Tag: Lady Hermon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has had discussions with Ministers in the Irish government on marking the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme this year; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

The centenary commemorations of the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme, and the wider decade of 1912-1922 offer an important opportunity to reflect on the shared history between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Prime Minister is committed, along with the Taoiseach, to commemorating our past with mutual respect and understanding. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and I are working with Ministers in the Irish Government to mark the events of this decade. I have discussed these matters on a number of occasions with them.

Marking anniversaries such as the Battle of the Somme in a spirit of historical accuracy, mutual respect and inclusiveness can support efforts to build a peaceful and shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Officials from my Department have regular contact with officials in the Irish Government regarding their programme of events to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, which was announced in November 2015, and I receive regular updates on this work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of the projected savings of closure of the Area Electoral Office in Newtownards, County Down; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace

Management of Electoral Office resources is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Northern Ireland Office has been invited by the Irish government to take any part in events planned to mark the centenary of the Easter Uprising in Dublin; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

One of the Northern Ireland Office’s key objectives for the commemoration of the decade of centenaries of 1912-1922 is to work with the Irish Government to promote greater understanding of our shared history. I understand that the Irish Government launched its programme for the centenary of the Easter Rising on 12 November 2014. To date, the Northern Ireland Office has not received any invitations to attend the planned events in Dublin.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of the cost of the planned closure of several area electoral offices in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace

The Chief Electoral Officer is considering reform options for the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, with the support of the Northern Ireland Office. He has already set out his plans to relocate staff from two Area Electoral Offices (Newtownards and Ballymena) when office leases end in October 2016. No other decisions on the future of Area Electoral Offices will be taken until later in the year when the CEO has been able to consider responses to public consultation on wider reform proposals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on the resettlement in Belfast of those Syrian refugees who arrived in Northern Ireland before Christmas 2015; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

I have participated in general discussions with colleagues, including the Home Secretary, on the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the UK. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State sits on the Government’s Syrian Refugee Relocation Ministerial Group.

The Home Office are working with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to put in place the necessary arrangements for the resettlement of Syrian refugees. My Department is in regular contact with the Home Office about these matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons there has been no increase in the war disablement pension for 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier

War Pensions are uprated to ensure that they reflect any increases in the cost of living. The approach taken by successive governments is that by increasing awards with reference to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), we ensure consistency with the measure of inflation used by the Bank of England.

The level of any annual increase is set against the September CPI figure. In September 2015 CPI was negative. Consequently, for financial year 2016/17 War Pensions have been maintained at previous levels. War Pensions will increase when the annual CPI figure next increases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the next phases of the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Northern Ireland, including the numbers of refugees to be resettled in 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

I have participated in general discussions with colleagues, including the Home Secretary, on the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the UK. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State sits on the Government’s Syrian Refugee Relocation Ministerial Group.

The Home Office are working with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to put in place the necessary arrangements for the resettlement of Syrian refugees. My Department is in regular contact with the Home Office about these matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans are in receipt of war disablement pension; and what steps his Department takes to notify recipients of changes in the level of that pension.

Mr Julian Brazier

As at 31 March 2015, there were 116,049 disablement pensioners in receipt of a War Pension administered by Veterans UK. Whenever there is a change in an individual’s rate of war pension, Veterans UK will write to inform them. For 2016, Veterans UK elected not to issue an annual uprating letter to individuals as there was no change to payment levels. Instead, an alternative communication plan was put in place utilising automated messages on the Veterans UK helpline, letters to Third sector organisations for publication, and articles in Veterans World magazine, the Armed Forces pension newsletter, social media and on the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the contribution by the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, of 2 February 2016, Official Report, column 884, what steps he is taking to ensure the national advertising campaign for apprenticeships extends to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

Education and skills policy (including Apprenticeships) is a devolved matter. It is for the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to determine how they manage their own programmes. This includes any advertising campaigns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has accrued to the public purse from use of fixed-odds betting terminals in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) England in each of the last six years.

Damian Hinds

This information is not available. This is because HMRC do not ask for a country-by-country breakdown on the taxpayer’s return.