Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will deliver the £250 million of legacy funding that they had allocated in the Stormont House Agreement 2014 and New Decade, New Approach 2020 in full.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set out in his statement in the House of Commons on 4 December, this Government is committed to addressing the legacy of the Troubles so that society in Northern Ireland can heal from the terrible wounds of the past and look to a better future. This commitment includes delivering on the funding agreed with HM Treasury for the legacy programme, with a total envelope of £250 million. This funding derived from £150 million allocated to implement the Stormont House Agreement and £100 million allocated through the New Decade, New Approach agreement.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 27 November (HL Deb cols 681–2), when the Minister will answer the question on the schedule for publishing papers set out in Annex B of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper (CP 1021).
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. We are currently considering the best way to take forward the approach referred to in Annex B of the Safeguarding the Union command paper.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 15 November (HL1853), on what date Sue Gray communicated to the Cabinet Office that she would not be taking up the role of Prime Minister's Envoy to the Nations and Regions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Sue Gray has decided not to accept the role of Envoy to the Nations and Regions. It would not be appropriate to share details of HR matters.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - 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 13 November (HL2299), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what assessment they made of the impact on jobs and profitability in the Northern Ireland hospitality sector of the announcements in the Budget of (1) the increase in the rate of employer national insurance contributions, and (2) the rise in the national minimum wage.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Northern Ireland has a thriving hospitality sector and this Government is committed to working with the NI Executive to support sustainable economic growth. The settlement for Northern Ireland in the Budget is the biggest real terms settlement since devolution.
To repair the £22bn black hole inherited by the Government and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. We recognise the need to protect the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.
The Government has also been clear that we need to take difficult decisions to deliver long-term stability and growth. Stabilising the public finances is the only way to create long-term stability in which businesses can thrive.
The Government is adopting recommendations of the Low Pay Commission to increase the National Living Wage by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour, and increasing the National Minimum Wage for 18-20 year-olds by 16.3%. There are estimated to be almost 100,000 minimum wage workers in Northern Ireland in 2023.
The Government ask the independent and expert Low Pay Commission to monitor the effects of the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions took place between Ministers and representatives of the devolved administrations about the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief on family-owned farms in the devolved nations prior to the announcements made in the Budget.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief on gov.uk.
Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded.
The Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to agricultural property relief announced in the Budget on family-owned and run farms in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief on gov.uk.
Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded.
The Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of farms in Northern Ireland that will be adversely affected by the changes to agricultural property relief announced in the Budget.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief on gov.uk.
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 21 October (HL1373), whether Sue Gray agreed the terms of reference for her role as envoy to the nations and regions with the Prime Minister prior to accepting the post and, if so, why these terms have yet to be published; whether her new role is part-time or full-time; and what is the salary and pension of this new role.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is no further update following the answer given in HL1373.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date Sue Gray formally took up her role as the Prime Minister’s envoy for the nations and regions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is no further update following the answer given in HL1373.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the impact on jobs and profitability in the Northern Ireland hospitality sector of the announcements in the Budget of (1) the increase in the rate of employer national insurance contributions, and (2) the rise in the national minimum wage.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Northern Ireland has a thriving hospitality sector, and this Government is committed to working with the NI Executive to support sustainable economic growth. The settlement for Northern Ireland in the Budget is the biggest real terms settlement since devolution.
To repair the £22bn black hole inherited by the Government and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. We recognise the need to protect the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year.
The Government is adopting recommendations of the Low Pay Commission to increase the National Living Wage by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour, and increasing the National Minimum Wage for 18-20 year olds by 16.3%. There are estimated to be almost 100,000 minimum wage workers in Northern Ireland in 2023.