:00:22. > :00:26.Welcome to daily politics from Northern Ireland. And the
:00:26. > :00:29.Chancellor, George Osborne, is not the most popular man at the moment
:00:29. > :00:34.with most notably thousands of public sector workers who are on
:00:34. > :00:37.strike today. Pensions are the big issue in today's national day of
:00:37. > :00:42.action along with yesterday's Autumn Statement which predicted
:00:42. > :00:49.job losses and pay cuts. It is all about the economy and locally, the
:00:49. > :00:55.hot topic of fuel poverty. Owen Paterson will be taking question
:00:55. > :01:00.surely but first we are joined by our editor at Jim Fitzpatrick. It
:01:00. > :01:04.is all about the economy at the moment here and at Westminster.
:01:04. > :01:12.exactly. Economy is the big political issue and we talk about
:01:12. > :01:16.the British Chancellor, and Northern Ireland questions I expect
:01:16. > :01:20.to see economic questions raised. One thing people hear in the
:01:20. > :01:25.private sector is a cut in corporation tax. I would not be
:01:25. > :01:28.surprised if we hear something about the Treasury publishing its
:01:28. > :01:32.responses to the consultation on corporation tax. And the first
:01:32. > :01:39.ministerial meeting to discuss that which I understand will be the
:01:39. > :01:43.second week in December. People out on the streets today, it could cost
:01:43. > :01:48.private sector business today but it is hard to quantify that. Huge
:01:48. > :01:52.figures quoted of �500 million last but it is difficult to say what the
:01:52. > :01:58.impact of that will be. Locally there is a limit to what we can do.
:01:58. > :02:01.The Chancellor is the man, never mind Berlin or the rest of it.
:02:01. > :02:05.will have an impact here in Northern Ireland. This day the
:02:05. > :02:12.Chancellor revealed that public sector workers will only see an
:02:12. > :02:19.increase of 1% up to 2015, which is a real-terms pay cut. He also
:02:19. > :02:28.announced something which may scurvy 230,000 public sector
:02:29. > :02:31.workers, at a regional review -- scare the 230,000. When you talk to
:02:31. > :02:37.the local representatives about economic issues, this is the stuff
:02:37. > :02:43.they are getting on the doorstep. It is increasingly so, yes. People
:02:43. > :02:47.striking over pensions. Now they will worry about pay, massive
:02:47. > :02:52.numbers of people unemployed, these are real issues. Let's go to the
:02:53. > :02:56.House of Commons. And eight sunny day outside it. Fuel poverty is
:02:56. > :03:01.popping up in a lot of the questions to be put to the Northern
:03:01. > :03:05.Ireland minister, isn't it? Yes, five questions I counted from
:03:05. > :03:09.Labour MPs looking at the issue of fuel poverty. This comes after last
:03:09. > :03:15.week's motion proposed by the DUP on this whole issue of fuel poverty.
:03:15. > :03:20.They got 200 MPs to back that motion. It was defeated at the DUP
:03:20. > :03:23.feel they have brought it to the 4th. The issue and that of the
:03:23. > :03:31.winter fuel allowance is something that they will have to talk about
:03:31. > :03:39.this morning. Not just Northern Ireland MPs and MLAs, everybody is
:03:39. > :03:43.hitting the Chancellor. Yes, and what BDP wanted to do last week was
:03:43. > :03:48.to make sure they put forward an issue that did not just apply to
:03:48. > :03:52.Northern Ireland -- what the DUP wanted. They only have eight MPs so
:03:52. > :03:56.to get 200 MPs to back a motion, they are feeling pretty pleased.
