New Decade, New Approach

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Conor Burns)]

During the passage of the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act, the Government committed to laying a written ministerial statement every six months setting out which of our commitments in New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) we have delivered on to date. This is the first of those statements.

The NDNA agreement facilitated the restoration of the devolved institutions in January 2020 after three years of hiatus. The Government will continue to implement our commitments under NDNA to support a stronger, more prosperous and inclusive Northern Ireland in which everyone can participate and thrive.

So far, the Government have:

published four reports on the use of the Petition of Concern mechanism, with the most recent report published on 20 January 2022;

passed the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act to implement the institutional reforms agreed in NDNA;

passed the Internal Market Act 2020;

held a meeting of the Board of Trade in Northern Ireland;

ensured that Northern Ireland can access the trade deals the UK is striking across the world;

invited representatives of the Northern Ireland Executive to all meetings of the UK-EU Joint and Specialised Committees discussing Northern Ireland specific matters which were also attended by the Irish Government as part of the European Union’s delegation;

changed the rules governing how the people of Northern Ireland bring their family members to the UK, enabling them to apply for immigration status on broadly the same terms as family members of Irish citizens;

appointed Danny Kinahan as the first Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner in September 2020;

passed the Armed Forces Act, which further enshrines the Armed Forces Covenant in law;

continued a thorough review of the Aftercare Service, which supports veterans of the Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish Regiment and their dependants;

marked Northern Ireland’s Centenary with a programme of cultural and historical events in 2021;

brought forward regulations that continue to ensure designated Union Flag flying days remain in line with those observed in the rest of the UK;

announced £2 million in funding for Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language and Ulster Scots Broadcast Funds;

continued preparations to recognise Ulster Scots as a National Minority under the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;

announced £4 million in funding for the International Fund for Ireland;

allocated over £700 million of the £2 billion funding in NDNA, which has helped bring an end to the nurses’ pay dispute, contributed to the creation of a new Northern Ireland graduate entry medical school in Londonderry, and been used to support the transformation of public services;

provided £50 million to support low-carbon transport in Northern Ireland, enabling the Infrastructure Minister to announce a new fleet of 145 low-carbon buses for Belfast and the north-west;

secured additional funding for the Executive in the 2020-21 year;

reviewed the findings of the renewable heat incentive inquiry report to consider its implications for the use of public money in Northern Ireland; and

continued to foster closer ties and better collaborative working across sectors such as tourism, sport and culture, including through the potential joint UK and Ireland bid to host the 2028 European Championships.

The Government’s priority continues to be a return to a fully functioning and stable devolved Government as soon as possible, to build on this progress and ensure the necessary delivery of public services for the people of Northern Ireland.

[HCWS709]