Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2020 to Question 5511, when he plans to publish the membership of the UK Government-Northern Ireland Executive joint board.
Answered by Julian Smith
A new UK Government - Northern Ireland Executive joint board will be established, convened by myself, to oversee implementation of the New Decade, New Approach agreement.
This Board will include myself, the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and is expected to meet in the first quarter of this year.
The Joint Board would have as part of its Terms of Reference in particular the oversight of transformation efforts in health, education and justice where these would draw on funding under this agreement.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2020 to Question 5512 on Capital Investment: Northern Ireland, if he will publish an explanatory memorandum on the conditions that accompany the financial package.
Answered by Julian Smith
The conditions that accompany the financial package have been published in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, Annex A.
This funding package is accompanied by a number of conditions designed to ensure that UK Government funding contributes to increasing overall fiscal and budgetary sustainability in Northern Ireland’s public finances.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what role the Government will have in the implementation of the £1 billion of new resource and capital spending announced for Northern Ireland on 15 January 2020.
Answered by Julian Smith
The UK Government is providing a £2bn injection of financial support to the new Northern Ireland Executive. The funding package is accompanied by a number of conditions designed to ensure that the UK Government has a role in the implementation of the funding package to help increase overall fiscal and budgetary sustainability in Northern Ireland’s finances.
A new UK Government - Northern Ireland Executive joint board will be established, convened by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to oversee implementation. The Joint Board would have as part of its Terms of Reference in particular the oversight of transformation efforts in health, education and justice where these would draw on funding under this agreement.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what conditions will be attached to the £1 billion of new resource and capital spending announced for Northern Ireland on 15 January 2020.
Answered by Julian Smith
The £2 billion injection of financial support announced by the UK Government will help transform public services in Northern Ireland, including helping to end the nurses’ pay dispute.
The financial package is accompanied by stringent conditions to deliver a greater level of accountability for public spending and ensure the new Executive is building sustainable public services. The agreement includes commitments on reform, independent monitoring and reporting of the Executive’s performance, and a role for the UK Government in overseeing implementation of this and previous agreements.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Department uses the recruitment services of the Ministry of Justice who implemented banning the box on job applications in October 2016.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of job roles advertised within her Department in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 excluded the box under the Ban the Box initiative.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Department uses the recruitment services of the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice implemented the Ban the Box initiative in October 2016, and since then all roles have been advertised without the early requirement to declare convictions, i.e. the ‘tick box’ has been removed. Data prior to this date is unavailable due to a change in the Ministry of Justice recruitment system in December 2016.