Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many outstanding pre-Belfast Agreement 1998 Northern Ireland legacy civil claims against the Ministry of Defence are currently in progress; how much has been paid in settlements or damages in such cases in each of the previous five complete years; and how much has been incurred in legal expenses, both by the Ministry's own legal teams and as payments of claimants’ costs.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are currently 941 outstanding Northern Ireland legacy civil claims against the Ministry of Defence pertaining to incidents which occurred before the Belfast Agreement in 1998. The amounts paid in settlements or damages in such cases in each of the previous five financial years (FY) were:
FY 2019-20: £1,391,428.50
FY 2020-21: £665,514.00
FY 2021-22: £2,659,712.00
FY 2022-23: £3,890,281.00
FY 2023-24: £3,953,832.00
For the same five-year period, legal expenses incurred by the Ministry of Defence as payment of claimants’ costs were:
FY 2019-20: £575,193.77
FY 2020-21: £593,329.72
FY 2021-22: £784,568.20
FY 2022-23: £3,418,922.39
FY 2023-24: £2,560,995.61
For the same five-year period, legal expenses incurred by the Ministry of Defence’s own legal teams were:
FY 2019-20: £77,626.03
FY 2020-21: £78,811.07
FY 2021-22: £222,520.62
FY 2022-23: £157,161.76
FY 2023-24: £358,036.87
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers and Departments the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland consulted before withdrawing on 29 July 2024 the appeal against the section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 declarations of incompatibility made by the Northern Ireland High Court in the Dillon case.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All relevant Ministers have been consulted on the Governments approach to addressing the legacy of the Troubles, including the decision taken in July 2024 to abandon the Government's appeal to the Court of Appeal on all European Convention on Human Rights grounds. This followed the ruling of the Northern Ireland High Court in February 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers and Departments were consulted before the Government laid the Northern Ireland Troubles (Reconciliation and Information Recovery) Act 2023 (Remedial) Order 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All relevant Ministers have been consulted on the Government's approach to addressing the legacy of the Troubles, including the proposal for a Remedial Order to amend the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Act) 2023, which was laid on 4 December 2024.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to release the report by William Shawcross on compensation for victims of IRA attacks and the use of semtex supplied by Libya.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government has profound sympathy for UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorism and indeed for all victims of the Troubles. The Shawcross report was commissioned by the previous government as an internal report drawing on a series of private and confidential conversations. We will keep decisions on publication regarding the Shawcross Report under review.
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 Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 30 January (HL4226), what discussions officials in any department have had with European Union officials before rejecting a request from members of the Northern Ireland assembly to apply "the Stormont Brake" procedure to the Chemical Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/2865).
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government routinely engages with the European Commission on the Windsor Framework and those discussions are confidential. However, I can confirm that no discussions were held between Government and European Union officials that affected the decision by the Secretary of State on the notification in question, which was made solely in accordance with the terms of Schedule 6B to the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when considering whether to give compensation to Gerry Adams, they have assessed whether Mr Adams was or remains a member of the Provisional IRA.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Sections 46 and 47 of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 have been found by the Northern Ireland courts to be incompatible with the UK’s human rights obligations. The Government is committed to bringing forward new legacy legislation and as part of this we are looking at all conceivable options for addressing the complex issue of Interim Custody Orders and related compensation claims, in a lawful way.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of the United States about recognising Somililand.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. We believe that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for Somalia and Somaliland to decide through a consultative process and dialogue, in which we encourage both Mogadishu and Hargeisa to engage.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they have discharged their legal duty in section 46(1) of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 in respect of the implementation of the European Union's new General Product Safety Regulation.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is absolutely committed to ensuring the smooth flow of goods across the UK Internal market. The General Product Safety Regulations largely formalise the reality of how businesses are already operating in the UK so the government expects consumers in Northern Ireland generally to be able to access goods as before.
On 3 December, the Department for Business and Trade’s Office for Product Safety and Standards published guidance for businesses on the application of the Regulation in Northern Ireland, which makes clear that authorities will continue to take a proportionate, risk-based, and intelligence-led approach to regulating the NI market, prioritising unsafe products.
DBT will continue to engage businesses directly to ensure they are familiar with the guidance and that the Government is supporting them to trade freely across the whole of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the European Union's new General Product Safety Regulation.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The updated GPSR largely formalises how many businesses are already operating in the UK and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact. However, we understand that, for some businesses, changes will be required.
Government continues to support businesses in adapting to these changes to ensure a smooth flow of goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. We have published guidance on GPSR in Northern Ireland, which we will keep under review, and we are continuing to engage directly with businesses.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the independent review of the Windsor Framework will be established.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government will announce details of the Independent Review in due course, and in line with its obligations under Schedule 6A of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.