Northern Ireland: Illegal Petrol and Diesel

Debate between Lord Newby and Lord Mawhinney

Tuesday 15th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mawhinney]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total loss to HM Treasury caused by the production and smuggling of illegal petrol and diesel in Northern Ireland.

[Lord Newby (LD)]

My Lords, the latest tax gap figures published by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs estimate the market share for illicit diesel in Northern Ireland at 12% to 13%, or around £80 million, in 2011-12. Petrol fraud was estimated as negligible.

[Lord Mawhinney (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that reply. Given the illegal production and smuggling of fuel in Northern Ireland for decades, given the fact that today a quarter of all fuel sold in Northern Ireland is illegal, and bearing in mind the loss to the Treasury which my noble friend just mentioned and the fact that there has not been a single conviction, is he surprised to learn that many people in Northern Ireland believe that that set of circumstances points to the fact that a deal may have been done with the smugglers, akin to that for the on-the-runs, suggesting that if they stick to smuggling no other action will be taken against them? Can my noble friend assure us that no such deal has been conducted in writing, in words, or by a nudge or wink by this Government?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I can absolutely do that. First, perhaps I may correct the noble Lord. A quarter of all diesel consumption is not illegal; 12% to 13% is illegal; the balance is made up of diesel that is bought in the Republic and brought across. I also assure the House that it is not true that there have been no convictions in this area. There were nine convictions last year, nine convictions the previous year and four convictions the year before. It is true that, unlike in the rest of the UK—or, rather, in England and Wales—there have not been custodial sentences in Northern Ireland, but legislative change last December was undertaken specifically to deal with that problem.

Airports: Heathrow Third Runway

Debate between Lord Newby and Lord Mawhinney

Tuesday 17th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

I am tempted to say that I sometimes think that everything is the Lib Dems’ fault. However, this is an extremely important decision. It is a difficult decision, and it is very important that it is taken after the fullest possible consideration of all the factors.

[Lord Mawhinney (Con)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, the noble Lord will have to contain his impatience as far as manifestos are concerned, I suspect. I would just point out to him and to the House that the five airports serving London currently offer at least weekly direct services to more than 360 destinations worldwide. That is more than Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam.

[Lord Mawhinney]

My Lords, in his earlier answer my noble friend correctly said that it is not the job of the Government to dictate to airlines to which airports they should fly. In the event that Heathrow ceases to provide a suitable hub for this country, given overcrowding, and airlines start to move out, is it thereby implied that it is all right for the Government to tell airlines where they should not fly from, even if it is not all right to tell them where they should fly from?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I do not think that it is a good idea for Government to try to micromanage the commercial decisions of individual airlines.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Debate between Lord Newby and Lord Mawhinney

Thursday 16th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, I completely agree with the noble Lord, which is why the Government have put more money into this. The money that we have put in will mean that 120 additional enforcement staff are employed at borders, looking specifically at this. There is a 20% increase in criminal investigations and a 20% increase in the overseas intelligence network, which is instrumental in identifying the sources of smuggling.

[Lord Mawhinney]

My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the reported considerable smuggling of tobacco across the Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland border, despite the best and combined efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda Siochana? What are the Government planning to do in addition to reduce that smuggling?

Northern Ireland: Corporation Tax

Debate between Lord Newby and Lord Mawhinney

Monday 18th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

No, my Lords. Sadly—from the noble Lord’s point of view—we will not be supporting the noble Lord’s proposals, not least because, taking just the VAT proposal on its own, it would cost about £12 billion. I am not sure where he suggests we should get that money from.

[Lord Mawhinney]

My Lords, is not the major but unspoken problem that there would be widespread concern that, if corporation tax was devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Government would wish to be treated in a similar fashion? If that were the case, by how much would the budget of Scotland have to be reduced from central moneys if corporation tax in Scotland was reduced to 12.5%? Would the Minister expect the First Minister of Scotland to demand that the Scottish budget not be reduced by that amount?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, it would not really be at the discretion of the First Minister of Scotland because the Azores criteria mean that if there is a differential cut of tax the region or nation that bears that cut has to take the full fiscal consequences of doing so. I do not have the figure on the cost of such a cut to Scotland. However, bear in mind that the estimate of such a change in Northern Ireland is that there will be a cut in its grant of between £300 million and £400 million. I think that the noble Lord can scale that up for Scotland.