Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Hoban and Ian Paisley

Monday 20th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

I agree with my hon. Friend that the whole process is taking far too long. We are working closely with the Ministry of Justice to reform the system and ensure that appeals can be heard more quickly. We are also working with charities to see what additional support we can give to people claiming employment and support allowance, to ensure that the right information is made available as soon as possible to enable claims to be processed as quickly as possible.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

What would the Minister say to my constituent, Philip Gillespie, who served our nation in Afghanistan and lost his right leg in an explosion there? Last month, he lost his disability living allowance and was told that he would be caught up by the new military system that is soon to be put in place. I hope that he will be caught up by it, but will the Minister ensure that this never happens again, and that a soldier serving his nation is never refused a benefit to which he is entitled?

[Mr Hoban]

I am not familiar with the details of the case to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but we are working on arrangements with the Ministry of Defence and, in future, such cases will be dealt with by the Ministry rather than by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, the assessment is about functionability, not about someone’s condition. The old system, under which people were judged on their condition, resulted in many people being written off for decades because of their illness.

Eurozone Crisis

Debate between Mark Hoban and Ian Paisley

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. We in the coalition Government have made clear our view that we do not want to be part of the euro, and therefore need not take part in any process of closer fiscal integration.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

The Financial Secretary said that the Prime Minister would make a statement on Monday. Will it include the issue of the bilateral loan to Ireland, and will the Financial Secretary insist that if it does, it will address the way in which the National Asset Management Agency is now treating businesses here as a result of a soft loan from the United Kingdom?

[Mr Hoban]

I am not going to tell the Prime Minister what he should or should not say on Monday, but I am sure that he will have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said.

Finance Ministers’ Meeting (Ireland)

Debate between Mark Hoban and Ian Paisley

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

As I said earlier, a number of aspects of Irish economic policy created growth, but I remind my hon. Friend, and Opposition Members, that the problems facing Ireland stem from a banking system that was not well regulated, which led to an asset price bubble. We have taken the right action in this country to tackle our deficit and to avoid having our credit rating put at risk.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

The mechanism established to address bad banking debt in the Republic of Ireland, the National Asset Management Agency, known as NAMA, holds several billion pounds of properties in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the United Kingdom, particularly here in London. What representations are the Government making to protect our economy from NAMA deciding to float that property at the cheapest possible price to meet the needs of the banking sector in the Republic of Ireland, thereby damaging our economy?

[Mr Hoban]

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says about NAMA. It is not for us to speculate on the policy that should be followed by NAMA or the Irish Government.