Tag: Richard Burden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle websites which promote and encourage anorexia; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making it a criminal offence to publish pro-anorexia material online.

Karen Bradley

The Government is committed to continue working with the internet industry in the United Kingdom to keep young people safe on-line and to promote access to positive support for those children and young people who are vulnerable to suggestion from so called pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites.

The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups, and government departments to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, published good practice guidance in 2015 for providers of social media and interactive services, to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” and make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. A wide range of partners contributed to this project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.

UKCCIS has also published a guide for parents and carers whose children are using social media. The guide includes practical tips about the use of safety and privacy features on apps and platforms, as well as conversation prompts to help families begin talking about on-line safety. It also contains pointers to further advice and support. The Government is clear that what is illegal off-line is illegal on-line and is not currently considering making it an offence to publish pro-anorexia material on-line.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to Highways England was of its contract with Amey for services in Area 7; and which other companies bid for that contract.

Andrew Jones

The contract awarded by Highways England was for a value of £422,720,000 over 15 years. This is the maximum spend allowable through this contract and includes for inflation over its duration. Other companies that bid for the contract were: –

• Carillion Construction Ltd
• Colas Ltd
• Costain Ltd
• Martin & McCann Ltd
• Ringway Infrastructure Services Ltd
• Skanska Construction Ltd
• GC Landscapes Management Ltd

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to improve national minimum wage enforcement in the shipping industry.

Nick Boles

The application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for seafarers continues to be considered by the cross-Government working group which is reviewing the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011.

The Government is working with key stakeholders through this working group to agree and finalise revised guidance on the NMW for seafarers which will be published in spring 2016.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who is entitled to receive the NMW does so, and we have committed to increasing the enforcement budget again this year in order to secure that aim. HM Revenue and Customs will investigate all NMW complaints from workers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department plans to monitor and assess the effect of the revised anti-lobbying clause beyond 1 May 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In line with guidance provided by the Cabinet Office, the Department will monitor compliance with this clause in the same way as other contractual terms and conditions, and will consider enforcement action where necessary.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress in the EU structured dialogue with Israel in halting the demolition and confiscation of EU-funded structures in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There has been a significant increase in Israeli demolitions since the start of 2016. The UK and the EU continue to raise concerns about demolitions with the Government of Israel and make it clear that demolitions are contrary to international humanitarian law in all but the most exceptional cases.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the UK Ship Register’s obligations are in relation to seafarers’ (a) employment and (b) collective bargaining agreements; and whether he plans to make changes to those obligations as a result of the recommendations of the (i) Maritime Growth Study and (ii) UK Ship Register Advisory Panel.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Seafarers’ employment conditions and collective bargaining agreements are a matter for agreement between management and workers/employers and seafarers.

The UK Ship Register’s obligation is to enforce UK regulations ((Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc) 2014). These regulations implement the international requirements relating to living and working conditions on board (the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006).

No changes to that obligation were recommended by the Maritime Growth Study or UK Ship Register Advisory Panel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33618, what the new contract arrangements are which he refers to; what assessment was made of the potential use of contract arrangements similar to those new contract arrangements with Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd referred to; and for what reasons the contract was not put out for full tender.

Andrew Jones

(a) The ‘new contract arrangements’ is a reference to the two-year contract extension granted in 2013 to Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd as part of an agreed settlement following its legal challenge to the theory test service procurement of that time.

(b) Those new contract arrangements were bespoke to the settlement at that time.

(c) As indicated in response 162377, Pearson Professional Assessments Ltd will continue to provide the driver theory test services. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have now agreed a contract variation to extend the contract for a period of 4 years. Their contract would otherwise have ended on 4 September. The contract for them to continue to provide the services has not been put out to tender because there is insufficient time to conduct an open competition and have a new provider ready to start in time. This extension allows us time to conduct a thorough procurement exercise and explore options for alternative delivery models.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK seafarer (a) officers and (b) ratings employed in the offshore supply vessel sector have been made redundant in each month since June 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We do not hold this information.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) average waiting time for a practical driving test and (b) number of staffing opportunities at test centres not yet filled was in each region of England in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency recruitment strategy.

Andrew Jones

The average waiting time for a car driving test for the 2015/16 financial year was 8.4 weeks. The average waiting time for a car test measured at the time of writing (24 May) was 11.5 weeks.

The following table explains the current driving examiner recruitment position:

	New Recruits 2015/16	Planned Recruits 2016/17	completed training since 1 Apr 2016	currently undergoing training	training start confirmed	offer made – undergoing pre- employment check	Ongoing recruitment (latest advert)
Scotland & N England	28	58	2	8	16	9	32
Central England & N Wales	64	67	7	4	24	3	49
Southern England & S Wales	59	58	9	8	30	2	45
London & S E England	42	104	8	8	13	7	52
	193	287	26	28	83	21	178

During 2015 DVSA carried out a review of the end to end process of driving examiner resourcing – from forecasting demand for driving tests to understand where and how many driving examiners are needed, through the attraction and selection stages of recruitment to offer of appointment and training. The overall assessment was that there was significant scope for improvement at all stages in the process. The recommendations of the review are being implemented and include:

• the use of improved forecasting models
• modernised attraction approaches
• more focussed assessment methods
• streamlined training programmes.

The overarching objectives are to shorten the time from a driving examiner vacancy being identified to it being filled. DVSA also wants to improve the diversity and capabilities of the new starters it appoints.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made to his French counterpart on the effect on road freight of recent strike action in France.

Andrew Jones

Transport Ministers and the Department for Transport had received no written representations on this subject, as of 31^st May 2016. The effect on road freight of the recent strike action has not been specifically raised by UK Transport Ministers with French counterparts.