Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to hold elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
I refer the Hon Member to the Oral Statement I made on this subject earlier today.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department seeks references for candidates appointed to public positions which fall under the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Northern Ireland Office's regulated public appointment processes comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments and are governed by the principle of appointment on merit following a selection process that is open, impartial and assesses each candidate against the same criteria for the role in question. The department does not ask for references. However, in line with the Governance Code, candidates are asked to declare relevant interests and these are discussed at interview.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many items of written correspondence from hon. Members sent to Ministers of his Department have been (a) received and (b) replied to since 1 April 2020; and how many of those responses were responded to by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials of his Department.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence.
The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Hon. and Rt Hon. members from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the number of households in Northern Ireland which have someone aged 75 or over living in them.
Answered by John Penrose
At the time of the 2011 Census, there were 108,058 usual residents aged 75 and over living in households in Northern Ireland.
The number of households which had a usual resident aged 75 and over was 90,245 out of a total of 703,275 households in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2018 to Question 152673, what the planned publication date is for the detailed consultative report on the impact of VAT and APD on tourism in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karen Bradley
As announced at Autumn Budget 2017, the Government will report at the next Budget on the outcome of this Call for Evidence.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers in HM Treasury on the timescale for responses to its consultation on VAT, Air Passenger Duty and Tourism in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Government has committed to commissioning a detailed consultative report into the impact of VAT and APD on tourism in Northern Ireland, to recommend how best to build upon the growing success of that sector.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the economy in Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Government is clear that we are safer, stronger and better off in the EU.
Reports by HM Treasury are clear that leaving the EU would bring serious economic costs that would affect businesses, jobs, living standards and public finances for decades to come.