Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the operations of the Cerebrus investment fund in Northern Ireland since April 2014.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
I have discussed the operations of Cerberus on a number of occasions including with Government and Executive Ministers.
It is important that Cerberus lives up to its commitment to be a good partner for Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle the persecution of Christians in (a) Africa and (b) the Middle East.
Answered by David Lidington
The promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief is one of the UK’s human rights priorities. We regularly urge foreign governments at senior levels to uphold the rights of all minorities; work to build international consensus on freedom of religion or belief; and support practical projects on community dialogue with civil society and faith groups.
An example of our lobbying in Africa was the case of Meriam Ibrahim, who was sentenced to death for apostasy. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the member for Putney (Ms Greening) and the Minister for Africa my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Sounthend East (Mr Duddridge) all publicly condemned her sentencing, and called on the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion or belief and international human rights laws. Following UK and international pressure Ms Ibrahim was subsequently released.
We are deeply concerned by the difficulties facing many Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East and deplore all discrimination and constraints on freedom of religion.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of passengers on flights originating in Northern Ireland who take connecting flights from other UK Airports in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The estimated numbers of passengers on flights originating in Northern Ireland who take connecting flights from other UK airports in each of the last five years are given in the table below.
Passengers originating in Northern Ireland who transfer at UK airports, 2009 - 2013
| |
Year
| Transfer passengers (000's)
|
2009
| 571
|
2010
| 506
|
2011
| 400
|
2012
| 441
|
2013
| 343
|
These figures are based on data from the CAA’s passenger surveys and reflect those airports which form part of the continuous survey (Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Manchester). These airports account for the majority of transfer passengers travelling from Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what gifts of what value have been declared to HM Revenue and Customs by members of the English Football Association and the FIFA vice-president in the last three years.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is bound by a strict duty of confidentiality, and, under Section 18 (1) Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, may not disclose information which is held in connection with its functions. Disclosure of Revenue and Customs information relating to a person whose identity is specified in the disclosure, or can be deduced from it, is an offence under Section 19 (1). This duty of confidentiality prevents HMRC from disclosing details relating to specific individuals.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK of the cost of air fares to and from Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government has not made an assessment of the economic effects on Northern Ireland or the UK of the cost of air fares to and from Northern Ireland. However, we said in last year’s Aviation Policy Framework that the aviation sector’s economic output to the whole UK economy in 2011 was approximately £18 billion, and that it employs around 220,000 workers directly and supports many more indirectly. We recognise that airports across the UK play an important role in securing connectivity for local populations and their contribution to local, regional and national economies.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current pricing structure of cross-border mail between the UK and Ireland.
Answered by Jo Swinson
The setting of postal prices, including prices for cross-border mail between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, is the direct responsibility of postal operators. It is for postal operators and other carriers to ensure that they offer cross-border services that meet the needs of postal users in Northern Ireland and that their services are competitively priced, while covering the costs of their respective operations.
Royal Mail, as the UK’s designated universal service provider, can negotiate suitable cross-border arrangements with the postal administration in the Republic of Ireland in the same way as it does for any other international destination, though its universal services must comply with the requirements of the Postal Services Directive on cross-border mail within the European Union and with Ofcom’s regulatory framework which sets parameters on pricing for universal postal services. Other carriers offering services between the UK and the Republic of Ireland are responsible for setting their own pricing structures in response to market pressures.
Royal Mail works closely with An Post to provide customers with a high-quality cross border postal service. A Consumer Focus NI report of March 2010 (http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/northern-ireland/publications/cross-border-post-improving-mail-services-between-northern-ireland-and-the-republic-of-ireland) found that on reliability 85% of consumers and 75% of businesses rated the cross-border services as good and that the service exceeded the EU performance targets of delivery within 3 days of posting in both directions.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the total volume was of mail (a) dispatched to and (b) received from the Republic of Ireland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jo Swinson
HM Government does not collect or hold data for cross-border post between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Data relating to the volumes of mail between the UK and the Republic of Ireland are subject to commercial confidentiality between the national postal operators, Royal Mail and An Post, and other carriers operating between the two countries.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what date the decision was taken to set the limit the public offering of Royal Mail shares to those applying for shares of a value of less than £10,000.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The decision to limit the allocation of shares under the Royal Mail Retail Offer to those applying for less than £10,000 was taken by Ministers on 9 October 2013.
The banks involved in the sale of Royal Mail shares were informed on the same day as the decision was made.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what date banks were informed of the decision to limit Royal Mail shares to people applying for shares of a value less than £10,000.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The decision to limit the allocation of shares under the Royal Mail Retail Offer to those applying for less than £10,000 was taken by Ministers on 9 October 2013.
The banks involved in the sale of Royal Mail shares were informed on the same day as the decision was made.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the recent trends have been in survival rates for pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.