"The Joint Committee on Human Rights has produced a report on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill that contains a number of significant recommendations. Can the Leader of the House give us an assurance that the Government will respond to those recommendations before the next stage of the Bill? Can he …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"Any disruption to aviation has an adverse impact on travellers coming from Northern Ireland. Will the Minister give reassurance that when he speaks of contingency and resilience, he includes the Northern Ireland airports—Aldergrove airport in my constituency and Belfast City airport—within that?..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"The Northern Ireland Executive have been without a budget this year, and in the last six months the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has been engaging with the Executive parties. What latitude or support has the Chancellor given the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to enable a budget …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
That this House has considered the potential merits of a VAT reduction pilot for hospitality businesses in Northern Ireland.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of a pilot scheme to reduce VAT for …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"I agreed with the hon. Member until his last point. The McKeever group owns the hotel in which he was married. I had my wedding reception at the group’s Dunsilly hotel, and it is just celebrating the 40th anniversary—[Interruption.] Of the hotel, not my marriage, just to …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Member for raising that point, because we do share a land border with another jurisdiction. In the Republic of Ireland, hospitality businesses already benefit from a significantly lower VAT rate of 13.5%, but the Irish Government have gone further by moving towards a 9% rate for …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"I agree with the hon. Member. That is why many representative organisations think that VAT reduction would be a key enabler. It would not solve all those problems, but it would definitely help.
With regard to the cross-border imbalance, a family deciding where to spend their money, a couple booking …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"In his first answer, the Secretary of State said that the recent disorder was a problem that needed to be solved. A fortnight ago, I arranged a roundtable in my constituency that included the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the police, the Executive Office, the Department for Communities and many other …..." Robin Swann - View Speech
"We should remember that this change will have an effect across all the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. A Northern Ireland coastguard rescue officer contacted me to say:
“I am not writing out of personal financial interest”
"I will take the Minister up on that offer. I wrote to him asking him to meet companies in South Antrim over two weeks ago and I am still waiting on a response to that. In his initial response, he said that the TSS and HMRC are able to support …..." Robin Swann - View Speech