Tag: Lord Kilclooney

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who are the UK members of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly; and to which political group each member belongs.

Lord Dunlop

Responsibility for appointing the United Kingdom delegation to the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly lies with the Lords Speaker and the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The current members of the United Kingdom delegation and the political party to which they belong are set out below:

MEMBERS
Lord (Paul) Bew	Cross-Bench
Baroness (May) Blood MBE	Labour
Mr Andrew Bridgen MP	Conservative
Ms Deirdre Brock MP	SNP
Mr Oliver Colvile MP	Conservative
Miss Rosie Cooper MP	Labour
Rt Hon Baroness (Jean) Corston	Labour
Rt Hon Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP	DUP
Lord (Alf) Dubs	Labour
Mr Mark Durkan MP	SDLP
Mr Nigel Evans MP	Conservative
Mr Paul Farrelly MP	Labour
Lord (Robin) Glentoran	Conservative
Ms Helen Jones MP	Labour
Mr Danny Kinahan MP	UUP
Mr Jack Lopresti MP	Conservative
Rt Hon Lord (Brian) Mawhinney	Conservative
Mr Conor McGinn MP	Labour
Mr Nigel Mills MP	Conservative
Lord (Roger) Skelmersdale	Conservative
Mr Robin Walker MP	Conservative
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Ms Caroline Ansell MP	Conservative
Ms Victoria Atkins MP	Conservative
Mr Tom Blenkinsop MP	Labour
Viscount (Robin) Bridgeman	Conservative
Mr Glyn Davies MP	Conservative
Lord (Bernard) Donoughue	Labour
Lord (Reg) Empey	UUP
Mrs Margaret Ferrier MP	SNP
Lord (James) Gordon of Strathblane	Labour
Rt Hon David Hanson MP	Labour
Mr Stephen Hepburn MP	Labour
Lord (John) Kilclooney	Cross-Bench
Ms Siobhain McDonagh MP	Labour
Sir Alan Meale MP	Labour
Lord (Christopher) Tugendhat	Conservative

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of imports from the EU in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what percentage of that amount is represented by imports from the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Maude of Horsham

The value of UK imports of goods and services from the EU28 was £290.6 billion in 2014. Imports from the Republic of Ireland amounted to £17.1 billion, or 5.9% of total UK imports from the EU28 (Source: ONS Pink Book 2015).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 1 December (HL3644), which UK members and UK associate members attended the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Cheltenham on 16 and 17 November.

Lord Dunlop

The Northern Ireland Office is not responsible for the administration of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

However, I am advised by the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly secretariat that the following full members of the UK delegation to the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly took part in the Assembly’s plenary session held in Cheltenham from 15 to 17 November 2015:

David Anderson MP

Lord Bew

Baroness Blood

Andrew Bridgen MP

Deidre Brock MP

Oliver Colvile MP

Lord Dubs

Mark Durkan MP

Paul Farrelly MP

Lord Glentoran

Helen Jones MP

Danny Kinahan MP

Rt Hon Lord Mawhinney

Conor McGinn MP

Nigel Mills MP

Laurence Robertson MP

Andrew Rosindell MP

Lord Skelmersdale

Robin Walker MP.

In addition, a number of full and associate members who had initially committed to attend the plenary session withdrew at short notice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether levels of VAT in the UK can be reduced without the approval of the EU.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Member States have full autonomy over VAT within an agreed EU framework. Member States can apply a standard rate of VAT no lower than 15 per cent and apply a reduced rate of VAT no lower than 5 per cent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many refugees have penetrated security at the sovereign base of Akrotiri in the past two months; how many of those refugees remain on that base; and where those refugees who are no longer on that base have gone.

Earl Howe

115 migrants arrived by boat at RAF Akrotiri on 21 October 2015. None penetrated the robust and established security measures we have in place to protect the base. The migrants came under the control of the Sovereign Base Area Administration as soon as they set foot on shore and at no point were they near any secure facilities within the base. Operational activity was not affected.

All of the migrants were transferred from RAF Akrotiri on 27 October 2015 to a specially prepared transit facility in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia outside of the military garrison.

As at 4 December 2015, 54 migrants are accommodated in the transit facility, one is held within HMP Dhekelia and 60 have transferred to reception centres in the Republic of Cyprus.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed freeze on duty for Scotch whisky and cider will also apply to Bushmills Whiskey and Armagh Cider in Northern Ireland.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Alcohol duty rates are applied in the same way across the UK. Budget 2016 froze the duty rates on spirits and on still and lower strength sparkling cider.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the EU guidelines for labelling products made in Israeli settlements will apply in the UK, and if so, what are the implications for future meetings between the Ambassador of the UK to Israel and representatives of the government of Israel.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice issued by the European Commission on 11 November on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice. I do not anticipate that the UK’s bilateral relations with Israel will be affected by the EU’s decision to adopt this Notice, given that we have already had guidance in place for several years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their revised estimate for the reduction in block grant paid to the Northern Ireland Executive after the introduction of 17 per cent Corporation Tax in Great Britain and 12½ per cent Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The government has legislated to introduce a Northern Ireland rate of corporation tax, so the Northern Ireland Executive must now press on with the reforms necessary to put its finances on the sustainable footing required to complete this process.

The Northern Ireland Executive block grant would then be reduced by the amount of tax revenues foregone by the government as a result of devolution (due to direct and behavioural effects). Alongside this, the Executive would retain all revenues from the NI rate of corporation tax.

The government’s latest estimate of the impact on the Executive’s budget assumes that the NI corporation tax rate is set at 12.5% from April 2018, and also takes into account UK corporation tax main rates of 19% for the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 and 18% in 2020-21. On this basis, there is an estimated cost to the Executive in 2020-21 of £275m.

These estimates will be updated in due course to take into account the government’s further reduction in corporation tax to 17%.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK, as one of the three guarantor powers of Cyprus, was consulted in connection with the request by Russia to the government of Cyprus for the provision of military facilities on that island.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have discussed with the Republic of Cyprus their dialogue with the Russian Federation on the provision of facilities for humanitarian and emergency purposes. The Republic of Cyprus have stated very clearly that they have no plans for a Russian military base on the island.

The UK remains fully engaged on issues of regional security with the Republic of Cyprus, while recognising that it is for the Republic of Cyprus to decide which bilateral agreements to sign.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the proposed £1,500 business rates discount for office space occupied by local newspapers in England outlined in the Budget will affect Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The £1,500 discount for office space occupied by local newspapers will be introduced in England for 2 years from April 2017. This measure will help to support local newspapers in England, alongside the other changes to Small Business Rate Relief. Business rates are devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland and so this is a matter for the devolved administrations. Barnett consequentials apply to this measure in the normal way.