Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label attachment file name title
tabling member	label

Search

48362

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what levels of stock her Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.
	tabling member constituency	Wokingham
	tabling member printed	Mr John Redwood
	uin	196214
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The enclosed tables set out the current stock levels of stationery, printer cartridges, treasury tags and other fasteners and other office consumables held in my Department across the three locations at 1 Horse Guards Road, London; Stormont House, Belfast; and Hillsborough Castle.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers question first answered 29/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers attachment 1 file name PQ 196214 - Table.doc title PQ 196214 - Table
	tabling member	14 label Biography information for Sir John Redwood

45465

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will place in the Library a list of the members of the IRA who have been beneficiaries of the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	194053
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Based on an assessment of the records held by my department, the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) was granted in Northern Ireland365 times between 1979 and 2002, but this total does not include the period between 1987 and 1997 for which records cannot currently be found. The department does not hold information which specifically confirms whether individuals who received the RPM were members of prescribed groups. There are no cases where the RPM has been granted since the current Government came to office in May 2010, and the records indicate that there are no instances where the RPM was granted after 2002.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers question first answered 01/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

45468

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who took the decision not to announce the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy in respect of members of the IRA in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	194052
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010<strong>.</strong></p><p> </p><p>I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette. By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the Belfast Gazette.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers grouped question UIN 194051 question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

45471

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy granted in respect of members of the IRA was not announced in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	194051
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010<strong>.</strong></p><p> </p><p>I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette. By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the Belfast Gazette.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers grouped question UIN 194052 question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

49772

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, on terrorism, in what circumstances the information pertaining to grants of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy between 1987 and 1997 was lost; and what steps she plans to take to recover that information.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	197927
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The information provided in my written answer of 1 May 2014 (Official Report, Column 762W) was based on information held by my Department. I first became aware of the issue of missing files while preparing to answer that question. I directed that a review take place, along with other relevant Departments, of the historical records relating to RPMs during the period 1987 to 1997. This is ongoing.</p><p>Records indicate that the vast majority of uses of the RPM referred to in my answer of 1 May did not relate to terrorist offences. Historically, the RPM was used to remit sentences of individuals before statutory means existed to do so. This included releasing individuals from prison for compassionate reasons (e.g. those who were terminally ill), individuals who assisted the police and prosecuting authorities (now provided for by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005), or to correct errors in calculating release dates. Further information on the general operation of the RPM can be found in the Ministry of Justice's “Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report”, published in October 2009.</p><p>In a written answer to the Member for North West Norfolk on 17 March 2014 (Official Report, Column 368W), I repeated an answer given on 20 March 2003 by the then-Secretary for State for Northern Ireland to the Member for Lagan Valley (Official Report, Column 895W) – namely that 18 individuals had been granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 1998. Given the RPM has not been used since 2002 and has not been used by this Government, the answer given was the same as the 2003 one. However, early findings from the review of files have indicated that at least one of these cases did not relate to a terrorist offence and in one other case the records do not indicate whether or not the offence was terrorism related.</p><p>In relation to the remaining 16 uses of the RPM between 2000 and 2002 (which did concern terrorist offences), I understand that previous Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland used the RPM in relation to individuals who for technical reasons fell outside of the letter of the Early Release Scheme, to shorten (i.e. not waive or remove) sentences in order that individuals fell within what I understand the then-Government saw as the spirit of the Scheme.</p><p>In other words, the RPM was used to correct what the last Government viewed as discrepancies between the letter and the intention of the Belfast Agreement and the subsequent Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act – that for a certain category of terrorist offences, offenders could be released after serving two years of their sentences.</p><p>The reasons for exercising the RPM in the 16 terrorism-related cases are summarised as follows:</p><p>· to correct an anomaly in the treatment of an offender convicted of the same offence(s) and given the same sentence as co-defendants but who would otherwise have served longer in prison;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible for early release under the Belfast Agreement had they not transferred to a different jurisdiction;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast Agreement had they not served sentences outside the jurisdiction having been convicted extraterritorially, or;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast Agreement had their offences (which subsequently became scheduled offences) been scheduled at the time they were committed.</p><p>The names of the 16 individuals granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 2000 are currently being considered as part of an ongoing court case in Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers grouped question UIN 197928 197929 question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

