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 effect on the delivery of public services in Northern Ireland of the absence of Departmental Ministers.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
People in Northern Ireland deserve locally-elected decision-makers who are working for them, to address the issues that matter most to people who live there. The failure of the parties to form an Executive is particularly disappointing given the serious situation the people of Northern Ireland are facing, particularly the £660 million black hole left in Northern Ireland’s finances.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has already met the Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Jayne Brady, to discuss this and will continue to meet a range of Northern Ireland stakeholders over the coming weeks to understand the pressures facing public services. The extent of the financial pressures alongside the limitations on Northern Ireland departments to take action to bring spending under control will have serious consequences for public services. As such, the Secretary of State outlined to Parliament on Wednesday 9 November that he will introduce legislation to enable Northern Ireland departments to support public service delivery and address the serious budgetary issues.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to secure the return of Ministers to Northern Ireland Departments.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
As my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set out in his Parliamentary Statement on 9 November, he will be introducing legislation to provide a short, straightforward extension to the period for Executive formation, as set out in the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petition of Concern) Act 2022.
This will extend the current period by 6 weeks to 8 December - with the potential for a further six-week extension if necessary. This creates the time and space needed for talks between the UK and EU to develop and for the Northern Ireland parties to work together to restore the devolved institutions as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how public safety in Northern Ireland will be secured in the absence of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) continues to work to keep the people of Northern Ireland safe. The Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Policing Board remain in place and provide independent oversight of the PSNI.
Ongoing work by the PSNI and security partners means that most people in Northern Ireland are not directly affected by the SUBSTANTIAL terrorist threat. Where terrorism and paramilitary style attacks endure, so too will our efforts to tackle them.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will be introducing legislation to provide a short, straightforward extension to the period for Executive formation. This creates the time and space needed for talks between the UK and EU to develop and for the Northern Ireland parties to work together to restore the devolved institutions as soon as possible. The legislation will also enable Northern Ireland Departments to support public service delivery in the absence of Ministers.
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 case for the establishment of joint authority over Northern Ireland by the UK and the government of the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
Joint authority is not and will not be considered by this Government. As we set out clearly in our Northern Ireland manifesto at the 2019 General Election, the consent principle in the 1998 Belfast Agreement governs the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. On that basis, Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the United Kingdom. The manifesto said: “A Conservative Government will always defend and uphold the consent principle as set out in the Belfast Agreement and we will never agree to any arrangements that are inconsistent with it”. Our manifesto also set out our commitment to the long-established three-stranded approach to Northern Ireland affairs, under which internal, Strand One, matters are for the Northern Ireland parties and the United Kingdom government ultimately to decide. We will continue to stand by these manifesto commitments.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the increased cost of living in Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning Executive that could distribute public funding in response.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The Government has taken decisive action to support people right across the UK, including support for the most vulnerable households across Northern Ireland who will receive up to £1,000, including a one-off £650 cost of living payment. The Government has provided significant resources to the NI Executive and it’s now vital a new Executive is formed to ensure all the funding available to Northern Ireland is used to maximum effect. In the absence of a fully functioning NI Executive, the Government continues to work with the relevant NI departments to ensure that people in NI benefit from UK support schemes.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support is available for ex-service personnel in Northern Ireland who do not qualify for enhanced learning credits to fund (1) further, or (2) higher, educational courses.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
We remain committed to ensuring that our veterans can access gold standard services irrespective of where they live in the UK - including in Northern Ireland where circumstances mean a slightly different approach is necessary.
Whilst skills is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, with further and higher education the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy, the Government has shown time and time again that it is committed to supporting Northern Ireland, levelling up across the UK and strengthening our Union.
We have invested £15m from the New Deal for Northern Ireland to enable the Department for the Economy to deliver the ‘Skill Up’ initiative, which will fully fund further education colleges and universities to provide approximately 15,000 training places to support key growth sectors.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications for Northern Ireland of the failure to form an Executive following the elections on 5 May: and whether they plan to introduce an emergency budget for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
The ongoing political situation in Northern Ireland is very disappointing. There is around £437m of additional funding, on top of the Block Grant, that the Government has made available but which has not been allocated to services as a result of the absence of an Executive. The setting of a budget is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive - that is why our priority is for the Northern Ireland Parties to restore fully functioning devolved institutions as soon as possible.