Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the enhanced economic value to Northern Ireland of "privileged access” to (1) the UK homes market, and (2) the EU single market, as described by the Prime Minister on 28 February, compared to the ordinary access enjoyed elsewhere in the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Windsor Framework maintains the full, unfettered access for Northern Ireland firms to the whole United Kingdom market. As we make clear in the Command Paper, that trade with Great Britain is by far Northern Ireland's largest market and East-West trade is the principal arterial route of Northern Ireland's economy. That is why the Windsor Framework locks in unfettered access to that market for NI firms on a permanent and ongoing basis, and smoothes the flow of internal UK trade from Great Britain. At the same time, it secures maximum free trade and market access for NI firms by ensuring full access to the EU market as well.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether fishing boats that leave harbours in Northern Ireland can land their catches back in those harbours under the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Just as is the case now, fishing boats leaving harbours in Northern Ireland can land their catches back in those harbours.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which parts of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland have been superseded by the Windsor Framework; and to what extent in each case.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Windsor Framework restores the balance needed to uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions. It puts in place a new legal and constitutional framework, changing the text of the treaty and scrapping more than 1,700 pages of EU rules on internal UK trade.
While we have been upfront that this does not remove EU rules entirely in Northern Ireland, the less than 3 percent of EU rules which remain are the minimum necessary to maintain maximum market access and free trade for NI businesses.
The changes we have made include the Stormont Brake, which enables amended or replaced EU rules to be vetoed where they would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives. This is in addition to the existing veto the UK has for new EU rules. This ends the automatic presumption of dynamic alignment of EU rules.
The draft legal instruments underpinning the package are set out in full on the Government's website.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/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 plans they have (1) to review the 1951 United Nations Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees with a view to supporting its modernisation, and (2) to notify the UN Secretary-General under Article 45 of the Convention of any proposed revisions to the Convention and Protocol, asking that they be put to the UN General Assembly for consideration.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government does not currently have plans to renegotiate the Convention and its Protocol.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in their discussions with EU officials on changes to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is ongoing contact between officials in the UK and EU. Both the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have discussed the protocol with their counterparts in the Commission in recent weeks. We have and continue to make clear our determination to address all outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol and to find durable solutions as soon as possible for the benefit of people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will next be meeting EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič to disucss the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is ongoing contact between officials in the UK and EU. Both the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have discussed the protocol with their counterparts in the Commission in recent weeks. We have and continue to make clear our determination to address all outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol and to find durable solutions as soon as possible for the benefit of people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič in the month of March regarding the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is ongoing contact between officials in the UK and EU. Both the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have discussed the protocol with their counterparts in the Commission in recent weeks. We have and continue to make clear our determination to address all outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol and to find durable solutions as soon as possible for the benefit of people and businesses in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their command paper Northern Ireland Protocol: the way forward (CP 502), published on 21 July 2021, what progress they have made to introduce new UK legislation envisaged in paragraphs 43 and 62.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is still in discussions with the EU regarding the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, including on the issues detailed in paragraphs 43 and 62. So far we have not seen the flexibility necessary to address the issues we are seeing. However, as the Command Paper notes, we stand ready to put in place necessary arrangements to support a durable and sustainable outcome on the Protocol if agreement is reached as a result of those discussions.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to recognise Taiwan as an independent country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but we do have a strong, unofficial relationship, based on dynamic commercial, educational and cultural ties. The Taiwan issue is one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, through constructive dialogue.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs last met the Ambassador of the State of Libya to the UK; and when the Foreign Secretary last discussed with the Ambassador the issue of compensation for victims of Irish Republican Army terrorism carried out using Semtex purchased from Libya.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and senior officials, including Her Majesty's Ambassador to Libya, continue to impress upon senior Libyan interlocutors the importance of engaging constructively with the UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism, in pursuit of justice. Libya is currently represented in the UK by a Charge d'Affaires.