49773

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, on terrorism, when she first became aware that records on grants of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy between 1987 and 1997 had been lost.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	197928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The information provided in my written answer of 1 May 2014 (Official Report, Column 762W) was based on information held by my Department. I first became aware of the issue of missing files while preparing to answer that question. I directed that a review take place, along with other relevant Departments, of the historical records relating to RPMs during the period 1987 to 1997. This is ongoing.</p><p>Records indicate that the vast majority of uses of the RPM referred to in my answer of 1 May did not relate to terrorist offences. Historically, the RPM was used to remit sentences of individuals before statutory means existed to do so. This included releasing individuals from prison for compassionate reasons (e.g. those who were terminally ill), individuals who assisted the police and prosecuting authorities (now provided for by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005), or to correct errors in calculating release dates. Further information on the general operation of the RPM can be found in the Ministry of Justice's “Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report”, published in October 2009.</p><p>In a written answer to the Member for North West Norfolk on 17 March 2014 (Official Report, Column 368W), I repeated an answer given on 20 March 2003 by the then-Secretary for State for Northern Ireland to the Member for Lagan Valley (Official Report, Column 895W) – namely that 18 individuals had been granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 1998. Given the RPM has not been used since 2002 and has not been used by this Government, the answer given was the same as the 2003 one. However, early findings from the review of files have indicated that at least one of these cases did not relate to a terrorist offence and in one other case the records do not indicate whether or not the offence was terrorism related.</p><p>In relation to the remaining 16 uses of the RPM between 2000 and 2002 (which did concern terrorist offences), I understand that previous Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland used the RPM in relation to individuals who for technical reasons fell outside of the letter of the Early Release Scheme, to shorten (i.e. not waive or remove) sentences in order that individuals fell within what I understand the then-Government saw as the spirit of the Scheme.</p><p>In other words, the RPM was used to correct what the last Government viewed as discrepancies between the letter and the intention of the Belfast Agreement and the subsequent Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act – that for a certain category of terrorist offences, offenders could be released after serving two years of their sentences.</p><p>The reasons for exercising the RPM in the 16 terrorism-related cases are summarised as follows:</p><p>· to correct an anomaly in the treatment of an offender convicted of the same offence(s) and given the same sentence as co-defendants but who would otherwise have served longer in prison;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible for early release under the Belfast Agreement had they not transferred to a different jurisdiction;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast Agreement had they not served sentences outside the jurisdiction having been convicted extraterritorially, or;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast Agreement had their offences (which subsequently became scheduled offences) been scheduled at the time they were committed.</p><p>The names of the 16 individuals granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 2000 are currently being considered as part of an ongoing court case in Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers grouped question UIN 197927 197929 question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

49774

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, on terrorism, if she will publish the names of those people who received the Royal Prerogative of Mercy; and when and for what reasons it was granted to each.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	197929
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The information provided in my written answer of 1 May 2014 (Official Report, Column 762W) was based on information held by my Department. I first became aware of the issue of missing files while preparing to answer that question. I directed that a review take place, along with other relevant Departments, of the historical records relating to RPMs during the period 1987 to 1997. This is ongoing.</p><p>Records indicate that the vast majority of uses of the RPM referred to in my answer of 1 May did not relate to terrorist offences. Historically, the RPM was used to remit sentences of individuals before statutory means existed to do so. This included releasing individuals from prison for compassionate reasons (e.g. those who were terminally ill), individuals who assisted the police and prosecuting authorities (now provided for by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005), or to correct errors in calculating release dates. Further information on the general operation of the RPM can be found in the Ministry of Justice's “Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report”, published in October 2009.</p><p>In a written answer to the Member for North West Norfolk on 17 March 2014 (Official Report, Column 368W), I repeated an answer given on 20 March 2003 by the then-Secretary for State for Northern Ireland to the Member for Lagan Valley (Official Report, Column 895W) – namely that 18 individuals had been granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 1998. Given the RPM has not been used since 2002 and has not been used by this Government, the answer given was the same as the 2003 one. However, early findings from the review of files have indicated that at least one of these cases did not relate to a terrorist offence and in one other case the records do not indicate whether or not the offence was terrorism related.</p><p>In relation to the remaining 16 uses of the RPM between 2000 and 2002 (which did concern terrorist offences), I understand that previous Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland used the RPM in relation to individuals who for technical reasons fell outside of the letter of the Early Release Scheme, to shorten (i.e. not waive or remove) sentences in order that individuals fell within what I understand the then-Government saw as the spirit of the Scheme.</p><p>In other words, the RPM was used to correct what the last Government viewed as discrepancies between the letter and the intention of the Belfast Agreement and the subsequent Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act – that for a certain category of terrorist offences, offenders could be released after serving two years of their sentences.</p><p>The reasons for exercising the RPM in the 16 terrorism-related cases are summarised as follows:</p><p>· to correct an anomaly in the treatment of an offender convicted of the same offence(s) and given the same sentence as co-defendants but who would otherwise have served longer in prison;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible for early release under the Belfast Agreement had they not transferred to a different jurisdiction;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast Agreement had they not served sentences outside the jurisdiction having been convicted extraterritorially, or;</p><p>· to release prisoners who would have been eligible to be released under the Belfast Agreement had their offences (which subsequently became scheduled offences) been scheduled at the time they were committed.</p><p>The names of the 16 individuals granted the RPM in relation to terrorist offences since 2000 are currently being considered as part of an ongoing court case in Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers grouped question UIN 197927 197928 question first answered 14/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

45119

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	193563
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my Rt hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26 March, Official Report, Column 300W.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers question first answered 01/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

46358

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of dissident republican links with Al-Qaeda involving the supply of weaponry and expertise in warfare.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	194635
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>I am aware of media speculation on this issue. Terrorists around the world have attempted to use online information to seek to build their capabilities in order to carry out violent attacks. Measures are in place to seek to limit access to information online which might assist in the commission of an act of terrorism, and the Government and law enforcement agencies are committed to apprehending and prosecuting those who contravene the law in this regard.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

46434

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2014
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development in Northern Ireland.
	tabling member constituency	South West Bedfordshire
	tabling member printed	Andrew Selous
	uin	903406
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>I regularly hold discussions with Executive ministers on a range of economic issues.</p><p>Last week, I chaired a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance which was established to help Northern Ireland businesses access finance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chipping Barnet answering member printed Mrs Theresa Villiers question first answered 02/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers
	tabling member	1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous