Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the response of the Northern Ireland haulage industry to the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets regularly with Northern Ireland stakeholders, including representatives of the road haulage industry to discuss a range of relevant issues, including following the announcement of the Windsor Framework.
The Windsor Framework restores the free flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland with a first-of-its-kind green lane that will enable goods destined for NI to move easily without burdensome customs bureaucracy.
Customs paperwork will be scrapped and replaced with data sharing of ordinary, existing commercial information. This information will be provided from sales invoices and transport contracts – information that businesses will already hold and use for the movement of goods.
In other words, the only data traders will need to move from Birmingham to Belfast is the same as if they were going to the Isle of Wight.
We have also secured complete unfettered access for NI goods on the UK market, with no export processes required.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland's road haulage industry on the Windsor Framework since 27 February 2023.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland meets regularly with Northern Ireland stakeholders, including representatives of the road haulage industry to discuss a range of relevant issues, including following the announcement of the Windsor Framework.
The Windsor Framework restores the free flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland with a first-of-its-kind green lane that will enable goods destined for NI to move easily without burdensome customs bureaucracy.
Customs paperwork will be scrapped and replaced with data sharing of ordinary, existing commercial information. This information will be provided from sales invoices and transport contracts – information that businesses will already hold and use for the movement of goods.
In other words, the only data traders will need to move from Birmingham to Belfast is the same as if they were going to the Isle of Wight.
We have also secured complete unfettered access for NI goods on the UK market, with no export processes required.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will respond to requests from the Road Haulage Association for a meeting to discuss the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland last met representatives of the Road Haulage Association on 22 January at a roundtable discussion convened by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Its representatives have also attended the Protocol sub-group of the Brexit Business Taskforce, which is co-chaired by officials in the Northern Ireland Office and the Cabinet Office.
The Secretary of State will continue to engage closely with businesses and representative organisations in Northern Ireland, and will consider any further requests for a meeting that the Road Haulage Association make.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has for the construction of new infrastruture on the UK border in Northern Ireland in the event of no withdrawal agreement being concluded under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
As set out in the Joint Report, the UK and the EU are committed to ensuring that our departure does not lead to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Our White Paper outlines a new and detailed proposal for a principled, pragmatic and ambitious future partnership between the UK and the EU and would enable us to meet these commitments.
We firmly believe it is in the interests of both the EU and the UK to strike a deal and we are confident that this will be achieved.