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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people owned shares in Royal Mail at (a) the launch of the share offer and (b) 1 January 2016.
Anna Soubry
At the time of Royal Mail Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2013, approximately 16% of the company was sold to 690,000 individual investors through a retail offer. A further 10% of the company was awarded to the company’s eligible UK employees with approximately 147,000 employees receiving shares.
Since the IPO, shareholders who purchased shares through the retail offer have been free to trade their shares. The Government does not hold records of these share dealings. Royal Mail has responsibility for maintaining a register of shareholdings in company.
The shares awarded to employees have been held in trust by Royal Mail’s Share Incentive Plan (SIP) to enable the employees to benefit from tax and national insurance advantages. Employees will be able to sell shares from October 2016. Eligible UK employees were also awarded a further 1% of the company’s shares in October 2015 and a further 1% award will be made later this year. These shares will also be held in the Royal Mail SIP for 3 years before they can be sold.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the statistical trends set out in the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 20933, what plans he has to tackle drug use in prison.
Andrew Selous
We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison in England and Wales. We recently introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they could face prosecution and extra time behind bars.
We have a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons. We are also piloting the use of body scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body. If successful, we will use these to complement existing tactics to prevent the smuggling of illicit drugs.
In addition, there is a wide-ranging programme of work being undertaken by NOMS and its partners to tackle the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which we know are having a particularly destructive effect in prisons. This includes legislation to control the supply, possession and conveyance of any NPS into a prison. We have also trained more than 300 dogs to specifically detect NPS as well as piloting mandatory drug testing of prisoners for psychoactive substances in 34 prisons. We are evaluating the effect of the test and will continue to monitor prisoner drug use so that we can continue to support meaningful interventions and provide an effective testing regime.
We are also working with the Department of Health and others to improve our understanding of the risks NPS present for offenders and to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what Armed Forces Day events in Northern Ireland during June 2016 his Department plans to support.
Mark Lancaster
Armed Forces Day events provide opportunities for the nation to show their support of the Armed Forces. These events are community-led and can come in many different forms, from the national event through to local events organised by councils, ex-service organisations, community groups and schools. These events can be followed on Twitter using #SaluteOurForces.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not directly support specific Armed Forces events; other than the national event which will be held this year in Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, on Saturday 25 June. We do invite local authorities and community organisations to consider hosting an event and to apply for funding from the Ministry of Defence.
Part-funding applications have been received for the Northern Ireland Regional Armed Forces Day event, which is scheduled to take place in Antrim on 18 June. Events will also be hosted in Articlave, Portglenone and Belfast on 25 June.
As events are registered by their organisers, they will be published on the Armed Forces Day website: www.armedforcesday.org.uk
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Northern Ireland University Air Squadron has reached its capacity of student places planned when it was set up.
Mark Lancaster
Of the 24 student places available, 14 are currently filled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse has been of all (a) salaries, (b) transport, (c) hotel stays, (d) redundancy payments, (e) pension entitlements and (f) all other associated costs since the announcement of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Sarah Newton
On 12 March 2015 the former Home Secretary established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse under the Inquiries Act 2005.
Its remit is to look at the extent to which state and non-state bodies have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse. The Inquiry is independent of the Government and is responsible for the management of its own budget.