:03:56. > :04:00.Looking at the order paper, you get a feeling certainly from the Labour
:04:00. > :04:04.ranks, this is an issue they want to bring forward. Anything else
:04:05. > :04:08.tickle your fancy in the questions? Inevitably with questions like this,
:04:08. > :04:11.you have got quite a few questions from lot of MPs say you will get a
:04:11. > :04:17.diverse range of subjects, things like the Historical Enquiries Team
:04:18. > :04:20.will be put forward, the Belfast to London link if possible. Something
:04:20. > :04:24.possible on corporation tax but a large number of the questions,
:04:24. > :04:28.bearing in mind we have just had the Autumn Statement and that today
:04:28. > :04:34.is the day of strikes, a lot of questions will have an economic
:04:34. > :04:40.feel to it. Thank you. I gather we can go live to the House of Commons
:04:40. > :04:44.now two questions to the Secretary of State, Owen Paterson. Matters
:04:44. > :04:46.relating to the Historical Enquiries Team are the
:04:46. > :04:52.responsibility of the devolved administration in Northern Ireland
:04:52. > :04:57.and the Minister of Justice. thank the Minister for that
:04:57. > :05:04.response. And for the content of it. I also welcome the progress
:05:04. > :05:08.undertaken by the Historical Enquiries Team. Can I be reassured
:05:08. > :05:18.that all the work and progress of that team into the cases involved
:05:18. > :05:23.will be complete by 2014? I am grateful for the question. I spoke
:05:23. > :05:26.to the Chief Constable this morning and he confirmed that the
:05:26. > :05:32.Historical Enquiries Team is investigating three House -- 3268
:05:32. > :05:42.deaths and they are on target to finish as planned. The Secretary of
:05:42. > :05:47.
:05:47. > :05:52.State there, is he investigating a murder on 10th December 1971, and
:05:52. > :05:57.another case where no action was taken. Would the Secretary of State
:05:57. > :06:06.accept that there is a need to instil confidence in the committee
:06:06. > :06:13.in terms of work to do. I don't entirely agree, I think the agency
:06:13. > :06:18.are impartial and the latest polling commission into the
:06:18. > :06:22.reaction of families is extraordinarily high. 90.5% said
:06:22. > :06:29.they were very satisfied or satisfied with the performance of
:06:29. > :06:34.the 80 T. The Historical Enquiries Team was set up by the former
:06:34. > :06:39.Northern Ireland Secretary. Yesterday there was some disturbing
:06:39. > :06:42.allegations that his computer may have been hacked. Does my right
:06:42. > :06:45.honourable friend share these concerns? Will he assure the House
:06:45. > :06:50.macro that the Northern Ireland Office will co-operate with the
:06:50. > :06:56.police? The question does not relate to the work of the
:06:56. > :07:03.Historical Enquiries Team so we had better leave it there. Paul Dobbins.
:07:03. > :07:07.In cases that involve police officers, historical enquiries are
:07:07. > :07:10.currently carried out by the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland.
:07:10. > :07:16.Given that they are a Crown appointment could the Secretary of
:07:16. > :07:20.State tell me what discussions he has had with the Justice Minister
:07:20. > :07:27.about the succession to the current ombudsman, who indicates he intends
:07:27. > :07:31.to leave his post at the end of January? The Police Ombudsman is
:07:31. > :07:36.devolved and I talked to the Justice Minister, Mr David Ford,
:07:36. > :07:41.this morning. I touched on the issue of a replacement and we
:07:41. > :07:46.agreed we would meet to talk about this shortly. With the Secretary of
:07:46. > :07:49.State agree with me that it is not the role of Westminster to set the
:07:49. > :07:54.agenda here but for the people of Northern Ireland to decide how and
:07:54. > :07:58.when they look back and what they look at? Yes, I think the
:07:58. > :08:04.honourable member makes a good point. The Government in
:08:04. > :08:07.Westminster does not own the past. Handling very difficult and
:08:07. > :08:12.contentious and fraud issues with the past should be done with
:08:12. > :08:17.consensus with local people in Northern Ireland. Not withstanding
:08:17. > :08:21.some of the limitations and differentials attached to the work
:08:21. > :08:24.of the Historical Enquiries Team, it has done much good work. In the
:08:24. > :08:28.context of dealing with the past more widely, does the Secretary of
:08:28. > :08:30.State believe that more could be done to draw on the good work of
:08:30. > :08:34.the Historical Enquiries Team, drawing out the issues, patterns
:08:34. > :08:39.and lessons that could be learned from their work that has only gone
:08:39. > :08:43.to the families but not the wider public? I think the honourable
:08:43. > :08:47.member makes a good point, there's an extraordinary archive of
:08:47. > :08:50.knowledge being built up by the Historical Enquiries Team and I
:08:50. > :08:55.think he knows that I am interested in opening up government archives
:08:55. > :08:59.though they can be assessed by professionals. Down the road, this
:08:59. > :09:09.might be a matter worth discussing with the devolved Executive to see
:09:09. > :09:13.
