Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether her Department has deprioritised any Statutory Instruments on the UK leaving the EU; and if she will publish the criteria her Department used to deprioritise those Instruments.
Answered by John Penrose
Our objective has always been to have a functioning statute book in place by Exit Day and to ensure that the most critical secondary legislation was made by this point. This objective was achieved, so the question of reprioritisation has not arisen.
The Northern Ireland Office had one SI required to correct a deficiency for EU Exit, the Flags (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which were approved by Parliament on 3 April 2019. The Regulations will be made post-Exit day.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many buildings her Department sold in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
No buildings owned by my Department have been sold in any of the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. My department has responsibility for Hillsborough Castle and rents accommodation at both Stormont House in Belfast and 1 Horse Guards Road, London.
In 2013, the Northern Ireland Office moved its London office from Millbank to 1 Horse Guards, saving in the region of £1m per year. In 2014, management of Hillsborough Castle was transferred to Historic Royal Palaces which will also deliver substantial annual savings for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, under what timetable her Department plans to phase out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
My Department does not use any of the prefixes listed for its customer service lines.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 her Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
My Department operates one telephone line with the prefix 0844 for the purpose of updating staff in the event of an emergency situation. Details of the number of calls to this line are not recorded and no alternative number is available at the BT local rate. My Department does not operate or sponsor any telephone lines with the prefix 0845 or 0843.