Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to help the Northern Ireland Executive and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to tackle drug smuggling in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
It is now critical that there is agreement on extending the full remit of the National Crime Agency to Northern Ireland. The failure to do so has meant that the PSNI have had to dedicate precious resources to combating serious and organised crimes such as drug smuggling, and have not been able to take full advantage of the expertise that the NCA can provide.
Progress on this issue ultimately depends on the political parties reaching agreement, and the Justice Minister, David Ford MLA, continues to lead efforts to achieve that. I fully support those efforts; it is not acceptable that Northern Ireland lacks the same protection from serious and organised crime as the rest of the UK.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when and where she last met the Chief Executive of Invest NI.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
My officials have regular discussions with Invest NI officials on a number of different issues including attracting investment and access to finance. I have also met the Chief Executive at a range of events.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of changes to the budget of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on frontline policing.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
I am in regular contact with the Chief Constable and the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland to ensure that we understand the impact of funding reductions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive on the PSNI’s ability to deliver frontline policing. The recent Stormont House Agreement includes an undertaking by Executive parties to ensure that the PSNI budget, including the community policing budget, is protected from significant reductions.
This Government has provided additional security funding of £231m to support PSNI in their efforts to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism. This funding is not affected by the budget reductions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she next plans to report to the House on progress in the all-party talks.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
I updated the House on the outcome of the cross-party talks, the Stormont House Agreement, on 7 January 2015.
Asked by: Ivan Lewis (Independent - Bury South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with political parties in Northern Ireland on the National Crime Agency.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
I have had a number of discussions with the parties about the full extension of the NCA to Northern Ireland, including as part of the recent multi-party talks. Progress ultimately depends on the political parties reaching agreement, and the Justice Minister Mr David Ford continues to lead efforts to secure such agreement energetically and imaginatively. We fully support those efforts; it is not acceptable that Northern Ireland lacks the same protection from serious and organised crime as the rest of the UK.