Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much funding he has allocated to the Finucane Inquiry.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

As I outlined in my oral statement of 11 September 2024, I considered the likely costs and impact of the Patrick Finucane Inquiry on public finances. It is the Government’s expectation that the Inquiry will avoid unnecessary costs given all the previous reviews and investigations and the large amount of information and material that is already in the public domain. Public inquiries regularly publish financial reports on their expenditure in the course of their work.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which commitments arising from the Safeguarding the Union command paper (CP1021), published on 31 January 2024, (1) have been, or (2) are in the process of being, implemented; and which commitments remain outstanding.

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

The Government continues to make progress on delivering the commitments made in the Safeguarding the Union command paper. In the past month alone, that has included: taking forward legislation which allows the Government to introduce ‘not for EU’ labelling in Great Britain; hosting the first East-West Council meeting in Northern Ireland; and the completion of work to digitise the Belfast News Letter.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59713 on Foreign Investment in UK: Northern Ireland, on what date he discussed filling the role of US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland with the US Administration and Congress.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Economic growth is the number one priority of the Government. That is why we are working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to create a thriving, competitive and regionally balanced economy in Northern Ireland through increased investment, job creation, and higher living standards.

I had a range of meetings during my visit to Washington in March, but the role of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland was not raised with me. There has not been such a position in every US Administration, and is a matter for which the US Administration is responsible.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 20 December 2024 (HL3343), in which said that they were "currently considering the best way to take forward the approach referred to in Annex B of the Safeguarding the Union command paper", what was the outcome of those considerations.

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

This Government continues to make progress on delivering the commitments made in the Safeguarding the Union command paper. The best way to take forward the approach referred to in Annex B remains under consideration.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many reports of threats have been made to the internal Journalist Safety Group in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I commend the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on the progress they have made to address journalist safety in Northern Ireland. They have created an internal Journalist Safety Group and appointed two Journalist Safety Officers. Since 2022, the PSNI Journalist Safety Group has recorded 46 occasions where a journalist has brought a concern to PSNI.

A free, independent media is a cornerstone of our democracy. It is vital that journalists are able to continue their work without the fear of attack or threat. The National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists sets out the approach to increase the safety of journalists.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to provide support to former Northern Ireland (a) prison officers and (b) police to maintain security at their homes.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Office Home Protection Scheme is in place to provide protective security measures to those in certain occupations who are assessed to be under significant threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism. Serving and former prison and police officers fall within that range of occupations.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to publish the report from the independent review of the post-Brexit trading arrangements, conducted by Lord Paul Murphy.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

It remains for Lord Murphy to provide the final report of the Independent Review of the Windsor Framework. The Government will then proceed with arranging the publication of that report, laying it in Parliament and transmitting it to the Northern Ireland Assembly, in line with the Terms of Reference for the Review.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will meet with the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland to discuss its report entitled, Windsor Framework Realities: Barriers to Trade in the UK Internal Market, published on 24 June 2025.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I discussed the findings of the report at the recent East West Council which was attended by members of Intertrade UK. There is a wide range of support available for businesses using the schemes under the Windsor Framework. The Government remains committed to realising its benefits alongside protecting the UK internal market. As we do so, we will continue to work closely with Northern Ireland businesses and representative organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving childcare provision in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

My colleague Minister Anderson regularly meets with the Northern Ireland Minister for Education on important issues, including childcare provision, and has recently facilitated discussions between the Minister and the UK Government Minister for Early Education, Stephen Morgan MP to discuss areas for greater co-operation.

I welcome the recent progress taken by the Northern Ireland Executive to provide increased childcare support. Whilst childcare in Northern Ireland is devolved, the UK Government is keen to see this work progressed so that parents are better able to balance childcare alongside their work.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reason he rejected the Electoral Commission of Northern Ireland's request to separate the next scheduled local government and Assembly elections.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The date for local government elections is set in statute as the first Thursday in May every 4 years, and for the Assembly elections as the first Thursday in May every 5 years. The people of Northern Ireland expect to go to the polls on 6 May 2027 and the Government has no intention of changing that.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of violence against women in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of Europe.

Answered by Fleur Anderson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

Violence against women and girls is a national emergency and last year seven women were killed in Northern Ireland. Through my ongoing engagement with organisations working to support victims and survivors and tackle this societal issue, it is clear that there are additional challenges unique to the Northern Ireland context. I welcome the Northern Ireland Executive’s Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls that places the overall emphasis on prevention, tackling the root causes, and stopping the violence before it starts.

Found: Erskine House 20-32 Chichester St Belfast BT1 4GF E: correspondence@nio.gov.uk www.gov.uk/nio

Found: Northern Ireland Office, and Cabinet Office Oral Evidence

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to page 19 of the Government Strategy for Grants Management 2023–2025 published in September 2023, what are (1) the current total budget, (2) staffing level, and (3) key performance indicators, for the Government Grants Managed Service; and which government departments and arm’s-length bodies currently use the Government Grants Managed Service.

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

The current year budget is cost-neutral to the Cabinet Office. Operational costs depend upon the value of grants which go through the pilot, as resources are flexed according to demand. Customer departments and ALBs pay for the administration of these pilot grants.

There is currently a central programme team of 7 FTE, with operations staff numbers variable, according to demand.

A monitoring and evaluation approach and plan was developed in December 2023 and agreed with the Evaluation Task Force (ETF). A set of KPIs was agreed, focused on the cost to serve of grant administration in GGMS, versus departments’ usual approaches to grant and the median baseline cost. There are also KPIs related to the identification of fraud and error through the Spotlight due diligence tool.

Eight departments, arm’s-length bodies or other public bodies are participating in the pilot: the Home Office, the Department for Transport, the Department for Science, Innovation, & Technology, the Money & Pensions Service, the Department for Education, the Northern Ireland Office, UK Space Agency and UK Atomic Energy Authority.

Found: (NIO) published a green paper, The future of Northern Ireland: A paper for discussion.

Found: purposes Net resources authorised for capital purposes Net Cash Requirement (£) (£) (£) Northern Ireland Office

Found: Lieutenant's expenditure; capital, and associated non-cash costs; other non-cash costs.65 Northern Ireland Office

Found: from routine revaluation of assets”. 4.2 Devolved administrations Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland Office

Found: Available at: Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - Office

Found: Brady for NI - so someone who knows what it takes to lead a devolved govt; is that possible instead of NIO