Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practical effect of the High Court judgment of 28 February that the conditional immunity provisions in the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 are contrary to Article 2 of the Windsor Framework and Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Following consideration of all aspects of the judgment, including those in relation to Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, the UK Government is applying for an appeal with the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

We remain committed to implementing the Legacy Act and delivering the ICRIR to provide better outcomes for victims and survivors of the Troubles by giving them more information about what happened to their loved ones.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the statement in paragraph 46 of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper 1021 that “the Windsor Framework applies only in respect of the trade in goods” is compatible with the High Court judgment of 28 February that the immunity provisions in the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 are contrary to Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government stands by its position on Article 2 which was set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper. Article 2 of the Framework does not apply EU law or ECJ jurisdiction, and only applies in respect of rights set out in the relevant chapter of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and a diminution of those rights which arises as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. We will be challenging the High Court's determination of the Article 2 issues to that end.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made the High Court judgment of 28 February that the conditional immunity provisions in the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 are disapplied because of the supremacy of EU law in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We remain committed to implementing the Legacy Act and delivering the ICRIR to provide better outcomes for victims and survivors of the Troubles by giving them more information about what happened to their loved ones.

Following consideration of all aspects of the judgment, including those in relation to Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, the Government is applying for an appeal with the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish each individual EU law and regulation which is outside the scope of the Stormont Brake in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The scope of the Stormont Brake is provided for in domestic law under the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024. The restoration of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland allowed those regulations to come into force and facilitated new democratic safeguards that would be unavailable to the people of Northern Ireland if the failure of those institutions to function continued. The Government has published clear operational arrangements that underpin the democratic mechanisms contained within the Windsor Framework.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, prior to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, seed potatoes could be moved by professional operators to consumers in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have lifted the ban on the movement of seed potatoes - under the Windsor Framework they can now move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the NI Plant Health Label scheme. Currently movements are required to be made between registered professional operators in Great Britain to professional operators in Northern Ireland for commercial growing in Northern Ireland. Once planted in Northern Ireland and grown into potatoes for consumption, or used to produce further seed potatoes, they can be sold into Northern Ireland retailers and garden centres.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the current requirements regarding the re-tagging of livestock born in Great Britain and being moved to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following work with the livestock sector, an easement negotiated by the Government with the European Commission means that cattle, sheep, or goats that already have UK tags that are moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain do not now need to be reidentified in Great Britain with either a new pair of ‘GB’ tags or have a third ‘GB’ export tag added. Farmers are now able to move them with their existing 'UK' tags. DAERA website guidance advising keepers that these animals had to be identified with GB tags before they are moved to NI has been removed.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic benefit to creative industries in Northern Ireland of the tax measures announced in the Spring Budget.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the cultural and economic value of the UK’s world-leading creative sector. At Spring Budget 2024 the Government went further to support the sector through the creative sector tax reliefs, which companies in Northern Ireland benefit from.

The announcements include a new tax credit for independent UK films with budgets of less than £15 million and a 5 percentage point increase in tax relief UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV.

The Government also announced that from 1 April 2025, orchestras, museums, galleries and theatres will benefit from tax relief set permanently at 45% (for touring productions and all orchestra productions) and 40% for non-touring productions).

These measures will apply UK-wide.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made on introducing the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid to help prevent neural tube defects in foetuses.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We remain committed to bringing forward legislation to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. On 17 January 2024, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published the response to the United Kingdom-wide consultation on amending the Bread and Flour Regulations, which is available at the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.

The Government has notified the World Trade Organization and the European Commission in accordance with international obligations, with a view to making the legislative changes later in 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the application of all the provisions of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill to Northern Ireland in light of the judgment of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland that the conditional immunity provisions in the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 are incompatible with Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government has consistently applied immigration policy across the United Kingdom as a whole. That remains our absolute intention with the Rwanda Bill, which provides for it to apply UK-wide. We have considered the judgment and have lodged an appeal.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the United States about the promises of investment made by the US President in his 12 April 2023 address at Ulster University.

Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK Government and Invest Northern Ireland hosted the NI Investment Summit in September, which was a great success in showcasing Northern Ireland’s innovation and technological strengths to around 200 global investors. A US trade delegation visited Norther Ireland in October, during which the New York State Common Retirement Fund announced a new $50m investment into companies based in Northern Ireland

Our network in the US continues to promote Northern Ireland as a prime investment destination. UK Government ministers are participating in a series of engagements around St Patrick's Day to strengthen the vital transatlantic partnership between the US and Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many registered (1) residential care homes, and (2) nursing homes, there are in England; and what are the numbers of residents in each category.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the number of care homes with and without nursing, and the number of beds for both categories, taken from the Care Quality Commission’s registration data from March 2024:

The published data does not break down the number of residents in each category.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many freeports have been announced for each country of the United Kingdom in the past 10 years; and where they are located.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Information on the number of Freeports announced in the United Kingdom in the last ten years and their locations can be found at the following link.

