Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 12 July (HL9073), how enabling duty-free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU would "undermine frictionless trade with the EU"; and why this is not the case in relation to trade between Great Britain and the EU.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Introducing duty free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU (which includes the Republic of Ireland) would require implementing allowances for the movement of these goods, to stop the uncontrolled flow of tax-free goods into either Northern Ireland or the EU (including the Republic of Ireland). These allowances would require enforcement. Therefore, if this were to be implemented, controls on the movement of goods between NI and the Republic of Ireland would be required, contravening the shared ambitions of the UK, Ireland and the EU.
By contrast, the movement of goods between the EU and Great Britain is subject to full third-country controls. This enables the enforcement of allowances for duty-free goods for passengers travelling into and out of Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide additional funding under the Barnett consequentials to fund public sector pay awards in Northern Ireland, reflecting those offered to public sector workers in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government is accepting the headline pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies in full for 2023/24. This will be funded from within existing department budgets through a combination of greater efficiency and reprioritisation.
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. As the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council acknowledges, Northern Ireland is receiving the funding it needs. Spending Review 2021 also 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.
A full breakdown of changes to devolved administrations’ block grants, including Barnett consequentials, is set out in the published Block Grant Transparency document.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 12 April (HL7072), what discussions they plan to have with the European Commission to enable residents of Northern Ireland to buy duty free products when travelling from Northern Ireland to the EU.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government’s duty-free policy remains unchanged after the agreement of the Windsor Framework. Northern Ireland enjoys frictionless trade with both the rest of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – the Government is committed to ensuring that remains the case.
Enabling duty-free shopping between Ireland and Northern Ireland could lead to significant distortions of trade on the island of Ireland as well as a significant revenue loss for both UK and Ireland by creating a legal route for unlimited amounts of alcohol and tobacco to flow into the UK and EU markets duty-free.
The Government therefore has no plans to raise this matter with the European Commission.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times the Prime Minister visited Northern Ireland when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Prime Minister did not carry out any official visits to Northern Ireland during his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP, visited Northern Ireland on 1st June 2022.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent in each financial year since 2016–17 to create a national digital platform to mitigate the effects of regulatory barriers to trade and to ensure the swift movement of goods between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the EU following the UK’s exit from the EU; and when they expect this to be delivered.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 8 February (HL5672), whether HMRC intends to start recording the fraudulent use of red diesel in the UK as a specific offence when the law for the use rebated fuel changes on 1 April; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
HMRC records all occasions where rebated fuel is found being used in circumstances not permitted by legislation. As detections of misuse are confirmed by the formal identification of Government markers and dyes, some of which are common to all types of rebated fuel including those used in EU states, it is not possible to identify specific red diesel offences. Samples analysed by HMRC can contain a mixture of these markers and dyes, therefore, it is often not possible to identify misuse by rebated fuel type.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Penn on 7 February (HL5670 and HL5671), what assessment they have made of the impact of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland on the levels of smuggling of red diesel across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government has not made such an assessment.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) produces an annual estimate of the tax gap across all taxes and duties administered by HMRC. This is the difference between the amount of tax that should in theory be collected, and what is actually paid. In HMRC’s latest report, the Northern Ireland diesel illicit market share is estimated at 4% in 2019 to 2020. This resulted in an estimated loss of £20 million in duty and a further £10 million in VAT, giving a total loss of £30 million. These estimates cannot be disaggregated by type of fraud such as smuggling.
HMRC continues to work in partnership with other enforcement agencies including the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland to tackle this risk. This extensive multi-agency, cross border cooperation is a key element of HMRC’s operational response and commitment to tackling fuel duty fraud.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the European Union regarding the extension of planned alcohol duty reforms in Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and what were the results of such discussions.
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 alcohol duty reforms to Northern Ireland with the EU during the consultation period of the alcohol duty review.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they have (1) held, or (2) planned, with (a) Northern Ireland business representatives, (b) Northern Ireland consumer groups, and (c) Northern Ireland political parties, about extending alcohol duties reforms due to apply in Great Britain from 2023 to the whole of the United Kingdom.
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 alcohol duty reforms to Northern Ireland with the EU and interested stakeholders during the consultation period of the alcohol duty review.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which tax changes proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement on 27 October will not apply to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Tax changes announced at Autumn Budget that do not apply to Northern Ireland are:· All business rates measures, which apply only to England
· The freezing of carbon price support rates from 2023-4, which applies only to Great Britain
· The rate of Air Passenger Duty on direct long-haul flights from Northern Ireland, as that rate setting power has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.