:09:13. > :09:20.if it could form the basis of an I meet regularly with the first and
:09:20. > :09:23.matters including the Northern Ireland economy and we met earlier
:09:23. > :09:30.with the Minister for enterprise, trade and investment to consider a
:09:30. > :09:35.range of issues related to economic development. Can I thank my
:09:35. > :09:37.honourable member for his answer. Could her get him to agree with me
:09:37. > :09:46.that it has improved transport links that will be vital in terms
:09:46. > :09:54.of economic development and the completion of the M6 motorway link
:09:54. > :09:56.will be vital? I admire the skill of that question
:09:56. > :10:00.and I congratulate that honourable member for working for his
:10:00. > :10:10.constituents. Sailing twice daily to Northern Ireland and I hope this
:10:10. > :10:11.
:10:11. > :10:15.new link will betrayed to his constituents. Given the nature of
:10:15. > :10:19.our local economy, do you agree that the economic development of
:10:19. > :10:23.Northern Ireland will depend on stable industrial relations and do
:10:23. > :10:28.you further agree that the Government must do more to deal
:10:28. > :10:32.with the genuine concerns of public sector workers and their pensions
:10:33. > :10:39.under siege while those who have caused the economic crisis,
:10:39. > :10:49.particularly bankers, are getting away Scot free? I don't entirely
:10:49. > :10:53.agree with her. I think the strikes today a most regrettable. They will
:10:54. > :10:57.not help a single business in Northern Ireland or bring a single
:10:57. > :11:03.job to Northern Ireland. The Government is in talks with the
:11:03. > :11:07.unions and a very fair offer has been made considering the cost of
:11:07. > :11:13.public pensions increased by a third over the past 10 years. Up to
:11:13. > :11:18.�30 billion. We are all in this together and the unions should work
:11:18. > :11:21.with the Government. In those discussions with Northern Ireland
:11:21. > :11:24.ministers about economic development, has the head
:11:24. > :11:32.appreciation for the fat that the UK has remained outside the euro
:11:32. > :11:37.and has retained its AAA rating? honourable friend is spot on. We
:11:37. > :11:39.came to power with interest rates higher than Italy. Thanks to the
:11:39. > :11:44.very disciplined and determined manner in which the coalition has
:11:44. > :11:51.addressed the deficit, we now have interest rates level-pegging with
:11:51. > :11:55.Germany. That is a benefit to every single person in Northern Ireland.
:11:55. > :12:04.The Secretary of State will be aware of the recent developments as
:12:04. > :12:07.a pay of Ugo heating tank developed in my constituency. Could the
:12:07. > :12:13.Secretary of State to give us an update on the development of the
:12:13. > :12:19.enterprise zone that he piloted and could he tell us what benefits that
:12:19. > :12:23.would bring to companies such as the one in my area? I am very
:12:23. > :12:27.interested in his Budget. In opposition, I talk about running
:12:27. > :12:32.the whole of the Northern Ireland area into an enterprise zone. And
:12:32. > :12:35.that resulted in ways we could develop the private economy. Quite
:12:35. > :12:40.separately, my right honourable friend, the Chancellor, has
:12:40. > :12:44.proposed enterprise zones throughout the UK establishing them.
:12:44. > :12:54.Doing so is entirely in devolved hands. I hope the Executive take up
:12:54. > :12:57.
:12:57. > :13:00.The Northern Ireland economy is over-dependent on public spending.
:13:00. > :13:05.The Government shows a commitment with the Executive to rebalance its
:13:05. > :13:08.overtime by promoting investment and growing the private sector.
