Tag: Lord Empey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, if the European institutions decided to increase the European Union budget due to the migration crisis, the United Kingdom would be legally required to pay a proportion of such an increase.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government does not believe that it is meaningful to speculate on hypothetical scenarios. The Government’s position is to argue for maximum reprioritisation of the EU budget from areas of lesser priority in order to accommodate migration spend within the limits of the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) in the 2016 annual budget negotiations.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total number of persons currently employed to deliver electoral services 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 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in the South Atlantic.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have obtained written clarification from the UN Legal Counsel as to the remit and mandate of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). This confirms that the CLCS has no jurisdiction over the sovereignty of any land territory. That would of course include the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has noted that the CLCS cannot consider claims relating to disputed areas. In this case that would include the Falkland Islands. The British Government remains in no doubt over its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, and has no doubt about the right of the Islanders to determine their own future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether applicants suffering from Fibromyalgia are refused benefits because the condition is not recognised as sufficiently serious to cause disability.

Lord Freud

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognises Fibromyalgia as a real and potentially significantly disabling condition. Where a clinical diagnosis of Fibromyalgia has been made full account will be taken of its functional effects when determining benefit entitlement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in encouraging small pension funds in the United Kingdom to amalgamate or co-operate in order to be able to compete with larger international pension funds in the purchase of suitable assets.

Baroness Altmann

Automatic enrolment is driving scale in pension provision and the clear trend is towards larger schemes which are better able to take advantage of the economies of scale including better access to a wider range of investment vehicles.

The Government fully supports the concrete steps the pensions industry has taken to cooperate on investment strategies – for example, the Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP) launched in February last year, and the London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) currently under development by a number of local authorities’ pension schemes in London.

Moreover, the Government will also work with the Local Government Pension Scheme Administering Authorities more widely to ensure that they pool investments to reduce costs significantly, while maintaining overall investment performance.

Trustees and managers are ultimately responsible for making investment decisions in the best interests of scheme members, and the Government recognises the challenges of the current economic environment for scheme funding. The Pensions Regulator sets out on an annual basis its key messages on current market conditions and how trustees and employers can agree appropriate funding plans that protect members’ benefits without undermining the sustainable growth of the employer.

Ministers continue to meet regularly with key stakeholders from the pensions industry to understand better the range of challenges facing schemes and employers and will consider whether there are further steps the Government could take.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the employment projections for electoral offices in Northern Ireland in 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018–19.

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 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to appeal against the decision of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf that the Falkland Islands are in Argentinian territorial waters.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for East Devon (Mr Swire), on 13 April 2016 (PQ 33811).

"The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) has no jurisdiction to consider areas subject to competing claims and therefore has no locus to make recommendations in relation to the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has acknowledged that the CLCS could not consider those parts of the original Argentine submission of 2009 that were subject to dispute. This would include the Falkland Islands."

Furthermore, the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falklands and surrounding maritime areas, nor about the Falkland Islanders’ right to decide their own future. We will continue to make that clear to Argentina and other countries in the region.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the government of the Irish Republic on the future funding of the six cross-border bodies established following the Belfast Agreement of 1998, in the light of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

Lord Dunlop

The Government has regular discussions with the Irish Government on a range of issues, including matters arising from the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The UK’s exit from the EU does not change the firm commitment of the UK Government and the people of Northern Ireland to the settlement set out in the Belfast Agreement and its successors and to the institutions they establish.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the present arrangements for the free movement of persons throughout the European Union are appropriate, in the light of the current level of population movement.

Lord Bates

The Prime Minister clearly set out in his speech and his letter to the President of the European Council the issues we are seeking to tackle through the EU reform negotiations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the pilot programme for Direct Skeletal Fixation is proceeding, and when they expect that pilot to be completed.

Earl Howe

Work is currently under way between the Ministry of Defence, NHS England and the UK Departments of Health to put in place a patient referral pathway to enable access for eligible military personnel and Veterans to the Direct Skeletal Fixation programme. This includes the definition of clinical criteria to access the programme as the procedure will not be appropriate for every individual. The programme is expected to begin in spring 2016 for two and a half years and the results will be published following completion.