Tag: Nigel Dodds

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Warm Homes Discount Scheme.

Andrea Leadsom

The Warm Home Discount Scheme helps over 2 million low income and vulnerable households each year and has provided a total of £1.1bn of direct assistance since the scheme began. A detailed review of the Warm Home Discount scheme is due to be completed later this year. The report of this review will be published the New Year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the Paris climate change conference.

Andrea Leadsom

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has been engaging with her counterpart in Northern Ireland to discuss the UK’s objectives for COP21; and is intending to meet with the Minister of Environment for Northern Ireland in Paris.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials in her Department have been seconded from outside Northern Ireland in each year since 2010.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

Since 2010, my Department has had two seconded staff from outside Northern Ireland, one from 2010-2011 and one from 2013-2015. Additionally, the Northern Ireland Office also has 13 staff on loan from other Government departments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much has been contributed by energy suppliers towards the rebate on electricity bills under the Warm Home Discount Scheme in each year since 2010.

Andrea Leadsom

From 2011 to 2015, energy suppliers spent a total of £868m on electricity bill rebates under the Core and Broader Group elements of the Warm Home Discount. The annual breakdown is set out below.

Scheme year	Total contribution on rebates
Scheme year 1 ( 2011/2012)	£112.3m
Scheme Year 2 (2012/2013)	£198.1m
Scheme Year 3 (2013/2014)	£248.66m
Scheme Year 4 (2014/2015)	£309.3m

We expect that at least £286m has been spent by suppliers on direct rebates in 2015/16.

From 2011 to 2015, households have also received other assistance through the Warm Home Discount to the value of £264m.

Government announced in the Spending Review in November 2015 that the Warm Home Discount scheme would be extended to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m per year, rising with inflation, to help households who are at risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

Further details can be found in Ofgem’s annual reports at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-4.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the NATO Secretary General on North Korea’s nuclear tests in 2016.

Alok Sharma

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has not discussed this issue directly with the NATO Secretary General. At the NATO Warsaw Summit in July 2016, Heads of Government called on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) to immediately cease its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. The Secretary General issued a statement on 9 September condemning the DPRK’s fifth nuclear test and called on it to fully respect its international obligations and commitments, including UN Security Council Resolutions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress there has been on delivering support to NATO aspirant countries since the NATO summit in Wales in 2014.

Mr David Lidington

There is no formal list of NATO aspirant countries. However, this term is presently understood within the Alliance to refer to Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s open door policy for any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. We therefore support the membership aspirations of all countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.

At the NATO Summit in Wales, the Alliance agreed a ‘Substantial Package’ of support for Georgia to strengthen defence capabilities and interoperability with the Alliance, and provide a new “enhanced partnership” status. Separately, Allies agreed to establish Defence Capacity Building (DCB) Missions in Georgia. The initial infrastructure for the first DCB project, the Joint Training & Evaluation Centre, was inaugurated by the NATO Secretary General at the end of August. The UK has provided a Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert to the NATO Core Team in Georgia, while other Allies have offered similar secondments. The UK has also contributed £1,750,000 to a new Trust Fund to help facilitate these.

Following the Wales Summit, NATO intensified talks with Montenegro to help them further prepare for future membership. The UK has supported Montenegro’s aim to increase public support for NATO membership and has initiated a number of Defence Engagement activities focussed upon changing public perceptions and putting Montenegro’s international credentials and capabilities into the public eye. The UK has supported a NATO Trust Fund set up to decommission surplus arms and ammunition in the country, and has provided financial and managerial support for the provision of English Language training in Montenegro, underpinning the ability to deploy officers on international operations including NATO. Foreign Ministers are due to take a decision in December on whether to invite Montenegro to open accession talks.

Since January 2015, the UK has been the NATO Contact Point Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Embassy organised its first outreach event in Bijelijina in June, with the new NATO Commander and a representative of the Bosnian Armed Forces on the panel. Complementing its role as Contact Point, the British Embassy continues to run its officer Selection and Training project, which provides a framework and support for the Bosnian Armed Forces to recruit and train a new cadre of officers.

NATO Allies, including the UK, continue to support the conditional invitation granted to Macedonia in 2008, subject to stipulated conditions. Macedonia completed its latest Annual National Plan process in September. The UK has continued to underline to Macedonia the importance of reforms in areas such as democratic dialogue, media freedom and judicial independence in order to meet the standards expected of a future NATO Ally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Pet Travel Scheme in tackling pet smuggling.

George Eustice

The carriers which carry out checks to ensure pets animals are compliant with Pet Travel Scheme rules are audited by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the results show that they are performing satisfactorily. In 2014, APHA audited close to 6,000 pets. Of these only 0.9% of the pets were found not to comply with the entry rules. These pets were either detained until their compliance could be established, re-exported or placed into quarantine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland in advance of the EU Fisheries Council in December 2015.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

I had no direct discussions with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in advance of the EU Fisheries Council in December as these matters fall within the remit of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Preparation of the UK negotiating position in the lead up to the December Fisheries Council included discussions at both Ministerial and official level across all UK fisheries administrations, including DARD. This process also included discussion with representatives of the Northern Ireland fishing industry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussion she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the possible extension of the Warm Home Discount Scheme to Northern Ireland.

Andrea Leadsom

The extension of the Warm Home Discount Scheme to Northern Ireland was debated in Parliament on 2 March 2015. A transcript of the debate is at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm150302/debtext/150302-0004.htm

DECC officials continue to discuss fuel poverty issues with officials in the Northern Ireland Executive.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270 (2016) on North Korea.

Alok Sharma

Since the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2270 in March 2016, which the UK strongly supported, the Government has been focused on ensuring that the Resolution is implemented fully and effectively by all UN Member States. We continue to have discussions with partners in the region to ensure that UNSCR 2270 and all previous sanctions measures are enforced in order to limit the ability of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The UK operates one of the toughest export control and counter-proliferation systems in the world and looks to share British expertise on sanctions wherever possible. Following the DPRK’s fifth nuclear test on 9 September, the UK is working with the UN Security Council and key partners to ensure there is a robust multilateral response to this violation of successive UN resolutions.