Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers from Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 26 November and 3 December (HL2612 and HL2976), who was invited to attend the inaugural meeting of the East–West Council held in Dover House on 24 March.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Attendance at the council remains flexible to align with themes of discussion and so to ensure its East-West dimension is upheld. The following were invited to the inaugural meeting:
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities & Minister for Intergovernmental Relations;
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland;
Minister of State for Northern Ireland;
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up;
First Minister of Northern Ireland;
deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland;
Minister for Communities, Northern Ireland; and
Minister for the Economy, Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to Written Answer from Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 26 November (HL2612), what budget has been allocated to the East–West Council; who was invited to attend its first meeting and who actually attended in March.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The inaugural meeting of the East-West Council took place in Dover House, London in March 2024 and was chaired by the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.
It was attended by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister of State for Northern Ireland and the Cabinet Office, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up. It was also attended by the Northern Ireland First Minister, deputy First Minister, Minister for the Economy and Communities Minister. As with all intergovernmental bodies, the East-West Council will be resourced appropriately.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the remit of the East–West Council; what budget it has been allocated; how many times it has met; and who was invited to and attended these meetings.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to make progress on the commitments made in the Safeguarding the Union command paper. This includes taking steps to convene the second meeting of the East-West Council shortly, which had its inaugural meeting in March 2024.
The East-West Council will focus on trade promotion, connectivity, culture and skills, bringing together key representatives from government, business, education, trade, transport, and culture sectors - encouraging collaboration between ministers and industry experts - and membership will remain flexible.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 23 October (HL1672), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what financial support they have provided to Intertrade UK; on how many occasions it has met; what decisions it has taken; who was invited to attend such meetings; and who actually attended.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Intertrade UK has not met as yet.
Following the appointment of Baroness Foster as the chair of Intertrade UK, the next steps will be to appoint the other members of the group and we will announce these appointments in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial support they have provided to Intertrade UK; on how many occasions it has met; what decisions it has taken; who was invited to attend such meetings; and who actually attended.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland confirmed the appointment of Baroness Foster as the chair of Intertrade UK on 19 September.
The Government will be providing further details on how the work of the group will be taken forward in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what undertakings they have given, if any, to the family of the late Patrick Finucane that the scope or terms of the public inquiry into his murder, announced on 11 September, will differ from those of the inquiry previously proposed to the family.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government will follow due process under the Inquiries Act 2005 in establishing the inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane. This will include consulting the Inquiry Chair, once appointed, on the Terms of Reference. As set out to Parliament on 11 September, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland supports the assessment from the High Court that the Inquiry should ‘build on the significant investigative foundations which are already in place’. The Secretary of State has informed Mrs Finucane and her family that he will keep them updated on progress on establishing the Inquiry.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the reasons behind, and (2) the consequences of, the resignation of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner: and whether they intend to seek a successor.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Over the last four years, Northern Ireland’s first Veterans Commissioner, Danny Kinahan, worked on a range of important issues that affect veterans in everyday life, including health, housing, and welfare. The Government would like to thank Danny for his dedicated work on behalf of veterans and families living in Northern Ireland. On 5 September, he resigned from the role. A statement setting out his position has been published on the Veterans Commissioner’s website.
The Government is committed to continuing to support veterans in Northern Ireland, and will set out next steps for the appointment of a new Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to amend (1) the terms of reference, and (2) the remit, of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are committed to continuing to support veterans in Northern Ireland and we will set out next steps for the appointment of a new Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner in due course.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to hold further public inquiries into Troubles-related terrorist activity in Northern Ireland; and if so, what criteria they use to determine which incidents should be prioritised.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The decision to establish a public inquiry must always be taken with full consideration of the particular factors of each case. The Government will continue to consider the merits of establishing a public inquiry on a case-by-case basis, noting that it is for the Government to determine how to effectively discharge its procedural obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper (CP 1021), published on 31 January; and whether they will be implementing all of the measures outlined in it.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and to taking all necessary steps to protect the UK internal market.