Tag: Lord Empey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is paid in benefits to claimants who are citizens of each of the 27 other EU member states, and how many such claimants there are from each of those countries.

Lord Freud

Information on benefit receipt by nationality is not available.

The Department has published statistics on working age benefit recipients claiming within 6 months of National Insurance Number (NINO) registration. This information is known as “Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants” and is included in the “Statistical Bulletin on National Insurance Number Allocations to Adult Overseas Nationals”.

The Government is looking at ways to reform the current administrative system under Universal Credit so that it will systematically record nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional financial resources and staff are being made available to assist unaccompanied children coming to the UK from refugee camps (1) in Europe, and (2) outside Europe.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Our Syrian resettlement programme is working well and local authorities across the country have been closely involved in this. Alongside this programme we will consult local authorities on how best to implement the resettlement scheme for children at risk announced on 21 April and the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the admission to the UK of unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in the EU. This will be done as part of our wider discussion with local authorities and other partners, including non-governmental organisations, about unaccompanied children who arrive in the UK and claim asylum here and about the implementation of new arrangements to relieve the pressure on particular local authorities by transferring these children to the care of other local authorities. The Home Office funds local authority care for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and funding arrangements form part of the ongoing discussion with local authorities. We are determined to ensure that no local authority is asked to take more unaccompanied children than local services are able to deal with and that impacts are managed in a fair and controlled way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received proposals from the Northern Ireland Executive for the establishment of an Enterprise Zone in Northern Ireland, and if so, where such a zone would be located.

Lord Young of Cookham

The establishment of an enterprise zone in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.

In the 2013 economic pact between the UK government and the Northern Ireland Executive, ‘Building a Prosperous and United Community’, we agreed to consider designating a range of sites within any Northern Ireland Enterprise Zone as designated areas for Enhanced Capital Allowances, should the Executive propose them.

This year, we delivered the necessary legislation to provide for Enhanced Capital Allowances in the Executive’s pilot Coleraine Enterprise Zone.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to amend the Climate Change Act 2008 to alleviate the costs of power for large energy users in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Climate Change Act does not impose specific costs on large energy users in and of itself. Instead, the Act sets up a long term target to reduce emissions across the whole economy. It is for the Government to decide the cost effective way of meeting that target and Government is mindful of the impact of policies on energy intensive users.

For energy intensive sectors, voluntary Climate Change Agreements (CCAs) allow 90% reduction from the Climate Change Levy (CCL) for electricity in return for signing up to stretching energy efficiency improvement targets agreed with Government. Metallurgical and mineralogical sectors have been exempt from paying the CCL since April 2014. In addition, the Government has paid over £131m in compensation to eligible energy intensive industries, for the indirect impacts of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and Carbon Price Support mechanism on their electricity prices. Further relief measures are currently being considered by the European Commission.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when and where the Mobile Infrastructure Project will be rolled out in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Mobile Infrastructure Project is being rolled out in Northern Ireland up to the end of March 2016.

There are currently 7 masts in build phase. These are located in:

• Derry and Strabane District

• Fermanagh and Omagh (2 sites)

• Lisburn and Castlereagh

• Mid Ulster (3 sites)

Planning permission was received for 4 sites. These sites are located in:

• Mid Ulster (3 sites)

• Newry, Mourne and Down

Planning applications were submitted but decisions awaiting for 5 other sites. These are located in:

• Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon

• Derry and Strabane District

• Fermanagh and Omagh (2 sites)

• Mid Ulster

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances value added tax can be applied to school uniforms.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Children’s clothing, including a school uniform, is VAT zero-rated if it is designed for young children and is of a size that would fit the average child aged under 14 years. Larger sizes of clothing are standard rated irrespective of the age of the wearer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to recover records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997.

Baroness Randerson

The review of Departmental record keeping ordered by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is ongoing.

Northern Ireland Office officials continue to seek information on use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) for the years 1987 to 1997. This includes contact with other Government Departments where relevant material might be held.