Tag: Lord Empey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communications they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive about the creation of Enterprise Zones in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop

The Government communicates with the Northern Ireland Executive frequently on a wide range of issues.

In ‘Building a United and Prosperous Community’ (the ‘Economic Pact’) signed in June 2013, the Government made a commitment to consider any Executive-nominated sites to be designated as an Enterprise Zone. Budget 2014 announced that businesses located within the Executive’s proposed pilot Enterprise Zone near Coleraine could benefit from enhanced capital allowances until 2020.

I understand the Executive continues to work towards the implementation of this pilot Enterprise Zone.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish papers relating to the review of the workings of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his office. Any reforms will ensure that elections and electoral registration will continue to be delivered in the most effective way while placing his office on a sustainable financial footing. I understand work on some of the options for reform remains at an early stage.

In addition to the currently available paper registration process we propose to introduce, by the end of 2016, an on-line registration service. This will improve the registration service offered to people in Northern Ireland.

The consideration of possible structural changes to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Chief Electoral Officer and it will be for him to consult with stakeholders once the options have been fully explored.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many additional staff are being recruited to attend to and treat unaccompanied children coming to the UK from refugee camps (1) in Europe, and (2) outside Europe.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The United Kingdom has been operating resettlement schemes for many years and we already have established and effective networks to accommodate and support resettled people. The increase in numbers will require an expansion of current networks and the impact on local communities and infrastructure will need to be managed carefully. That is why we are working with a wide range of partners to ensure that people are integrated sensitively into local communities and that we have the right support in place for unaccompanied refugee children who arrive in the UK from Europe whilst ensuring we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

The guidance, Statutory Guidance on Promoting the Health and Well-being of Looked After Children, sets out the health duties for local authorities, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and NHS England. The guidance sets out that local authorities and the National Health Service should take account any particular needs of the child, including if they are unaccompanied asylum seekers. This guidance is attached.

Whilst there are a range of health care professionals, for example youth workers and teachers, who deliver interventions and support for children and young people with mental health conditions, clinical need should be determined by a specialist initial assessment in line with guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Local areas have published Local Transformation Plans that set out how mental health services will be delivered for their population. As part of their plans, local areas were asked to set out how they planned to meet the needs of more vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeking children (UASC).

NHS England ensures that all commissioners of health services have appropriate arrangements and resources in place to meet the physical, emotional and mental health needs of looked-after children, including UASC. They will work with local commissioners to raise awareness of the Resettlement Programme and highlight the additional numbers of children who will require their attention and support.

Decisions about the resources needed to meet the mental health and other health needs of all children and young people, including UASC, are taken at a local level by CCGs. This may include decisions to recruit additional staff where necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what encouragement they have given to UK investment in the Palestinian territories currently governed by the State of Israel.

Lord Price

The Government’s Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) works with Palestinian companies to improve their competitiveness and ability to attract investment and create jobs. PMDP also supports the Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA) to deliver better services to potential investors including UK investors. PIPA offers a package of incentives to investors.

PMDP provides technical assistance to support the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy to improve the environment for trade and investment, and is working on an initiative to encourage UK businesses to outsource business in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially in the IT outsourcing sector.

No specific assessment has been made of companies investing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), or those parts of the West Bank, known as ‘Area C’, under full Israeli security and administrative control.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communications they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive about the establishment of City Deals in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop

The Government communicates with the Northern Ireland Executive frequently on a wide range of issues.

The Economic Pact between the Executive and the Government was modelled on some of the approaches the Government takes with City Deals but many of the policies included in City Deals in Great Britain are devolved in Northern Ireland and are the responsibility of the Executive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the EU, UN, and Interpol with regard to the pursuit of criminal gangs that exploit refugees and migrants in Europe.

Lord Bates

The Government takes a system-wide approach to tackling organised immigration crime and we are working with international partners to smash the criminal gangs that are fuelling this terrible trade in people. The UK has been at the forefront of calls in the EU for a robust approach to tackling organised immigration crime, including through Europol and encouraging all Member States to contribute intelligence to its Joint Operations Team Mare initiative.

In June 2015 the Prime Minister announced the creation of the Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce bringing together officers from the National Crime Agency, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service to exploit every opportunity at source, in transit countries and in Europe to tackle organised crime groups criminal operations. The Taskforce funding was subsequently expanded in November 2015 to increase resources to 100 dedicated officers until 2020. The Taskforce is working with international partners actively sharing intelligence and progressing criminal investigations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have agreed the reduction to the Block Grant for the Northern Ireland Executive as a result of the decision to introduce a lower rate of Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland from April 2018, and if so, what is the new Block Grant figure.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

In 2015 the government legislated to make a lower Northern Ireland Corporation Tax rate possible. The Northern Ireland Executive are committed to introducing a rate of 12.5%, to be introduced in 2018.

Now Northern Ireland’s own political leaders must press on with the reforms necessary to put the Executive’s finances on the sustainable footing required to complete Corporation Tax devolution.

As set out in the Stormont House Agreement, the Executive would then meet the direct and behavioural costs of any reduction in corporation tax in Northern Ireland, and we are continuing to work with the Executive on the funding arrangements which would deliver this outcome.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial or other assistance they are making available to the Palestinian territories currently governed by the State of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

DFID provided £72 million in financial year 2015/16 in support of Palestinian development to help build Palestinian institutions, deliver basic services and promote economic development.

As the Secretary of State has recently taken up her new role, she is conducting a full examination of our work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to ensure UK taxpayers’ money is spent in the right places and in the right way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was deducted from the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget in 2014–15 and 2015–16 due to its failure to implement welfare reforms.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

As a result of the delays in implementing welfare reform in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget was reduced by £87m in 2014-15 and £114m in 2015-16 to reflect the additional costs to the Exchequer of the existing welfare system.

As a part of the ‘Fresh Start’ agreement to facilitate the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, the government committed to returning a proportion of the deduction for 2015-16 when the Assembly gave legislative consent for the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Act 2015. This will be added to the Executive’s allocations in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the age range and gender of the unaccompanied children currently resident in the refugee camps in northern France who are expressing a desire to come to the UK.

Lord Bates

The Government does not hold that information. However, Home Office migration statistics show that for all unaccompanied asylum seeker children applications in 2015, 62% were aged 16 or 17 at time of application, 26% were 14 or 15, and 8% were under 14. In this country the obligations under the Children Act mean that anyone aged under 18 will be taken into local authority care as a result of those duties.

Both Her Majesty’s Government and the French Government are clear that anyone who wants to claim asylum and has close family connections in the UK should first lodge a claim in France so they can be considered for reunification under the Dublin regulations. This is the best way to ensure these vulnerable children receive the protection and support they need and the quickest way to reunite them with any close family members in the UK where appropriate.