The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she last held a meeting with the Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I was due to meet the Northern Ireland Social Development Minister in March but unfortunately the meeting had to be postponed. My private office has suggested further dates to his and is waiting to hear back.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to her Department remained unanswered (a) after 20 days and (b) after 90 days at 1 April 2014; and (i) how many and (ii) what the subject matter is of any such requests that remained unanswered after 180 days at that date.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
At 1 April 2014, there was one request remaining unanswered after 20 days and one request remaining unanswered after 90 days. There were no requests remaining unanswered after 180 days at 1 April 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of female genital mutilation in Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I am not aware of any recent cases of female genital mutilation being reported in Northern Ireland.
Female genital mutilation is a horrific form of child abuse and violence against women and girls, and the Northern Ireland Executive has put in place a number of safeguarding structures, policies and procedures designed to protect females.
The Civil Law Reform division of the Northern Ireland Executive Department of Finance & Personnel consulted on draft multi-agency practice guidelines on female genital mutilation earlier this year which were based on the Home Office’s Guidelines.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will publish witness statements given to the Downey trial.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
This is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Executive to increase foreign direct investment to Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The successful G8 Summit and follow-up investment conference have highlighted Northern Ireland as a great place in which to invest.
I continue to work in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Investment to attract Foreign Direct Investment to Northern Ireland building on the success of the Northern Ireland Investment Conference at which my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister made the keynote address.
On 7 November I co-hosted, with Arlene Foster, the Northern Ireland Investment Seminar at Lancaster House for a number of High Commissioners and Ambassadors to explain the benefits for their respective countries of trade and investment in Northern Ireland. NIO and Invest NI officials are now meeting the trade and commercial officers from the Embassies with a view to inviting their respective Ambassador to lead a trade delegation to Northern Ireland on a visit co-hosted by myself and the DETI minister.
The first two of these Ambassadorial visits will take place in September and October and it is envisaged that other visits will take place over the coming twelve months.
Arlene Foster has also invited me to participate with her at SIAL 2014 which will take place in Paris in October. SIAL is the world’s premier food exhibition and will provide a good opportunity to promote the excellence of Northern Ireland produce to the international food industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times she has visited Northern Ireland since 1 January 2014; and what the length was of each such visit.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I have visited Northern Ireland 14 times since 1 January 2014. On two occasions the length of the visit was a day, on ten occasions the length of the visit was two days and on two occasions the length of the visit was 3 days.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with UK Trade & Investment on ensuring that Northern Ireland is represented in planning for the UK pavilion at Milan Expo 2015.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
UKTI and Invest NI have a close working relationship and cooperate whenever possible to attract trade and investment to Northern Ireland.
I am advised that UKTI has already initiated discussions with Invest NI on Northern Ireland’s representation there.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on additional financial support to implement the draft proposals put forward in the Haass agreement.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
No estimate has been made of the cost. I continue to support and encourage the Northern Ireland parties as they pursue an agreement on flags, parading and the past, but as these are mainly devolved matters funding for new structures would principally come out of the Block Grant that is paid to the Northern Ireland Executive. Requests for additional funding will be considered in the context of the current UK Government deficit that we inherited from our predecessors and would require Treasury approval.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce specialist-led training for police services in England and Wales on domestic violence and coercive control.
Damian Green
The College of Policing sets standards of training for police officers and
staff in this important area of policing. Subject matter experts are already
used in developing training and delivery into forces, ranging from initial
training through to specialist training for Senior Investigating Officers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to (a) criminalise a pattern of partner abuse and (b) ensure that the police are not required only to treat each incident comprising such a pattern as a separate crime.
Norman Baker
Domestic abuse is already a crime. There are a number of offences that make domestic abuse illegal, including actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and assault. The cross-Government definition is clear that domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.
Assault can extend to non-physical harm, and this can include psychological, financial, and emotional abuse. Stalking and harassment legislation, which criminalises a course of conduct, can apply to intimate partner relationships.
Last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a review of the response to domestic abuse across all police forces. HMIC published its findings in March 2014, emphasising that the key priority is a culture change in the police so that domestic violence and abuse is treated as the crime that it is, and pointing out that the police use the full range of tools already available to them.
The Home Secretary will chair a national oversight group to oversee delivery against each of HMIC’s recommendations on which I will also sit.