Tag: Lord Empey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK aid is able to enter Nepal by road without interference or delay.

Baroness Verma

We have been closely monitoring the movement of humanitarian and health goods over the land borders to Nepal. A number of DFID partners providing winter assistance for vulnerable households living over 1,500m affected by the earthquake have trucks that have not been able to move freely across the border. Other DFID humanitarian partners have been procuring goods from Nepal but are struggling with their distribution due to shortages of fuel.

We are actively advocating to all parties for the free movement of humanitarian and health supplies and peaceful resolution of the current disruption. The UN Resident Coordinator and the UK Ambassador met with Nepal’s Prime Minister this week to raise the issue of access to fuel for humanitarian operations. This has resulted in a positive commitment to prioritise a supply of fuel to humanitarian partners. UK ministers and senior civil servants continue to raise concerns over the current crises and need for quick resolution with concerned groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of persons involved in each of the following proscribed terrorist organisations: (1) Continuity Army Council; (2) Cumann na mBan; (3) Fianna na hEireann; (4) Irish National Liberation Army; (5) Irish People’s Liberation Organisation; (6) Irish Republican Army; (7) Loyalist Volunteer Force; (8) Orange Volunteers; (9) Red Hand Commando; (10) Red Hand Defenders; (11) Saor Eire; (12) Ulster Defence Association; (13) Ulster Freedom Fighters; and (14) Ulster Volunteer Force.

Lord Dunlop

It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of people involved in these organisations. Involvement and support for illegal proscribed organisations can take many different forms and the true extent of involvement is often hidden.

Statistics on charges brought in relation to support for paramilitary organisations can be found in Northern Ireland Terrorism Legislation: Annual Statistics 2014/15, Table 9 on the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/465088/Terrorism_Bulletin_2014-2015.PDF

The relevant information is also shown below for ease of reference:

Table: Charges brought against persons detained in Northern Ireland under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000

	Number of Charges
Offence	19 Feb 2001-Mar 2013/14	April-Sept 2014/15	Oct-Mar 2014/15	2014-15 Total
Supporting a proscribed Organisation	21	0	0	0
Making contributions to a proscribed organisation	47	0	0	0
Dressing as a member of a proscribed organisation	10	0	0	0

Source: Police Service of Northern Ireland

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the devolved administrations are permitted to re-allocate funds provided by HM Treasury for capital expenditure purposes for resource expenditure purposes.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Devolved administrations may not switch provision from Capital to Resource, except where bespoke arrangements have been agreed with Treasury ministers.

The annual ‘Consolidated Budgeting Guidance’, published by the Treasury, sets out the budgeting framework for expenditure control for devolved administrations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who they recognise as the legitimate government of Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK Government recognises states and not governments. We take the position that the Asad regime has lost legitimacy through having murdered, tortured, gassed and bombed the Syrian people.

The UK Government supports the Syrian moderate opposition including the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces and the High Negotiations Committee, the umbrella body representing the opposition in negotiations on Syria’s future, of which the National Coalition is a part. The High Negotiations Committee brings together the broadest based opposition in Syria, striving to represent all Syrians who want to build a democratic and pluralistic future for the country.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland has the power to require district councils in Northern Ireland to conduct election counts for elections to Westminster and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Lord Dunlop

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

Financial Year	Operational Funding	Capital Funding
2013/14	£5.452m *	£100k
2014/15	£2.336m	£56.2k
2015/16	£2.296m	£25k

* includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect negotiations between the EU and the US will conclude a new EU–US Trade Agreement.

Lord Price

The twelfth round of negotiations for the EU-US Free Trade Agreement – also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – took place in February. We are making progress and our ambition remains to reach a political agreement during the Obama presidency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have been advised by the government of Ireland that it intends to represent the people of Scotland at meetings of the European Council.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government of Ireland has not advised Her Majesty’s Government that it intends to represent the people of Scotland at meetings of the European Council.

The United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union until it leaves and as such will continue to represent the whole of the UK in the European Council.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the proposed trade deal between the EU and Canada.

Lord Price

The Government has been clear in its support for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). This approach is in line with our commitment to back the EU’s trade agenda and participate constructively in decision-making on trade while the UK remains a member of the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to reduce the number of local electoral offices in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

Financial Year	Operational Funding	Capital Funding
2013/14	£5.452m *	£100k
2014/15	£2.336m	£56.2k
2015/16	£2.296m	£25k

* includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the effective operation of the electoral office of Northern Ireland following the decision by the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance to ballot its members in the electoral office on strike action following the decision to close six electoral branch offices.

Lord Dunlop

The delivery of elections is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer.

It is disappointing that the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance has decided to ballot its members in Area Electoral Offices for industrial action. While two Area Electoral Offices are due to close in October with staff relocating to other offices, no decision has been taken on others. This action is hard to justify in advance of final decisions on wider reform which will only be taken following consideration of responses to a consultation later in the year.