Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the government departments in Northern Ireland to ensure that all required information is provided to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Government departments and the devolved administrations, including Northern Ireland, are individual core participants to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, so departments are not able to provide support to them in responding to the Inquiry.
Government departments and devolved administrations make their own decision on whether to apply for core participant status.
A core participant is an individual or organisation that has a specific interest in the work of the Inquiry with a formal role as defined by the Inquiry Rules 2006. Core participants have special benefits in the Inquiry process, including early sight of evidence and the ability to make opening and closing statements and present their position to the Inquiry.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the Prime Minister has held with the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of Australia regarding the AUKUS agreement.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister holds frequent discussions with both President Biden and Prime Minister Albanese on a range of security and defence matters including AUKUS.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which minister is responsible for efficiency and transformation, following the resignation of Lord Agnew of Oulton on 24 January.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP was appointed Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, in the Cabinet Office, on 8 February. He will be responsible for realising the opportunities arising from Brexit and increasing the efficiency of government.
A full list of ministerial responsibilities will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with private sector businesses to find technological solutions to the delivery rate of goods between Great Britain to Northern Ireland following the activation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
The Government is working closely with businesses to understand their concerns with the Northern Ireland Protocol. This includes formal meetings through the NI Business Working Group, direct contact with Ministers and engagement across a number of departments. We continue to listen to businesses on this issue and reflect their concerns in ongoing negotiations with the EU, and some of these contacts have covered potential technological solutions in this area.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they agreed to medicines being included within the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and what plans they have, if any, to reverse this decision.
Answered by Lord Frost
The Protocol was agreed at a particular moment as part of a broader deal that delivered on the referendum result, delivered on the democratic will of the British people and took us out of the EU. We hoped that with sensitive handling the Protocol could be made to work, but we always knew there were risks. That is why we included a number of safeguard provisions.
As we now know, the Protocol was not handled sensitively and we are now in a different world. To move on, we need to find sustainable, long-term arrangements that take proper account of the nature of supplies of medicines as an inherent part of the delivery of national health services. As in our Command Paper of 21 July, we propose to remove medicines from the scope of the Protocol in their entirety.
We are working through the detail of the EU’s proposals received on 13 October. We are now in discussions with the EU on their and our proposals to see if the gaps can be bridged and a solution found which delivers the significant change needed.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the (1) shortage of HGV drivers, and the (2) agreement to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, on the delivery of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Frost
No assessment has been made specifically of any effects of the lorry driver shortage on the delivery of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, though the Government agrees with industry assessments that there is a significant acute shortage of lorry drivers on top of a longer-term structural shortage. That is why on 20 July, the Department for Transport, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs jointly announced a suite of measures to support the industry in addressing the driver shortage. These measures will be focused on increasing the recruitment, retention and throughput of domestic drivers. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-package-of-measures-to-support-road-haulage-industry.
On 21 July, the Government published a Command Paper (Northern Ireland Protocol: the way forward, CP502) outlining how the Northern Ireland Protocol is not working in its current form or delivering on its objectives. We are seeking to negotiate significant changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol to achieve a new balance that puts the UK-EU relationship on a stable footing. This must involve goods flowing much more freely into Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have conducted a risk analysis of the consequences of the UK invoking Article 16 of the Protocol on Ireland/ Northern Ireland; and, if so, whether they will publish it.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As I made clear in my statement to the House on 2 February, there is an urgent need to address all outstanding issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland and restore confidence. The letter sent to Vice-President Sefcovic by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 2 February, sets out the issues that the UK Government consider must be addressed, including grace periods.
The Government continues to regularly engage and work with stakeholders, including suppliers and hauliers in Great Britain. To assist traders, this Government launched the £200m Trader Support Service in December 2020, providing guidance, training and support for businesses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on moving goods and any limited processes that may apply. Over 32,000 traders have registered, so far, for this service - including 3,000 hauliers.
In the days immediately following the end of the transition period, we were aware of a small number of traders who temporarily suspended deliveries to Northern Ireland. We are keeping this under review.
COVID-19 remains the main economic pressure being faced in Northern Ireland but the Government continues to monitor the flow of goods into Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the EU about extending the grace periods contained in the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and which specific grace periods they have discussed.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As I made clear in my statement to the House on 2 February, there is an urgent need to address all outstanding issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland and restore confidence. The letter sent to Vice-President Sefcovic by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 2 February, sets out the issues that the UK Government consider must be addressed, including grace periods.
The Government continues to regularly engage and work with stakeholders, including suppliers and hauliers in Great Britain. To assist traders, this Government launched the £200m Trader Support Service in December 2020, providing guidance, training and support for businesses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on moving goods and any limited processes that may apply. Over 32,000 traders have registered, so far, for this service - including 3,000 hauliers.
In the days immediately following the end of the transition period, we were aware of a small number of traders who temporarily suspended deliveries to Northern Ireland. We are keeping this under review.
COVID-19 remains the main economic pressure being faced in Northern Ireland but the Government continues to monitor the flow of goods into Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the projected reduction in Northern Ireland GDP in 2021 as a direct result of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As I made clear in my statement to the House on 2 February, there is an urgent need to address all outstanding issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland and restore confidence. The letter sent to Vice-President Sefcovic by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 2 February, sets out the issues that the UK Government consider must be addressed, including grace periods.
The Government continues to regularly engage and work with stakeholders, including suppliers and hauliers in Great Britain. To assist traders, this Government launched the £200m Trader Support Service in December 2020, providing guidance, training and support for businesses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on moving goods and any limited processes that may apply. Over 32,000 traders have registered, so far, for this service - including 3,000 hauliers.
In the days immediately following the end of the transition period, we were aware of a small number of traders who temporarily suspended deliveries to Northern Ireland. We are keeping this under review.
COVID-19 remains the main economic pressure being faced in Northern Ireland but the Government continues to monitor the flow of goods into Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of suppliers based in Great Britain that have suspended delivery of goods to Northern Ireland since 1 January.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
As I made clear in my statement to the House on 2 February, there is an urgent need to address all outstanding issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland and restore confidence. The letter sent to Vice-President Sefcovic by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 2 February, sets out the issues that the UK Government consider must be addressed, including grace periods.
The Government continues to regularly engage and work with stakeholders, including suppliers and hauliers in Great Britain. To assist traders, this Government launched the £200m Trader Support Service in December 2020, providing guidance, training and support for businesses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on moving goods and any limited processes that may apply. Over 32,000 traders have registered, so far, for this service - including 3,000 hauliers.
In the days immediately following the end of the transition period, we were aware of a small number of traders who temporarily suspended deliveries to Northern Ireland. We are keeping this under review.
COVID-19 remains the main economic pressure being faced in Northern Ireland but the Government continues to monitor the flow of goods into Northern Ireland.