:13:08. > :13:16.There are many world-class Northern Ireland businesses, we need more of
:13:16. > :13:20.them. Would the Minister confirm that last week, a survey showed
:13:20. > :13:27.that Northern Ireland earnings increased by 3.5% compared to less
:13:27. > :13:32.than 1% on the mainland? And rebalancing jobs is the key to
:13:32. > :13:37.Northern Ireland's recovery? entirely agree. One survey showed
:13:37. > :13:42.public spending represents 77.6% of GDP in Northern Ireland, we know
:13:42. > :13:47.that is wholly unsustainable and we are committed to rebalancing the
:13:47. > :13:51.economy and working with the Executive. One of the ways of
:13:51. > :13:55.rebalancing the economy towards private sector is to ensure that
:13:55. > :14:00.there are more funds from the banking sector to private firms.
:14:00. > :14:04.What steps is the Government going to take to ensure that the credit
:14:04. > :14:09.easing measures announced yesterday would apply effectively in Northern
:14:09. > :14:16.Ireland, given the lack of market penetration by UK mainland banks
:14:16. > :14:19.and the high dependence upon Irish Banks? The National Loan guarantee
:14:19. > :14:23.Scheme which the Chancellor announced yesterday it does apply
:14:23. > :14:28.to Northern Ireland. But will be a great benefit to small businesses
:14:28. > :14:31.right across Northern Ireland. -- that will be. I understand the
:14:31. > :14:37.average private sector wage in Northern Ireland is �27,000 per
:14:37. > :14:40.year compared to the average public sector wage of �29,000. What impact
:14:40. > :14:47.does the Secretary of State believed aback yesterday's
:14:47. > :14:55.announcement to set wages locally have on Northern Ireland? My right
:14:55. > :14:59.honourable friend is correct. The difference shows the task we have
:14:59. > :15:02.in helping revive the private sector and making it an attractive
:15:02. > :15:09.place for bright, enterprising young people to go into. That is
:15:09. > :15:13.what we would like to do. Does the Secretary of State except that the
:15:13. > :15:17.proposed changes to public pension contributions will have an even
:15:17. > :15:27.more severe impact on Northern Ireland because of the shape and
:15:27. > :15:31.
:15:31. > :15:39.I would like to congratulate the honourable gentleman on having won
:15:39. > :15:44.the leadership of his party. I look forward to working with him. This
:15:44. > :15:50.is basically a good news story. People living 10 years longer, and
:15:50. > :15:56.that has put this huge pressure on the cost, which is up to 32 billion
:15:56. > :16:01.across the UK. An increase of a third over 10 years. Lord Hutton
:16:01. > :16:04.came up with a very sensible report and I would appeal to all those in
:16:04. > :16:12.Northern Ireland who what in the unions to continue discussions with
:16:12. > :16:15.the government because our offer is extremely fair. Given the rip --
:16:15. > :16:20.the importance of Northern Ireland to the UK economy and the
:16:20. > :16:23.likelihood of the break-up of the eurozone, what discussions has my
:16:23. > :16:26.right honourable friend had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and
:16:26. > :16:32.what the Northern Ireland Executive about how the Northern Ireland
:16:32. > :16:36.economy could best cope with such a crisis? The Chancellor and the
:16:36. > :16:40.Treasury are looking at all contingencies because the report
:16:40. > :16:46.yesterday showed that the crisis in the euro zone is causing a real
:16:46. > :16:51.impact on hour economy. I am in regular contact with the government
:16:51. > :16:54.in Dublin and will continue our discussions. When thousands of
:16:54. > :16:59.public sector workers in Northern Ireland are worried about their
:16:59. > :17:03.pensions, with cuts to public services, when growth figures have
:17:03. > :17:09.been so significantly downgraded, does the Secretary of State
:17:09. > :17:13.remember, when commenting on the Budget of March 2011, he said, this
:17:13. > :17:20.is a budget across the whole of United Kingdom, in which Northern
:17:20. > :17:24.Ireland will share. Where did it all go wrong? I am grateful to the
:17:24. > :17:29.honourable member for his question. He knows perfectly well when it
:17:29. > :17:35.went wrong. It went wrong when his colleagues landed us with the
:17:35. > :17:41.biggest deficit in Europe and we are digging this country out.
:17:41. > :17:44.we go, the complacent answer of somebody who has no answers at all.
