Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to Operation Yellowhammer HMG Reasonable Worst Case Planning Assumptions paragraph 18, what assessment he has made of the sectors most likely to cease trading to avoid tariffs in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Julian Smith
The Government has been clear that we would prefer to leave with a deal and we will work in an energetic and determined way to get that better deal.
I have been working closely with colleagues across Government and engaging with the Northern Ireland Civil Service, including the Department of Economy, to assess the impacts on business in the event of a ‘no-deal’ exit, including from tariff barriers.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions her Department has received representations from the UK Statistics Authority on her Department's presentation and use of statistics in each year since 2010.
Answered by John Penrose
Details on the UK Statistics Authority’s interventions are published in the correspondence, publications, and issues log sections of their website since 2010.
The Authority’s Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) also carry out regular assessments and systemic reviews, details of which can also be found on the Authority’s website.
In September 2018, the Authority published the first annual summary of its interventions for the financial year 2017/18. The report for 2018/19 will be published in the autumn.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many civil servants in her Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.
Answered by John Penrose
There have been no civil servants seconded from the Northern Ireland Office to either the Department for Exiting the European Union or the Department for International Trade, in each of the last three years.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of his Department's spend on day-to-day goods comprised fair trade products in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Northern Ireland Office is fully committed to ethical procurement; however, we are unable to quantify what proportion of our annual spend relates to fair trade products over the requested period.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to which organisations his Department has outsourced functions since 2011.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
Since 2011, the Northern Ireland Office has used two centres of procurement excellence. The Central Procurement Division and Crown Commercial Services, provide procurement oversight for the full range of outsourced services for the department.
Both organisations publish relevant details on their websites for which the links have been provided. This includes any collaborative contracts which the department may use for additional outsourced functions.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what percentage of employees in her Department worked in (a) departmental accommodation, (b) from home and (c) in any other location in each of the last five years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
In my Department all employees work within departmental accommodation and have done so in each of the last 5 years. Employees are free to work occasionally from home or remotely; my Department does not retain records relating this.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what percentage of workers employed directly by her Department belonged to a trade union in each of the last five years for which data is available.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
In 2013/14, 31 members of my department belonged to a trade union.
In 2014/15, 29 members of my department belonged to a trade union.
At September 2015, 29 members of my department belonged to a trade union.
No data is available for subsequent years as from September 2015 trade union deductions were made directly from employees’ bank accounts and not collected through my department’s payroll.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many (a) full-time staff, (b) part-time staff, (c) temporary staff and (d) any other staff were employed directly by her Department on zero-hours contracts in each of the last eight years.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
None of my Department’s staff have been employed on zero-hours contracts in the last eight years.
It is worth adding that it is a Conservative Government that has taken action to reform zero-hours contracts, unlike the previous Labour Government supported by the hon Member.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Many of the policy areas linked to social mobility in Northern Ireland are devolved matters. But tackling social mobility is one of the UK Government’s key priorities. We want all young people, regardless of their background or where they grow up, to get the best start in life and have every chance to go as far as their talents and ambition will take them.
The UK Government is helping the people of Northern Ireland by keeping taxes low, freezing fuel duty for the eight successive year and increasing the National Living Wage again from April 2018, delivering a £600 annual pay-rise to full-time workers in Northern Ireland. Moreover, we have increased again the personal allowance for income tax and higher rate threshold which will benefit over 745,000 people in Northern Ireland who will have gained by an average of £182, compared to 2015-16. Furthermore, there are 41,000 more people in work in Northern Ireland than in 2010 and unemployment is at 3.9%, down from 7.1% in 2010. And this Government will continue to deliver on its commitments to continue to support economic growth in Northern Ireland, including starting negotiations for a Belfast City Deal.