To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Northern Ireland Office: Domestic Visits
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the destinations were of domestic overnight visits undertaken by Ministers within their Department in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to UIN 17536 on 13 March 2024.


Written Question
Operation Kenova
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost is of Operation Kenova.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

Operation Kenova is an independent investigation commissioned by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The PSNI is therefore best placed to provide an accurate estimate of its cost.


Written Question
Northern Ireland Office: Domestic Visits
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers within his Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost to the public purse was of these visits.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals). But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.


Written Question
Health Services and Social Services: Pay
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland administration on pay for (a) health and social care and (b) NHS workers.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

In the months leading up to the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland engaged with the Secretary of State for the Department of Health and Social Care and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on the issue of pay awards for healthcare workers in Northern Ireland. In addition to these meetings, he met with trade union representatives on this important matter.

Healthcare is a devolved matter and pay awards are ultimately a matter for the Department of Health. The UK Government has provided the Executive with a £3.3 billion financial package to stabilise Northern Ireland’s finances. This package includes £584m to provide public sector pay awards for 2023-24. It will be up to the Executive to decide on the level of pay awards and to balance these costs against other priorities.


Written Question
Cancer: Medical Treatments
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Department for Health and Social Care and (b) Department for Transport on providing financial support for young cancer patients (0-25) and their families travelling from Northern Ireland to receive treatment in England.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

This matter is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. Arrangements for financial support for young cancer patients and their families travelling from Northern Ireland to receive treatment in England is a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Health and local Health and Social Care Trusts.


Written Question
Integrated Schools: Finance
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2024 to Question 16419 on Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland, on what date the Northern Ireland Executive was informed of the removal of the ring-fence for the £150m Fresh Start Agreement funding.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

HM Treasury officials wrote to their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance on 1 March 2024 formally confirming the removal of the ring-fence for £150 million of Fresh Start Agreement funding.

This formal confirmation followed official level discussions between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service on UK Government funding streams being made available within the financial package to support the restored Executive.


Written Question
Northern Ireland Protocol
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Caine on 4 March and with regard to paragraphs 54 and 65 of the relevant Supreme Court judgment, whether they can confirm that the inconsistency between the Acts of Union and the protocol was not at issue before the Supreme Court because the Government did not lodge any cross appeal from the Court of Appeal’s decision that such inconsistency existed.

Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Supreme Court clearly set out in its judgement of 8 February 2023 the issues it considered and its reasoning for reaching the conclusions it did.

The Government’s consistent position on these matters is set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, which is that the Windsor Framework (which replaced the old Protocol) applies entirely consistently with Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the United Kingdom, including as expressed in the relevant statute today.


Written Question
Northern Ireland Office: Fraud and Maladministration
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

The Northern Ireland Office reported no cases of fraud or amounts lost due to fraud or error in any of the last three financial years. This is disclosed as part of the Annual Report and Accounts available on GOV.UK.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022.

This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. (The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023).

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.


Written Question
Northern Ireland Office: WhatsApp
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

All Departments in central government, including arms-length bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Northern Ireland Office uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

The Northern Ireland Office provides additional advice to supplement the central guidance which is published on the departmental intranet.


Written Question
Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of officers of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery have experience of conducting criminal investigations (a) within and (b) outside of Northern Ireland.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Since the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) was legally established as an independent body in December 2023, it has discharged its corporate functions and operated necessary policies within its own budget and accountability. As it is fully independent of Government, the Commission is best placed to advise on its recruitment and staffing, and can be contacted at: info@icrir.independent.uk.