:17:44. > :17:49.What little faith the Secretary of State has in the people of Northern
:17:49. > :17:54.Ireland, their ability to do their sums. It might not have been math a
:17:54. > :17:59.title but even I know that if you take away 4 billion and return 142
:17:59. > :18:03.million, it does not add up to a fair deal for Northern Ireland. Is
:18:03. > :18:13.it not time that the Secretary of State stood up for Northern Ireland
:18:13. > :18:14.
:18:14. > :18:18.and told the Chancellor to get a proper plan for jobs and growth?
:18:18. > :18:21.have kept interest rates low. That is the biggest service we can
:18:21. > :18:25.deliver to Northern Ireland, and thanks to the disciplined and
:18:25. > :18:30.determined manner in which we are addressing the deficit, we have the
:18:30. > :18:33.lowest interest rates in western Europe. That benefits every family
:18:33. > :18:43.with a mortgage, every business with an overdraft in Northern
:18:43. > :18:43.
:18:43. > :18:50.Ireland. Our policy is that any legislation arising from the work
:18:50. > :18:54.of the commission examining a UK Bill of Rights, we would wish to
:18:54. > :18:58.apply it to Northern Ireland at this can be arranged with the
:18:58. > :19:04.parties there. Could I ask the Minister what discussion he has had
:19:04. > :19:09.with the Secretary of State for justice on the impact that a new --
:19:09. > :19:14.that it UK Bill of Rights will have on Northern Ireland Bill of Rights?
:19:14. > :19:18.We have to be clear that any discussion about the UK wide Bill
:19:18. > :19:22.of Rights is distinct from a discussion about the rights
:19:22. > :19:28.specific to Northern Ireland. We believe the proper vehicle for
:19:28. > :19:34.bright specific to Northern Ireland would be within a UK-wide Bill of
:19:34. > :19:38.Rights. The Good Friday agreement does call for a Bill of Rights for
:19:38. > :19:42.Northern Ireland, but does my honourable friend agree with me
:19:42. > :19:45.that the right that people in Northern Ireland quite
:19:45. > :19:53.understandably accept, at the right of freedom of religious expression,
:19:53. > :19:57.for example, does rise to also belong in the United Kingdom?
:19:57. > :20:03.honourable friend is absolutely right. Northern Ireland enjoys the
:20:03. > :20:06.same protection as anyone in the rest of the UK. There is anti-
:20:06. > :20:11.discrimination legislation, for instance, which is the strongest in
:20:12. > :20:16.Europe. What we need is a consensus from the Executive and from the
:20:16. > :20:22.Assembly to ensure that this matter is finally resolved to the
:20:23. > :20:26.satisfaction of all. No. 5, Mr Speaker. The political situation in
:20:26. > :20:32.Northern Ireland is more stable than for regeneration but stability
:20:32. > :20:35.is not an end in itself. It is time for the Assembly and executive to
:20:35. > :20:40.work water prosperous Northern Ireland in which everyone has a
:20:40. > :20:44.genuinely shared future. Northern Ireland Executive have
:20:44. > :20:46.published a draft programme for government. Will my right
:20:46. > :20:53.honourable friend, on this development and does he welcome
:20:53. > :20:57.what is happening in Northern Ireland? I am delighted that after
:20:57. > :21:01.six months the draft programme has come forward and I very much hope
:21:01. > :21:09.that the Executive will crack on, working with the Assembly, to
:21:10. > :21:13.deliver its main elements as soon as possible. The Assembly are
:21:13. > :21:17.agreed unanimously that the secretary of state should convened
:21:17. > :21:22.talks to deal with the issue of the past. Why in the face of that
:21:22. > :21:27.consensus does the Secretary of State refused to do so?
:21:27. > :21:31.grateful for that question. A little unfair! Within a couple of
:21:31. > :21:35.days, I went to talk to the Speaker to decide how best to address this.
:21:35. > :21:39.I am going to write to the leaders of all the main parties to discuss
:21:39. > :21:43.with their representatives how to take this forward. This app problem
:21:43. > :21:47.on the past is that there is no consensus that we have detected. We
:21:47. > :21:53.have been right around Northern Ireland talking to all sorts of
:21:53. > :21:58.groups involved in the past and sat lead there is no consensus. This is
:21:58. > :22:08.very much an issue that has to be sorted out with local parties.
