Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for resolving technical faults relating to the issuing of Biometric Residence Permit cards.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The incidences of technical issues preventing Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) card production are very low. Where issues are encountered, operational case working teams and IT Support endeavour to resolve the issue swiftly without any adverse impacts for the applicant.
For the very small proportion of cases that could not be resolved immediately, the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) are available to provide support to applicants to verify their immigration status and permission to work and rent properties in the UK.
Longer term, the Home Office is developing a border and immigration system which will be digital by default. The ambition is to phase out physical documents, such as BRP’s, before the end of 2024 as we move towards a system of online evidence of immigration status (eVisas).
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason Northern Ireland is not included in the Green Deal loan scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Energy policy in Northern Ireland is devolved so the decision on whether to operate a Green Deal scheme is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with her Irish counterpart on promoting resilient supply chains across the island of Ireland.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Ministers and officials regularly engage with counterparts in Ireland to discuss a range of issues.
The Department for Business and Trade works to strengthen the long-term resilience of the UK’s international critical supply chains, including through international discussions to collaborate on economic resilience, bringing partners and allies together and share expertise.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to deploy funding for public research and development in Northern Ireland.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government is committed to working closely with the Devolved Administrations to realise the ambitions of the Science and Technology Framework and to ensure it works for the whole of the UK.
Businesses and universities across the UK are eligible to apply for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding. As of June 2023, over 190 UKRI funded projects with a combined value of over £143 million were led by award holders in Northern Ireland.
Additionally, core funding for university research, is a devolved matter and Northern Ireland universities receive core research funding from the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to increase the levels of private research and development investment in Northern Ireland.
Answered by George Freeman
We are committed to building on record public investment in research and development to increase private investment across the country, including in Northern Ireland. For example, since we published the Innovation Strategy, Innovate UK has introduced an online Innovation Hub and expanded its EDGE support scheme to help innovative businesses across the UK grow.
Northern Ireland received £47.5 million UKRI funding in 2020-21. We also support the Digital Catapult in Belfast to help innovative businesses grow, and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships funded by Innovate UK and Invest NI are helping local universities and businesses to upskill and enhance their investment potential.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to (a) identify and (b) promote investment opportunities in UK strategic priority areas for (i) research and (ii) development.
Answered by George Freeman
The Science and Technology Framework sets out a vision for our research and development (R&D) investment to match the scale of our ambition, and to catalyse the private sector to do the same.
We are working closely with the Department for Business and Trade to identify and promote UK innovation strengths and investment opportunities globally, including through the GREAT campaign. The interactive digital tool we will publish in the autumn, mapping the UK’s innovation clusters, will be a crucial next step in helping us showcase UK strengths to attract private investment.
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 Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve the energy efficiency of homes in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Energy Efficiency of homes in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive Committee.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason Northern Ireland is not covered on her Department's webpage under the stated responsibility to advise, support and promote British businesses to grow and export.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Department for Business and Trade’s export support services are available free of charge to businesses across all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland. Full details about these services are available at www.great.gov.uk. My officials in the DBT Northern Ireland team are also working closely with businesses and stakeholders to promote these services across all parts of Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in Northern Ireland on trends in the level of deaths from pregabalin consumption in the north west of Northern Ireland; and whether he plans to take steps to amend sentencing guidelines in the context of these trends.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The maximum penalty specified in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 for supply of a class A controlled drug is life imprisonment, and for class B or C it is 14 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The government reclassified pregabalin as a Class C controlled drug in 2019 following an assessment of its harms by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Sentencing guidelines are developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales (‘the Council’). The Council is an independent body which decides on its own priorities and work plan. Guidelines produced by the Council are not applicable to courts in Northern Ireland, as sentencing is a devolved matter.
The Council recently reviewed and revised its drug offences sentencing guidelines, which came into force on 1 April 2021. They set out that exposure of a drug user to the risk of serious harm over and above that expected by the user is an existing aggravating factor for the offence of supplying a controlled drug. An aggravating factor makes an offence more serious and is considered by the court when sentencing.
Justice Ministers have not discussed pregabalin-related deaths with the Northern Ireland Department for Justice.