Tag: Richard Burden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made on the cancellation of the UK delegation to Israel and the Occupied Territories to follow up the report published by a delegation of British lawyers, entitled Children in Military Custody, in June 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have not received representations on this issue. I expressed my strong disappointment at Israel’s unwillingness to host this follow-up visit with Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely during my visit to Israel on 18 February. Officials from the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, including the Ambassador, also lobbied the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs to cooperate with the visit, and will continue to follow up. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention in Israel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the distinctions between Volkswagen’s practices (a) on the use of defeat devices and (b) in mitigating customer inconvenience in the US and the UK; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the reasons for those distinctions.

Andrew Jones

The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen extremely seriously and our priority is to protect the public. In Europe, Volkswagen Group has developed a technical solution for the affected vehicles and is testing this with the relevant type approval authorities. For Skoda vehicles this is the UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency. We understand that the company is not in the same position in the USA as there is not yet an agreed technical solution. We are urging Volkswagen to complete swiftly the recall of the affected vehicles in the UK.

In his appearance before the Transport Select Committee on 25 January, Paul Willis, the CEO of Volkswagen UK, reconfirmed that Volkswagen do not intend to offer compensation in the UK as they do not believe that vehicle owners have suffered a loss. In the USA they have offered their customers up to $1,000 in gift vouchers. It is for Volkswagen to justify to their customers the different approaches that they are taking in different jurisdictions, however the Government expects Volkswagen to treat its UK customers fairly and the Secretary of State continues to press Volkswagen on the issue of this discrepancy in compensation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate how many (a) people and (b) organisations will be affected by the interim guidance on the new anti-lobbying clause in government grant agreements.

Matthew Hancock

The information requested is not held centrally. We are currently working on improving the data collected on grants through the development of an internal Government Grants Information System. The clause will apply to all grants except in exceptional circumstances as set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-grants-register.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Prime Minister will make an assessment of the potential merits of each proposal on noise mitigation from aviation in the letter to him of 18 February 2016 from the Aviation Environment Federation.

Mr Robert Goodwill

As part of the Government’s ongoing review of noise and airspace policies it will consider the proposals set out the Aviation Environment Federation’s letter to the Prime Minister of 18 February.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from transport organisations on the impairment threat of laser pens.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Ministers and Officials in the Department have received direct representations from the British Air Line Pilots’ Association (BALPA) on the threat to pilots from a laser strike.

Further representations have been received through industry membership to the UK Laser Working Group. The Group which was established by the CAA to develop measures to reduce laser strikes to aircraft includes representatives from British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), Honourable Company of Air Pilots, various airlines and airport operators, as well as Government Departments and Agencies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his speech to the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism on 15 March 2016, what legal changes he was referring to in that speech.

Dominic Raab

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to 31430 on 30^th March 2016.

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.