Following discussions with stakeholders in Northern Ireland about how best to deliver the benefits associated with Freeports and Investment Zones there, the government announced at the Spring Budget that we will establish an Enhanced Investment Zone offer in Northern Ireland with £150 million in funding, able to be used flexibly across spending and tax levers.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much is to be allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive in the Spring Budget from (1) Barnett consequentials, and (2) direct allocation.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As a result of decisions taken at Spring Budget, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive around £100 million through the Barnett formula.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer also announced £20 million of funding for each of Derry-Londonderry and Coleraine through the Long-Term Plan for Towns, £2 million of funding to boost global investment and trade opportunities in Northern Ireland, and £2.2 million for the redevelopment of the South Stand at Crusaders FC in Belfast into a unique state of the art community centre.

Northern Ireland will also benefit from UK-wide tax and spending measures.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the working relationship between the Treasury and the Fiscal Council of Northern Ireland.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury regularly engages with the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, including discussions on its work to scrutinise the public finances of Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have sought to canvass the views of the EU Council of Ministers and MEPs about their readiness to remove those requirements set out by Article 4(3) of EU Regulation 2023/1231 before committing to remove statutory quotas for identity checks pertaining to the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland beyond the red lane.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has been clear that there will be no checks when goods move within the UK internal market system save those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. This is a matter for the UK Government. The Government meets regularly with the European Union to discuss matters under the Windsor Framework and as set out in the Command Paper, we will transition to new arrangements over the coming months.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their levelling-up measures in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The UK Government is committed to levelling up across the whole of the United Kingdom to ensure that no community is left behind. We are investing £456 million in Northern Ireland to help grow the economy, create jobs, improve transport, provide skills training and support local businesses.

This includes £150 million to develop an Enhanced Investment Zone to provide targeted incentives and interventions to encourage investment and boost growth in Northern Ireland. As well as:

10 years of endowment-style funding for Coleraine & Derry/Londonderry through the Long Term Plan for Towns

£120 million from rounds 1 and 2 of the Levelling Up Fund, investing in infrastructure that improves everyday life for local residents.

£127 million set aside through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, of which £76 million has so far been allocated to 30 projects in Northern Ireland.

The UK Government is providing the Northern Ireland Executive with a significant £3.3 billion spending settlement to stabilise its finances and protect public services. Within this a number of DLUHC funds are being made available to the Northern Ireland Executive.

The full list of the UK Government funds which are being made available to the Northern Ireland Executive was released publicly on Friday 8 March on gov.uk.

The published document confirms that £30 million from the third round of the Levelling Up Fund and £22.6 million from the Northern Ireland allocation for UKSPF have been included in the financial package to increase the spending power of the restored Executive.

We are committed to evaluating the impact of all our funding, as set out in the recently published local growth evaluation strategy.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 11 March (HL2836), whether, prior to the UK leaving the EU, seed potatoes could be moved by professional operators in Great Britain directly to Northern Ireland consumers.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under the Windsor Framework, seed potatoes can now move again from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the terms of the NI plant health label scheme. This means professional operators in Great Britain can send seed potatoes to professional operators in Northern Ireland for commercial growing in Northern Ireland. Once these are planted in Northern Ireland and grown into potatoes for consumption, or used to produce further seed potatoes, they can be sold into Northern Ireland retailers and garden centres for personal use.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which existing provisions of EU law listed in Annex 2 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland can be subjected to the Stormont Brake procedure.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The scope of EU legislation that can be subject to the Stormont Brake is set out in the Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2024. The Government welcomes the restoration of Northern Ireland’s devolved institutions so that this important democratic safeguard can now be exercised.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the money allocated for the construction of border control posts in Northern Ireland is for (1) agricultural food inspections, and (2) customs.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The funding allocated for SPS facilities in Northern Ireland to deal with goods moving into the EU through the red lane - as the Government had also committed to do under the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill - is a maximum funding envelope. The figure is in line with a business case which was being prepared when that Bill was in Parliament.

The facilities will fulfil a number of functions and it is not possible to provide a breakdown of costs in the manner described.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK can apply any duty rate on alcoholic beverages in Northern Ireland which are below the EU minimum rate.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The same alcohol duty rates apply across the whole UK. The new alcohol duty system was implemented on 1 August 2023 and moves all alcohol to taxation by strength for the first time. The rates were set at the right level to support businesses and meet public health objectives.

We have implemented these broad reforms across the whole of the UK: taxation by strength, Draught Relief, and Small Producer Relief. This was impossible in Northern Ireland under the original Protocol. The Windsor Framework secured substantive, legally binding changes to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as apply in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government which specific legal obligations require them to notify the EU about planned legislative changes to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

HM Government is required to allow the EU to provide comments on notified proposed technical regulations in accordance with Article 94 of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the UK and the EU.

In discharging this obligation, the notification of planned legislative changes to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 was circulated to the World Trade Organisation Technical Barriers to Trade Committee on 9^th February 2024.

In accordance with arrangements provided in the Windsor Framework notification of the European Commission is also required under Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1925/2006 Article 11 and Directive (EU) 2015/1535 Article 5(1) in respect of planned amendments to the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.

The EU commission were notified under the Windsor Framework of the planned amendments to the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) on the 8^{th of} February 2024.

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