Tag: Lord Empey

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the part played by people traffickers in the arrival in northern France of large numbers of refugees and migrants seeking access to the UK.

Lord Bates

We are deeply concerned by the migration crisis in Europe. We believe that organised criminal gangs are operating in and around the camps in Northern France and fuelling organised immigration crime. We are working closely with our French counterparts through the Joint Operational Command and Control Centre which includes intelligence sharing and developing the intelligence picture and we will continue to assess this crime type.

In addition, the UK has provided specific financial assistance to fund a project aimed at protecting the most vulnerable people in the camps, agreed in the UK-France Declaration of August 2015. This project is setup to identify vulnerable people in the camps in Calais and is being delivered by a French non-Government organisation, France Terre D’Asile. It seeks to identify potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including children), and direct them to existing protection, support and advice within France. The UK has contributed £530,000 (€750,000) towards the costs of this project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any requests have been received from the devolved administrations to raise their borrowing limits; and if so, what increases were requested, when such requests were made, and whether any have been agreed to.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Treasury Ministers are in regular contact with Devolved Administration Ministers on a variety of matters.

Each of the Devolved Administrations has a range of capital and resource borrowing powers set out in legislation.

In addition to these, the Stormont House Agreement provided flexibility to use £700m of capital borrowing to fund a voluntary exit scheme over a period of 4 years with £200m in 2015-16, £200m in 2016-17, £200m in 2017-18 and £100m in 2018-19 as well as up to an additional £350m borrowing for infrastructure projects with a profile over four years with £100m in 2015-16, £100m in 2016-17, £100m in 2017-18 and £50m in 2018-19.

The Fresh Start Agreement and Implementation Plan provided assurances that the NI Executive could access the full amount of additional borrowing provided by the Stormont House Agreement even if it is able to realise agreed efficiency savings from Voluntary Exit Scheme without switching the full amount of existing borrowing for that purpose.

The Government is working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to implement the Fresh Start Agreement.

In response to a specific request from the Welsh Government, the Government has provided early access to the capital borrowing powers in the Wales Act 2014 in order to support the delivery of the M4 relief road.

Again, the Government is working closely with the Welsh Government on this matter.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have supplied any anti-aircraft weapons to rebel forces fighting in Syria.

Earl Howe

The UK participated in the original US-led ‘Train and Equip’ programme for vetted Syrian opposition forces fighting Daesh in 2015. The Ministry of Defence announced on 25 October 2016, that up to 20 UK personnel will be deploying to locations in the region, but outside Syria, to contribute to the refined and restarted programme. Their role will be to train selected members of vetted moderate Syrian opposition groups in the skills they need to continue to take the fight to Daesh. The UK is not participating in the "Equip" element of this programme.

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 whether the reported loss of records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997 applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Lord Faulks

The exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy may currently take one of three forms:

i) The grant of a Free Pardon;

ii) The grant of a conditional Pardon;

iii) Remission of all or part of a penalty

By Constitutional convention, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (in succession to the Home Secretary) is responsible, in England and Wales (and the Channel Islands), for recommending to Her Majesty the exercise of the prerogative of mercy to grant a Royal Pardon. In Northern Ireland the responsibility lies with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for reserved matters and the Justice Minister for Northern Ireland for devolved matters. In Scotland it is devolved to the First Minister. The Secretary of State for Defence also has the responsibility in relation to members of the armed forces.

Each department or administration is responsible for maintaining their records. I am not aware of any problems with retrieving such records for this period relating to royal pardons granted on the recommendation of the Secretary of State for Justice.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have sought assistance from the Royal Household in recovering 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 the Royal Household to ascertain whether they hold any relevant information.