Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much expenditure they have incurred since 2020 assisting businesses engaging with rules and regulations pertaining to the movement of goods between (1) Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and (2) Great Britain and Northern Ireland, following agreement with the EU on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, and subsequently the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to supporting industry in moving goods smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through schemes such as the Trader Support Service and Movement Assistance Scheme. There is no central provision made for support schemes.
As the Government announced in September last year, the current term of Trader Support Service will run to December 2024. Information about the costs of the Trader Support Service is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to the end of January 2024 was £29.8m. The Government also launched a £50m labelling financial assistance scheme, to assist businesses with the costs of meeting labelling requirements.
We have always been committed to taking steps necessary to support businesses - both through the WF arrangements for internal trade but also for those whose business models may not fall within them. This is entirely excepted funding support and so has no negative implications for the NI block grant, where of course the Government has also provided an unprecedented £3.3bn as part of the recent efforts to restore the Executive.
It is not the case that the money available to support schemes would be diverted to any other project in Northern Ireland - if the support scheme were to be withdrawn then no additional funding of any kind would be available in NI as a result.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are (1) the value, and (2) the term length, of each contract awarded to private sector companies to assist with the implementation of the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to supporting industry in moving goods smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through schemes such as the Trader Support Service and Movement Assistance Scheme. There is no central provision made for support schemes.
As the Government announced in September last year, the current term of Trader Support Service will run to December 2024. Information about the costs of the Trader Support Service is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to the end of January 2024 was £29.8m. The Government also launched a £50m labelling financial assistance scheme, to assist businesses with the costs of meeting labelling requirements.
We have always been committed to taking steps necessary to support businesses - both through the WF arrangements for internal trade but also for those whose business models may not fall within them. This is entirely excepted funding support and so has no negative implications for the NI block grant, where of course the Government has also provided an unprecedented £3.3bn as part of the recent efforts to restore the Executive.
It is not the case that the money available to support schemes would be diverted to any other project in Northern Ireland - if the support scheme were to be withdrawn then no additional funding of any kind would be available in NI as a result.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial provision they have made for the 2024–25 financial year to assist businesses dealing with the requirements of the Windsor Framework for the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to supporting industry in moving goods smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including through schemes such as the Trader Support Service and Movement Assistance Scheme. There is no central provision made for support schemes.
As the Government announced in September last year, the current term of Trader Support Service will run to December 2024. Information about the costs of the Trader Support Service is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to the end of January 2024 was £29.8m. The Government also launched a £50m labelling financial assistance scheme, to assist businesses with the costs of meeting labelling requirements.
We have always been committed to taking steps necessary to support businesses - both through the WF arrangements for internal trade but also for those whose business models may not fall within them. This is entirely excepted funding support and so has no negative implications for the NI block grant, where of course the Government has also provided an unprecedented £3.3bn as part of the recent efforts to restore the Executive.
It is not the case that the money available to support schemes would be diverted to any other project in Northern Ireland - if the support scheme were to be withdrawn then no additional funding of any kind would be available in NI as a result.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what local revenue raising conditions were attached to the recent financial package awarded to the Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Lord Caine
The UK Government remains determined to support the Executive to maximise the opportunities presented by the financial package.
To help stabilise the Executive’s financial position, the UK Government has agreed to pause its debt repayments from 2022-23 and 2023-24 of up to £559 million and will no longer require these funds to be repaid, subject to the Executive publishing a plan, which outlines how it will deliver sustainable public finances and services, and demonstrating implementation of that plan by May 2025.
This sustainability plan must include the delivery of a balanced budget for 2024-25 by raising a minimum of £113 million through locally generated income. It will be for the Executive to determine if it will consider a different course of action to deliver the public services that Northern Ireland needs as part of its plan for financial sustainability.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland about the defence of the Western Atlantic.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK and Ireland face a range of common threats to our security. We are committed to a close partnership and discuss a wide range of defence and security issues, including maritime security, underpinned by our Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2015. The Foreign Secretary hosted Micheál Martin, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and for Foreign Affairs, in London in December.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money has been allocated for the construction of border inspection posts in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The construction of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Inspection Facilities in Northern Ireland is supported by an agreed business case which provides a funding envelope of up to a maximum of £192.3 million. This figure is just an envelope and is not guaranteed as the department always aspires to come in under budget.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the construction of border inspection posts in Northern Ireland to be completed.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The SPS Inspection Facilities at Northern Ireland points of entry will be completed by 1 July 2025, per our commitments under the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operation and effectiveness of the Joint Ministerial Committee.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The system of Joint Ministerial Committees (JMCs) was replaced as part of the 2022 Review of Intergovernmental Relations. The structures which replace the JMCs provide a more flexible and fit-for-purpose approach with department-led Interministerial Groups overseen by an Interministerial Standing Committee, and, ultimately, a Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council.
Since the 2022 Review, there have been almost 500 intergovernmental ministerial meetings. Ensuring the structures work effectively is the joint responsibility of UK Government and the devolved governments. The UK Government monitors the effectiveness of engagement including through quarterly and end of year transparency reports, published on GOV.UK.
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
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.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Minister will have responsibility for the operation, staffing and maintenance of border inspection posts in Northern Ireland upon their completion.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The UK Government already assumed responsibility for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Inspection Facilities in Northern Ireland last year. As set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, the Government will take powers at Westminster to direct NI bodies to protect the UK internal market in the operation of the Windsor Framework. We will set out further details in due course.