:22:08. > :22:09.
:22:10. > :22:15.issue on which the Secretary of State did take action... Does he
:22:15. > :22:19.not agree that the decision of the Irish Prime Minister to come to
:22:19. > :22:29.Northern Ireland last week and seek to we launch a campaign about this
:22:29. > :22:30.
:22:30. > :22:39.issue is deeply unhelpful to North- South relations and could be
:22:39. > :22:46.compared to a tense do neuter the civic inquiry? -- attempts.
:22:46. > :22:52.review is going ahead. We believe it is the right decision. We know
:22:52. > :22:55.that there are strong feelings in Dublin on this issue. I have said
:22:55. > :22:59.privately and publicly that we will recognise that they will stake
:22:59. > :23:04.those differences publicly, but I would a short the honourable member
:23:04. > :23:11.that we will not allow this issue to damage in any way be excellent
:23:11. > :23:16.relations that we have with the government in Dublin. Does he
:23:16. > :23:20.recognise that the decision by the Sinn Fein Lord Mayor of Belfast
:23:20. > :23:26.this week to refuse to hand out a Duke of Edinburgh Award to a young
:23:26. > :23:32.man because he was an army cadet is deeply unhelpful in terms of
:23:32. > :23:36.community relations? It stands in stark contrast to the first Mr's
:23:37. > :23:41.vision set out on Saturday of an inclusive, forward looking Northern
:23:41. > :23:46.Ireland. This is something which has deeply disturbed people right
:23:46. > :23:53.across the community. I think the right honourable Member makes an
:23:53. > :23:58.interesting point. The armed forces are a wonderful example of people
:23:58. > :24:02.from right across the Community working together. I have that
:24:02. > :24:05.wristband of the Royal Irish Regiment on. They have
:24:05. > :24:11.representative from right across Northern Ireland and the Republic
:24:11. > :24:16.and 11 different nations. They set an example to us all of how we can
:24:16. > :24:23.work together. There has been a lot of noise in the chamber. It is very
:24:23. > :24:28.unfair to the Secretary of State. If No. 6, Mr Speaker. With
:24:29. > :24:33.permission, I will answer questions 6, 7 and 8 together. I attended the
:24:33. > :24:38.opposition debate on pensioners and the winter fuel payment on 22nd
:24:38. > :24:43.November. The matter was also discussed on 31st August when I met
:24:43. > :24:46.ministers to discuss this and other matters. Measures to tackle fuel
:24:46. > :24:53.poverty in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of executive
:24:53. > :24:57.ministers. I understand that the proportion of homes in Northern
:24:57. > :25:02.Ireland that are in fuel poverty is higher than in Scotland, England
:25:02. > :25:05.and Wales, and the Housing Executive said that almost 50% of
:25:05. > :25:11.household cannot afford to keep their homes this winter -- heat
:25:11. > :25:16.their homes. What are they do to help these people and is it enough?
:25:16. > :25:20.The figures are very startling for Northern Ireland. These are
:25:20. > :25:24.devolved matters and I understand the Executive Park tackling
:25:24. > :25:28.efficiency and achieving affordable energy prices. The Housing
:25:28. > :25:31.Executive is doing a lot about housing and the honourable member
:25:31. > :25:34.will be pleased with the announcement of a London �42
:25:34. > :25:40.million over three years for Northern Ireland. Perhaps some of
:25:40. > :25:46.that could be spent on improving their housing stock. Wales has
:25:46. > :25:49.higher than average fuel poverty. Is the government not in dialogue
:25:49. > :25:55.between the devolved administration so that best practice and solutions
:25:55. > :26:01.that work can be shared? I would remind the honourable gentleman
:26:01. > :26:05.that in 2004 his colleague had a target to eradicate fuel poverty
:26:05. > :26:14.informal house sold by 2010. The current strategy states bluntly
:26:14. > :26:24.that this target will not be achieved. In fact fuel poverty
:26:24. > :26:31.
