Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of goods bought by Northern Ireland manufacturers from Great Britain will have to pass through the Red Lane and require full customs paperwork.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Windsor Framework significantly expands the range of businesses, including manufacturers, who can benefit from the Green Lane.
We are increasing the threshold for processing companies - quadrupling the current £500,000 limit up to £2 million, meaning four-fifths of manufacturing and processing companies in Northern Ireland who trade with Great Britain will automatically be in scope.
For traders unable to use the Green Lane, we will establish a new, comprehensive tariff reimbursement scheme for those who can show the goods were ultimately not destined for the EU, which will be available from 30 June.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they will give to Northern Ireland manufacturers who will have extra costs and extra paperwork under the Windsor Framework in order to trade with the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will continue to provide a free-to-use support service for movements in the Green Lane.
We will set out the details of new arrangements in the usual way, including to Parliament and further guidance on the green lane will be provided in due course.
Under the Windsor Framework, many manufacturers will be able to benefit from the new Green Lane, meaning that goods sold in Northern Ireland will be freed of unnecessary paperwork, using only ordinary commercial information rather than customs processes or complex certification requirements for agrifood.
For traders unable to use the Green Lane, we will establish a new, comprehensive tariff reimbursement scheme for those who can show the goods were ultimately not destined for the EU which will be available from 30 June.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the total cost to the Treasury was of implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol in the financial year 2022–23.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For information on the historical cost of the Trader Support Service and other support schemes implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol, I refer the hon. Member to the answer gave by the Minister for Europe on 22 February 2023 to Question 146816.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government from which countries the Heads of State have not been invited to attend His Majesty The King's Coronation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Invitations were issued to the Heads of State of all nations with whom the UK has full diplomatic relations, with a small number of exceptions. Realms and Overseas Territories also received invitations in line with their constitutional arrangements. Invitations were not issued to Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, Russia, Syria, Iran and Venezuela. Invitations were issued at London Head of Mission level to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Nicaragua.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the £7 million cost of policing the visit of President Biden to Northern Ireland will be paid by the Government.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
President Biden visited the UK as a Guest of Government. It is long-standing policy not to comment on protective security arrangements. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals involved.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why individuals in Northern Ireland buying vegetable and herb seeds for personal use direct from suppliers in Great Britain are required to have a Phytosanitary certificate costing upwards of £250.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Plants and seeds will be able to once again move easily within the UK. Plants will now move within the same plant passport regime as applies throughout the UK. As we put these arrangements into practice we will work closely with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure gardeners, farmers and growers can access plants and seeds from a wide variety of sources.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which products from Great Britain, if any, will not be able to be imported to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have removed bans on previously prohibited goods like chilled meats and seed potatoes, and paved the way to remove bans on 11 native British and other commercially important plant species by the next planting season, as industry has called for - including those trees that were prevented from moving to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
There have always been goods subject to prohibition or that are heavily restricted when moving within the UK. As is the case elsewhere for movements within the UK, some goods remain banned by operators, such as flick knives banned under UK law, firearms, furs and ivory.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many official UK government representatives will be attending the St Patrick's Day festivities in the United States of America.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Office Minister Lord Caine, accompanied by departmental officials and members from the British Embassy in Washington D.C., will be travelling to the United States to attend St Patrick's Day festivities.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which laws, if any, as listed in Annex 2 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland have been disapplied to Northern Ireland by the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The legal instruments including within the Windsor Framework set out the EU rules that have been disapplied in order to support the changes agreed as part of the deal. This includes the more than 60 specific food safety rules disapplied to support the functioning of the agrifood green lane for retail trade; the provisions in Annex 3 specifically set aside by the changes agreed on VAT and excise; and the rules disapplied to enable the UK-wide licensing of medicines by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). In all, as we have set out more than 1,700 pages of EU rules are disapplied under the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the status of grace periods granted under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Windsor Framework will set out a sustainable basis for arrangements into the future. In the meantime, the existing operation of the arrangements in Northern Ireland will continue.