Tag: Richard Burden

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK-based private security companies operating in (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories adhere to the International Code of Conduct for private security service providers; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government continues to play a leading role in the International Code of Conduct Association, and has a seat on the Association’s Board. We encourage all private security companies (PSCs) working in complex environments overseas to join the Association, which oversees the Code and can monitor that PSCs are adhering to the Code. We are also encouraging all states, companies and Non-Governmental Organisations that contract private security companies to recognise Association membership and accredited certification to relevant standards in their contracting processes. The Government will do likewise.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on introducing a resolution condemning Bahrain’s human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK remains actively engaged with the United Nations Human Rights Council on Bahrain and we will continue to work closely with other member states and to align ourselves with statements which accurately reflect the situation on the ground. The UK is playing a key role in implementing reforms in Bahrain.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in the Israeli government about the treatment of Palestinian child detainees in Israel.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr Grayling) raised the treatment of child detainees with the Israeli Supreme Court President during his visit to Israel in May. I wrote to the Israeli Attorney General on this issue on 31 March 2014.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many of the recommendations made by UNICEF in its March 2013 report on children in Israeli military detention have been implemented by the government of Israeli; and what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on the recommendations in that report that are yet to be implemented.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Government has made no assessment on how many recommendations made by UNICEF have been taken forward by the Israeli authorities. However, we continue to urge the Israeli authorities to take action on the recommendations made in the UNICEF report, and the positive steps they have taken so far, and the earlier independent report by senior British lawyers. I wrote to the Israeli Attorney General on this issue on 31 March 2014.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 710W, on Palestinians, what response Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office made on the issue of demolitions in East Jerusalem or the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    Hugh Robertson

    Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office informed our officials that demolitions take place where building has occurred without a permit from the Israeli authorities. And that – as per the Oslo accords – Israel has planning authority over these areas. They also said that they therefore have the right to evict people and demolish structures, where they consider building to have taken place illegally under Israeli law.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken in response to EU Council Regulation 692/2014 to (a) identify goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol and exclude them from entry into the UK and (b) ensure no individual or business based in the UK provides, directly or indirectly, financing, financial assistance or insurance or reinsurance related to the import of such goods from Crimea or Sevastopol.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has set up customs risk profiles to target goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol in response to EU Council Regulation 692/2014. The profiles are targeting Crimean postcodes. The risk profiles are being monitored and will be adjusted as circumstances require.

    As with all sanctions introduced by the EU, they have direct effect in the UK and apply directly to UK persons and companies. The Government will take steps to ensure these measures are effectively implemented and enforced.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK of the decision of the EU Council to implement restrictive measures on trade with Crimea and Sevastopol on 25 June 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    According to Ukrainian official statistics approximately 1.3% of Ukraine’s total exports of goods came from Crimea in 2012. For the UK, the pro rata figure would equate to roughly £3.5m per year. The impact of this regulation on UK-Crimea trade will depend on the amount of goods originating in Crimea or Sevastopol that comply with the criteria stipulated within the regulation.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2014, Official Report, column 456W, on motorways: repairs and maintenance, what the reasons are for the discrepancy between the figures of eight deaths in the preceding three years and 1,747 injuries in the preceding 12 months of people repairing motorways stated by the Highways Agency in a press release dated 21 October 2013.

    Robert Goodwill

    The figures quoted are based upon different data selection criteria and from different time periods. The answer of 27 February 2014, quoted from Official Report, column 456W (Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance), is the number of people repairing motorways killed or injured by vehicles in 2012 and 2013. The Highways Agency press release of 21 October 13, referred to the number of road workers killed and injured while improving and maintaining the strategic road network in England, irrespective of the causation or duties being undertaken. The 8 road workers killed occurred between 2009 and 2013 and the figure of 1,747 quoted in the same press release included a large volume of near misses, hazards and damage to plant and equipment where no injuries had been sustained.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 107W, to question 194746, on large goods vehicles: taxation, how many HGVs 94 per cent of UK HGVs paying the HGV user levy represents.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We have estimated that around 259,000 UK HGVs will pay the road user levy. Of these, we estimated that around 94%, or 243,000, will pay no more than now, taking into account the reductions in Vehicle Excise Duty that happened at the same time.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission an assessment of the Australian Compulsory Third Party Insurance system, through which premiums are paid as part of vehicle registration for its potential applicability in the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No. It is sometimes suggested that a system of centrally funded third party insurance could be introduced in this country. However, insurers have said that a change to such a system would lead to a general increase in premiums, especially for the more careful driver.　 This is because under such a system a vehicle would have to be insured for all possible drivers, including those considered to be in high risk categories.