:26:32. > :26:36.increased to 302,002 1009. -- in 2009. How does he equate this by
:26:36. > :26:40.the fat that fuel prices have gone up by 15% this autumn. There are a
:26:40. > :26:47.number of schemes in Northern Ireland such as the introduction of
:26:47. > :26:50.will stance, and I would point out that contrary to what members
:26:50. > :26:54.opposite say, this government has maintained the winter fuel
:26:54. > :26:58.allowance and chose to keep a higher cold-weather payment
:26:58. > :27:03.allowances, which is more than that government would have done, had
:27:03. > :27:05.they won the last general election. Would you agree with me that the
:27:05. > :27:11.announcement by the Chancellor yesterday stopping the inexorable
:27:11. > :27:16.rise in fuel will be most welcome for people in Northern Ireland and
:27:16. > :27:21.for people in Hastings and Rye? Honourable Friend is entirely right.
:27:21. > :27:26.The Chancellor's announcement to defer the increase on the first of
:27:26. > :27:30.Jerry to 1st August is very welcome, as indeed is the further increase.
:27:30. > :27:34.She will also want soup welcome the biggest increase in pension since
:27:34. > :27:42.19 no weight, I believe, which will also help those most Honourable
:27:42. > :27:48.been society -- 19 their weight. Does the Minister share my concern
:27:48. > :27:52.about the opposition whip's effort to flood the order paper, with a
:27:52. > :27:57.third of the questions being identical? I'm extremely grateful
:27:57. > :28:01.but it does nothing to do with fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. Does
:28:01. > :28:06.the Minister share my concern that 70% of homes in Northern Ireland
:28:06. > :28:11.are heated with heating oil. Is not the parakeet get them connected so
:28:11. > :28:20.that there is a wide and, more competitive market that they can
:28:20. > :28:30.access -- the priority. We welcome discussions like the undersea
:28:30. > :28:40.
:28:40. > :28:44.energy grid been discussed by the minister. 82% of homes across rural
:28:44. > :28:51.Ulster rely on the most expensive form of heating oil to heat their
:28:51. > :28:54.homes. The councils of Northern Ireland, the assembly in Northern
:28:54. > :28:59.Ireland and the Northern Ireland parties representing this House are
:28:59. > :29:03.united in their support for a higher winter fuel allowance in
:29:03. > :29:09.Northern Ireland. How is the Secretary of State representing
:29:09. > :29:13.that United political will to the Cabinet? I do not want to be
:29:13. > :29:17.cynical about the previous government, unless I have to be,
:29:17. > :29:21.but I would draw the honourable member's attention to the fact that
:29:21. > :29:26.they raised these allowances two years running up to the election,
:29:26. > :29:31.and their plans have they won the election were to reduce them. We
:29:31. > :29:38.could have stuck to those figures but we chose to increase the
:29:38. > :29:42.payments in the benefit of all but on most vulnerable. In wishing the
:29:43. > :29:48.minister of state the very happiest of birthdays today, may I remind
:29:48. > :29:52.him that politicians are often accused of giving warm words and
:29:52. > :29:57.Cold Comfort? Bearing in mind the uniquely disadvantaged position of
:29:57. > :30:05.the fuel poor in Northern Ireland, will he at least approaches College
:30:05. > :30:10.in the Treasury for an operating in the allowance this year in view of
:30:10. > :30:15.the inclement forecast? I have just explained to the previous
:30:15. > :30:19.questionnaire that we have chosen to increase allowances in a way
:30:19. > :30:29.that the previous government were simply not going to. The facts of
:30:29. > :30:32.
:30:32. > :30:38.their in their spending commitment. STUDIO: We can see David Cameron
:30:38. > :30:43.behind birthday boy. With me still, Jim Fitzpatrick on business and
:30:43. > :30:51.economics, our editor. A bit about fuel, Ian Paisley Jr making a
:30:51. > :30:56.strident point? Yes, people here are more reliant on fuel oil. If
:30:56. > :31:03.you pay 20 -- 10% of your income on heating your home, you are in fuel
:31:03. > :31:09.poverty. I other issues, enterprise zones and low interest rates being
:31:09. > :31:12.a great benefit was mentioned. Secretary of State is putting it to
:31:12. > :31:16.the Executive, if you want an enterprise zone, get on with it. A
:31:16. > :31:20.bit of rumbling below the surface as to why the Executive has not