Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The information requested is shown below:

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Connect Fund reaches communities that have previously had lower application rates for grant funding across Northern Ireland.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The £1m Connect Fund makes awards to strengthen civic ties between Northern Ireland and Great Britain across a range of sectors. I am encouraged by the high level of interest the Fund has received from community and voluntary groups to date. Early next year, a series of roadshows will be hosted across Northern Ireland, including areas with lower application rates, to advertise the Fund and support a broad geographical spread of applicants.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of negotiating a UK-EU Customs Union deal for improving trade between (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Great Britain.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is part of the UK’s customs territory and benefits from the UK’s Free Trade Agreements. The Government is not seeking to negotiate a UK-EU Customs Union.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the European Union acts which have been added to the relevant Annexes of the Windsor Framework since the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement came into force have been (1) acts which were capable of having the Stormont Brake applied, and (2) acts to which the Stormont Brake was actually applied.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

New EU legislation can only be added to the Windsor Framework by means of Joint Decisions by the UK and EU at the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, and in line with the UK Government’s commitments in Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998. A record of those decisions can be found online on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee page of the Government’s website. Since the Windsor Framework was agreed in 2023, 9 new EU acts have been added to its annexes - with 4 added in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 4 in 2025.

The scope of the Stormont Brake is also clearly set out in Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Stormont Brake mechanism is provided for in relation to relevant EU replacement legislation, and any notification under it would be required to satisfy the requirements set down in law.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many European Union acts falling within the scope of the Windsor Framework have been added to the relevant Annexes of the Windsor Framework in each year since the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement came into force.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

New EU legislation can only be added to the Windsor Framework by means of Joint Decisions by the UK and EU at the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, and in line with the UK Government’s commitments in Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998. A record of those decisions can be found online on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee page of the Government’s website. Since the Windsor Framework was agreed in 2023, 9 new EU acts have been added to its annexes - with 4 added in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 4 in 2025.

The scope of the Stormont Brake is also clearly set out in Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Stormont Brake mechanism is provided for in relation to relevant EU replacement legislation, and any notification under it would be required to satisfy the requirements set down in law.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of regulatory divergence caused by the application of the European Union acts in the Annexes to the Windsor Framework to Northern Ireland but not to the rest of the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government routinely sets out its assessment of the impacts and effects of regulations that apply in Northern Ireland via Explanatory Memoranda provided by the Government to scrutiny committees in Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Windsor Framework includes a number of schemes and easements which help protect the UK’s internal market and facilitate Northern Ireland’s unique dual market access. Additionally, the Government frequently indicates where measures will be taken in the rest of the United Kingdom which will fulfil its manifesto commitment to protect the UK’s internal market.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October to Question 82702, whether it remains the case that 9 inquests will be able to resume.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office has written to the families of 8 cases to inform them that those inquests will be able to resume under clause 84(3) of the Northern Ireland (Troubles) Bill. These cases are; Dillon, Duffy, McCord, Loughgall, Stalker-Sampson series, Moran, McDaid & Slane, and Patterson.

The inquest into the death of Mr Joseph Campbell is included in the ‘9 cases’ allowed to resume as it was part of the ‘Five Year Plan’ for Legacy Inquests, and had started before the Legacy Act came into force. The Government is aware that the coroner in this case has provisionally determined that it can continue as a ‘non Troubles-related’ inquest.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made in discussions with the United States administration regarding the initiative outlined in the Windsor Framework and Safeguarding the Union document to establish a US Customs and Border Protection pre-clearance facility at Belfast International Airport; and what the anticipated timeline for such negotiations would be.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

As part of commitments within the Windsor Framework and the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, the then-Government committed to “enter into exploratory talks with the United States Administration on the options for introducing pre-clearance checks on customs and immigration for passengers travelling on direct flights from Belfast International Airport and destinations in the USA.”

I can confirm that this was raised with the US Administration, but the decision ultimately rests them.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of the conclusions of the report by the Windsor Framework Independent Monitoring Panel, published on 5 December 2025, on Business friendly guidance on gov.uk.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government considered the issues raised in the Independent Monitoring Panel’s report as part of its response to the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework. This includes a commitment to delivering an enhanced ‘one stop shop’ advice service for small businesses, beyond what is available on GOV.UK, and this is set out at Paragraph 50 of the Government’s response and thereafter. The Government’s response to the Review, and relevant issues raised in the Panel’s report, is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-independent-review-of-the-windsor-framework

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025

Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/northern-ireland-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the past three years.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.

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Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Local Growth Fund 2024/25 has been allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The UK Government will invest £45.5 million per annum of the Spending Review period to provide targeted, long-term funding to support local growth across Northern Ireland.

The Local Growth Fund will begin delivery next April, and will be designed and delivered in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

More information on the Local Growth fund in Northern Ireland including the delivery model will be set out soon.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the Northern Ireland Office has taken, in conjunction with the Department of Business and Trade, to ensure that Northern Ireland has no additional barriers to full involvement and participation in the UK-South Korea trade deal compared to other parts of the UK.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The free trade agreement between the UK and South Korea will apply to all parts of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland.

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