Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Troubles-related criminal cases are pending to appear in court or currently being processed against (1) members of proscribed terrorist organisations and (2) veterans of the security forces.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
While ongoing prosecutions are a matter for the independent Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, it is the Government’s understanding that there are nine ongoing Troubles-related prosecutions.
Of those nine prosecutions, six fall in the republican category, one in the loyalist category, one in the former police category and one in the military category.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the co-directors of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will be required to take decisions jointly.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill sets out specific circumstances in which the Directors must act jointly. These include clause 29 (deciding the form and manner in which requests for investigations are to be made), clause 30 (accepting and rejecting requests for investigations), clause 32 (power of the Directors of Investigations to initiate investigations), and clause 35 (determining the order in which investigations are to be carried out).
Other clauses in the Bill set out the circumstances in which the Director allocated an investigation should act alone. These include clauses 33 (notifying family members and others about new investigations), clause 36 (determining whether the investigation should be carried out as a criminal investigation etc), and clause 37 (notifying family members and others about the conduct of investigations).
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether one of the appointments to co-directors of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will be from outside the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Clause 5 of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill stipulates that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland must appoint two persons to be Directors of Investigations of the Legacy Commission. In exercising this power, the Secretary of State must, so far as practicable, ensure that one of the Directors has experience of conducting criminal investigations in Northern Ireland, and the other Director does not have that experience, but has experience of conducting criminal investigations outside Northern Ireland.
The legislation does not stipulate that one of the co-directors must be from outside of the United Kingdom.
Clause 9 of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill requires appointments of the Directors for Investigations to be made following consultation with relevant individuals, in order to inform the appointments process. It also requires me to publish details of who will be consulted.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the co-directors of the proposed Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will have the powers of a constable.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Clause 12 of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill stipulates that a Director of Investigations is designated as a person having the powers and privileges of a constable.
Under clause 12, a Director of Investigations may designate any other Legacy Commission officer as a person having the powers and privileges of a constable, if they are satisfied that the Legacy Commission officer; a) is capable of effectively exercising those powers and privileges, b) has received adequate training in respect of the exercise of those powers and privileges, and c) is otherwise a suitable person to exercise those powers and privileges.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether control of the cases of Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery will be split evenly between the two co-directors.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Clause 34 of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill sets out the process for allocating investigations to the Directors of Investigations. Clause 35 also makes provision for managing the investigation caseload. In addition, clauses 44 to 47 make provision about avoiding conflicts of interest, which are relevant to the allocation of investigations.
The legislation does not stipulate that the caseload of the Legacy Commission must be split evenly between the Directors of Investigations. This will be an operational matter for the Legacy Commission in line with the legislation.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they have not provided additional funding to the Northern Ireland Football Fund, on the same basis as support for the redevelopment of Casement Park, to ensure parity of funding between major sports in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Northern Ireland Football Fund is an Executive initiative introduced in 2011. The Government has provided funding to grassroots clubs throughout Northern Ireland, many of which are football clubs. DCMS invests in grassroots facilities in Northern Ireland through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, and will announce further projects in due course.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 12 September (HL10086), why voters with photographic identification cannot receive an Electoral Identity Card.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the response given on 12 September 2025 to UIN HL10086.
The sole purpose of the Electoral Identity Card is for voting at a polling station. If an individual holds another accepted form of photographic voter identification, they may use it to vote and there is no need to apply for an Electoral Identity Card.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to enable voters in Northern Ireland who already have a form of identification to obtain electoral identity cards.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is responsible for the supply of electoral identity cards in Northern Ireland.
There has been a requirement to show photographic voter ID in Northern Ireland since 2003 and there is a comprehensive list of accepted documents to bring to the polling station. If an individual does not have any of these forms of photographic ID, they may apply for an electoral identity card.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Gaelic Athletic Association to ensure that Gaelic Athletic Association sporting competitions, particularly for young people, are not named after terrorists.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Everyone has the right to celebrate their culture but they should do so in a respectful and lawful manner. Sport has the unique ability to bring people together and it ought to be something which unites rather than divides us.
Any allegation of glorifying terrorism is an operational matter for the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland, both of which are independent of government.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will attach conditions to the funding for the Casement Park project; and whether these will include not using taxpayer-funded sports grounds for competitions named after terrorists.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government has committed £50m of Capital Financial Transactions funding to help the Northern Ireland Executive to redevelop Casement Park. However, it is up to the Executive to decide how to implement the development of the stadium.