Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they last made representations to the government of China on the arrest and disappearance of Yao Aichan; and what response they received.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The environment for freedom of religion or belief in China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor all raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi, Foreign Minister Wang and Vice Premier He respectively). More broadly, this Government champions freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to be a global leader in protecting freedom of religion or belief around the world.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding, including the FCDO John Bunyan Fund, a designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects. The appointment of David Smith MP as the Special Envoy for FoRB is a clear signal of the UK's ongoing commitment to these efforts.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ongoing violence against Christians in Nigeria, including the actions of Fulani militant groups; and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the government of Nigeria's efforts to protect religious minorities from persecution.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa have sought to undermine the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) by attacking those who do not subscribe to their extremist views, including both Christians and Muslims. These incidents are distinct from the ongoing intercommunal violence across Nigeria. The root causes of this intercommunal violence are complex, and whilst religious identity can play a role, so can loss of economic opportunity, competition over land and natural resources. The UK is providing £38 million in programming to Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria supporting locally led solutions in Northern Nigeria to tackle the root causes of this violence.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current policy on access to senior UK ministers for ministers of the government of Taiwan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position on Taiwan has not changed. There is a longstanding and historic pattern of ministerial engagement between the UK and Taiwan, which underpins our cooperation in a range of areas, and support our strong and growing relations with a likeminded democratic partner.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Nigerian authorities about the continuing captivity of the Chibok girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The UK Government condemns the abduction and continued captivity of children by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) in North East Nigeria. This includes the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, around 90 of whom are understood still to be missing. At the second UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) dialogue in February, the UK strengthened its commitment to providing mentoring and capacity building support to agencies tackling the threat of kidnap within Nigeria. Through this partnership, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) is working with Nigeria to create a Multi-Agency Kidnap Fusion Cell (MAKFC). This will make these agencies and bodies more interoperable with one another and create a more joined up approach when future incidences of kidnappings occur.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the publication of the document ‘The Windsor Framework: The Green Lane’ on 9 June, whether the date at which traders experience a benefit from the green lane in terms of simplified customs, and sanitary or phytosanitary forms, is being put back by 12 months to 1 October 2024.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Windsor Framework is the best deal for Northern Ireland, restoring the smooth flow of goods, protecting Northern Ireland's place in the Union and delivering a robust framework for solving future issues.
The implementation of the Framework is proceeding to the timeline set out when the agreement was announced.
Some arrangements are already in force, including the Duty Reimbursement Scheme for EU duty paid on "at risk" goods which have been sold or used outside of the EU.
From 30 September 2023, a new UK Internal Market Scheme will expand the range of businesses able to benefit from the new arrangements provided to protect internal UK movements, including the removal of EU tariffs. In tandem, from October the new sanitary and phytosanitary "green lane" arrangements will take effect: including a new Retail Movement Scheme for agrifood retail products; new rules to allow plants to move smoothly in to Northern Ireland; and new arrangements to enable seed potatoes to move once again from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
From September 2024, the full "green lane" will take effect for the movement of all goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, expanding the benefits of the UK Internal Market Scheme to end unnecessary bureaucracy. This will ensure that goods will no longer move on the basis of international customs requirements, with a new system based on commercial information.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is any ban or restriction in law on the commercial sale of seeds or plants, either online or otherwise, from a business in Great Britain to an individual in Northern Ireland who is not designated as a professional operator.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
There is no ban in law specifically concerning the form of commercial sale of plant products from businesses in GB to consumers in NI. Most plants and seeds staying in Northern Ireland will move from Great Britain on a virtually identical basis to those moving elsewhere within the UK. Instead of full EU certification, plants and seeds will move under the framework of the existing UK-wide plant passport scheme, in line with traders throughout the UK, 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: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 March (HL6296), what are the (1) names, and (2) titles, of the EU laws which will remain in force in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, which would otherwise be subject to removal under the provisions of the Retained EU Law Bill.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is committed to taking the necessary steps to uphold the UK's international obligations, including the Withdrawal Agreement and the Windsor Framework, as set out in the previous answer. As also set out, all of the rules disapplied are set out in the legal texts published as part of the Windsor Framework. By the EU's own calculations, less than 3 percent of EU rules apply - with those that remain only applying to secure maximum free trade and market access for Northern Ireland firms. It should also be recognised that this is not a straightforward list, as some of those rules will be applied in part for the red lane but not applied in the green lane, for example. But, for example:
- Annex 1 of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary legal text shows that 67 rules on food and drink do not apply in the green lane - covering issues like marketing standards, food supplements and additives, and the production of organic products. It also disapplies the certification requirements in the EU Official Controls Regulation, as well as the prohibitions on various movements set out therein.
