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Written Question
Windsor Framework: Finance
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether recurring financial provision will be made to implement the Windsor Framework; and, if so, what quantum they are expecting.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, the UK Government will fund the direct costs associated with reaching the required level of compliance to implement the UK Government’s obligations under the Windsor Framework. Funding will continue to be provided to the Northern Ireland Executive for this purpose through the Estimates process.


Written Question
UK Trade with EU: Customs
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government which parts of the European Union Customs Code applies in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020.

The Windsor Framework, formally adopted by the United Kingdom and the European Union on 23 March 2023, and the ‘Safeguarding the Union’ Command Paper, published on 31 January 2024, set out the arrangements in respect of goods movements into and out of Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland
Monday 7th August 2023

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much unspent money were returned to HM Treasury by the Northern Ireland Executive in the last three years for which figures are available.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Spending Review 2021 set the largest annual block grants, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. This provided £15 billion per year for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Block Grant Transparency document details the Barnett consequentials that have been provided to the Northern Ireland Executive in the last three years, as well as other changes to the block grant including surrenders1. The Northern Ireland Executive received the following Barnett consequentials: £2.3 billion in 2021-22, £1.8 billion in 2022-23 and £2 billion in 2023-24.

The Northern Ireland Executive can utilise Budget Exchange at Supplementary Estimates each financial year to move planned or unexpected underspends between years. The Northern Ireland Executive accessed £40m of Budget Exchange in 2020-21, £134m in 2021-22, and £130m in 2022-23. This mechanism means that typically no, or very little, general resource or capital funding is returned to the Treasury at the end of the year. There was an increase in capital underspends during the COVID years and underspends in ringfenced resource spending are more common given the terms of those funding streams.

The Northern Ireland Executive are well funded to deliver all their devolved responsibilities, receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.

  1. Block Grant Transparency: July 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
  2. https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/estimates-publications

Written Question
Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland
Monday 7th August 2023

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what Barnett consequentials were made available to the Northern Ireland Executive in the last three years for which figures are available.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Spending Review 2021 set the largest annual block grants, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. This provided £15 billion per year for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Block Grant Transparency document details the Barnett consequentials that have been provided to the Northern Ireland Executive in the last three years, as well as other changes to the block grant including surrenders1. The Northern Ireland Executive received the following Barnett consequentials: £2.3 billion in 2021-22, £1.8 billion in 2022-23 and £2 billion in 2023-24.

The Northern Ireland Executive can utilise Budget Exchange at Supplementary Estimates each financial year to move planned or unexpected underspends between years. The Northern Ireland Executive accessed £40m of Budget Exchange in 2020-21, £134m in 2021-22, and £130m in 2022-23. This mechanism means that typically no, or very little, general resource or capital funding is returned to the Treasury at the end of the year. There was an increase in capital underspends during the COVID years and underspends in ringfenced resource spending are more common given the terms of those funding streams.

The Northern Ireland Executive are well funded to deliver all their devolved responsibilities, receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.

  1. Block Grant Transparency: July 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
  2. https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/estimates-publications

Written Question
Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 29th March 2023

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Northern Ireland Assembly will be permitted to alter the rate of Corporation Tax applying in Northern Ireland; and if so, what financial consequences will arise from that decision following the UK's departure from the EU.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The Stormont House Agreement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive agreed, in principle, for the power to set the rate of Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland on certain trading profits to be devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

It was agreed that the Executive would need to demonstrate that its finances were on a sustainable footing before devolution of this power could be undertaken, and that the Executive’s block grant would need to be adjusted to reflect the Corporation Tax revenues foregone if the devolved power were exercised.


Written Question
Freezing of Assets: Libya
Tuesday 7th June 2022

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the article ‘Libya’s Central Bank says no assets have been frozen in Britain’, published in the Libya Observer on 22 May, what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the statement made by the management of the Central Bank of Libya that no Libyan assets have been frozen in Britain.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The Central Bank of Libya is not designated for financial sanctions by the UN or UK. There are therefore no frozen assets in the UK belonging to Central Bank of Libya.


Written Question
Freezing of Assets: Libya
Tuesday 25th January 2022

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any (1) capital,(2) interest, or (3) dividend revenues arising from frozen Libyan assets held in the UK have been distributed since the invocation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 in 2011.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Each year OFSI carries out an annual review of frozen assets held by UK institutions. £11.53 billion of Libyan frozen funds were reported to be held by UK businesses in OFSI’s 2020-21 Annual Review. This includes interest and other earnings accrued to frozen assets.

As set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2009 (2011), a key aim of the Libya financial sanctions regime is “to ensure that assets frozen pursuant to resolutions 1970 (2011) and 1973 (2011) shall as soon as possible be made available to and for the benefit of the people of Libya”.

Until that time, HM Treasury may only license the release of frozen funds according to the derogations set out in the Libya sanctions regime regulations. The Annual Review includes information about licences granted by OFSI under financial sanctions regimes.

Under the terms of the Libya financial sanctions regime, frozen assets continue to belong to the sanctioned entity or individual. However, the use of any frozen assets, or profits arising from those assets, is tightly constrained by the Libya financial sanctions regime.


Written Question
Taxation: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 10th November 2021

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the tax changes proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement on 27 October will apply to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

As set out in our Command Paper in July, we are seeking a more flexible settlement with regard to the Northern Ireland Protocol to ensure all of the UK can benefit from tax changes such as the alcohol duty reforms announced at Budget. The Government will continue to discuss the application of the alcohol duty reforms to Northern Ireland with the EU.


Written Question
Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 24th February 2021

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Northern Ireland Executive Minister of Finance has asked to roll over unspent resources from the current financial year into the next financial year; and if so, (1) when they received this request, and (2) what, if any, indication the Minister gave of the amount of unspent resources.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

As set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, the Northern Ireland Executive are able to move funding between financial years through Budget Exchange. The total level of 2020-21 underspends will not be known until the end of the financial year and normal practice would be for the NIE to notify HMT of how it intends to use it’s budget exchange flexibilities at Supplementary Estimates 2021-22.

However, due to the exceptional circumstances this year, HM Treasury has worked closely with all three devolved administrations to provide additional flexibility. As a result the Northern Ireland Executive can now carry forward into 2021-22 over £300m of Barnett-based funding, as well as any business rates relief repaid, on top of Budget Exchange.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Northern Ireland
Friday 4th December 2020

Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional VAT will be paid by consumers in Northern Ireland who buy second-hand vehicles transported from Great Britain after the end of the transition period for the UK's departure from the EU.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

The VAT paid by consumers buying second-hand vehicles will depend on the circumstances of the transaction and the seller of the vehicle.

The Northern Ireland Protocol frames the approach to VAT on goods, including the second-hand margin scheme, in Northern Ireland. As is the case for tax policy generally, the Government is keeping this under review.