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 vocational and technical training opportunities for young people.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

Skills and tertiary education is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy and NIO Ministers will continue to work closely with them to improve opportunities for young people.

The UK Government’s £50m Defence Growth Deal for Northern Ireland is an example of one of the ways in which we are supporting skills development and the creation of new high quality, high skilled jobs across Northern Ireland.

We are also investing in skills and growth initiatives with £617m of UK Government funding through the City and Growth Deal and £150 million towards Enhanced Investment Zones in Northern Ireland. For instance, a £2 million advanced manufacturing skills pilot is being delivered through UKG’s £150 million Enhanced Investment Zone, which will develop essential workforce skills, providing NI businesses with skilled employees essential for their success.

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 supporting schools in areas of high deprivation.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

Whilst recognising that education is a devolved matter, the UK Government will continue to work collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive. Although new in post, the ministerial team look forward to meeting regularly with Executive colleagues and discussing how we can best work together on reducing gaps in attainment and tackling deprivation.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funding has been allocated to help address health inequalities across Northern Ireland.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The operation and funding of the health service in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

The UK Government has supported the Executive to invest in Northern Ireland’s public services with a record £19.3bn block grant settlement. In addition, we have provided £235 million through the Public Sector Transformation fund which has been allocated across 12 projects, including two relating to health, namely:

• £61m to the expansion of Multi-Disciplinary Trusts. This project will help stabilise Primary Care, focus on prevention and management of conditions away from hospital settings and better utilise the skills of the community and voluntary sector.

• £42m for E-Pharmacy reforms. This programme will enable electronic prescription transfer and a new digital platform for community pharmacy clinical services, expanding access to care and bringing treatment closer to patients’ homes.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate has been made of the educational attainment gaps between different communities in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

As stated in the my written answer to UIN 19007, there is an educational attainment gap in Northern Ireland, however, the discrepancy is greatest when seen through economic background.

Education is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and it is for the Executive to ensure that all schools are sufficiently supported to maximise all pupils academic attainment.

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 delays in access to NHS services in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring everybody in the UK can access timely healthcare. The operation of the health service in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, but we are supporting the Executive in their efforts to reduce waiting lists and tackle delays to services.

NIO Ministers meet with Executive Ministers on a regular basis and the progress made on tackling waiting lists in Northern Ireland is encouraging, reducing waiting lists by treating an additional 70,000 patients. However, health outcomes in Northern Ireland lag behind the rest of the UK and we will continue to work with the Executive to reduce this gap.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps are being taken to improve public confidence in Northern Ireland’s political institutions.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

Devolved decision-making, with decisions taken on the basis of power-sharing, is one of the cornerstones of the Good Friday Agreement and one of its most significant achievements.

This Government is committed to working with all political parties and communities to ensure the stability of devolved government in Northern Ireland, with the aim of improving public services, the sustainability of public finances and building public confidence.

To that end, we remain committed to being an active partner in supporting the Executive to achieve its goals, including the delivery of sustainable, accessible and high-quality public services in Northern Ireland that are equal to those available in the rest of the UK.

This includes providing a record financial settlement, in addition to significant projects such as the £235m Transformation Fund which will reform and improve public service outcomes for people across Northern Ireland.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice on the right to take industrial action for prison officers in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

There is regular engagement with the Northern Ireland Department of Justice to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern.

As a result of the devolution of policing and justice in 2010, the Department of Justice (DoJ) is primarily responsible for the prison system in Northern Ireland. Terms and conditions for prison officers are set out in letters of appointment, the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) Professional Code of Ethics and Values and the NIPS Professional Code of Conduct, the Northern Ireland Civil Service Handbook and relevant Prison Service notices and circulars.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when does he expect to receive the first report from the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery has indicated that it will soon produce its first report and expects a steady flow of reports thereafter.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing the level of financial support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The Government recognises the financial pressures the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) faces. Responsibility for policing is devolved and it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to make decisions on the allocation of funding to the PSNI. Existing mechanisms are in place to raise issues around funding and any requests for additional support can be made in the usual way through the Department of Justice and Department of Finance.

The Government has provided Northern Ireland with a record settlement of £19.3 billion on average per year of the Spending Review – the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution.

In recognition of the security situation in Northern Ireland, the Government is providing the PSNI with £37.8 million in Additional Security Funding each financial year until 28/29. In addition to this, a further £4 million has been allocated to PSNI for this financial year to help with the costs incurred by the PSNI during the disorder in June.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the introduction of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme to Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the progress to establish the arrangements for a comparable scheme.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

As energy policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will not directly extend to Northern Ireland.

However, the UK Government will provide funding to the Northern Ireland Executive to enable them to implement their own comparable scheme to support Northern Ireland businesses. Parameters for this support have been outlined to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Department for the Economy, and funding will be released following the standard approval of a business case demonstrating equivalent support for eligible businesses.

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