Northern Ireland Banknote (Designation of Authorised Bank) Regulations 2020

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister to her position. I too would like to be associated with the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Hain, in relation to the non-implementation of the victims’ pension scheme, which should have been put in place last week. In fact, I have a Private Notice Question tomorrow, where I will be pursuing the spokesperson for Northern Ireland in your Lordships’ House on this matter.

I have some questions in relation to these regulations as somebody who lives in Northern Ireland. Ulster Bank has been issuing commercial banknotes since 1929 under Governments’ permission, along with the Bank of Ireland, the Allied Irish Banks and the Northern Bank—now known as Danske Bank. We have been told that this is partly to do with the restructuring of the Royal Bank of Scotland. As it is part of the RBS Group, is the restructuring therefore due to the previous recession in 2008? There are also the difficulties and challenges posed, back in about 2013, by the banks within the RBS Group in relation to their computerised system. People were then unable to obtain banknotes through the ATMs because of computer error. I remember distinctly going up to the Strand for a meeting in the RBS headquarters, as a then MP, with other Northern Ireland MPs to discuss that issue.

Banknotes issued by Northern Ireland banks, including Ulster Bank, have a particularly distinctive quality. They are polymer and they carry the landscape and tourism features of Northern Ireland, such as the Giant’s Causeway and the big crane. Of course, one particular banknote carried Northern Ireland’s probably most celebrated footballer, George Best. If such new notes are issued by NatWest with, as I understand it, maybe an Ulster Bank brand, will they still include Northern Ireland-specific features?

There is also a north/south dimension in the island of Ireland. Ulster Bank has many branches throughout the island of Ireland. In fact, there are two separate legal entities: Ulster Bank Ltd and Ulster Bank Ireland. The group headquarters is in Dublin and the official headquarters is in Belfast. I want to find out about the nature of that relationship. Does this new issuing of banknotes for commercial purposes have any impact on that relationship, particularly with Brexit? The Republic of Ireland remains in the European Union and Northern Ireland will be leaving, although it has rights within the customs union for agricultural purposes and manufacturing in terms of trade. What will that impact be? What discussions have been held with the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Revenue Commissioners in the Republic of Ireland regarding this matter? What will be the designation date? What will be the method of publication to businesses and the general public?

I have a certain fondness for the existing banknotes. I know that they will remain legal tender until the end of their useful life, but what will the new ones look like?