Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2024 to Question 16419 on Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland, on what date the Northern Ireland Executive was informed of the removal of the ring-fence for the £150m Fresh Start Agreement funding.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
HM Treasury officials wrote to their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance on 1 March 2024 formally confirming the removal of the ring-fence for £150 million of Fresh Start Agreement funding.
This formal confirmation followed official level discussions between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Civil Service on UK Government funding streams being made available within the financial package to support the restored Executive.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether Stormont House Agreement Fresh Start funding allocations were included in recent the Northern Ireland Assembly Restoration Package.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The UK Government is providing the Executive with a significant £3.3 billion spending settlement to stabilise its finances and protect public services. Within this package, we are increasing the spending power of the Executive by repurposing over £700 million of existing and new UK Government funds.
The Fresh Start agreement in 2015 made provision for funding for integrated and shared education over 10 years. As that capital funding was due to expire at the end of 2024-25, the decision to remove the ring-fence on £150m of Fresh Start Agreement funding was made by the UK Government after assessing existing funding in Northern Ireland. We came to a considered position in response to the challenging budgetary position faced by the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Northern Ireland Executive will be able to decide how it uses the non-ring fenced funding element of reprioritised and new UK Government funding streams which contribute to the settlement package.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether capital funding for shared and integrated education was included in the Assembly restoration financial settlement.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The UK Government is providing the Executive with a significant £3.3 billion spending settlement to stabilise its finances and protect public services. Within this package, we are increasing the spending power of the Executive by repurposing over £700 million of existing and new UK Government funds.
The Fresh Start agreement in 2015 made provision for funding for integrated and shared education over 10 years. As that capital funding was due to expire at the end of 2024-25, the decision to remove the ring-fence on £150m of Fresh Start Agreement funding was made by the UK Government after assessing existing funding in Northern Ireland. We came to a considered position in response to the challenging budgetary position faced by the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Northern Ireland Executive will be able to decide how it uses the non-ring fenced funding element of reprioritised and new UK Government funding streams which contribute to the settlement package.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing protections for journalists under libel defamation law in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The civil law of defamation is a devolved issue in Northern Ireland. As such, the development of, or any reform to, the law in this area is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly to consider.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will ask the Permanent Secretary of the Northern Ireland Department of Health to publish an update on the Report of the Expert Review of Records of Deceased Patients (Neurology).
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Health. The UK Government has no powers to intervene in this process.
It remains the Government’s top priority to restore the Executive so that locally accountable political leaders can take action on Northern Ireland's public services, including health, in order to deliver better outcomes for the people of Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Northern Ireland's Department of Education on the potential funding implications of the Independent Review of Education in Northern Ireland, published on 13 December 2023.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Government welcomes the publication of this long-awaited report, which delivers on a commitment agreed to in the New Decade, New Approach Agreement. We will take time to consider the findings of the report, however, we are clear that education, its funding and any potential transformation or reform of education in Northern Ireland are matters that a restored Northern Ireland Executive should be gripping.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of Northern Ireland's transport budget.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Transport is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. It is for the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure to make decisions on transport-related funding and spending decisions.
As I set out in my Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 27 April, Northern Ireland Office officials and I have worked intensively with the Northern Ireland departments to set a budget for Northern Ireland for the 2023-24 financial year. This year's budget allocation from the UK Government gave the Northern Ireland Department of Infrastructure a total allocation of £523 million.
It remains our firm view that the right people to make these decisions are locally elected politicians in a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. That is why this Government is doing all it can to engage with the party leaders to support a return to stable government so that these important issues can be addressed by those elected to do so.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with Natwest on the potential merits of pausing their planned closure of Ulster Bank branches.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
There are no plans to discuss with Natwest the recent announcement for the Ulster Bank branch network which is ultimately an operational decision for the bank. The Secretary of State and I, however, recognise that decisions around branch closures may cause concern in those areas which are impacted, and for staff, and I urge Natwest to provide timely and informative updates to the communities they serve and ensure that access to in person banking services can be maintained where possible through other routes.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the feasibility of raising the earnings threshold for eligibility for tax free childcare in Northern Ireland in the context of the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive preventing implementation of Government measures on childcare announced in Spring 2023.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
Childcare is a devolved policy in Northern Ireland and the absence of a functioning Executive in Northern Ireland is exacerbating the challenges faced by families with regards to childcare and a wide range of other policy areas.
That is why this Government is doing all it can to engage with the party leaders to support a return to stable government so that these important issues can be addressed by those elected to do so.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will take steps to move the (a) bed and (b) banks of Lough Neagh into public ownership.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The damage being caused to the environment, wildlife and local businesses due to the deteriorating situation around Lough Neagh is intolerable.
However, the administration of Lough Neagh is a matter that is fully devolved to Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
The absence of a functioning Executive in Northern Ireland is exacerbating the severe challenges associated with managing serious environmental issues such as this.
The Government are doing all we can to engage with the party leaders to support a return to stable government so that these important issues can be addressed by those elected to do so.