To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Air Passenger Duty: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 3rd July 2019

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on reducing air passenger duty on domestic flights from Northern Ireland's airports; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The government has established a technical working group that is considering the operational and legal context of APD in Northern Ireland. The group met in Belfast in March, and will meet again next month to continue discussions with stakeholders.

For domestic journeys, airlines are liable on both outward and return leg domestic journeys as APD applies to all departures from a UK airport. It is not possible under current EU law to have different rates of APD on intra-UK flights than on flights from the UK to other European Union destinations.


Written Question
Freezing of Assets: Libya
Wednesday 3rd July 2019

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax was taken by HM Treasury on the interest accrued on Libyan assets frozen in UK banks in each of the years since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government’s response of 24 June to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report (on Government support for UK victims of IRA attacks that used Qadhafi-supplied Semtex and weapons) set out the information the Government had obtained about tax receipts derived from frozen Libyan assets held in UK banks. The response states: “Around £17 million has been received in total since the start of the 2016-17 tax year. HMRC currently receives around £5 million each year.”

Information on the tax taken on interest accrued on Libyan assets frozen in UK banks is not held centrally within government and would involve disproportionate costs to collect and collate.


Written Question
City Region Deals: Belfast
Tuesday 13th November 2018

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 29 October 2018, Official Report, column 664, Financial Statement, which aspects of the Belfast Region City Deal will require a functioning Northern Ireland Executive for their implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

The government will work with local partners to ensure that robust governance, accountability and transparency arrangements will be in place to allow funding for the Belfast City Region Deal to be spent in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive.


Written Question
Police Service of Northern Ireland: Finance
Friday 9th November 2018

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in assessing the business case submitted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland for additional resources required for preparations for the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement on the timescale for his Department making a final decision on that matter.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

As the Chancellor announced at Budget 2018, an additional £500 million will be made available to allow departments and the devolved administrations to continue to prepare for EU exit, taking the total for 2019/20 to £2 billion. As a result of this announcement, the Treasury will have invested over £4 billion in EU exit since 2016.

We are working to assess the resource requirements of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to prepare for the UK leaving the EU. Allocations from the £2 billion to departments and the devolved administrations will be announced in due course.


Written Question
Hospices: VAT Zero Rating
Friday 9th November 2018

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that hospices throughout the UK will be zero rated from VAT after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Charities providing palliative care, such as hospices, are already able to fully recover their input VAT under Section 33C and Section 33D of the 1994 VAT Act. This means that VAT is not a burden on those hospices. VAT incurred by NHS Palliative care organisations is funded by the government through existing budgets.


Written Question
Air Passenger Duty
Tuesday 6th November 2018

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral contribution of 29 October 2018, Official Report, column 665, who the members will be of the working group that will be established to progress plans for short-haul air passenger duty devolution; and what criteria will be used to appoint those members.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The Budget announced that, following the call for evidence on ‘VAT, Air Passenger Duty and Tourism in Northern Ireland’, the government will establish a technical working group to explore further the practical and legal challenges to changing APD in Northern Ireland.

Further details, including the membership of the group, will be announced in due course.


Written Question
Child Care Vouchers
Tuesday 20th March 2018

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet representatives of Employers for Childcare to discuss its concerns about the closure of the childcare voucher scheme to new entrants after the six-month extension; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

HMRC hold regular meetings with childcare voucher providers, and will be holding another forum shortly. Employers for Childcare will be invited to attend.


Written Question
Cash Dispensing: Northern Ireland
Friday 19th January 2018

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential loss of free-to-use ATMs in (a) North Down, (b) Northern Ireland as a consequence of LINK'S proposal to reduce the interchange free by 20 per cent; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK, and will continue to work with industry to ensure that this access remains.

The Government has not made any formal assessment of the potential effect of LINK’s proposals to change the interchange fee rate on North Down or Northern Ireland. However, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which Government set up in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users, is monitoring developments within ATM provision, and is conducting ongoing internal work on the impact that changes may have. The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should any of the firms it regulates behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives.

The Government is engaging regularly with LINK and its members, and they have assured us that industry is committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, and to ensuring that the present geographical spread of ATMs is maintained. LINK intends to bolster its Financial Inclusion Programme, which ensures the provision of ATMs in areas of deprivation, where demand would not otherwise make one viable, and has also committed to protecting all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Northern Ireland
Tuesday 7th November 2017

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the need for additional Revenue and Customs officials in Northern Ireland as a result of the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Additional staffing required by HMRC across the UK following exit from the European Union will depend on the final outcome of the negotiations. HMRC are working with other government departments sharing the responsibility for maintaining the flow of trade through our borders to provide a seamless customs system.

The Government recognises the unique case of the Northern Ireland – Ireland land border, and has been clear that there will be no return to the borders of the past. It is for this reason that avoiding a ‘hard border’ between Ireland and Northern Ireland is one of the Government’s three strategic objectives that have informed development of the policy options outlined in the recently published Future Customs Arrangements: A Future Partnership Paper.


Written Question
Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland
Monday 28th November 2016

Asked by: Lady Hermon (Independent - North Down)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount is of Barnett consequentials for Northern Ireland of the Autumn Statement 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by David Gauke

The total additions to the Northern Ireland Executive’s block grant as a result of the application of the Barnett formula to spending decisions announced at Autumn Statement are set out in the table below.

£ million

Total

Resource DEL

25

Capital DEL

277

Financial Transactions Capital

3

TOTAL

305