Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights

Debate between Lord Shutt of Greetland and Lord Smith of Clifton

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the recent elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, what discussions they will hold with the political parties regarding the promotion of a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights in accordance with the 1998 Belfast agreement.

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

My Lords, as my right honourable friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland recently made clear in the other place, we want to see this issue resolved and will be taking the views of the new Executive, political parties and others in Northern Ireland on how best to move matters forward.

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

My Lords, that is a smidgen of an improvement on the Answer given the last time I raised this question, and I suppose that that is progress. Can my noble friend tell me frankly whether the Government are going to continue the previous Government’s policy of kicking this issue into touch, or when we might have some positive progress on implementing this last aspect of the Belfast agreement?

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

My Lords, I cannot give any specific dates or times. Civil servants have already talked to people in the human rights fraternity in Northern Ireland, and the next job is to get involved with the Assembly and to get things moving. I said on the previous occasion, and I repeat now, that with the new Assembly there is an opportunity to break into this issue, which I understand is of long standing. It is important that we move forward.

Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights

Debate between Lord Shutt of Greetland and Lord Smith of Clifton

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to the motion passed by the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on 22 November 2010 which noted the delay in the introduction of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, as promised in the Belfast agreement, and called upon Her Majesty’s Government to fulfil their obligation in that regard.

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

My Lords, the Government remain committed to maintaining human rights protection in Northern Ireland and fulfilling our obligations under the Belfast agreement. Indeed, my right honourable friend the Minister of State recently met human rights organisations in Northern Ireland and stressed the difficulty of making progress without political consensus within Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly. We will continue to consider how best to address this issue in the coming months.

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

My Lords, that is not a very satisfactory Answer because it gives a veto to the Stormont parties and it is not their prerogative to exercise that veto. Is what my noble friend said the agreed policy of the coalition? If it is, which Liberal Democrat Ministers participated and concurred in that agreement?

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

My Lords, that is an interesting one. I am not the Minister; I am the Whip.

Water Supply: Northern Ireland

Debate between Lord Shutt of Greetland and Lord Smith of Clifton

Wednesday 9th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

I would not detract from the Scottish generosity to Northern Ireland. I am aware that the Minister in Northern Ireland was involved in discussions with my honourable friend. It is not clear to me whether he believed that there was a request that he ought to make. Assistance was offered to him in regard to the call centres. I would like people to understand that more than 400,000 people on one day tried to telephone Northern Ireland Water and only 4,000 of those calls were answered. Therefore, bringing in the call centres, which were available through Water UK, a UK and Northern Ireland-wide body, was a tremendous help to people who were seeking it.

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

Does my noble friend agree that successive Administrations, from the first Stormont through to the second Stormont, to both periods of direct rule and to the Stormont Assembly as now constituted, have totally neglected the refurbishment of water ducts and so on in Northern Ireland and it is now time that they addressed that?

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

Something like £2,000 million was invested in water in Northern Ireland in the 18 years up to 2006-07. Since then, a further £1 billion has been invested but it is quite clear that more money is required for investing in the infrastructure. However, acquiring help in the crisis is a different issue compared with long-term involvement in the infrastructure.

Northern Ireland: Public Expenditure

Debate between Lord Shutt of Greetland and Lord Smith of Clifton

Tuesday 22nd June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his supplementary question and acknowledge his experience in adding to the private sector in Northern Ireland. I can advise him that my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed today in his Budget Statement in another place that the Government, in consultation with the Northern Ireland Executive, propose to publish a paper on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy which will examine potential mechanisms for changing the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland.

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

My Lords, when allocating resources in the future, will the Government take into account the recent recommendations of the Select Committee on the Barnett formula, which said that Scotland had far too much, Wales had far too little, Northern Ireland needed a little more and England needed some more?

[Lord Shutt of Greetland]

My Lords, the Government have no plans to review the Barnett formula until the fiscal stabilisation plans set out in the Budget have been worked through. However, that report is still valid and will be considered at the due time.