Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much public funding has been provided to InterTradeIreland in each financial year since 2020; from which departmental budget that funding has been allocated; and what the stated purpose of that funding is.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responsibility for the funding and oversight of InterTradeIreland sits with the Northern Ireland Executive. Information on funding provided to InterTradeIreland should be sought from the relevant Northern Ireland Executive department.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the monetary value of trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom in each year since 2020; and if she will provide a breakdown of that trade by movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, including goods and services.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold all the data requested. HMRC has published management information for 2021 to 2024 on goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain:
To note: the total value published for 2022 was revised from £14.1 billion to £14.2 billion with the release of the 2023 data.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many supplementary declarations have been submitted to HMRC since 1 January 2021.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The total number of supplementary customs declarations for international trade in goods that were submitted to HMRC and cleared between 2021 and 2025 was 264 million.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the value of trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in each year since 2020; and if she will provide a breakdown of that trade by imports, exports, goods and services.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK including published statistics on goods between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
HMRC releases this information quarterly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the UK Regional Trade in Goods Statistics (RTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact [email protected]. HMRC is only responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods, therefore we do not hold data on the supply of services moving between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if HM Treasury will review Northern Ireland’s funding settlement following the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council’s assessment that Northern Ireland is funded at or slightly below its level of assessed need.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This is the largest Spending Review settlement received by the Northern Ireland Executive, in real terms, since devolution in 1998.
Under the latest Spending Review, the Northern Ireland Executive is funded above 124% of comparable UK Government spending in England in every year, reflecting Northern Ireland’s higher assessed level of need.
Northern Ireland benefits from a 24% needs‑based factor, agreed with the Executive in 2024 and grounded in independent assessment, equivalent to an additional £1.4 bn over 2024/25-2028/29.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the volume of retail goods purchased in Northern Ireland and subsequently transported by consumers into the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold an estimate of the volume of retail goods purchased in Northern Ireland and subsequently transported by consumers into the Republic of Ireland.
There is no routine data collection on the movement of retail goods carried by individual consumers across the land border, and such movements are not subject to customs declarations.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many consignments moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are declared as at risk of onward movement to the EU; and what estimate she has made of the proportion of those consignments that subsequently move into the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The government remains committed to the smooth flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 5 November, the Independent Monitoring Panel reported that the Internal Market Guarantee was exceeded for its first monitoring period. This means that 96% of the value of freight was moved within the UK internal market system. HMRC does not hold information on goods declared ‘at risk’ upon entry to Northern Ireland that subsequently enter the EU.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of the (a) administrative burden and (b) associated costs of the “at risk” criteria on small and medium-sized enterprises moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to the smooth flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
The Government has set out the Internal Market Guarantee that 80% of the value of freight will move under the UK internal market system. On 5 November, the Independent Monitoring Panel reported that the Internal Market Guarantee had been exceeded for its first monitoring period, with 96% of the value moved under the UK internal market system.
HMRC provides substantial support with guidance, engagement and other education for businesses of all sizes which do move goods at risk. The Trader Support Service is free for all businesses to use and can facilitate all goods movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland regarding the potential impact of an increase in fuel costs on the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland; and whether she is considering targeted support measures for farmers.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Government is actively monitoring the increase in fuel costs across the whole of the UK, including in Northern Ireland, and any impacts on our food and farming sectors.
The Government has already announced that the 5p fuel duty cut will be extended until September.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a reduced rate of VAT for businesses in Northern Ireland on economic growth and competitiveness; and whether her Department has considered piloting such a measure in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
VAT operates on a UK-wide basis and is a broad-based tax on consumption with the 20 per cent standard rate applying to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.