- Requirements in the Union Customs Code (UCC) for rules of origin certificates, tariffs, and commodity codes for each movement do not apply for internal UK trade; nor are there any requirements for customs declarations for consumer parcels, which are classified automatically as "not at risk". And we have secured unfettered access by removing any need for export declarations or equivalent information for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain as would otherwise have been set out in the UCC.
- In a similar vein, and as noted previously, the requirements in the VAT Directive which prevented the zero-rating of energy-saving materials has been disapplied, enabling the changes we brought forward in Parliament this week; as have limits on alcohol duty structures in EU rules harmonising excise duty structures.
- And for medicines we have disapplied any role for the European Medicines Agency in authorising medicines for the UK market, as otherwise set out in EU rules on the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products; and removed packaging any other requirements in the Falsified Medicines Directive.
These changes have safeguarded Northern Ireland's place in the Union and our internal market, while continuing to support Northern Ireland's businesses by providing them access to the whole UK market as well as the EU market.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 March (HL6299), what are the (1) names, and (2) titles, of the EU rules for internal UK trade which are disapplied by the operation of the Windsor Framework; and which customs provisions are removed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is committed to taking the necessary steps to uphold the UK's international obligations, including the Withdrawal Agreement and the Windsor Framework, as set out in the previous answer. As also set out, all of the rules disapplied are set out in the legal texts published as part of the Windsor Framework. By the EU's own calculations, less than 3 percent of EU rules apply - with those that remain only applying to secure maximum free trade and market access for Northern Ireland firms. It should also be recognised that this is not a straightforward list, as some of those rules will be applied in part for the red lane but not applied in the green lane, for example. But, for example:
- Annex 1 of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary legal text shows that 67 rules on food and drink do not apply in the green lane - covering issues like marketing standards, food supplements and additives, and the production of organic products. It also disapplies the certification requirements in the EU Official Controls Regulation, as well as the prohibitions on various movements set out therein.
- Requirements in the Union Customs Code (UCC) for rules of origin certificates, tariffs, and commodity codes for each movement do not apply for internal UK trade; nor are there any requirements for customs declarations for consumer parcels, which are classified automatically as "not at risk". And we have secured unfettered access by removing any need for export declarations or equivalent information for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain as would otherwise have been set out in the UCC.
- In a similar vein, and as noted previously, the requirements in the VAT Directive which prevented the zero-rating of energy-saving materials has been disapplied, enabling the changes we brought forward in Parliament this week; as have limits on alcohol duty structures in EU rules harmonising excise duty structures.
- And for medicines we have disapplied any role for the European Medicines Agency in authorising medicines for the UK market, as otherwise set out in EU rules on the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products; and removed packaging any other requirements in the Falsified Medicines Directive.
These changes have safeguarded Northern Ireland's place in the Union and our internal market, while continuing to support Northern Ireland's businesses by providing them access to the whole UK market as well as the EU market.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which genera of plants that are banned from being brought into Northern Ireland will remain banned after the implementation of the Windsor Framework; and which will no longer be banned.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We have paved the way to allow 11 banned plant species to move again by the time of the next planting season. Those were priority cases identified by industry itself, and we will progress further cases wherever there is industry appetite. These have not been able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland since the Protocol came into force. Two species - Ligustrum japonicum and L. delavayanum - are already able to move following the Windsor Framework.