Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many thefts from retail businesses there have been in each of the last three years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2010 theft offences experienced by the general population has fallen by 48%, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, but shoplifting has been increasing in the last three years, as shown in the table.
Calendar Year | Number of Shoplifting offences |
2021 | 256,199 |
2022 | 315,040 |
2023 | 430,104 |
Source: ONS Crime in England and Wales: year ending December 2023, Appendix Table A4.
There must be a zero tolerance approach to such crime which is why, alongside key partners, this Government is taking concerted action to address the menace of retail crime. The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, and highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on tackling underage drinking in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Crime and policing in Northern Ireland are devolved matters and fall within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential merits of increasing funding through the Barnett formula to assist schools in Northern Ireland with the cost of heating and electricity.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In the 2024 Northern Ireland Executive restoration financial package worth over £3.3 billion, the UK Government has committed to implement a 24% needs-based factor into the Barnett formula for the Northern Ireland Executive from 2024-25 onwards.
Funding provided to the Northern Ireland Executive through the Barnett formula is not ringfenced. This provides the Executive with the flexibility to allocate resources in devolved areas as they see fit and assign funding in response to their priorities.
The UK Government has no plans to replace the Barnett Formula
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of restructuring the Barnett Formula for education.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In the 2024 Northern Ireland Executive restoration financial package worth over £3.3 billion, the UK Government has committed to implement a 24% needs-based factor into the Barnett formula for the Northern Ireland Executive from 2024-25 onwards.
Funding provided to the Northern Ireland Executive through the Barnett formula is not ringfenced. This provides the Executive with the flexibility to allocate resources in devolved areas as they see fit and assign funding in response to their priorities.
The UK Government has no plans to replace the Barnett Formula
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) new and (b) used electric vehicles bought in the last 12 months.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the 12 months from October 2022 to September 2023 inclusive (the latest period for which published data are available), there were 357,021 new registrations of battery electric vehicles in the UK. The total number of new registrations for all fuel types in this same period was 2,413,737.
These data are published in table VEH1153 available here, and a full 2023 update will be available later this month:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-licensing-statistics-data-tables
The department does not hold data on the number of used vehicle sales.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department issues guidance to Departments on supporting candidates with autism through job recruitment boards.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not issue guidance to other departments on supporting candidates with autism through job recruitment boards. This falls within the remit of the Government People Group, within the Cabinet Office.
All candidates requiring a reasonable adjustment are able to request one during their application. There is also some general information on Reasonable Adjustments on the Civil Service Careers page, including the links to Disability Confidence Scheme and what the Reasonable Adjustment process via CS Jobs will involve.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the decision to suspend funding to UNRWA on religious minorities.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
We trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year and are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air, working with multiple implementing partners.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of people under the age of 40 who (a) lived in private rented accommodation and (b) had a mortgage in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The English Housing Survey publishes data on tenure by age of household.
The most recently published survey is: English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023: headline report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The relevant data is in Annex Table 1.3: “Demographic and economic characteristics”
Housing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of tourism on the local economy in (a) rural and (b) coastal communities.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
With coastal and countryside destinations making up 25% of domestic day trips and 31% of domestic overnight stays in 2023, tourism is recognised as a key sector with the potential to contribute strongly to economic growth and pride in place of an area.
The Government is implementing a range of measures to support the sector and maximise its benefits for local economies, including working with VisitBritain to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience, and promoting rural areas such as the South Downs, Northumberland, Pembrokeshire and the Yorkshire Dales. Additionally, as mentioned at Heritage Day in March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be launching a dedicated fund to support enhancements to our seaside heritage to help protect and rejuvenate coastal assets which are in need of love and attention.
To ensure that the tourism organisation landscape works for local communities, the Government has introduced the Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation programme and the North-East Destination Development Partnership pilot. These aim to bring clarity and coherence at a regional level and drive investment and both domestic and international visitor spend across a region including in rural and coastal areas. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, through VisitEngland, has accredited 33 LVEPs so far across a range of English regions.
As set out in the Tourism Recovery Plan Update (2023), the Government will work to ensure that the benefits of tourism are shared across every nation and region, and expects the sector to contribute to the enhancement and conservation of the UK’s cultural, natural and historic heritage and minimise damage to the environment.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in the devolved nations.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20145 on 16 April 2024.