Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence provided by the British Veterinary Association to the House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in their inquiry on the Windsor Framework, which stated that in the current form "failure to obtain a permanent solution could see Northern Ireland lose access to 51% of the veterinary medicines it currently receives"; and what action they intend to take in response to address any reduction in access to veterinary medicines.
Answered by Lord Benyon
Under the old Protocol over half of existing UK veterinary medicine product lines supplying Northern Ireland could have been at risk at the end of 2022, which would have had serious consequences for human and animal health in Northern Ireland.
The Windsor Framework removed that cliff edge, with a three year extension. This was important to solve the immediate problem, but the British Veterinary Association are right to emphasise the need for a long-term solution which protects the supply of veterinary medicines into Northern Ireland. This is what we are now working on.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the article by Dr Gareth Clay Spreading like wildfire: the need for a UK Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS), published by the University of Manchester on 26 June; and what plans they have to introduce such a system.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office works across Government with a wide range of stakeholders including the National Fire Chiefs Council, England and Wales Wildfire Forum and other Departments and Agencies including DEFRA and the Met Office to promote planning and prevention for wildfire incidents in England.
The government is aware of the work to which you refer [“Toward a UK Fire Danger Rating System”]. The government would welcome seeing the full outputs from the research in due course which will help inform any future plans.
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
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
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 Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research, if any, they have commissioned into the fire risk to public safety of lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes; and if so, whether this will be published.
Answered by Earl of Minto
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has established a safety study to understand the data and evidence of the risks presented by e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes investigating incidents and taking enforcement action when needed, commissioning research, targeting unsafe products at the border and providing public safety information.
A research project on batteries has been contracted with Warwick Manufacturing Group, part of Warwick University and a centre for innovation in science and technology. This will examine the safety of the lithium-ion batteries within Personal Light Electric Vehicles. The research will be published in due course once completed.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reimburse the Police Service of Northern Ireland the £6.2 million in additional policing costs incurred as a result of (1) recent visits to Northern Ireland by (a) the President of the United States, and (b) His Majesty King Charles, and (2) the Agreement 25 conference at Queen’s University, Belfast.
Answered by Lord Caine
The Northern Ireland Office has received correspondence from the Police Service of Northern Ireland seeking assistance with £6.2 million policing costs for the visit by President Biden and for events linked with the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. The Northern Ireland Office is currently in discussions with other Government Departments about this matter. A response will be issued to the Police Service of Northern Ireland once discussions have concluded.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will publish in full the initial revenue raising options he has requested by 30 June 2023 from the permanent secretaries of the devolved Northern Ireland departments.
Answered by Lord Caine
The Government will treat all advice and information received in a manner consistent with the legal obligations and protections applying to advice given to Ministers. It would be inappropriate to disclose the information, which will be used to support policy development, at this time.
It is the Government’s expectation that a returning Executive will consider the same information and use this to make the necessary decisions to put Northern Ireland’s public finances on a sustainable footing. If this does not happen in a timely manner, it is the Government’s intention then to direct a series of public consultations which will give the public and all interested parties an opportunity to consider the range of options being examined and to feed in their views.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether (1) police officers in England and Wales, (2) police officers in Scotland, and (3) Police Service of Northern Ireland officers who had completed five full calendar years of service on 6 May, or who participate in Armed Service Coronation events during the course of 2023, will receive a Coronation Medal.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The King’s Coronation Medal will be awarded to all emergency services personnel in the UK who have been in paid service, in a retained or voluntary capacity, dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of services and have completed five full calendar years of service on 6 May 2023. Individuals who have actively contributed to the official Coronation events in Westminster Abbey and processions, and other officially recognised ceremonial Coronation events will also be awarded with the medal.
Asked by: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Caine in Grand Committee on 26 April (HL Deb col 442GC), what progress has been made towards having the Union flag fly in Erskine House on designated days.
Answered by Lord Caine
The Northern Ireland Office is not the lead tenant in Erskine House and it is not responsible for decisions around flag flying for the building. Erskine House has several tenants, including UK Government departments, and does not currently have a flagpole installed. Unfortunately, as a tenant, we do not currently have permission to install one.
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.