Westminster notes
Committee focuses on banking
This autumn, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee will look at local banking in its latest inquiry. The deadline for written submissions was 2 September and the committee sought views on the structure and governance of local banks; the possible break-up of RBS and Ulster Bank; staffing in the former Irish Bank Resolution Corporation; access to finance; UK initiatives; regional banking data releases; and rural access to banking.
Members are concerned that rural and elderly customers will be unfairly affected by the closure of local bank branches, and that all Northern Ireland customers may be at a disadvantage to their counterparts in the rest of the UK.
Separately, SDLP MP Mark Durkan has called for local banks to release data on local lending in Northern Ireland, as is now happening in Britain.
“The Executive and the Assembly have not been able to get adequate grips on this in the overall circumstances,” he added. “I hope that the welcome decision by the Northern Ireland Select Committee to conduct their next inquiry on the particular considerations of the Northern Ireland banking market will help to highlight important problems which have been overlooked or are being shrugged.”
Border controls call rejected
The UK Government has firmly rejected a call from DUP MP Jim Shannon to reintroduce checkpoints along the Irish border. In a written question, Shannon asked Theresa Villiers “if she will make it her policy to introduce border controls between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
Replying on 8 July, NIO Minister Mike Penning said: “The Government has no plans to reintroduce border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Free movement for those who are lawfully present within the Common Travel Area provides important economic and social benefits to the UK, especially Northern Ireland.”
In 1923, the UK Government and the Irish Free State agreed that immigration controls would be unnecessary as the two administrations would share information on illegal immigrants. Such controls were temporarily introduced during the Second World War. Customs checks did continue until 1993 when they were abolished across the EU.
Fiscal silence
A Treasury Minister has refused to answer a question from Lord Empey on whether the Scottish and Welsh administrations have requested extra fiscal powers. Commercial Secretary Lord Deighton said that “it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such discussions and correspondence.” The Government has separately confirmed that the Northern Ireland Executive has requested powers to vary corporation tax and air passenger duty.
