Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the time taken to appoint commissioners under the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for implementing the provisions of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, including those provisions which allow for the establishment of an Irish Language Commissioner and a Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British tradition. In May 2023, the Government commenced the provisions in the Act required for the Executive Office to begin to progress work in relation to these appointments. The Government expects the Executive Office will make an announcement in due course regarding next steps on implementation of the legislation.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to figure 19.6 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office’s annual report 2022, published on 26 March 2024, if he will hold discussions with the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on the potential merits of launching a public inquiry on the alleged surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Figure 19.6 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office’s annual report 2022 refers to statistics for communications data authorisations involving members of a sensitive profession between 2018 and 2022. These are statistics for the whole of the UK, not specific to Northern Ireland.
Oversight of the use of Investigatory Powers is provided by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office who ensure that such use is necessary and proportionate, and used in accordance with the law.
There are ongoing Investigatory Powers Tribunal proceedings in relation to the alleged surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland. As such it would be inappropriate to comment further or to consider other routes of investigation until those proceedings have concluded.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will call a public inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown in 1997.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The murder of Sean Brown was an appalling act. I acknowledge the great suffering it has caused and continues to cause the Brown family, and the wider community.
I am currently taking appropriate advice and considering the Coroner’s report.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an estimate of the potential costs for implementing the (a) Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill and (b) Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.
Answered by Steve Baker
£250 million has been allocated to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill and the non-legislative memorialisation measures announced alongside it. This includes costs for the establishment of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, and its work. These funds were set aside for legacy mechanisms under the Stormont House Agreement and the New Decade, New Approach agreement. Work to design and implement the body, including how funds will be deployed, continues.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of Easilink bus services in rural areas in Northern Ireland in the next financial year.
Answered by Steve Baker
Transport is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The Department for Infrastructure has the responsibility for matters relating to the provision of rural community transport services in Northern Ireland.
In the absence of functioning devolved institutions, Northern Ireland Office officials are working with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive Department of Finance on the budget allocations for the next financial year. Based on the Northern Ireland budget position for the 2022-23 financial year, the expectation is that there will be impacts on people in Northern Ireland as a result of the difficult decisions needed in order for Northern Ireland Executive departments to live within their budgets.
It remains the UK Government’s firm view that the right people to make these decisions are locally elected politicians in a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly. In the absence of these, it will be for the relevant Northern Ireland Executive department, in this case, the Department for Infrastructure, to manage its funding including provision for rural community transport.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department is planning to provide support to home owners in Foyle who have experienced persistent flooding and who have been unable to get appropriate home insurance.
Answered by Steve Baker
The UK Government supports households in Northern Ireland through a joint initiative with insurers, the Flood Re Scheme, which ensures that domestic property insurance continues to be affordable in areas of flood risk.
The Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities provide financial support in the event of persistent flooding in Northern Ireland. This includes the Flooding Scheme, which provides emergency financial assistance to people affected by severe flooding.
I continue to urge parties in Northern Ireland to restore the Northern Ireland Executive and ensure a fully functioning Northern Ireland Assembly so that matters like flooding can be addressed by those elected to do so.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people (a) accessed addiction treatment services and (b) needed residential addiction treatment services in each constituency in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what funds were provided for (i) non-residential and (ii) residential addiction treatment services in each constituency in each year.
Answered by Steve Baker
The UK Government does not hold or have access to the requested figures, as this policy area is devolved.
The operation of and funding for addiction services treatment is a matter for Northern Ireland Executive and the relevant bodies in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the New Decade New Approach Deal published in January 2020, what steps the Government has taken to provide additional funding to support the Derry/Londonderry addiction centre.
Answered by Steve Baker
The UK Government stands ready to provide the £1 million additional funding to support the Derry/Londonderry addiction centre as is set out in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, and we are currently awaiting the Northern Ireland Executive’s proposals for delivering the centre.
It is for the relevant Northern Ireland Executive department to develop these proposals so that this funding can be invested in local communities in Northern Ireland quickly.
Continuing funding for the Derry/Londonderry addiction centre is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the relevant bodies in Northern Ireland. This reinforces the need for an Executive to get back up and running as soon as possible.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the independent review of drugs by Dame Carol Black, what assessment he has made of the effect of Government funding to implement the recommendations in that review on the Barnett consequential for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Steve Baker
The treatment and prevention of drug problems and harms in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. Any Barnett consequentials that arise through additional spending by the UK Government to implement the Review recommendations will be allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive in line with the Statement of Funding Policy.
This reinforces the need for an Executive to get back up and running as soon as possible.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funds the Government made available for addiction services in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Steve Baker
Health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, but nevertheless, the UK Government has committed £1 million in additional funding to support the Derry/Londonderry addiction centre as set out in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, and we are currently awaiting the Northern Ireland Executive’s proposals for delivering this centre.
As the funding of addiction services in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the relevant bodies in Northern Ireland, the UK Government does not hold or have access to the requested figures.