Tag: Gregory Campbell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will discuss with the four home nations football associations allegations of corruption within FIFA and steps to rebuild public confidence in the administration of international football.

Tracey Crouch

I am in regular contact with The Football Association on a number of issues, including good governance and reform of FIFA. The Football Association are in regular contact with their Home Nation counterparts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fuel laundering plants were discovered in Northern Ireland in 2014; and how many of those plants were (a) fully operational at the time of discovery and (b) within ten miles of the border of the Republic of Ireland.

Damian Hinds

31 fuel laundering plants were discovered in Northern Ireland in 2014. All 31 were considered to be operational at the time of discovery.

Area specific information cannot be supplied as it is likely to be used by those minded to undermine HMRC’s strategy in dealing with fuel fraud and as such have a detrimental impact

on its ability to assess and collect tax.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether financial penalties related to welfare reform have been ceased since legislation on that subject was agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly; and whether there has been reimbursement of such penalties since that agreement.

Mr Ben Wallace

In the Fresh Start Agreement, the Government committed to stop welfare deductions for 2015-16 following Assembly approval of a consent motion to enable primary and secondary legislation to the welfare system to proceed at Westminster.

The Government also committed to refund the proportion of deduction due for the remainder of 2015-16, making an equivalent sum available to the NI Executive spread equally over 2016-17 and 2017-18. This will now take place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what account his Department plans to take of the need to ensure religious balance when decisions are reached regarding potential forthcoming closures and staff redundancies in HM Revenue and Customs’ offices in Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs has considered high level people and equality impacts, alongside its key location principles, as part of the decision-making process in determining the location of its future regional centres. The potential impacts on protected characteristic groups, as required by the Northern Ireland Equality legislation, have been incorporated in this approach and will continue to be considered throughout implementation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a further savings bond for people over 65.

Harriett Baldwin

65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds were a special issue aimed at helping pensioners who rely on their savings in retirement. There are currently no plans for a further issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged 65 and over have continued to work in each of the last two years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to provide assistance to people who have purchased homes under the Help to Buy scheme in the event that interest rates subsequently rise.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government does not have any plans to provide additional assistance to those who have purchased a home under the Help to Buy scheme, in the event of a rise in interest rates.

Since April 2014, lenders have had to conduct an affordability assessment which includes a robust income and expenditure analysis. In addition, lenders must consider the impact of future interest rate increases on affordability.

This ensures that mortgages are only advanced where there is a reasonable expectation that the customer can repay.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to extend the rural fuel duty rebate scheme to parts of Northern Ireland where cheaper fuel is readily available from the Irish Republic.

Damian Hinds

The rebate is only available for communities that meet specific quantified criteria of distance from refineries, with above average pump prices and low population densities. No areas in Northern Ireland were found to meet the full selection criteria. There are currently no plans to extend the scheme beyond the qualifying areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to review the harmony guidelines on periods of time away for service personnel.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence has no plans to review the harmony guidelines, which are set to ensure that there is an acceptable balance between the competing aspects of the lives of Service personnel.

We recognise that when harmony guidelines are breached, this can have an impact on operational effectiveness. That is why we are committed to minimising the number of unnecessary breaches whilst at the same time maintaining operational capability.

The Ministry of Defence publishes Monthly Service Personnel Statistics which include (at Table 10) the numbers of trained UK Regular Personnel breaching Individual Harmony Guidelines. The latest report, published on 14 January 2016, shows that as at 1 October 2015 the breach rate equated to 0.4% for the Naval Service, 2.6% for the Army and 1.3% for the Royal Air Force.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-2015

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are in receipt of benefits he estimates will be in full-time work after the roll-out of universal credit.

Priti Patel

This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.