Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the UN Secretary General’s response to the Colombian government’s rapid response plan aimed at overcoming delays in implementing the 2016 Peace Agreement.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We welcomed the Colombian government's announcement of a new rapid response plan for implementation of the 2016 Agreement at the UN Security Council (UNSC) Session in July. In particular, we welcomed its focus on territorial transformation and the appointment of a senior Cabinet Minister responsible for its implementation. We continue to engage with the Colombian government to support them on this. During her visit to Colombia in November, Baroness Chapman met with Interior Minister Cristo to discuss the rapid response plan and reiterated our commitment to implementing the 2016 Peace Agreement. The Foreign Secretary also met with Foreign Minister Murillo in September, to reiterate the UK's commitment towards the peace process in Colombia.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with the Minister for Finance in Northern Ireland on the potential impact of increases in employers' National Insurance contributions on community and voluntary sector organisations in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the UK Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs).
The UK Government recognises the need to protect charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.
In addition, charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.
The devolved governments will receive funding through the Barnett Formula in 2025-26 for any changes to UK Government department budgets, including support for employer NICs. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
This funding will be in addition to the devolved governments’ record Spending Review settlements for 2025-26, which are the largest in real terms of any settlements since devolution.
I regularly engage with the Minister of Finance for Northern Ireland on a variety of issues, including the impact of Autumn Budget 2024 in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had discussions with the Minister for Justice in Northern Ireland on creating a criminal offence of drink spiking.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Spiking is already an offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. We are, however, currently working across Government on a proposed new offence covering spiking, which has included discussions, at official level, with the Department of Justice (Northern Ireland). These discussions are ongoing.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill on (a) small voluntary groups and (b) small venues.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is extremely mindful of the many community and voluntary-run premises across the UK. It has been conscious of the need to ensure the Terrorism (Protection of Premises Bill) strikes the right balance between public protection and avoiding undue burdens on premises and events. That is why important changes were made to the Bill since it was published in draft, particularly to the standard tier which comprises the smaller premises, many of which may be utilised by small voluntary groups.
We have doubled the qualifying threshold at which premises will come within scope of the Bill (at the standard tier) to where it is reasonable to expect that 200 people may be present at the same time. This has removed the smallest premises from scope, and made the requirements less prescriptive. The focus is on having procedures that are intended to be simple and low cost. For example, we have removed the requirement for a specific, prescribed form of training in recognition that a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate. Additionally, the Bill will not require premises in the standard tier to purchase or install any additional physical measures.
Dedicated guidance and support will be provided for those in scope of the Bill, to ensure that they have the required information on what to do and how best to do it. The guidance will be easy to follow, needing no particular expertise.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing funding schemes to support small voluntary groups with the costs of compliance with the measures in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has made important changes to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill since it was published in draft, particularly to the standard tier, to ensure that the requirements strike a better balance between protecting the public and avoiding undue burden on premises.
The requirements for smaller premises are focused on simple, low-cost activities to enact policies and procedures. The smaller premises on the standard tier will be required to have in place appropriate and reasonably practicable public protection procedures to reduce the risk of physical harm in the event of an attack. Some actions could be as simple as locking doors, closing shutters and identifying a safe route to cover.
Direct financial support for mitigating measures is not proposed. However, the Government will consider how and where it can otherwise support those in scope, for example through developing supporting tools, guidance and templates where appropriate, and considering how training needs can be supported. The guidance and support is being designed so that it is self-explanatory and easy to follow.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to (a) review and (b) raise the classification of pregabalin under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pregabalin is currently controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Dugs Act 1971. The Government takes expert advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which is the independent advisory body on drugs, on the classification of substances under the 1971 Act and scheduling under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
Controlled drugs are placed in the appropriate class and schedule following consideration of advice from the ACMD on the potential harms of misuse, and an assessment of their medicinal or therapeutic usefulness and the need for legitimate access. The ACMD announced in February this year that they are looking to launch an updated harms assessment for gabapentinoids, which includes pregabalin, to review the position of these drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The Government will consider the findings of the ACMD’s review once published.
The ACMD’s work programme is available on the Gov.UK website: ACMD work programme 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Office for Product Safety and Standards has made an estimate of the number of constructions using (a) Mica, (b) Pyrite and (c) other defective building materials in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards was appointed by MHCLG in April 2021 as the national regulator of construction products, overseeing conformity of construction products with designated standards under the Construction Products Regulations 2013. In this role, OPSS has not made any estimates of the number of constructions in Northern Ireland using Mica, Pyrite or defective materials.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which agencies are responsible for redress as a result of damage caused to buildings by defective building materials in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As building safety is a devolved matter, it is for the Northern Irish Government to decide appropriate methods of redress as a result of damage caused to buildings by defective building materials in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of farms that will be affected by changes to agricultural property relief in Northern Ireland.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced 12861 published on 15th November 2024 at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-05/12861.
The Chancellor also recently wrote to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, and her letter may be of interest: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Famine Review Committee's alert entitled, Gaza Strip, Published on 8 November 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Famine Review Committee's warning that areas of northern Gaza likely face imminent famine is appalling. At a UK-chaired meeting of the UN Security Council on 12 November, Lord Collins called on Israel to finally, and immediately, make good on its commitment to flood Gaza with aid. The Prime Minister stressed this in a call with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on 19 October; the Foreign Secretary reiterated this in his call with the then Foreign Minister Israel Katz on 27 October. We continue to play a leading role in alleviating the suffering in Gaza, including by matching up to £10 million of public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Middle East humanitarian appeal.