wish to register.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Minister of State to the Transport Committee on 25 April 2016, what further testing or retesting his officials are carrying out; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Our initial testing programme, launched in the wake of the VW emissions scandal, is now complete and the results were published on 21 April. The Department for Transport will be establishing a new unit focused on checking that vehicles meet type approval requirements. The unit will have a budget of £1 million a year and will involve the department’s agencies, the Vehicle Certification Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. It will initially focus on emissions testing and enforcement. The unit will be operational later this year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the outcome of the current review of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (a) status and (b) governance; and if he will ensure that a copy of that review is placed in the Library when it is complete.

Mr Robert Goodwill

This work is focused on options for making the commercial functions of the MCA, such as the UK Ship Register, more attractive. An initial review of these options is expected to be completed by the autumn and will be published.

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.