Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to increase tourism between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
Tourism is a devolved policy area, meaning that the Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility for the promotion and delivery of the tourism offered within Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, including with Great Britain.
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the value of tourism between Northern Ireland and Scotland. As shown, though, by its place at the top of the recent Lonely Planet list of regions to visit, Northern Ireland is a 'must-see' tourist destination, and Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office will continue to encourage visitors to come to experience the many wonderful sights and attractions it has to offer.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate her Department has made of the value of tourism between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
Tourism is a devolved policy area, meaning that the Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility for the promotion and delivery of the tourism offered within Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, including with Great Britain.
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the value of tourism between Northern Ireland and Scotland. As shown, though, by its place at the top of the recent Lonely Planet list of regions to visit, Northern Ireland is a 'must-see' tourist destination, and Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office will continue to encourage visitors to come to experience the many wonderful sights and attractions it has to offer.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she will make an assessment of the contribution to the economy of Northern Ireland of the Port of Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The UK Government recognises the importance of the ports sector in our trading activity, as a vital part of intra-UK trade and wider export success, tourism and transport connectivity. As well as underpinning so many industries, we recognise too the important contributor the ports sector makes to the economy in their own right, though have made no specific assessment of the ports in question.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate her Department has made of the value of cross border trade between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the value of cross-border trade between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Department has however worked with colleagues across the UK to assess the value of external sales from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, which stands at £14bn.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether her Department has received representations from (a) ferry operators and (b) hauliers on the quality of road links to and from the Port of Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
To date, the Department has not received any representations from ferry operators or hauliers on road links between Cairnryan and Galloway.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to increase cross border trade between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone, in Northern Ireland and the whole of our United Kingdom.
The Government’s Industrial Strategy is a vital part of the plan to drive growth across the whole United Kingdom and create more high skilled, high paid jobs and opportunities. We are committed to working with all relevant stakeholders in Northern Ireland to ensure that this Strategy aligns with the strategic priorities of Northern Ireland, to maximise the opportunities available and enable NI business to boost innovation, trade and investment opportunities across the whole of the UK.
Asked by: Alister Jack (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Government on future border arrangements between Scotland and Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Government has been very clear that as we leave the EU we will not do anything that threatens the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom’s internal market.
We have agreed with the EU that the Common Travel Area, which has served us well long before we joined the EU, will continue to operate once we leave the EU.