Tag: Gregory Campbell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what change there has been in the number of personnel in the Maritime Reserves Units in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Maritime Reserves are represented in Northern Ireland by the Royal Naval Reserve unit HMS HIBERNIA in Lisburn, and the Royal Marines Reserve Belfast Detachment of RMR Scotland.

The table below sets out the number of all personnel in the Maritime Reserve units in Northern Ireland for the period required:

Unit	Number of personnel as of 1 December 2014	Number of personnel as of 1 December 2015
HMS HIBERNIA	80	110
Belfast Detachment	20	40

Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in accordance with the Departmental rounding policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on research taking place to find alternatives to neonicotinoid pesticides.

George Eustice

Research to bring individual insecticides to the market is carried out by pesticide companies. A number of public bodies fund research into pest control chemicals, biological controls and cultural methods. This includes funding from Innovate UK through mechanisms including the Agri-Tech Catalyst, which helps develop innovative solutions to challenges in crop production. Defra research into alternatives to current chemical pesticides can be found at http://randd.defra.gov.uk.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on establishing ex gratia financial support for people who were affected prior to 1991 by (a) HIV and (b) hepatitis C over the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison

The Government launched its consultation on proposals to reform the current payment schemes for those affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through National Health Service-supplied blood/blood products on 21 January 2016.

The consultation can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/infected-blood-reform-of-financial-and-other-support

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress is being made through the British-Irish Council on tackling alcohol misuse throughout the British Isles.

Mr Ben Wallace

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office who are the lead Department.

The British-Irish Council facilitates and fosters collaboration among member administrations and provides a forum where issues, such as substance misuse, can be discussed. The use and misuse of alcohol was the theme of the British-Irish Council Ministerial Summit hosted by the Irish Government in June 2015 on which the following communiqué was issued: http://www.britishirishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/communiqu%C3%A9s/24%20-%20Twenty%20Fourth%20Summit%20-%20Dublin%20-%2019%20June%202015.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Nigerian counterpart international assistance that can be provided to that country to tackle Boko Haram during 2016.

James Duddridge

We regularly talk to our Nigerian counterparts, at the highest levels, about UK assistance to Nigeria to help them tackle Boko Haram. I raised this with the Nigerian Foreign Minister earlier this month at the African Union summit. This week the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St John’s returned from Nigeria where she met Nigerian ministers and reiterated the UK’s support to Nigeria in combating Boko Haram.

We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria. This includes training and advice on counter-insurgency. Almost 1000 Nigerian military personnel have benefited from UK training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria and up to 300 UK military personnel are expected to provide training to the Nigerian Armed Forces this year (2016). We have also provided £5m to support a regional taskforce against the group and are also providing £6.7m humanitarian assistance for Nigeria to support those affected by the Boko Haram conflict.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that employees who initially opted out of the automatic enrolment into pension provision are informed of the importance of revising of their individual pension status.

Justin Tomlinson

Automatic enrolment has been a great success to date. Since the roll out of automatic enrolment, nearly 6 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. Only 10% of individuals that have been automatically enrolled so far have chosen to opt out. This is one of the key indicators of the policy’s success in increasing participation in pension saving.

Individuals who have opted out of automatic enrolment and have subsequently changed their mind can discuss with their employer how to opt back in. Furthermore, employers are required by law to automatically re-enrol eligible workers every three years. This prompts individuals to periodically reconsider their saving arrangements. Employers also have duties to provide certain information to their workers within prescribed time limits.

In addition, the national communications campaign, Don’t Ignore the Workplace Pension, raises awareness of pension saving among both employees and employers, and promotes the idea that saving in a workplace pension is normal. The campaign directs individuals to the campaign website, The Pension Regulator’s website, and the relevant gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications from residents of the Republic of Ireland were processed through the Belfast Passport Office between 31 March 2014 and 31 March 2015.

James Brokenshire

The table below shows the total number of passport applications processed through the Belfast Passport Office from residents of the Republic of Ireland between 31 March 2014 and 31 March 2015. Please see the below table.

Month	Passport Applications Processed
Apr-14	600
May-14	837
Jun-14	603
Jul-14	704
Aug-14	1,335
Sep-14	1,117
Oct-14	557
Nov-14	549
Dec-14	492
Jan-15	830
Feb-15	956
Mar-15	1,027
Total	9,607

The table above details the number of applications processed by Belfast Office that had come from a Republic of Ireland Country of residence for the period April 2014 to March 2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there was in the proportion of the working age population employed by the public sector in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland between 2005 and 2015.

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 2016-06-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a payment of £1,000 to each person reaching the age of 100.

Harriett Baldwin

This government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve and the State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. That is why the government has committed to increasing the State Pension by the triple lock, with someone on a full basic State Pension receiving around £570 more in 2016-17 than if it had been uprated by average earnings since the start of the last Parliament.

In total, the government will spend around £95 billion on the State Pension in 2016-17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the UN Security Council on the persecution of Christians and other minorities living in Syria in the last three months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK Government has consistently supported the need for accountability for atrocities that have been committed in Syria, in the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

On 19 September, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), alongside the Foreign Ministers of Iraq and Belgium, launched a global campaign to bring Daesh to justice for its crimes at the UN General Assembly – this initiative includes crimes committed against religious minorities.

The UK plays a leading role in the tri-annual Syria resolutions at the UN HRC, the latest of which took place in September. The HRC resolutions draw attention to the ongoing violations and abuses of human rights in Syria, the vast majority of which are the responsibility of the Asad regime, and refer to the need to protect ethnic, religious and confessional communities. We will continue to use our leadership role in the HRC to shine a spotlight on the dire human rights situation, and make clear our strong condemnation of the Asad regime.

We consistently use our interventions at the UN Security Council – most recently at an emergency session on Aleppo on 25 September – to highlight the suffering of the Syrian people, of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.