The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Chief Electoral Officer on proposed industrial action by electoral office staff in Northern Ireland.
Mr Ben Wallace
I have regular discussions with the Chief Electoral Officer, including regarding the recent industrial action.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on community-based policing.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I meet the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on a regular basis to discuss a range of security issues.
Community-based policing in Northern Ireland is an operational matter which rests solely with the Chief Constable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what account her Department takes of efforts to eradicate corruption when deciding on the allocation of aid.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID uses a range of criteria, including a country’s efforts to eradicate corruption, to inform its aid allocation decisions. Efforts to eradicate corruption are a key part of the UK’s four Partnership Principles. Our assessment of the government’s commitment to the Partnership Principles influences the extent to which we work with the government of that country and use its systems.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Irish government on security at airport and ferry ports in the Republic of Ireland.
James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers and officials have regular contact with their Irish counterparts; there is excellent government and operational level co-operation to prevent those seeking to abuse the CTA arrangement from doing so.
In particular, we are working together to further align our respective border and visa policy processes in order to strengthen the external CTA border.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on the provision of eye clinic care liaison officers in each year since 2010.
Alistair Burt
In England, eye clinics and their staffing, including Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLO), are commissioned and funded by individual clinical commissioning groups on the basis of local assessments of need.
The Department does not collect data on the number of eye clinic liaison officers employed in hospitals or how much has been spent on funding ECLOs.
The Government fully appreciates the impact that sight loss can have on a person’s life and the importance of information being available for those newly diagnosed with sight loss, including signposting patients to appropriate support and rehabilitation services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
Mr Ben Wallace
We strongly value the work and commitment of Electoral Office staff in managing electoral registration and elections in Northern Ireland. The introduction of digital registration to Northern Ireland later this year will bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the United Kingdom and means that now is the right time to consider how services can be delivered as effectively as possible in the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many police officers there are per head of population (a) in Northern Ireland, (b) in the Metropolitan Police Service area and (c) on average for all police forces in the UK.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
There is currently 1 PSNI officer per 273 of the population in Northern Ireland.
The answers for part (b) and (c) are matters for the Home Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Karen Bradley
The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention in June 2012 and this Government remains committed to its ratification.
The UK already complies with the vast majority of the articles through our comprehensive work to protect women and girls from violence, including criminalising forced marriage as required by the Convention.
However, primary legislation will be required to comply with the extra-territorial jurisdiction provisions in Article 44 of the Convention before ratification. The Government is liaising with the devolved administrations about ratification, including any further legislative steps necessary.
The Government takes its international commitments very seriously and will only commit to such ratification when we are absolutely satisfied that we comply with all articles. We will continue to lead efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, end Female Genital Mutilation and combat early and forced marriage, both at home and abroad.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what cooperation arrangements are in place to tackle the potential utilisation of the land border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic by Islamist terrorists.
Mr John Hayes
The UK and the Republic of Ireland have long enjoyed a Common Travel Area (CTA) free of routine border controls. However, there are long-established and effective working relationships between the police and intelligence agencies in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to mitigate threats. The Government takes protecting our border security very seriously, and there is also a high level of collaboration on work with the Irish Government on strengthening of CTA’s external border.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on Small Business Saturday and its benefits to promoting the value of small businesses to the economy.
Anna Soubry
Officials in the department meet with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive on a regular basis, to discuss a range of matters connected to small business, including Small Business Saturday.