UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Tom Elliott

  • Tom Elliott – 2023 Comments on Legacy Issues in Northern Ireland

    Tom Elliott – 2023 Comments on Legacy Issues in Northern Ireland

    The comments made by Tom Elliott, the Ulster Unionist MLA, on 23 January 2023.

    “There is a great deal of frustration with regard to legacy and how we can best move forward.

    “What we must not do is resurrect the Stormont House Agreement (SHA). The Ulster Unionist Party was the only one of the five major parties to reject the legacy proposals contained within the SHA because we could see from the outset that they contained major flaws.

    “Firstly the Stormont House Agreement proposed a parallel police force in the form of the Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) that would inevitably focus on the Army and Police due to the availability of accurate historical records, which obviously do not exist for terror gangs. Secondly it proposed a charge of ‘non-criminal police misconduct’ clearly indicating the target group.

    “It was also proposed that the HIU would only look at some – not all – deaths. It is little short of a scandal that throughout this process the injured have been all but ignored, and attempted murder treated as being of little consequence. This in effect has allowed the terrorists a get out of jail free card even though they would have been responsible for the injury of over 35,000 UK citizens. Those who oppose the Government’s current proposals because of the Amnesty, should also oppose the Stormont House Agreement because of the Amnesty contained within it.

    “What we need is an approach to legacy which is grounded in human rights. This will place the focus and the blame where they truly belong. I accept that on occasions the State and those who acted for it – the police and the army – may have overstepped the mark and should be held accountable. We must never forget that terrorists – loyalist and republican – were responsible for 90 per cent of Troubles related deaths. Every single action by the terror gangs was illegal and a breach of an individual’s human rights. Every killing, every bomb attack, every so-called punishment shooting or beating was carried out without any lawful authority or justification. Literally thousands of human rights abuses which too many people seem to want to be conveniently forgotten about in a bid to rewrite history and place the blame on the State, the Police and the Army.

    “Furthermore, if there is ever to be a serious examination of the Troubles and the legacy they have left, then there needs to be an honest assessment and acknowledgement of the role played by the Republic of Ireland. Its territory was used by the IRA to import arms, store weapons, mount hundreds of cross border attacks, coordinate ethnic cleansing of minority Protestant communities in the border area, and act as a safe haven for IRA terrorists on the run who were able to live freely in the Republic and the overwhelming difficulties the UK repeatedly faced in trying to extradite terrorist suspects from the Republic.

    Successive Dublin Governments have shown little appetite to seriously address these issues. The reality is that the Republic played a central role in the Troubles and this needs to be both highlighted and acknowledged if we are to have a full understanding of what really happened during those dark times.”

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax revenue was lost as a result of tobacco smuggling in the UK in each of the last three years.

    Damian Hinds

    Estimates of revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2014-15’. The combined figures for Cigarettes and Hand Rolling Tobacco are available in table 1.1

    The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2015’.

    Both documents can be accessed via the following page on the HMRC website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/measuring-tax-gaps

    “

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of changing Innovate UK funding from grants to loans.

    Joseph Johnson

    Innovation is a driver of productivity and the UK ranks among the best in the world in various indices. The Government is focussed on creating the best conditions for innovative businesses to flourish and is taking steps to ensure a range of finance options is available.

    We are exploring the range of financial instruments available in a number of countries and will be conducting market research in the UK to better understand the needs of innovative businesses.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent progress has been made on the Government’s application to the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood affected areas.

    James Wharton

    The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February and we continue to refine our cost estimations.

    At the date the application was made, the Government had not been approached on this matter by the Northern Ireland Executive.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what BT’s commercial investment was in broadband roll-out in Northern Ireland; and how that money was invested.

    Matt Hancock

    BDUK do not hold information on BT’s commercial investment in broadband roll-out in Northern Ireland.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax revenue was lost as a result of tobacco smuggling in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

    Damian Hinds

    Estimates of revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2014-15’. The combined figures for Cigarettes and Hand Rolling Tobacco are available in table 1.1

    These estimates cannot be disaggregated by country within the UK.

    The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2015’.

    Both documents can be accessed via the following page on the HMRC website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/measuring-tax-gaps

    “

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the Army Reserve in made up by Northern Irish soldiers.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The information is not held in the format requested as an individual’s nationality is recorded as British rather than Northern Irish.

    There are around 1,870 Army Reserve personnel stationed in Northern Ireland, and this makes up 6.7% of the 28,050 total trained and untrained personnel in the Army Reserve population.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the Government’s recent application to the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood affected areas.

    James Wharton

    The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February and we continue to refine our cost estimations.

    At the date the application was made, the Government had not been approached on this matter by the Northern Ireland Executive.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the proportion of households in Northern Ireland with access to superfast broadband.

    Matt Hancock

    At the end of Phase 1 (March 2016) 82% of premises in Northern Ireland had access to superfast broadband. This will increase to just under 87% following Phase 2 (December 2017). The Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project team is taking forward a contract change request to extend coverage further with £1.7 million of gainshare funding that has been returned by the supplier as a result of higher than expected take-up. There will be further gainshare funding over the seven year term of the contract which will become available to support further additional coverage. Furthermore, the UK Government is committed to a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, so every premise in the country will have access to broadband at a minimum speed, and our ambition is that this is 10Mbps.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs are taking to stop illegal fuel laundering and smuggling in Northern Ireland.

    Damian Hinds

    The government is committed to reducing revenue loss due to fuel duty fraud in Northern Ireland. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a comprehensive anti-fraud strategy in place that has helped drive down the estimated illicit market for diesel in Northern Ireland (NI) from 26% to 8% since its launch in 2002. Autumn Statement 2013 also announced the expansion of HMRC Road Fuel Testing Unit and Criminal Investigation capacity in NI and GB.

    The fight against fraud will be further enhanced by the new rebated fuel marker introduced in April 2015, which makes it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.

    HMRC also works closely with the Revenue Commissioners in the Republic of Ireland to fight fuel fraud on a wide range of fronts. This multi-agency approach includes regular exchange of information and joint operational activity. Ireland have also introduce the same new marker as the UK.